Demoed my dad's racket, rude awakening...

[Turbo-87]

Sometimes it's fun to have what the pros have though. It just adds to the tennis experience I love having good gear.

Oh, I agree with you. When you pair an attitude with gear, that's when it gets funny. I used to laugh at the burly strutter guys who bring their $350 composite bats to softball and still can't burn an outfielder.

 

[gino]

i've been playing with the Wilson BLX Six-One 95 for about 5 years now

until recently i thought of it as the holy grail in the tennis world (probably just too much TV advertising getting to me)

long story short, i had to demo my dad's 100 sq. inch K-factor Endure for a few days while waiting for my racket to get restrung and basically discovered how much the Six-One was actually holding me back (or at least i perceive it was holding me back)

with the bigger frame hitting deeper penetrating shots was easier, less effort on my part and also gave me more confidence when transitioning to the net to put away volleys

i went back to the Six-One today and to be completely frank, it felt like complete and utter dog crap

more effort to hit deeper penetrating shots, less confidence on groundies and volleys because this racket does NOT forgive mishits

do you think this is a wake up call for a bigger more forgiving racket or is it just about using the right string/tension on my Six-One to compensate for the lack of power?

thanks

The BLX Six.One is a sweet frame and I believe the Six.One line is one of the most true rackets in tennis history. The frame does not give much room for error, however, it is one of the more true responses from a tennis racket. What you put in with your footwork, timing, and swing path, will yield a good shot or bad shot. That is the way a players frame works. Tweener frames provide depth in all corners of the stringed, too much imo

 

[Legend of Borg]

This thread sounds like some serious trolling.
Comparing a players racquet with some beginners racquet that has a name never heard of?

the Yonex EZONE Ai and the Wilson Burn are beginners racquets?

i'm 100% certain players use both those racquets on the ATP and WTA tour

how are they even considered to be anything close to a granny stick? ridiculous

 

[Legend of Borg]

The BLX Six.One is a sweet frame and I believe the Six.One line is one of the most true rackets in tennis history. The frame does not give much room for error, however, it is one of the more true responses from a tennis racket. What you put in with your footwork, timing, and swing path, will yield a good shot or bad shot. That is the way a players frame works. Tweener frames provide depth in all corners of the stringed, too much imo

maybe it's too "true" for me then

the worst has been confirmed for me today

after switching back and forth between the 6.1 and the bigger 100sq inch substitute i found the 6.1 basically a little peashooter compared to the "granny stick"

 

[Turbo-87]

The concept of a player's racquet has always been a little weird. To me, a racquet is a racquet and if you hit a nice shot it is more you than the racquet. Is there some sense of superiority if a nice shot is made with a racquet that demands it or something? I don't mean to derail this thread with a tangent, just curious.

If someone makes a good shot with a Pure Drive is it somehow less meaningful than if the same shot was made with a player's racquet?

 

[BreakPoint]

I disagree. Racquets are more rigid, bigger, patterns have evolved, etc. I lend you my old Puma Boris Becker from the 80s and I play with my 2015 Blade 98s, we play and lets see who has been overpowered and playing on the heels...

There were very stiff racquets back in the 80's, such as the Wilson Profile, and there were very big racquets, starting with the 110 sq. in. Prince Classic in the 70's, and the 110 sq. in. and 125 sq. in. Pro Staffs in the early 80's. So it's not new technology. You could have been overpowered back in the 70's and 80's, too.

 

[BreakPoint]

The concept of a player's racquet has always been a little weird. To me, a racquet is a racquet and if you hit a nice shot it is more you than the racquet. Is there some sense of superiority if a nice shot is made with a racquet that demands it or something? I don't mean to derail this thread with a tangent, just curious.

If someone makes a good shot with a Pure Drive is it somehow less meaningful than if the same shot was made with a player's racquet?

Yes, because it was more racquet than you that made that shot. If you hit the same shot with a wood racquet, then it was more you and not the racquet that made that shot.

The easy way to prove this is, if you can't make the same shots with a wood racquet as you can with a Pure Drive, then it's obvious that the Pure Drive is what enabled you to make those shots. The racquet was the only variable. It's simple.

