Yonex RQ Series

RDM · Mar 1, 2018

After spotting a Yonex RQ-100 for sale recently and tying to find some more details/specifications on this racquet I found that there wasn't much reliable information online about the RQ Series hierarchy.

I did however discover the following Yonex Catalogue which helps explain thing a little better and thought it might be of use to someone else at some point.

https://www.scribd.com/doc/27059617/Yonex-Tennis-1990

coachrick · Mar 1, 2018

RDM said:
After spotting a Yonex RQ-100 for sale recently and tying to find some more details/specifications on this racquet I found that there wasn't much reliable information online about the RQ Series hierarchy.

I did however discover the following Yonex Catalogue which helps explain thing a little better and thought it might be of use to someone else at some point.

https://www.scribd.com/doc/27059617/Yonex-Tennis-1990

Pretty cool...Thanks for sharing!

ItalianStallion · Mar 2, 2018

Yes - thanks for posting that! My wife has a couple of RQ's in our racquet collection - the RQ-120 which is listed in your link, and then the RQ-380 which I believe came later

BorgCash · Mar 2, 2018

RDM said:
After spotting a Yonex RQ-100 for sale recently and tying to find some more details/specifications on this racquet I found that there wasn't much reliable information online about the RQ Series hierarchy.

I did however discover the following Yonex Catalogue which helps explain thing a little better and thought it might be of use to someone else at some point.

https://www.scribd.com/doc/27059617/Yonex-Tennis-1990

Yes, i've found this one when was looking for some material about RQ-60. I also got RQ-180.

BlackAces · Mar 2, 2018

Woooooow! Thanks for sharing the official brochure! I have the RQ-200. It's a solid frame and love hitting with it.

galain · Mar 4, 2018

That's a nice find - thank you! I wonder when advertisers stopped being so ...educational...about their products. I used to read all these ads voraciously - so much information given about the latest tech and the advantages it would confer. These days you're lucky to get a couple of sentences, if that.

Allsports · Mar 4, 2018

Thanks for posting. The RQ-220 was my first ever Yonex. Haven't used anything else to the present day.

BorgCash · Mar 4, 2018

Allsports said:
Thanks for posting. The RQ-220 was my first ever Yonex. Haven't used anything else to the present day.

So you play all the time with one racquet? Wow! How many years?

coachrick · Mar 4, 2018

galain said:
That's a nice find - thank you! I wonder when advertisers stopped being so ...educational...about their products. I used to read all these ads voraciously - so much information given about the latest tech and the advantages it would confer. These days you're lucky to get a couple of sentences, if that.

Could be because there are many, many "features" and not so many "benefits" to the current(20 years) technology

They can say "Power AND Control" only so many times and so many ways!

coachrick · Mar 4, 2018

I have an un-hit RQ 880 on consignment in Austin.
I played the RQ 420 for a minute back in the early '90s...not a bad stick for what it was.

Allsports · Mar 5, 2018

BorgCash said:
So you play all the time with one racquet? Wow! How many years?

Yeah you got me there, I meant I have not used another racquet brand since then.

BorgCash · Mar 5, 2018

Allsports said:
Yeah you got me there, I meant I have not used another racquet brand since then.

Ah, you used only Yonex racquets since then?

Allsports · Mar 5, 2018

BorgCash said:
Ah, you used only Yonex racquets since then?

Yeah that's it. Long time now, 28 years or so.

BorgCash · Mar 5, 2018

Allsports said:
Yeah that's it. Long time now, 28 years or so.

Great, can you name the models please?

Allsports · Mar 6, 2018

BorgCash said:
Great, can you name the models please?

Well, I'm not sure off the top of my head. I'll name a few I've used I can remember right now. RQ-220, Super RD Tour, 95D, Ti-88, RDS 001, Mp1-Tour, RDX 500, Power 10 Long, Tn-400 (I think it was), Tour G, Duel G, Vcore Pro, DR 98. That's about all I can think of just now.

BorgCash · Mar 6, 2018

Allsports said:
Well, I'm not sure off the top of my head. I'll name a few I've used I can remember right now. RQ-220, Super RD Tour, 95D, Ti-88, RDS 001, Mp1-Tour, RDX 500, Power 10 Long, Tn-400 (I think it was), Tour G, Duel G, Vcore Pro, DR 98. That's about all I can think of just now.

Great, quite a long list, good racquets.

PinkFede · Mar 14, 2018

Hi, it’s my first post here, cheers from Italy.
After a 15 years break I started playing again and took out of the closet my 1991 Yonex RQ360.
As you can see no strings on it at the moment.
I used to play with Babolat VS strings, any suggestions for modern type strings?
What about my raquet? I’ve checked on the internet some info on the rq series but I have not found so much.
Regards

BorgCash · Mar 14, 2018

PinkFede said:
Hi, it’s my first post here, cheers from Italy.
After a 15 years break I started playing again and took out of the closet my 1991 Yonex RQ360.
As you can see no strings on it at the moment.
I used to play with Babolat VS strings, any suggestions for modern type strings?
What about my raquet? I’ve checked on the internet some info on the rq series but I have not found so much.
Regards

Hi, welcome on board! Like Italy and Italians. I have RQ-180, very magic soft stick, is your the same one? VS natural is the best strings, but expensive. I also see you have some Pro Staff racquet also&? What is it?

coachrick · Mar 14, 2018

BorgCash said:
Hi, welcome on board! Like Italy and Italians. I have RQ-180, very magic soft stick, is your the same one? VS natural is the best strings, but expensive. I also see you have some Pro Staff racquet also&? What is it?

