Diary of a Racketaholic

FrankyRelax said:
Embarrassingly i have 3 of these headed my way. I liked the PA98 but didn't appreciate the hollow bab feel. I think this could be a great fit
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I tested the PA VS and the Dunlop Revo 3.0 F Tour before the Elevate, did not switch to the Babolat for your same reason; Dunlop F Tour was discontinued, a bit thicker and impossible to find in NOS conditions (but it's a great racquet), the SX 300 Tour (the Yellow One) was too thick and sluggish...did not tested the PA98.
 
Got a batch of old Yonex in really good condition. RQ 380, RD 26, and Cyborg 2200. Waiting on a SRQ 500 next week. Love them. The RQ looks sick in all black.

IMG-20250312-181604.jpg
 
Those Yonex look amazing. I've always wanted to try an older one from before they added all the dampening tech.

I just bought my first racquets in 10 years. Was playing the Gen 1 Angell TC 95s before.

I'm on that clearance and $BAY grind due to ridiculous new retail prices. Bought 3 2023 Gravity Pros from TW after falling in love with those sticks. Then picked up a 2022 Speed Pro out of the old demo box from my local shop out of curiosity because of the thicker beam. Feel was SO plush but too ambiguous.

Then grabbed an Auxetic 1.0 Extreme Tour, which I leather gripped, weighted up to 345 grams and had strung with Lynx Tour. Dude gave me a smiley face string job, though I could still get a good sense for the racquet. Liked the spin and power, although the control and stability of the GPros was addicting and I've been playing the majority of my sets with those.

Then TennCom got in my head about the superior, raw feel and flex of the Graphene 360+ Extreme Pros. Poked around on the Bay and found a guy selling a few good condition sticks in the "Nite" colorway. Well, damn, they were just too sexy to pass up. Weighted on up to 350 grams strung, and by god, I do prefer them to the Auxetic 1.0, so now I'm rocking:

3x Gravity Pro - 347-349g strung with leather grips
2x Head Extreme Tour Graphene 360+ "Nite" Edition - 350g with leather grips

in the string testing phase. I really like Lynx Tour and Tour M8 in the ETs. Will probably settle on one of those.

The GPros actually play best so far with BHS7T. It adds some power and zing, with most other strings feeling too dampened with the Auxetic.
 
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Yeah buying new racquets is not even on my radar right now with these price increases coming. I grabbed the pk while it was at its lowest price we may see for a while. But that’s about it for me. I have a lot of good frames anyway. Feel bad for someone about to need to buy a bunch of new frames. I already saw the letters Wilson sent their dealers. Not great.
 
Power Player said:
Yeah buying new racquets is not even on my radar right now with these price increases coming. I grabbed the pk while it was at its lowest price we may see for a while. But that’s about it for me. I have a lot of good frames anyway. Feel bad for someone about to need to buy a bunch of new frames. I already saw the letters Wilson sent their dealers. Not great.
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I have a junior that is at 12 months on a set of 3, and may get 6 more out of them. I’m bummed the replacement cost now with higher prices and no Wilson codes.
 
Power Player said:
Yeah buying new racquets is not even on my radar right now with these price increases coming. I grabbed the pk while it was at its lowest price we may see for a while. But that’s about it for me. I have a lot of good frames anyway. Feel bad for someone about to need to buy a bunch of new frames. I already saw the letters Wilson sent their dealers. Not great.
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I'm also really not too enthusiastic about buying the newer frames. The smaller part of it is I've got more than enough frames to play around with. But the biggest factor is the prices of new frames are just getting out of hand. It's hard to justify splurging this much on a new frame when one is already satisfied with a main frame.
 
Several different racket musings:

360+ Prestige Mid ain't it (for me). I wasn't expecting this as I was really excited about it, but I just didn't like it. It was such a disappointment that I put it up for sale again already. It felt harsh, hard to use and just not that special. I must admit, I hardly gave it any time so it didn't get a fair chance.

With that, I put up the 360+ Pro for sale too, without even using it. I shouldn't have taken the plastic off as I should have known I couldn't have gotten it to a balance point I like. Don't really feel like putting time anymore into rackets that I know I'm not going to keep anyway. I just don't learn though. The good thing is I picked the Mid and Pro up really cheap so hardly any money should be lost.

