Lendl' current frame

[Boricua]

When Lendl played in the ATP tour he used various rackets one being an Adidas racket if I'm not mistaken. I suppose it was a mid racket. So, what racket is he using now and what other brands and models did he use in the past? Wonder what racket he has used to hit that incredible one handed backhand.

[njsigman]

He is currently using a Bosworth custom racquet and has for some time now...

[Don't Let It Bounce]

All this is from memory, so please correct me if I misstate something...

Lendl was an early adopter of composite frames among the pros. He rose to prominence with the Kneissl White Star Pro, even then considered barely a mid at about 77 sq. in. He signed in the early 80's with Adidas, who used the Kneissl mold to make the GTX Pro, basically the same racket except foam-filled and painted silver and blue.

Toward the end of his career he signed a golden parachute of a contract with Mizuno, who – again – made for him more or less the same racket, this time painted gold, black, and red. During this period he experimented with some true midsize frames provided by Mizuno, but I don't know if he used them in competition.

Something you don't hear noted often about Lendl is that he played well into the 90's near the top of the game using what was essentially a standard-size racket, many years after everyone else had gone to mid, midplus, and oversize frames.

[jaggy]

He has put on some weight, less gaunt

[suwanee4712]

Lendl used a dark framed model Adidas at Wimbledon 1985. There are youtube clips of his match vs. Leconte with the racquet. Never read any info. on the racquet but I suspect it was lighter than his normal racquet, maybe to adjust to the speed of grass.

[big ted]

Originally Posted by suwanee4712

Lendl used a dark framed model Adidas at Wimbledon 1985. There are youtube clips of his match vs. Leconte with the racquet. Never read any info. on the racquet but I suspect it was lighter than his normal racquet, maybe to adjust to the speed of grass.

that was gtx mid-t. same racquet but 10% bigger head size.
now he uses the bosworth tour 96 to his specs

[suwanee4712]

Originally Posted by big ted

that was gtx mid-t. same racquet but 10% bigger head size.
now he uses the bosworth tour 96 to his specs

Thanks! Perhaps he thought the larger head would help with uneven bounces and volleying? That's the only time I ever saw him use it.

Now if someone could explain to me why Mandlikova used a round headed Yonex (stencilled and everything and then right back to Wilson) during Fed Cup 86 that would solve another mystery for me. I just don't know many pros that would experiment or make a racquet change at an important event.