Completely contrary to popular opinion back in the wood racquet days, it is now thought that increased frame rigidity and decreased string tension both increase power. IMO, "modern materials" allow a more rigid frame and a lighter weight at the same time. The lighter frame allows for more racquet speed, but, at the cost of less power due to lower mass.
I had already been playing tennis for a few years when the T2000 became THE most popular frame among club level players. I don't know when it was first manufactured. Wood racquets came in 3 weights - light, medium and heavy. As far as I know, there was no standardization of these labels. But, generally unstrung lights were in the 12's, mediums in the 13's and heavies in the 14's. Typically, juniors and ladies used lights. Men used medium and heavy.
To my recollection, the T2000 also came in these 3 weights and did not vary significantly from the norm in weight or head size from wood racquets. No one paid much attention to exact weight or head sizes back then either. By today's standards, the T2000 feels like a club. The stiffness of the T2000 might have been slightly stiffer than wood racquets, but, it was very flexible by today's standards.
The increased power of the T2000 over wood frames was thought to come from the design of the string mechanism which amounted to a heavy wire attached to the inside of the frame in a serpentine pattern with loops in the wire to thread string through. That wire was, of course, much more flexible than the frame itself causing a slight trampoline effect in the string bed. That's where the power was thought to come from. Many pros played the T2000 including BJK, Butch Buchholz, Clark Graebner, Torben Ulrich, Jimmy Connors and a few others. To my knowledge, only Connors stayed with it for good reason. IMO, Connors hit harder with the T2000 than with any graphite frame he later used.
