My Racquet History -- What's yours?

[kinsella]

1960-64 My dad's discarded Wilson Jack Kramer Speed Flex Fiber Face wood racquets, with red and blue colored string through the mains near the throat, so that you could spin the racquet and choose rough or smooth (instead of up or down). Don't forget to put it in its brace and tighten it, or it will warp in the closet!

1994 Slazenger Mystique 95 (because that was also the model of my squash racquet)
1995 SledgeHammer 6.3 OS
1996 Hammer 5.0 Stretch 95/Hammer 6.2 Stretch 95
1997 Dunlop Revelation Tour Pro +1 28”
1998 Dunlop Revelation Tour Pro +1 (cut to 27.5”)
1999 Head TiS2; Dunlop Revelation Tour Pro std
2000 Yonex RD10 (long), cut to 27”
2001 HPS 6.1 95, std
2002 HPS 6.0 95
2003 ROK
2004 LM Radical MP
2005 Head PT 280
2006 Volkl C10 Pro Tour (93" head)

Sticks that were good enough to buy, but never got off the practice squad:

Head: LM Prestige mid and MP, Head TiClassic,
Volkl C10, Volkl Tour 10 mid and MP.
Wilson PS 6.0 85, PS 6.0 95, HPS 6.0 (95) Wilson Zone 71.
Yonex MP1 mid and MP, Yonex RDX 500 mid, Yonex MP3 MP, Yonex RD 7, Yonex RD 10 Long, Yonex Ti80, Yonex Ti-50
Misc: Dunlop 200g, Estusa Power Beam, Fischer Pro 1, Vantage 90

[!<-_->!]

Whenever I started playing: Prince Quake XLT (Recreational Racuqet)
One year after starting: Wilson Hammer 6.2 OS Stretch
For half a year after above: Head i.Prestige MP XL
For a year after above: Wilson Hyper Pro Staff 6.1 Std (12.8oz)
Currently: Head Pro Tour 280 (13oz.) and messing around with a pair of Fischer Pro. Number 1 320g version

Racquets that I own but don't use and weren't mentioned above: Megaage M2, Bootleg version of Babolat Pure Drive, Spalding Assault 110, Prince Force 3 Lumina Ti.

Racquets that I tried and would liked to have purchased: Wilson Tour 90/Six-One Tour/Six-One 95, Yonex RD Ti-80

Racquets that I would like to try: Pro Kennex 5g PSE/ Ki 5 PSE, Fischer Pro Extreme FT, Prince Original Graphite MP/OS, Prince Original Graphite Longbody, Estusa (Any model), Head Liquid Metal Radical Tour, Head i.Prestige Mid, Yonex RDX 500 Mid, Wilson Pro Staff Rok, Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 85/95

[Swan Song]

This is mine.

2001:Some junior racquet by Wilson
Oct. 2001-Sept. 2002:Wilson Hyper Sledge Hammer 2.0
Sept. 2002-April. 2003:Head Ti. Radical Oversize
2003-2004: (Apr.) Prince Precision Michael Chang Oversize-> (Aug.-Dec.) Head Ti. Radical Oversize-> (Dec.-Jan.) Head LiquidMetal Radical Oversize
Jan. 2004-Dec. 2006:Prince Graphite Midsize
Dec. 2006-Nov. 2007:Volkl DNX 10 Mid
Nov. 2007-:Babolat Pure Storm Tour

What I don't play with, but have:
Head Ti. Radical Midplus w/LM Prestige CAPs
POG LB MP
Wilson T-2000
Dunlop Maxply Fort
Wilson Jimmy Connors Court Star
Yamaha Graphite 75

1993 Wilson Prestige Select 110 pre-strung
1994 Wilson Pro Staff Lite 110
1996 Wilson Hammer 5.0 110
1998 Yonex Super RD-Tour 90
1998 Head Prestige Classic
2004 Yonex Super RD-Tour 90

Purchased:

Yonex MP Tour-1 (Loved it, except the weight as a beginner...)
Head Instinct (No spin but good power and lower weight)
Head LM Radical MP (Stiff, harsh and caused wrist pain after a while)
Yonex RDX500MID (sold prematurely due to thinking I was going to go for a Slazenger X1...)
Slazenger X1 (No power, great feel, but to demanding for me really...)
Head i.prestige MP

Demoed: Yonex RDX500MP, Head LM Prestige MP, Head i.Radical, Yonex MP5iHS, Wilson ProStaff Zone 6.5 (Not sure if that's the right model, it rings a bell,) Yonex RQTi250 (argh!)

Would ideally like to try Yonex MP Tour-1 MID, but cant get em! I loved the MP except for the slightly powerful stringbed and limited manouverability. Have settled for now on i.prestige, unless I get elbow/wrist problems as some people have had - but otherwise will be sticking with it for the next 18-24months and concentrate on my game.

[German Tennis Instructor]

1pro staff junior
wilson stretch hammer 6.1 i believe
voelkl tour 10mp which is a really good racket.
i tried the babolat aero tour pro but in my eyes it sucked. very little controll!
head lm prstige mp. good racket

now: head prestige classic! best racket i've used in my life. i will definitively stick with it.

[lovethegame]

i see a bunch of you have the lm radical mp, what do you think about it?