The V14 PS97 I'm still enjoying so much. It's so good that I would almost want to switch to it, but it's just not all the way there. I'm missing a bit of whip and over the past years I've learned that that's a really important aspect to me. Despite that, I saw the Noir version for sale somewhere and ordered two, of which I'll probably keep one. The PS97 gives so much joy, it screams tennis. A racket with maybe the best, most pleasurable feel of those I've tried.
I played two doubles matches with it last Friday. My level was quite bad, I felt really absent on the court. Despite that, the PS97 pulled me through quite well. Part of it is the stiffness of the frame I think, which sometimes saves a badly hit ball. The V14 tech 'hides' the stiffness so well though. V13 was too uncomfortable for me.

GT98 is still going quite strong. A very different feel to the PS97 but very elite feel, old school Head. Not the easiest to control sometimes due to that open pattern, but mostly it doesn't bother me. Although it doesn't dethrone rackets like the EP, PSVS or VC95 to use as a main frame, it is a keeper, I've decided. It's just so different to what's already out there I feel like. And that's difficult to do for manufacturers these days. Also refreshing to what Head is doing in most of their other silos; very minor, 'cheap' updates.

I did a 2018 VC95 revisit. A friend of mine has the opinion that I played my best tennis ever with that racket. I agree it was my best tennis period ever using that frame, but I think most of that had to do with playing way more back then and being in a great tennis mindset for a few months.
While using it today, I did get some flashbacks to that time as it just felt so familiar to pick up and play. Maybe the best swinging racket I've ever played with, so natural. These days I think I would be missing a slight bit of forgiveness and pop. It's a forever keeper though. I've sold the other two a while back but always kept this one.

Another thing is it has become more and more clear to me I just don't enjoy shaped strings. I keep trying them every now and then but always come to the same conclusion. To me, the predictability of round strings is unmatched and I just can't do without it. I'm probably better off selling the shaped strings I got and stop buying more.
 
I got 2.5 hours in today with the top bananas. While I was playing the 7G was delivered. Which is mildly annoying but I did get plenty of time with lynx tour and razor soft mains. The razor soft is winning right now in terms of performance but the comfort is questionable. Even in the PKs. I didnt cross with HIT Pro though.

So I’m thinking now that I’ll go with razor soft mains in the 7g but I’m going to look through my strings first. Thinking these frames may work well with Tour bite. Definitely something crisp.

On the court the top b was great. I’m real happy with my serve. It’s been big and I never was broken. Looking forward to working in the 7g which came in at 309 grams and 291 sw. So basically a mindless change from the top b. Which I have always considered adding some weight too anyway.
 
Paging the experts. If I weight a Radical MP (either Auxetic version) and a Blade Pro 16x19 to the same specs, same strings/tension, is the BP 16x19 going to have noticeably less power? Or roughly equal (or even more power)? I’m back to my Radicals at the moment and have been contemplating demoing a BP 16x19, but the Radicals are as low power as I’m comfortable going right now. (If relevant: I’m stringing the Radicals with 4G in the low-50s.)
 
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Circa 1762 said:
Paging the experts. If I weight a Radical MP (either Auxetic version) and a Blade Pro 16x19 to the same specs, same strings/tension, is the BP 16x19 going to have noticeably less power? Or roughly equal (or even more power)? I’m back to my Radicals at the moment and have been contemplating demoing a BP 16x19, but the Radicals are as low power as I’m comfortable going right now. (If relevant: I’m stringing the Radicals with 4G in the low-50s.)
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Hmmmm

I’d say yes because of the beam widths. Rad MP gets to like 23MM, so likely to be more powerful than a blade pro at 22MM
 
Two hours on court switching between Gravitys and 350g Extreme Tours tonight. Warmed up with both, but then stuck to the ET strung with Tour M8 for a casual set. Seriously wicked action on kick serves and sliders, and rally balls were kicking up high. Also hit some absolutely filthy slices. But things could get a little launchy/floaty if my timing was off.

Right now, can't decide if I prefer the spin and power of my leaded-up Extreme Tours or the elite stability and control of the Gravity Pros.

I feel caught between two different game styles with these frames. Precision attacking vs. playing heavy balls with wider margins.