 

[Legend of Borg]

The concept of a player's racquet has always been a little weird. To me, a racquet is a racquet and if you hit a nice shot it is more you than the racquet. Is there some sense of superiority if a nice shot is made with a racquet that demands it or something? I don't mean to derail this thread with a tangent, just curious.

If someone makes a good shot with a Pure Drive is it somehow less meaningful than if the same shot was made with a player's racquet?

you get less bragging rights and i guess some people might view you as a "pleb" for not being vintage/classic/posh/insert 19th century word here enough

lol jk, just listen to BP

 

[sundaypunch]

The concept of a player's racquet has always been a little weird. To me, a racquet is a racquet and if you hit a nice shot it is more you than the racquet. Is there some sense of superiority if a nice shot is made with a racquet that demands it or something? I don't mean to derail this thread with a tangent, just curious.

If someone makes a good shot with a Pure Drive is it somehow less meaningful than if the same shot was made with a player's racquet?

Yes, it is strange when you think about it. You can just as easily argue that people use a players stick because they don't have the skill or racquet control to use a Pure Drive. Kind of the equivalent of using green dot balls.

 

[TennisCJC]

I like thin beam rackets between 95-98 inches so I guess I am a player's racket snob. I have tried tweeners but always find them lacking in control.

By the way, the concept that a larger head size will have a bigger sweet spot is not correct. Sweet spot or effective hitting area is better thought of as related to twist weight and swing weight. If you have a 95 or 98 with a twist weight around 14 and a SW around 335, it will have a bigger effective hitting area than a 105 with a twist weight of 12 and a SW around 305.

The old Federer 90" frame had a bigger sweet spot than Nadal's APD in stock form. There was once a stock Becker 98" frame that had a SW around 350 and its effective hitting area was bigger than anything TW sold.

I find light rackets lacking in control and power and they volley like poo.

I have been enticed by the tweener concept a few times but always return to snobby thin beam moderately heavy frames. Typically, around 333-335 SW is my sweet spot.

 

[donquijote]

the Yonex EZONE Ai and the Wilson Burn are beginners racquets?

i'm 100% certain players use both those racquets on the ATP and WTA tour

how are they even considered to be anything close to a granny stick? ridiculous

You know I wasn't talking about those but the one you said was great which was K-factor endure?? Isn't that the one you switched from 6.1? Six one is a wonderful frame if one has the skills to get the most out of it. Whatever suits you is fine but don't claim it is better than a racquet that is used and praised by many good players worldwide.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

You know I wasn't talking about those but the one you said was great which was K-factor endure?? Isn't that the one you switched from 6.1? Six one is a wonderful frame if one has the skills to get the most out of it. Whatever suits you is fine but don't claim it is better than a racquet that is used and praised by many good players worldwide.

If someone plays better with it then it is a better racket(for that person).

 

[MikeHitsHard93]

Ok so for instance, last night at my club we had a HEAD rep letting us sample all of the current line of rackets (including the new extreme) and lo and behold, my favorite frame was the prestige rev pro. Sub 11 oz, almost even balance, 93 sqin. Loved it.

Like I said, play with what feels good

 

[Turbo-87]

Like I said, play with what feels good

Exactly. I don't often ask for advice because you get such a slew of suggestions that are all over the map. Going with a nice series of demos is the only way to know.

 

[smirker]

I like thin beam rackets between 95-98 inches so I guess I am a player's racket snob. I have tried tweeners but always find them lacking in control.

By the way, the concept that a larger head size will have a bigger sweet spot is not correct. Sweet spot or effective hitting area is better thought of as related to twist weight and swing weight. If you have a 95 or 98 with a twist weight around 14 and a SW around 335, it will have a bigger effective hitting area than a 105 with a twist weight of 12 and a SW around 305.

The old Federer 90" frame had a bigger sweet spot than Nadal's APD in stock form. There was once a stock Becker 98" frame that had a SW around 350 and its effective hitting area was bigger than anything TW sold.

I find light rackets lacking in control and power and they volley like poo.

I have been enticed by the tweener concept a few times but always return to snobby thin beam moderately heavy frames. Typically, around 333-335 SW is my sweet spot.