[Feña14]

1992 - 2003 POG OS

2003 - 2004 PC 600, SRD Tour 90

Not many, but I love the older rackets.

[gmlasam]

1986 - 88 Prince POG (early 80s models)
1989 Yonex R-23
1989-93 Wilson PS 6.0 (St. Vincent Models)
1994-96 Yonex RD7
1997-98 Head Radical
1999-2000 Yonex SRD 90
2001 POG
2002 Babolat PD
2003 to current and back to POG 80s model, still using the pog i learned tennis on when I was 8 years old. I went full circle.

[Trey]

Late 1980's when I first started playing tennis- Head graphite Director

1990-2003- Huge gap of no tennis


2003 Wilson Prostaff 6.6 OS. - Way too light and flimsy

current racquet Wilson Surge leaded up to 12.1 oz

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by gmlasam

2003 to current and back to POG 80s model, still using the pog i learned tennis on when I was 8 years old. I went full circle.

Exactly the same as me, I went back to the racket that I learnt to play with as a 4/5 year old. I have no regrets at all, although that SRD Tour 90 is something a bit special. You also can't beat the feel and precision of the PC 600.

[gmlasam]

Liam,

Impressive that you have used the POG OS for over 10 years.

[itsn3o]

1998 - Prince Mono Pre-Strung
2000 - Head XL Graphite Pre-Strung
2001 - Prince Vendetta OS 110
2003 - Babolat Pure Drive +

[thejackal]

1999-2002 Head Fusion OS (barely played, stunk like hell)

2002-04 Prince Force 3 Storm OS (got to almost my current level, then decided I need a new stick with more control and less power)

current racket: Head i. Radical MP, leaded up to around 11.6oz

Want to try: Yonex RDX 300/500, Babolat Pure Control, Wilson Ncode 6.1. 95

[Steve H.]

1968 Jack Kramer pro staff

(many years with not much tennis, had some metal frame, an old Dunlop graphite model, and Spalding rec frame)

Got back into it seriously five years ago, have bought and sold many used frames and tried out many others -- some highlights:
1999 Head Ti.S2
2000 Prince Graphite II
2001 Radical OS ('98 )
2001 Warrior MP
2001 POG OS
2002 ProKennex Black Ace Tour
2002 Gamma Tradition 18
2003 Head Ti.Classic
2003 Volkl C10 Pro MP
2003 POG OS
2004 ProKennex Laver S
2004 Fischer Pro #1 (330g)

Scary when you write them all down -- for me part of the fun of tennis is trying different stuff and seeing how it effects my game.

[Brad Smith]

1983 Dunlop Junior ??
1987 ProKennex ??
1989 Prince CTS Blast MP
1994 Yonex RD-7
2001 Gamma DF 9.0, Yonex RD Power 10, Yonex RD Power 7
2002 Yonex SRD 90, Head PT 280, Head PC 600
2003 ... Head PC 600

During 2001 and 2002 I tried a bunch of different rackets as I looked for a replacement for the RD-7. The ones listed above are those I used for any significant length of time. Eventually settled on the PC 600 and plan to use it for a long time.

[EZV]

let's see: started playing around 1994 - with some russian tennis racket

eventually switched to some fischer racket (can't remember the name), but sold it after a couple of months of abuse cause i found it a little heavy for me

got a HEAD Pro Lite Tour around mid- 1996, played with it till around 2001 when I cracked the frame (I've never seen one of these rackets in the US, it was a pretty good frame)

(moved to the US in late 1997)

got a Yonex RD-7 around 2000-2001, played with only a couple of times, it was too heavy for me

decided to get a Fischer pro #1, played with it for several years

got a HEAD LM Radical OS, played with it several times and didn't really like it

got a HEAD Radical Tour OS a couple of months ago and have been playing with it since

[Smashlob]

I don't remember the years, but I've had several racquets.
(in order)

Wilson 6.2 Hammer
Wilson 5.3 Hyper Hammer
Wilson 5.9 Hyper Hammer
Dunlop 300G
Ncode six-one Tour
Wilson 5.3 HH
Wilson 6.1 Tour Edition

[volleyman]

The years escape me, but here they are:

1950s vitnage wooden racquet 4 3/4 grip
Wilson TX3000 - head crushed in a temper tantrum
Wilson T2000 - unbreakable
Pro Kennex Blue Ace - wood graphite composite, slipped out of hand during server and broke
Pro Kennex Bronze Ace

..... years pass ...

Wilson Triad 6.0 MP - bleah
Wilson Hyper Pro Staff w/Roller (7.6?) - arm pain
Wilson Hyper Pro Staff 5.0 - too heavy, tired arm
Pro Kennex 7G - Excellent, but not perfect for me, strained rotator cuff serving
Prince TT Bandit MP - Manueverable, powerful, cured shoulder, but inconsistent serve, and gave me tennis elbow
Head Liquid Metal 4 - Current
Pro Kennex Core1 #10 (bumperless) - current

Still under consideration: Yonex RDX 300 MP

[phototennis]

1982 -- Wilson wood racket (forgot what it was called)
1984 -- Prince Junior Oversize (aluminum i think)
1986 -- Yonex Ceramic
1996 -- Wilson Tempest
1999 -- Wilson Pro Staff 6.0
2004 -- Wilson Triad 6.0 (for like a month)
currently -- Volkl Tour 9 V-Engine (18x20)