Anyone still producing wooden tennis racquets?

gregorm

New User
Hi,
I am a German researcher currently working for an american production company who i producing a documentary on Gottfried von Cramm.
Gottfried von Cramm actively played tennis from the 1920s to the 1950s and used a wooden tennis racquet with a smaller handle because a horse bit off part of his finger. For the documentary we would like to film the production of a wooden tennis racquet like the ones Gottfried would have used. Unfortunately we are having trouble finding companies (or even afficionados) still making wooden racquets.
That's why I am turning to this community to ask for help if any of you know of someone who still makes wooden racquets anywhere in the world?
 

Snaab

Semi-Pro
Grays of Cambridge (UK) and Harrow Sports (US) still make wood tennis rackets. Harrow Sports is based in Denver, CO (production is in Pakistan) and is somewhat an off-shoot of Bancroft. Grays equipped Bjorn Borg's ill-fated comeback with wood frames to replace his Donnay frames and still produces for whatever limited demand there is.
 

gregorm

New User
Thanks for all the help! The archive footage is really good. We'll see if it is what the director wants. Thanks again! If anything else comes to mind, I am open for other suggestions as well!
 
Grays of Cambridge (UK) and Harrow Sports (US) still make wood tennis rackets. Harrow Sports is based in Denver, CO (production is in Pakistan) and is somewhat an off-shoot of Bancroft. Grays equipped Bjorn Borg's ill-fated comeback with wood frames to replace his Donnay frames and still produces for whatever limited demand there is.
According to what I found online about Grays is they only make Court Tennis racquets not conventical ones. o_O
https://www.facebook.com/GraysRackets/
 

vsbabolat

G.O.A.T.
According to what I found online about Grays is they only make Court Tennis racquets not conventical ones. o_O
https://www.facebook.com/GraysRackets/
They did a run of 200 lawn tennis racquets called the Masterpiece
Check out this Instagram account. They are selling Greys tennis racquet
 

NicoMK

Hall of Fame
Grays equipped Bjorn Borg's ill-fated comeback with wood frames to replace his Donnay frames and still produces for whatever limited demand there is.
You sure about this? Back in the days, I heard that Donnay accepted to produce some frames for Borg in his come-back attempt but my information may not be accurate. More info would be very well welcomed :)
 

NicoMK

Hall of Fame
Yes!
Also, how weird is it to see Guy Forget as the part of the doubles team that doesn't have a Lacoste racquet?
Well, I couldn't say for sure but around 2015 the French Federation and Roland-Garros signed a deal with Babolat. I guess that Guy was gently advised to use their rackets at the time.
 

galain

Hall of Fame
Well, I couldn't say for sure but around 2015 the French Federation and Roland-Garros signed a deal with Babolat. I guess that Guy was gently advised to use their rackets at the time.
Oh, interesting. He's just so synonymous with that Equijet for me. I know he used Donnay before but the Forget I know of is THE Lacoste representative! It's kind of like how I feel a little weird to see Lendl using his Bosworth stick these days instead of his Adidas frame. Just doesn't seem right.
 

NicoMK

Hall of Fame
Oh, interesting. He's just so synonymous with that Equijet for me. I know he used Donnay before but the Forget I know of is THE Lacoste representative! It's kind of like how I feel a little weird to see Lendl using his Bosworth stick these days instead of his Adidas frame. Just doesn't seem right.
Exactly. Just like Kafelnikov playing with something else than his Fischer - a Babolat not to mention it - doesn't seem right at all.
 

Snaab

Semi-Pro
You sure about this? Back in the days, I heard that Donnay accepted to produce some frames for Borg in his come-back attempt but my information may not be accurate. More info would be very well welcomed :)
Nico - don't have time at the moment to dig up the supporting dox. Possibly later......
 

Autodidactic player

Professional
You sure about this? Back in the days, I heard that Donnay accepted to produce some frames for Borg in his come-back attempt but my information may not be accurate. More info would be very well welcomed :)

According to this article, Bjorn Borg on the way back, Donnay could not produce his wooden rackets so he turned to Grays for reproductions of his old racket.

"Donnay told Borg it no longer makes wooden models and tried to convince him to use a new graphite version, but he said they don't give him enough control.
Borg then turned to Grays, a sporting goods manufacturer located in the village of Coton. The company stopped making wooden rackets five years ago, but went to work to meet Borg's specifications.
"We basically had to start from scratch," said director William Gray, whose family started the business in 1855.
The racket was designed by Maurice Smith and altered to Borg's needs.
"He's told me that they're now almost perfect," Smith said. "It's such a precise thing that if they were slightly off he would notice immediately."
 
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