I agree for the most part but could you not get a larger frame like the Blade Team which still has a tight pattern, add a little lead for stability and get the best of both, ie a racquet with stability that volleys well but is also more manoeuvrable with more margin for error? Sure, a volley hit with a heavy 90" will feel great but personally I don't have the skill level to do it consistently. A larger head gives me help and is more consistent for my level. Like you I prefer a heavier frame with a healthy swing weight but I admit that I can't use it effectively for the duration of a match.
N

 

[TennisCJC]

I agree for the most part but could you not get a larger frame like the Blade Team which still has a tight pattern, add a little lead for stability and get the best of both, ie a racquet with stability that volleys well but is also more manoeuvrable with more margin for error? Sure, a volley hit with a heavy 90" will feel great but personally I don't have the skill level to do it consistently. A larger head gives me help and is more consistent for my level. Like you I prefer a heavier frame with a healthy swing weight but I admit that I can't use it effectively for the duration of a match.
N

I assume the blade team is the 104" head. Yes, you can improve stability and sweet spot size by adding lead and increasing SW on this head size. But for me, the longer strings in the 104" make it harder to control. I would end up stinging it at much higher tensions. My sweetspot is a 98" head with twist weight around 14+ and SW around 330-340. I can string this frame at lower tensions and get good balance of spin, power, control and comfort. Same racket in a 104" head and I would have to string 10% higher which isn't for me. But, if you had a high TW and SW in an oversize racket with strings at a high enough tension that allowed you to control the longer strings, you would have the largest effective hitting area possible. Dwell time and comfort might be a bit compromised due to the high tension but there's always a trade off.

 

[MikeHitsHard93]

Exactly. I don't often ask for advice because you get such a slew of suggestions that are all over the map. Going with a nice series of demos is the only way to know.

Yeah honestly suggestions are all from personal opinion and should only be taken as such. I've given (and taken) a lot of advice here, but a lot of the time it all just comes down to what feels right in your hand. It's like buying a pistol. Sure, a glock might suit most needs. But maybe I like the safety on a 1911, or maybe the glock feels good but I hate the fixed sights. Maybe the size I like doesn't come in the caliber that I like. Etc. personal preferences.

 

[smirker]

I assume the blade team is the 104" head. Yes, you can improve stability and sweet spot size by adding lead and increasing SW on this head size. But for me, the longer strings in the 104" make it harder to control. I would end up stinging it at much higher tensions. My sweetspot is a 98" head with twist weight around 14+ and SW around 330-340. I can string this frame at lower tensions and get good balance of spin, power, control and comfort. Same racket in a 104" head and I would have to string 10% higher which isn't for me. But, if you had a high TW and SW in an oversize racket with strings at a high enough tension that allowed you to control the longer strings, you would have the largest effective hitting area possible. Dwell time and comfort might be a bit compromised due to the high tension but there's always a trade off.

Yes, 104 head. Hit with it tonight. Not a power frame by any means. Precise power is how I would describe it. Will restring it soon with my preferred set up of kevlar/zyex.

 

[speedysteve]

Hehe, as Robbie sings, "and when I'm drunk I dance like me dad, I've started to look a bit like him"



My dad uses a Head TiS6 = arm death stick if you actually hit the ball hard...

No way I'd use one of those.

However I get where you are coming from on something in between.

 

[Legend of Borg]

ok, first day back, literally playing two hours after my flight tired as ****, some 3 year old was crying for the first two hours of the flight,whatever

first impressions?

this racket feels hollow, very similar to the APD, no solidity to it almost like a feather

it's got easy power but perhaps too easy

thinking about adding weight to the side and seeing how that alters the frame responsiveness

will playtest more in the coming week and see how the EZONE Ai 100 performs compared to my old Wilson

if this turns out to be a bad buy will swap for the Ai 98 which i suspect was the better purchase from the beginning but since TW Europe didn't have demo samples until late July, my hand was forced

summary: too much power, shots flying everywhere being struck as if a lumberjack was playing, very light racket (fixable problem), kind of regretting not buying the Ai 98 however needs further playtesting to confirm all of this