110% Prince New Technologies

teamusa

Rookie
Hey guys,
I suppose this post could have gone several places but this seemed the best.

I got a part-time job a couple months back at one of the local tennis complexes. It's possibly the most well respected in the area as they have camps, academies, great pros, etc. However they made a pretty shocking move about a month ago. They did away with all of their endorsements/sponsors/etc. and are now solely in conjunction with Prince!

Before they used to have a good mix of all companies but was most likely mainly Wilson with the accessories and such. But it is now 110% Prince technologies. I'm talking racquets (each teaching pro and college help has to use one), grips, balls, ball machines, strings, hoppers, carts, clothing, and so on. EVERYTHING Prince! Prince is a great company, don't get me wrong, but I was very shocked (as were most of the customers and players) when every other brand virtually disappeared in a matter of 24 hours. The management at the complex said they struck a great contract with Prince and blah blah blah.

So one day I made the observation that all racquets available are of the new line of Prince - the entire 03 line, ozones, speedports, hybrids, ect. Some of the advanced players and especially college players that train there have expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with this fact as there are virtually no "players" racquets or comparable levels of comfort. Prince still does make players racquets (such as the diablo) but these are not available through the contract or are just seemingly left out. I've seen other facilities, first hand, where the same is true. The new technologies of Prince are being shoved down peoples' throats.

Some of these players have actually made the switch or have at least bought one racquet (if they weren't initially "sold" on the new stuff) to mess around with. I have heard many of them after a period of a few months start to complain about shoulder pain or actual injuries. I remember reading some threads on here about the same thing happening to other people. Can one actually conclude that these new technologies are promoting injuries (even seen on the professional level), or is is pure happenstance? What are your thoughts on this specific issue as well as companies (such as Prince) "whoring" their new technologies out to such extremes?

Happy Gossiping :)
 

Raiha

Rookie
that's crazy that everyone has to use prince now, but i have no problem with companies promoting their products.
As for the injuries, i've never heard anything about O3 causing injuries, its probably something else. When I went to UGA a couple years ago the two best players were using an O3 white and a tour so i wouldn't exactly say that prince has no players rackets. This will be especially true when the exos come out in a month or so.
 

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
It makes good sense for both Prince and the complex. Less is more for Prince, so it's worth having exclusivity in order to sell racquets, and thus Prince can probably pay the complex more than they would get (if they got anything at all) from several racquet companies, whose combined presences essentially neutralize each other.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
Do I assume by saying everything, you mean they are using Prince for balls as well?

by complex, i assume you mean it is more like a racquet club w. a pro shope than a tennis store....if so, it's pretty common practice, and makes sense to just work w. one brand....
 

talock

Rookie
It makes good sense for both Prince and the complex. Less is more for Prince, so it's worth having exclusivity in order to sell racquets, and thus Prince can probably pay the complex more than they would get (if they got anything at all) from several racquet companies, whose combined presences essentially neutralize each other.

agreed... it was probably a very sound business move from both parties. i doubt any tennis specific club operates on very significant profit margins given the overhead of running a large facility to house tennis courts. remember, as far as number of paying customers per square foot, a tennis center ranks pretty low (four people per court at most), which is why indoor fees are always high. if they can jump on a great deal from a supplier, they are gonna take it.

does it suck for the employees? sure, but you are making the choice to work there, and this is their policy.

also, i know it's fun these days to bash o-ports, but i have to say, they are the only "new technology" which is obviously not a gimmick. i mean, they leterally changed the way the strings meet the frame, which substantially changes the way a racquet plays. i'm not saying it's an improvement (and i don't play with them), but in my mind it is more progressive than simply rebranding what is essentially the same stick every two years and claiming it's a new technology the way wilson and head do. i think the o-ports are starting to build a following, and the EXO3's will only add to that. my .02.
 

