Cortex on Nadal's Racquet?!

[LPShanet]

Originally Posted by zidane339

Was checking out Hewitt's charity auction where Rafa's APD used during Wimbledon is up for grabs. If you look at the up close pic of the throat, there are ridges, indicating cortex?! I thought he used a pj of the APDC?Or could my eyes be decieveing me?

BTW its at $10500!I hope its the real thing or the buyer is duped!

http://www.eswap.com.au/auction_deta...tion_id=226913

Ah, time for more sad revelations about how the business of pro tennis marketing works. Sorry to spoil Christmas for you kids, but there is no Santa Claus. It is fairly common practice for racquet companies to send a bunch of racquets to top players (sometimes at tournaments) for signatures, that are then sent out for auctions, charity, raffles, promotions, giveaways, etc. In fact, I have such an autographed racquet from Sampras's playing days. These racquets are generally the stock/production models that they "appear to be using"...i.e. the production version of their paintjob.

Nadal does, as many have noted, use the original APD (non-cortex) in competition, but Babolat sends out APD WITH cortex for promotional uses like this. So the racquet in question may well have an authentic signature, and he may even have hit a few balls with it to legitimize the authenticity, but it certainly is not one of his actual competition frames from Wimbledon, and it clearly has real cortex on it. The stringjob is also apparently unused.

The racquet may be worth something due to the signature, etc., but anyone who thinks he's getting the actual frame Rafa won Wimbledon with is kidding himself, as long as the racquet in question is the one in the picture. Only the market can determine what it's worth, but it would appear to be worth a lot less than is being asked. Still, if the bidding is part of a legitimate charity auction, as they state, then the selling price has nothing to do with market value, and the more it goes for, the better the charity does. So as long as the auction is on the up and up in terms of it beneficiaries, I suppose a good end will come of all this. Definitely some moral mushy ground, though...(i.e. is it good to be deceptive for a good cause?)

N.B. If you look at the wording, it says it's a "Framed and Signed Rafael Nadal Racquet From Wimbledon 2008.". It doesn't actually say it's a racquet he played or won the tournament with, so they may be legally covered, although it's definitely misleading.

[VTChileno]

Originally Posted by featherlight

the racket also does not have the custom damp Rafa uses

The dampener is not CUSTOM you moron... it's the same damn yellow dampener they sell to the general public.

Whoever buys this racket thinking Nadal played with it in an actual match is beyond stupid...

[FedererForehand]

Originally Posted by VTChileno

The dampener is not CUSTOM you moron... it's the same damn yellow dampener they sell to the general public.

Whoever buys this racket thinking Nadal played with it in an actual match is beyond stupid...

Your the moron... actually Rafa uses Babolat's Custom Dampener. Hey Moron check out the link...http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/desc...BAB-BCDYB.html

[robertg06]

No what he's saying is that it's not a custom custom dampener it's a normal custom dampener...that made more sense in my head....

[Staiger]

Originally Posted by LPShanet

Ah, time for more sad revelations about how the business of pro tennis marketing works. Sorry to spoil Christmas for you kids, but there is no Santa Claus. It is fairly common practice for racquet companies to send a bunch of racquets to top players (sometimes at tournaments) for signatures, that are then sent out for auctions, charity, raffles, promotions, giveaways, etc. In fact, I have such an autographed racquet from Sampras's playing days. These racquets are generally the stock/production models that they "appear to be using"...i.e. the production version of their paintjob.

Nadal does, as many have noted, use the original APD (non-cortex) in competition, but Babolat sends out APD WITH cortex for promotional uses like this. So the racquet in question may well have an authentic signature, and he may even have hit a few balls with it to legitimize the authenticity, but it certainly is not one of his actual competition frames from Wimbledon, and it clearly has real cortex on it. The stringjob is also apparently unused.

The racquet may be worth something due to the signature, etc., but anyone who thinks he's getting the actual frame Rafa won Wimbledon with is kidding himself, as long as the racquet in question is the one in the picture. Only the market can determine what it's worth, but it would appear to be worth a lot less than is being asked. Still, if the bidding is part of a legitimate charity auction, as they state, then the selling price has nothing to do with market value, and the more it goes for, the better the charity does. So as long as the auction is on the up and up in terms of it beneficiaries, I suppose a good end will come of all this. Definitely some moral mushy ground, though...(i.e. is it good to be deceptive for a good cause?)

N.B. If you look at the wording, it says it's a "Framed and Signed Rafael Nadal Racquet From Wimbledon 2008.". It doesn't actually say it's a racquet he played or won the tournament with, so they may be legally covered, although it's definitely misleading.

I just hope the person who brought the racket is not going to read this thread ....LOL

[Staiger]

Originally Posted by vsbabolat

Here is your proof. http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showt...30#post1426030

nice found

[william7gr]

Originally Posted by VTChileno

The dampener is not CUSTOM you moron... it's the same damn yellow dampener they sell to the general public.

Whoever buys this racket thinking Nadal played with it in an actual match is beyond stupid...

Know what your talking about before you insult someone like that

[iJuMpS]

how do we know if this is his racket? in the picture it doesnt show him in the picture..no one will ever no the truth

[tennismonster]

Originally Posted by iJuMpS

how do we know if this is his racket? in the picture it doesnt show him in the picture..no one will ever no the truth

There you go! Clearly painted on

[Wodz]

Originally Posted by rubberduckies

Maybe Nadal did use this at Wimbledon. He probably felt that using his real racquet wouldn't be fair to Roger after what happened at the French, so he went to the store to by some APDC's strung with stock strings. He left the dampener off to further level the playing field between himself and Roger. His hubris almost got the better of him, but in the end his talent prevailed. Notice how the strings on this racquet aren't worn at all - almost like they've never been used. That shows how easy Rafa was taking it on Roger.

So go ahead and make a bid to win that racquet. Rest assured that it's the genuine article and not just some cheap piece of crap with his signature on it.

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Seth]

Originally Posted by Wodz

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was this worth reviving a dead thread?

[Wodz]

A thread this funny should have never ended, no?

[Seth]

Originally Posted by Wodz

A thread this funny should have never ended, no?

Fair point.