Being not young now, I started out with a pro kennex 85 of some kind that was probably at 12+ ounces. I think in the 90's until the mid 00's most rec and (male?) players in general played with the racquets then that were close to or over 12 ounces. Then after poly was introduced throughout the mid 00's and early 10's the racquet manufacturers perhaps had advances in material and precision mold layering tech such as Wilson's BLX and Head's graphene where racquets kept getting lighter significantly among the men's until the lower general weight 'standard' and thicker beam today (compared to the 12,13+ oz wooden and early graphite racquets).
After over a decade hiatus, or rather having given up, I went back to tennis and picked up the 2014 ps 85 reissue. I'd played lousy with it with a lot of bad habits, compared to 3.5's and 4.0's often humbled by them with my lack of consistency though I could occasionally pass them with my 1hbh and had decent footspeed.
I can swing a heavy racket. "I can't swing anything over 320sw?' I used a Wilson K88 for years, that one weighs 363 grams and has a swingweight of 345. I discourage anyone from trying to lead up a racket to those stats
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Looking for a new racquet in 2020, and not finding a k90 in good condition at the time on the bay, I picked up on the offer of $200 for a preserved never strung kps88! still with the original packaging. I was like what the heck, where I still wanted a wilson thin oldschool beam and felt it was better for my 1hbh. And yeah, it was sore the first six months. I took collagen pills, continued my weights workouts, (past gym then at home) pushups weekly, etc., and the tennis elbow pain was eventually fixed over or my arm adjusted to it.
My kps 88 is currently at 390g, swingweight maybe in the 340's. Along with the good point about trying different strings mentioned, also what really helped and I'd suggest, for those finding the rf97, kps88, ps85, or other "heavier" racquets uncomfortably weighty on swing, is to add weighted tape to the handle buttcap end! as well as a bit to the 12 o'clock if needed to help with the so-called "recoil weight and reaction" or improved pendular feel on swing. It can make the racquet have an effectively lower swingweight, as well as making it more headlight. But just experimenting doing this can make a tremendous difference in swing feel. So now my kps88 for me is a lot smoother on swing not feeling as much like swinging a log, and 50% of my swing generation is from the core and legs, then my arm and wrist ("lag") carries over to attempt to add the RHS on follow through. And it's much more fun to swing now compared to when I first got it, and better able to utilize the k88's touted strengths on volleys, and a solid 1hbh drive or with "flicking" for some TS.
Yes, I tried other secondhand racquets in the last few years, and have a prostaff six one 95 blx (probably the lightest ps wilson ever made) at 335g strung, and ~311 swingweight, plus I'd added some tape to give it a bit more plow and stability. I'd learned to string racquets on a klippermate for over a year too trying different strings and stringjobs. I also got a steam 100 blx (318g) as a collectible, so I can feel the marked difference where the lighter racquets swing almost like cardboard paper compared to my kps88, but I have them as alternates.
It's also embarrassing for me looking back now, where my stroke fundamentals had improved in the past year greatly compared to my decades of lingering bad habits, from learning and practicing from good yt videos and tips here on ttw, where I can swing the old ps85 reissue much better now, so that imo further affirms what's said here about better solid technique can better overcome some racquet differences.