I'm not playing tournaments or league, so it's tough to tell which would be a more winning style for me atm. But I feel like I should commit to one. The racquets really do play very different. True test would be to do a flex league and play a run of matches with one and then a run with the other.

Also, played with one of my GPros from $bay that came with fresh Pure Rush mains and Ghost Wire crosses. Really loved this set up! I think if I can find a string setup that gives me a higher launch and maximizes spin in the GPro, it will win out.

https://imgur.com/a/vtMlyWD
 
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Did some holic'ing today while playing a few sets of doubles. I already know the 305s is king so this is just for fun because I want to hit with these other frames I own. In these doubles matches when it got tight (even though it was just for fun) I switched to the 305s. In the 1st set we went to a tie break and I realized they were picking on my BH so switched to the 305s and hit a few great 1HBH returns that won us the tie breaker. Then promptly went back to holic'ing.

Rad MP 2025 - This thins is full of power and spin. If you're looking for easy power and a ton of spin, look no further. This really isn't my type of frame though. This also didn't have the stability of my other frames. This was apparent when trying to block back serves. It is currently completely stock so I will be adding a leather grip and maybe a bit of lead to the hoop. I did enjoy the extra power on my serves.

TF 300 - Good stability and control. It has good power as well but not to the level of the Rad MP.

Graphene Speed XT - This is the remake that sells for $99 which I purchased last summer. I added a leather grip and weight around the hoop. It is a very comfortable frame to hit with but is low powered. It suits my style quite well but does hurt me a bit on the BH wing.
 
As if my holic-ing wasn't bad enough, now I'm borrowing rackets from other people to compare to the rackets in my already super long backlog. Today it was PK Ceramic Ace 95 vs Pro Staff 6.0. Weirdly I expected the Pro Staff to be better on hard flat serves, and I found it was actually better on spin and slice ones. The PK was great for the bomb up the middle. Played a bunch of sets against the old punching bag. Scores were:
PK: 6/0, 6/2
PS: 6/2, 6/0.

 
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kevin qmto said:
As if my holic-ing wasn't bad enough, now I'm borrowing rackets from other people to compare to the rackets in my already super long backlog. Today it was PK Ceramic Ace 95 vs Pro Staff 6.0. Weirdly I expected the Pro Staff to be better on hard flat serves, and I found it was actually better on spin and slice ones. The PK was great for the bomb up the middle. Played a bunch of sets against the old punching bag. Scores were:
PK: 6/0, 6/2
PS: 6/2, 6/0.

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You destroyed your opponent in the firts point.
Should be a nice racquet (or bad shoes of your opponent)
 
FootFault18 said:
You destroyed your opponent in the firts point.
Should be a nice racquet (or bad shoes of your opponent)
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I still don’t know why he fell over. This is a weird eccentric old guy that still thinks he’s 4.5 on a good day and loves to play sets. I kinda use him as a means of stress relief as no matter how badly I crush him, he’s always texting me. 3-4 days later asking to play again. Don’t feel bad for him, the reason he doesn’t have many others to hit with is because he’s burned so many bridges over the years. I could make a whole thread about this guy.
 
kevin qmto said:
I still don’t know why he fell over. This is a weird eccentric old guy that still thinks he’s 4.5 on a good day and loves to play sets. I kinda use him as a means of stress relief as no matter how badly I crush him, he’s always texting me. 3-4 days later asking to play again. Don’t feel bad for him, the reason he doesn’t have many others to hit with is because he’s burned so many bridges over the years. I could make a whole thread about this guy.
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He's not the one who texted you later and rescinded his consent to post the footage is he?
 
Vicious49 said:
He's not the one who texted you later and rescinded his consent to post the footage is he?
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oh no, that guy probably won’t agree to be filmed again. This old guy I’ve been filming since 2021 and he’s just fine doing all manner of things on court, including calling balls a foot and a half in, out. On the near side (with the camera). Or as seen in this video, questioning my calls when he’s already down 3 sets to love. And yeah it was close but I still think I made the right call.
 