About a 10% larger face on the 360, IIRC. Would need to harness the power a bit on the larger 360, IMO. The 180 could be strung with anything; but the 360 is a step toward powerful, IMO...needing to consider that.

PinkFede · Mar 14, 2018

BorgCash said:
Hi, welcome on board! Like Italy and Italians. I have RQ-180, very magic soft stick, is your the same one? VS natural is the best strings, but expensive. I also see you have some Pro Staff racquet also&? What is it?

Yes, it's a Pro Staff Classi 6.1, also from 1991. I own also a Head Prestige Classic, if I remember correctly I bought that in 1993 or 1994, but I'm not sure about it really.

PinkFede · Mar 14, 2018

coachrick said:
About a 10% larger face on the 360, IIRC. Would need to harness the power a bit on the larger 360, IMO. The 180 could be strung with anything; but the 360 is a step toward powerful, IMO...needing to consider that.

I know that it's extremely personal depending on style, etc, but what would you recommend on that stick?

BorgCash · Mar 14, 2018

PinkFede said:
Yes, it's a Pro Staff Classi 6.1, also from 1991. I own also a Head Prestige Classic, if I remember correctly I bought that in 1993 or 1994, but I'm not sure about it really.

One of my favourites ever 6.1 Classic. Head PC also an iconic racquet. Why don't you want to play one of these two?

BorgCash · Mar 14, 2018

coachrick said:
About a 10% larger face on the 360, IIRC. Would need to harness the power a bit on the larger 360, IMO. The 180 could be strung with anything; but the 360 is a step toward powerful, IMO...needing to consider that.

I see. So 180 is quite unique.

PinkFede · Mar 14, 2018

BorgCash said:
One of my favourites ever 6.1 Classic. Head PC also an iconic racquet. Why don't you want to play one of these two?

I will play also the other 2 and will choose the one that suits me best, considering I'm no teenager anymore

BorgCash · Mar 14, 2018

PinkFede said:
I will play also the other 2 and will choose the one that suits me best, considering I'm no teenager anymore

PS 6.1 and PC are by far better racquets than RQ-360.

PinkFede · Mar 14, 2018

BorgCash said:
PS 6.1 and PC are by far better racquets than RQ-360.

What about the modern Yonex sticks?

BorgCash · Mar 14, 2018

PinkFede said:
What about the modern Yonex sticks?

Actually i prefer older racquets. I don't know your playing style. Many great players continue to play with older sticks, Del Potro - PS 6.1 Classic, Murray - PT 630... The quality of Yonex racquets is high, modern also. I like most RD-7 (Marcelo Rios).

BorgCash · Mar 14, 2018

In general modern racquets are lighter, more powerful, stiff, with less feeling.

RDM · Mar 14, 2018

I picked up the RQ-100 that started this thread.
It weighs in at 372 g (13.1 oz) fully strung. A heavy, flexible (according to the Yonex brochure) widebody racquet - I'm not sure what to expect when I hit with this thing.

BorgCash · Mar 14, 2018

RDM said:
I picked up the RQ-100 that started this thread.
It weighs in at 372 g (13.1 oz) fully strung. A heavy, flexible (according to the Yonex brochure) widebody racquet - I'm not sure what to expect when I hit with this thing.

Did you play with old racquets from the 80's before?

RDM · Mar 14, 2018

BorgCash said:
Did you play with old racquets from the 80's before?

That's all I've ever played with - heavy and flexible. But never heavy, flexible and widebody.
Just wondering what the logic of moving to a widebody design but still keeping the weight and the flexibility of earlier thin beam designs was.
I guess it may have been so that the same tools could produce the whole range of racquets by varying the materials in the new widebody design - new style, lighter and more powerful models as well as the older, heavier lower powered models. That way every model looked new rather than trying to sell two different looking ranges.

coachrick · Mar 14, 2018

PinkFede said:
I know that it's extremely personal depending on style, etc, but what would you recommend on that stick?

Just a less lively string. I'm not a big poly user; but I would consider a hybrid of your favorite less lively strings. The 360 is powerful enough that I would consider a thin Kevlar main paired with a nice multi cross string. You won't get the true feel of the frame that way; but it may tame the power enough to enjoy the racket.

coachrick · Mar 14, 2018

BorgCash said:
I see. So 180 is quite unique.

I believe the 180 was one of the most playable of the widebodies. However, that wide cross section with a relatively small face made for some serious frame hits for players with extreme spin.

