Donnay racquets, anyone used them?

[KFwinds]

Hey Jack -

Just rec'd my Pro One 18x20 today. Man these are high quality frames. I'll have a chance to hit with it tomorrow; playing in the afternoon with the GF and then tomorrow evening at Oak Brook for some dubs.

Gotta love TW as well. Bought this as a used "B" grade frame, but this thing couldn't have been hit with for more than 1hr; not even a scuff on the bumper. It's also fairly freshly strung with TF NRG2 17g. I was setting up the stringer as UPS came to the door, but looks like I should be able to test it with the strings already in the frame.

Hope we'll get a chance to hit sometime!

[ChicagoJack]

Originally Posted by KFwinds

Hey Jack -

Just rec'd my Pro One 18x20 today. Man these are high quality frames. I'll have a chance to hit with it tomorrow; playing in the afternoon with the GF and then tomorrow evening at Oak Brook for some dubs.

Gotta love TW as well. Bought this as a used "B" grade frame, but this thing couldn't have been hit with for more than 1hr; not even a scuff on the bumper. It's also fairly freshly strung with TF NRG2 17g. I was setting up the stringer as UPS came to the door, but looks like I should be able to test it with the strings already in the frame.

Hope we'll get a chance to hit sometime!

Kevin -

Oh man, that's super cool! There is a Pro One 97 club here : http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=420407. Lots of good info, feedback, commentary on string selection etc... Feel free to contribute!

It's awesome that you got one in good shape. FYI the Donnay lettering at 3 and 9 in the silver metallic paint chips rather easily. (My one big complaint) It's not going to chip just sitting in the bag, but I know you are going to have to dig out some low volleys at some point, and it's such a clean, minimalist design that every little chip and scrape really shows up because there is no where to hide. Just know going into the relationship she will acquire a little, how shall I say.. Willie Nelson's Beat Up Guitar type flavor, ha ha.

The P1 is highly string sensitive. I've tried just about everything but Gut/Poly really works nicely. (And that's what I had in my racquet that you really liked) Most of us have found that the The Pro One has a lot of pop, the spinny-ness of that combo really helps me to swing away with less fear of hitting long. A full bed of gut or a premium multi in this super comfy, solid core frame, is just sublime. Just so effing sweet, but creates a much flatter ball. I had some success with a full bed of Dunlop Black Widow 18, which is one of the more comfy polys on the market, but man I could not volley at all with that. I've figured out that textured poly just sucks at the net. The ball just gets stuck in there, and when the string bed has finally unravelled my opponents spin I have no idea where its going when it finally slushes out. The gut poly gives me all the spin of the textured stuff and I always know where the ball is going at net. So much better it's amazing.

(Off-Topic) By the way, which Oak Brook are you playing, The Oak Brook Racquet and Fitness Club in Westmont? or the Oakbrook Park District Courts just east of the mall on Forest Gate? If its the PD courts I might see you there. Was thinking about signing up for the drop in doubles tomoro night.

-Jack

[kaiser]

Originally Posted by Pneumated1

I hit modified Becker Londons and demoed the Gold 99 today. The transition was seamless, and I mean to the point that I had a hard time going back to my own frame. I find that it sits somewhere between my London and a C-10 Pro. The weight is in the handle, throat, and low in the shoulders. The hoop is flexible, forgiving, and loaded with feel. I got a lot of bite off the stringbed, and while I wouldn't call it crisp, control is at a premium. And the grip shape is absolutely perfect----a touch more square than Dunlop.

You mention a buttery feel . . . spread a little Gold 99, and your tennis palate will thank you. I can't imagine a frame that would work better for me, personally, and I don't think that I'd customize it hardly at all, and that's rare for me. I might be sold.



I find it more forgiving than even my Londons. The frame just glides through the air. Donnay, imo, has created the perfect balance of specs here in this frame. It may not bludgeon the ball like your Tours, but with the flex, feel, maneuverability, stability, and even forgiveness of the frame, you can work the ball at will, whatever the situation may call for. This frame's a sleeper, and I can only conclude that that is the case because old-school, flexy frames are not in demand.

Thanks man, you've got me salivating at this one...
I still really like my Tours, when I'm in the groove and loose and swing relaxed it is sheer joy to hit with them. However, I am concerned that they may be limiting my max swingspeed, and started thinking I may benefit from a more forgiving stick when I'm tight in a match. I already liked the specs on the Gold 99 and it gets a very positive review from Chris and Spencer at TW. Pity it is so much more expensive in Europe than in the US...