Cup8489

G.O.A.T.
agreed... it was probably a very sound business move from both parties. i doubt any tennis specific club operates on very significant profit margins given the overhead of running a large facility to house tennis courts. remember, as far as number of paying customers per square foot, a tennis center ranks pretty low (four people per court at most), which is why indoor fees are always high. if they can jump on a great deal from a supplier, they are gonna take it.

does it suck for the employees? sure, but you are making the choice to work there, and this is their policy.

also, i know it's fun these days to bash o-ports, but i have to say, they are the only "new technology" which is obviously not a gimmick. i mean, they leterally changed the way the strings meet the frame, which substantially changes the way a racquet plays. i'm not saying it's an improvement (and i don't play with them), but in my mind it is more progressive than simply rebranding what is essentially the same stick every two years and claiming it's a new technology the way wilson and head do. i think the o-ports are starting to build a following, and the EXO3's will only add to that. my .02.

good post. i think the new EXO3 frames might actually end up with more feel, and one of my hitting partners wants to try the graphite (he still uses the n90, but owns a k90 as well)

he didnt like the tour models to date, but the midsize and the way the Graphite is made, he's interested. most people around here now use prince in some form or another. either that, or they have a pure drive. i think i will be the second person in the area with an aeropro drive o_O
 

iplaybetter

Hall of Fame
the newest stuff is a nice step for prince, they are starting to come out with some players frames where you dont instantly say O3 and the stringhole inserts do make it almost like a traditional frame so while they are pushing the O3 tech hard they are making it more player friendly, i also must ad that as a club stringer prince has one of if not the best range of recreational rackets and that is the reason a lot of members use them both at my suggestion and of their own accord
 

talock

Rookie
the newest stuff is a nice step for prince, they are starting to come out with some players frames where you dont instantly say O3 and the stringhole inserts do make it almost like a traditional frame so while they are pushing the O3 tech hard they are making it more player friendly, i also must ad that as a club stringer prince has one of if not the best range of recreational rackets and that is the reason a lot of members use them both at my suggestion and of their own accord

this is such a good point, and one i was going to make...Prince kills wilson/head in the recreational/occasional lower level racquet market. there is a good reason for this: they make great racquets for this level player. and they have a history of making great players racquets as well (think POG, TT Warrior, etc.), i would not be surprised if it turned out their plan was to bring out the o-port technology from the ground up. get people used to it, so when they did make a full-on players raquet with o-port/speedports it wouldn't be a total shock to people. I feel like there is a tendancy to equate "players racquet" with "conventional racquet technology" when in fact it's more of a weighting/balance issue. there is nothing that says a "players stick" can't have progressive tech like o-ports, and i for one am glad to see someone trying to shake things up a bit...it might be a failure, but i'll give it a demo...
 

TheRringer

New User
It seems that there is always a lot of discussion about technology gimmicks on these boards and Prince is certainly no exception. However, I just wanted to share an experience that I recently had down at the Eddie Herr junior tennis tournament.

I stopped by the Prince booth to see some of the new racquets and was truly impressed. First of all the racquets look great. Secondly, when I asked the Prince rep about the new technology, I was stunned about his honesty. He simply explained how they have utilized their design experience over the past few years to deliver benefits that players need. For them it was less about adding a bunch of bells and whistles to the new Graphites and Rebels and more about making them play and feel right for serious players.

I was actually amazed that he would break from the "company line" and be so blunt. Kind of refreshing that Prince has finally realized that technology doesn't matter for serious players unless it "feels" right.

I had a chance to hit all 4 of the new frames while I was down there and I have to say that I was more than a little impressed. Solid, no nonsense racquets with great feel.

I have been a life long Head player (prestige) and recently switched to the Microgel Prestige 93, but I absolutely fell in love with the new EXO3 Graphite 93.

I know that not everyone will have the same experience as me, but for the first time in a long time, Prince is back in the player frame market.

Just my .02
 

martini1

Hall of Fame
Prince is great and very consumer friendly. The got a huge selection of light weight powerful rackets and many under $50 budget sticks as well. The pj looks great. They don't do a lot of player frames but I still love the design and style of Prince. They should sponsor more to the people and promote the brand. With Babo signing so many young talents they need to be aggressive to protect their market share.
 

NickC

Professional
I use a Prince. It doesn't have a ton of feel (o3 Tour MP) but for someone like me who likes fast swinging, thin, 98-100 headsize, dead frames, I couldn't ask for anything more when it comes to baseline bashing. The Diablo MP is a great all-around frame, period. No matter the string, you can get something out of the frame; with a poly you can get great power and spin due to the thin beam and flexy nature of the stick, and strung with gut the thing (especially the Mid) can be a beast of a serving stick and volleys like a dream.

They make pretty darn good shoes too.
 
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