kevin qmto said:
I still don’t know why he fell over. This is a weird eccentric old guy that still thinks he’s 4.5 on a good day and loves to play sets. I kinda use him as a means of stress relief as no matter how badly I crush him, he’s always texting me. 3-4 days later asking to play again. Don’t feel bad for him, the reason he doesn’t have many others to hit with is because he’s burned so many bridges over the years. I could make a whole thread about this guy.
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I think we all know someone like that, but I guess eventually we might turn into that guy too
 
kevin qmto said:
I still don’t know why he fell over. This is a weird eccentric old guy that still thinks he’s 4.5 on a good day and loves to play sets. I kinda use him as a means of stress relief as no matter how badly I crush him, he’s always texting me. 3-4 days later asking to play again. Don’t feel bad for him, the reason he doesn’t have many others to hit with is because he’s burned so many bridges over the years. I could make a whole thread about this guy.
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I hit with a guy who is the same way, burned so many bridges and is really eccentric on court. Talks to himself, hangs clothes on the net but 'they're in the doubles alley' and many other weird things. It's not intentional for him, he just doesn't get it. I quite like him, but wouldn't take him to my club to play.
 
There's a guy in my neighborhood who is already annoying to play with because he mainly slices and is a junk baller. I have to change my game when I play him but he's in my neighborhood so it's convenient for a last minute hit. The problem is he does a ton of little things that annoy me. He will slow the game down to retrieve balls in between my 1st and 2nd serves when he doesn't need to, on his serves sometimes he will get to the line and serve immediately without even seeing if I'm lined up for the serve return and other times he will stand at the service line stare off somewhere for like 10-15 seconds and then suddenly toss and serve. I don't know if he's intentionally not trying to let me get in to a rhythm or if he just has no clue. The worst though is that he will occasionally talk on my toss. As soon as I toss he'll say '30-15' or I'll hear him muttering something else. I catch the ball and try again at least 3-4 times a match hoping he will get the hint . . . but he never does.
 
Been a while since I posted a 'holic update. Going 4 months strong with the '22 EZone 100. Just figuring out customizations and strings at this point. My only regret... is not traveling back in time screaming at 2022 me when I could've just bought it then. No Curt, just had to get the Vcore 95, "Ezone 100 is for nOooOOooOOooobs 3.0s."

 
curtstead said:
Been a while since I posted a 'holic update. Going 4 months strong with the '22 EZone 100. Just figuring out customizations and strings at this point. My only regret... is not traveling back in time screaming at 2022 me when I could've just bought it then. No Curt, just had to get the Vcore 95, "Ezone 100 is for nOooOOooOOooobs 3.0s."

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Hahahahahhaa the interstellar screaming gif is so good for so many use cases. Stoked to hear you landed on something though man, always nice to have your main frame sorted. Then the side holicing is all icing
 
janelgreo said:
Has any of you racketaholics have any experience with the new TF 315S/305S compared to the PSv14?
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SpinToWin said:
@gino had a comparison I believe?
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I would say in direct comparison both of the tec frames are way more powerful. They’re also more whippy through the air and don’t flex as much. The Prostaff 97 has a more plush layup and generally better feel across the string bed. Prostaff 97 slots in between both of those tec frames in terms of spin. More spin friendly than the 305S but less friendly than 300 S. You can find my thoughts in a more detailed fashion here for 300 s / 305 s / ps97
 
Poly question for you all - what is the springiest poly with some bite to it that you know of? Is it Volkl Cyclone? I am really liking Razor soft but I'd love an alternative that is more shaped and a little softer. I love how some polys get that springy feel when they drop to low tensions. I'm already stringing at 40#s.
 
Power Player said:
Poly question for you all - what is the springiest poly with some bite to it that you know of? Is it Volkl Cyclone? I am really liking Razor soft but I'd love an alternative that is more shaped and a little softer. I love how some polys get that springy feel when they drop to low tensions. I'm already stringing at 40#s.
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Hawk Power comes to mind for me.
 
Power Player said:
Poly question for you all - what is the springiest poly with some bite to it that you know of? Is it Volkl Cyclone? I am really liking Razor soft but I'd love an alternative that is more shaped and a little softer. I love how some polys get that springy feel when they drop to low tensions. I'm already stringing at 40#s.
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Isospeed Black Fire S 1.25 BY MILES! The most springy, most stretchy string I've ever strung and used with the Yonex DR98 and the Wilson Blade V5 16x19.
 