BorgCash · Mar 15, 2018

coachrick said:
I believe the 180 was one of the most playable of the widebodies. However, that wide cross section with a relatively small face made for some serious frame hits for players with extreme spin.

This racquet got widebody design only in head part. The throat is thin. Maybe because of this i can feel the ball quite well in contrast with other classic widebodies.

BorgCash · Mar 15, 2018

RDM said:
That's all I've ever played with - heavy and flexible. But never heavy, flexible and widebody.
Just wondering what the logic of moving to a widebody design but still keeping the weight and the flexibility of earlier thin beam designs was.
I guess it may have been so that the same tools could produce the whole range of racquets by varying the materials in the new widebody design - new style, lighter and more powerful models as well as the older, heavier lower powered models. That way every model looked new rather than trying to sell two different looking ranges.

Probably they just made more wider cross section racquet keeping the same flex and weight? It was the easiest and fastest way to increase the racquet power.

BorgCash · Mar 15, 2018

coachrick said:
I believe the 180 was one of the most playable of the widebodies. However, that wide cross section with a relatively small face made for some serious frame hits for players with extreme spin.

Glad to hear it. I was very impessed when try this racquet for the first time. Especially about flex.

PinkFede · Mar 18, 2018

My RQ360 has a 4 3/8 grip size and is shorter in lenght compared to my Wilson and Head sticks, which measure L4 1/2.
Probably a dumb question, but smaller grip size means also shorter grips?

BorgCash · Mar 18, 2018

PinkFede said:
My RQ360 has a 4 3/8 grip size and is shorter in lenght compared to my Wilson and Head sticks, which measure L4 1/2.
Probably a dumb question, but smaller grip size means also shorter grips?

The length should be the same. It may differ from different brands and models.

coachrick · Mar 19, 2018

BorgCash said:
The length should be the same. It may differ from different brands and models.

AND Yonex frames often were lighter in the smaller grip sizes

BorgCash · Mar 20, 2018

coachrick said:
AND Yonex frames often were lighter in the smaller grip sizes

Back then the racquet companies produced different weights of the same model.

Brian11785 · Mar 20, 2018

I was able to get two RQ-380s on the Bay about this time last year. One doesn't play very consistently..maybe wasn't stored well. But the other.....has become my main stick. Strung up with natural gut/syn gut at the top of the tension range......love it.

I'm the finance director of my tennis club, and this racquet even made it onto my glamour shot on our website.

BorgCash · Mar 20, 2018

Brian11785 said:
I was able to get two RQ-380s on the Bay about this time last year. One doesn't play very consistently..maybe wasn't stored well. But the other.....has become my main stick. Strung up with natural gut/syn gut at the top of the tension range......love it.

I'm the finance director of my tennis club, and this racquet even made it onto my glamour shot on our website.

If you can try RQ-180, you'll love it!

coachrick · Mar 20, 2018

BorgCash said:
Back then the racquet companies produced different weights of the same model.

Actually, it was common for Yonex to 'assign' a weight class per grip size. The smallest grips were often USL while the same model in a middle size grip would be SL, L, etc.

BorgCash · Mar 20, 2018

coachrick said:
Actually, it was common for Yonex to 'assign' a weight class per grip size. The smallest grips were often USL while the same model in a middle size grip would be SL, L, etc.

I think the same was with the other companies.

mjwtpro1 · Mar 28, 2018

Some RQs are 26.5 inches long.

RDM · Oct 1, 2018

I picked this up today for the princely sum of $2.
Yonex Graphlex GF7. It weighs in at 337g and seems to be the same frame design as the RQ midsize range.
Can’t find much online about the GF range. Anyone know anything about them?

RDM · Oct 5, 2018

RDM said:
I picked this up today for the princely sum of $2.
Yonex Graphlex GF7. It weighs in at 337g and seems to be the same frame design as the RQ midsize range.
Can’t find much online about the GF range. Anyone know anything about them?

Closer inspection has revealed that the GF is not the same design as the RQ.
The outlines are identical, but the GF is just slightly less “wide” and the frame section is more rounded.
I still haven’t been able to find any more information on this Yonex series.

Yoneyama · Oct 5, 2018

I have two Gunmetal Blue RQ-200's coming from Japan. Can't wait to get my hands on them. I love that brochure in the first post.

There really isn't much out there on old Yonex stuff, especially some of the Japan-centric lines.

Nice pickup on that Graphlex.

teachingprotx · Oct 5, 2018

Hell yes I’m all about trying to find the most flexible offering the RQ series ever made .

RDM · Oct 6, 2018

teachingprotx said:
Hell yes I’m all about trying to find the most flexible offering the RQ series ever made .

Having just hit with the RQ100 and the GF7 I can report that the the GF7 feels a touch stiffer than the RQ100.
The RQ100 is the one of the more flexible offerings from the RQ series according to the catalogue. I have also seen GF4’s for sale so following the RQ series logic they may be more flexible than the GF7.
Both the RQ100 and GF7 have 92 in2 heads and are 372g/6-8 points head light and 337g/4-6 points head light respectively.

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