[kaiser]

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ray

Gold 99 - Comfort and feel of a VERY flexible and soft players racket (kind of rubbery IMO) with the power, forgiveness, and huge sweet spot of a tweener. I'm used to higher weight & SW frames but this one felt a little slow to bring around for some reason on groundstrokes. The balance/weight distribution during the swing & feel on contact are not for me, but if you like super flexible and soft feeling frames, this one is for you! It actually felt great on serves, it swung easy, had great feel on contact, good power & spin. Strung with Babolat PHT mains / Addiction crosses.

Perhaps it needs some weight in the tail to make it come around quicker, did that with my Tours. You found it very flexible and soft. I am wondering, I like my Tours strung in the high 30s, wouldn't the resulting soft stringbed to some extent negate the softness of the frame? I mean, wouldn't the strings flex before the frame does?

[KFwinds]

Originally Posted by ChicagoJack

Kevin -

Oh man, that's super cool! There is a Pro One 97 club here : http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=420407. Lots of good info, feedback, commentary on string selection etc... Feel free to contribute!

It's awesome that you got one in good shape. FYI the Donnay lettering at 3 and 9 in the silver metallic paint chips rather easily. (My one big complaint) It's not going to chip just sitting in the bag, but I know you are going to have to dig out some low volleys at some point, and it's such a clean, minimalist design that every little chip and scrape really shows up because there is no where to hide. Just know going into the relationship she will acquire a little, how shall I say.. Willie Nelson's Beat Up Guitar type flavor, ha ha.

The P1 is highly string sensitive. I've tried just about everything but Gut/Poly really works nicely. (And that's what I had in my racquet that you really liked) Most of us have found that the The Pro One has a lot of pop, the spinny-ness of that combo really helps me to swing away with less fear of hitting long. A full bed of gut or a premium multi in this super comfy, solid core frame, is just sublime. Just so effing sweet, but creates a much flatter ball. I had some success with a full bed of Dunlop Black Widow 18, which is one of the more comfy polys on the market, but man I could not volley at all with that. I've figured out that textured poly just sucks at the net. The ball just gets stuck in there, and when the string bed has finally unravelled my opponents spin I have no idea where its going when it finally slushes out. The gut poly gives me all the spin of the textured stuff and I always know where the ball is going at net. So much better it's amazing.

(Off-Topic) By the way, which Oak Brook are you playing, The Oak Brook Racquet and Fitness Club in Westmont? or the Oakbrook Park District Courts just east of the mall on Forest Gate? If its the PD courts I might see you there. Was thinking about signing up for the drop in doubles tomoro night.

-Jack

Yep, I'll be at the Oak Brook PD for the drop-in dubs so I'll prob see you there. I'm playing and teaching earlier in the afternoon so hopefully I'll have some gas left in the tank

[pauliewa]

Originally Posted by v-verb

Did you get your replacement frame?

FedEx shows it arriving tomorrow. Will report.

[v-verb]

Originally Posted by pauliewa

FedEx shows it arriving tomorrow. Will report.

Any update Paulie?

[TRVX1912]

How is the qc on donnay?

[Goose]

Just got my first Donnay Pro One 18x20 this week.

Hurt my ankle on Wednesday night training so I haven't had a chance to give it a proper play yet.

Looking forward to hopefully getting out on court tomorrow and giving it a go.

Strung with Solinco Tour Bite 17 @ 55

[ChicagoJack]

Forgive me father for I have sinned. Just had flea bay impulse buy. Two X-99 Blacks. Don't really need any more racquets, but I've got a soft spot for the increasingly rare X-99 Blues and Blacks, hard for me to pass up when they become available. The Blue is just about the prettiest frame I've ever seen, with the Blacks a close second. The chrome finish with the leather grip is reminiscent of a late 70's vintage road racing bike.

[Don't Let It Bounce]

The Blue and the Black are neck-and-neck, for me, in the 'prettiest frame of the last few years' sweepstakes. If they were going to have them out only for a year or so, I sort of wish they'd waited, introduced the dual cores at launch, and used those paint jobs.

I'm usually happier with older frames, but these days it's the X-Dual Platinum 99 (a slightly more flexible prototype of it that never made it to market, to be precise) that gets the call. As someone mentioned upthread, "slab of rubber" is not an inaccurate description of its feel. It is The Anti-Hollow. I too like the gut/poly hybrid, but I haven't given up on finding a (very) soft full-bed poly I like even better.

I sometimes think the Pro One probably feels even better, but for some reason I really like the feel of the X-Dual's thin beam in the hand, and I probably need the extra little bit of spin window, too. (If I hadn't already thrown in my lot with the Plat 99's, and if my elbow tendons were any stronger, I'd be looking with interest at the Pro One OS. The blogger over at Guts & Glory – can't link; sorry – certainly seemed happy with it.)

The two highest-ranked players at the academy where I teach are sisters; one plays the Pro One 16x19, the other the Gold 99.