Power Player said:
Poly question for you all - what is the springiest poly with some bite to it that you know of? Is it Volkl Cyclone? I am really liking Razor soft but I'd love an alternative that is more shaped and a little softer. I love how some polys get that springy feel when they drop to low tensions. I'm already stringing at 40#s.
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Dunlop Black Widow, but not springy the way you’d like it I suspect haha that one is launchy
 
kevin qmto said:
As if my holic-ing wasn't bad enough, now I'm borrowing rackets from other people to compare to the rackets in my already super long backlog. Today it was PK Ceramic Ace 95 vs Pro Staff 6.0. Weirdly I expected the Pro Staff to be better on hard flat serves, and I found it was actually better on spin and slice ones. The PK was great for the bomb up the middle. Played a bunch of sets against the old punching bag. Scores were:
PK: 6/0, 6/2
PS: 6/2, 6/0.

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Comedy gold. the last two seconds of audio,. good playin.. "not really"
 
Power Player said:
Poly question for you all - what is the springiest poly with some bite to it that you know of? Is it Volkl Cyclone? I am really liking Razor soft but I'd love an alternative that is more shaped and a little softer. I love how some polys get that springy feel when they drop to low tensions. I'm already stringing at 40#s.
Click to expand...

The three that most come to mind are:

Wasabi
FireWire
Mayami Big Spin

FireWire is the one I've probably used the most (Wasabi close second) but it's the shaped poly with the most reliability, spin production, and tension maintenance of the ones I've rotated through. Razor Code is my favorite string but it's round and more firm than springy (and I agree razor soft is not nearly soft enough; it's harsher and less comfortable than code) so you might want to look into FW or Big Spin (which is like S7T but livelier).
 
Power Player said:
Poly question for you all - what is the springiest poly with some bite to it that you know of? Is it Volkl Cyclone? I am really liking Razor soft but I'd love an alternative that is more shaped and a little softer. I love how some polys get that springy feel when they drop to low tensions. I'm already stringing at 40#s.
Click to expand...

I’d go one step and say cyclone tour, it’s more more lively and springy than regular cyclone imo
 
TwinCinema said:
The three that most come to mind are:

Wasabi
FireWire
Mayami Big Spin

FireWire is the one I've probably used the most (Wasabi close second) but it's the shaped poly with the most reliability, spin production, and tension maintenance of the ones I've rotated through. Razor Code is my favorite string but it's round and more firm than springy (and I agree razor soft is not nearly soft enough; it's harsher and less comfortable than code) so you might want to look into FW or Big Spin (which is like S7T but livelier).
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I think I have a pack of Big Spin so I may need to string it up if it plays like that.
gino said:
I’d go one step and say cyclone tour, it’s more more lively and springy than regular cyclone imo
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Ok nice. I may have a pack of that too. Have to do some digging through my strings.

The PKs seem to really benefit from that springy feel to me. Lynx tour seems to fit more in the babolat tweeners. It’s perfect in those but maybe a little too dead for the PKs.
 
Vicious49 said:
There's a guy in my neighborhood who is already annoying to play with because he mainly slices and is a junk baller. I have to change my game when I play him but he's in my neighborhood so it's convenient for a last minute hit. The problem is he does a ton of little things that annoy me. He will slow the game down to retrieve balls in between my 1st and 2nd serves when he doesn't need to, on his serves sometimes he will get to the line and serve immediately without even seeing if I'm lined up for the serve return and other times he will stand at the service line stare off somewhere for like 10-15 seconds and then suddenly toss and serve. I don't know if he's intentionally not trying to let me get in to a rhythm or if he just has no clue. The worst though is that he will occasionally talk on my toss. As soon as I toss he'll say '30-15' or I'll hear him muttering something else. I catch the ball and try again at least 3-4 times a match hoping he will get the hint . . . but he never does.
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We have someone like this in one of the leagues. Very annoying.
Maybe play his “game” and see how he likes it. lol.
 
Picked up a new 22 EZ98 Aqua Night today from a store dumping them on the cheap, as in $100 less than TW (sorry TW but a hundred bucks is a hundred bucks).

I had them measure the swing weights of the three L4s they had in stock and the QC was comical. Supposed to be about 284 unstrung (314 strung) and these came out to
274
276
281

I took the 281 and will prob add some lead in the hoop.
 
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