Donnay Pro Cynetic 1

N

nation

New User
Hi All

Trying to understand the Pro Cynetic 1 and piecing together info from old threads.

Is this an 85 or 90 head? Some info says 90, others say 85.

I was always under the impression that the Pro Cynetic was the mould that the PS85 6.0 was based on. Now after further reading it turns out the PS came out in 1983 and the PC in 1986. I was also under the impression that Sampras used the PC first then moved over to PS. I am trying to reconcile which frame is a derivative of which?

I now see there are Belgium and Taiwan PCs. I gather the Taiwan is a reissue? Were there any other reissues of the PC? Is there any significant playability difference between Belgium and Taiwan or is it minimal like with the PS? Any cosmetic indicators to look out for?

I noticed the braid pattern in post 11 vs no braid pattern in post 33 below:

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/donnay-pro-cynetic-1-arias-stock.290644/

Is that just cosmetic or are they referencing different stick?

Many thanks
 
B

BorgCash

Legend
Donnay made many racquets for Wilson in Wilson colours. After the contract ended Donnay kept the mold and began to produce the racquets in their colours just without PWS 'cause it was Wilson registrated trademark.
 
borg number one

borg number one

Legend
Very interesting. I always wondered if Borg would have switched to something like this frame if he stayed on the Tour through the mid 1980s. I heard that Donnay was working on a graphite frame for him to use and maybe it was similar to this frame, with adjustments.
 
Last edited:
B

BorgCash

Legend
borg number one said:
Very interesting. I always wondered if Borg would have switched to something like this frame if he stayed on the Tour through the mid 1980s. I heard that Donnay was working on a graphite drame for him to use and maybe it was similar to this frame, with adjustments.
Click to expand...

They made a bigger head version of his Borg Pro, a composite one. Jarryd played with it.
 
vsbabolat

vsbabolat

G.O.A.T.
nation said:
Hi All

Trying to understand the Pro Cynetic 1 and piecing together info from old threads.

Is this an 85 or 90 head? Some info says 90, others say 85.

I was always under the impression that the Pro Cynetic was the mould that the PS85 6.0 was based on. Now after further reading it turns out the PS came out in 1983 and the PC in 1986. I was also under the impression that Sampras used the PC first then moved over to PS. I am trying to reconcile which frame is a derivative of which?

I now see there are Belgium and Taiwan PCs. I gather the Taiwan is a reissue? Were there any other reissues of the PC? Is there any significant playability difference between Belgium and Taiwan or is it minimal like with the PS? Any cosmetic indicators to look out for?

I noticed the braid pattern in post 11 vs no braid pattern in post 33 below:

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/donnay-pro-cynetic-1-arias-stock.290644/

Is that just cosmetic or are they referencing different stick?

Many thanks
Click to expand...
The Wilson Pro Staff Midsize, Largehead, and 125 came out in 1984. The Donnay Pro Cynetic came out in 1986 but that mold was also used on the Donnay CGX25 that came out in 1984
 
A

Antónis

Professional
And Sampras played the PC1 before PS Mid, there's doubles match on youtube (he and Chang vs. McEnroe brothers) from 1988 when you can see a very young Sampras with a PC1
 
N

nation

New User
Thanks for all the info. Timelines and what's what with these vintage racquets makes my head spin.

vsbabolat said:
The Wilson Pro Staff Midsize, Largehead, and 125 came out in 1984. The Donnay Pro Cynetic came out in 1986 but that mold was also used on the Donnay
CGX25 that came out in 1984
Click to expand...

So CGX25 is the predecessor and following on from BorgCash in post 3, the PS at inception in '84 was manufactured by Donay?
 
vsbabolat

vsbabolat

G.O.A.T.
nation said:
Thanks for all the info. Timelines and what's what with these vintage racquets makes my head spin.



So CGX25 is the predecessor and following on from BorgCash in post 3, the PS at inception in '84 was manufactured by Donay?
Click to expand...
Donnay manufactured some Pro Staff for the European market in 1984. The vast majority at that time were manufactured in River Grove by Wilson before Wilson opened the St. Vincent factory.
Donnay made a lot of racquets out the CGX/Pro Cynetic mold
 
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
BorgCash said:
Actually Anders played with several different Superform models before switched to Vacuum Pro 90.
Click to expand...
I lived in London in 1985, and became a big fan of Anders Järryd, after seeing him play through the Wimbledon men's singles draw, where he was eliminated in the semifinals by an exciting young player from Germany named Boris Becker... He was also a fabulous doubles player, particularly when paired with Stefan Edberg, I thought (though he won more GS doubles titles with John Fitzgerald, IIRC).

Equipment-wise, Järryd went from the Borg Pro Mid (monoshaft wood, 80 square inch head) through 1984 to the Fischer Stan Smith Superform in 1985. At some point in 1986, he switched to a Stan Smith Superform with a custom paintjob making it look like the new Superform Tournament, then switched later to the new red twin-shaft Superform Open. In 1987, he tried out the new cyan colored Vacuum Pro Mid, and kept on with that for a while.

In regards to the Donnay Pro Cynetic 1, it was a fabulous racquet that was used by many ATP pros around 1986, including Guy Forget, Jimmy Arias, Johan Kriek... and an up-and-coming junior from Southern California named Pete Sampras. Sampras played with the Kneissl Aero (20) in 1985, and had a solid baseline game with a two-handed backhand. But his coach rebooted his game, and had him switch to a racquet better suited for S/V play, but still a solid baseline weapon: the new Pro Cynetic 1. His next frame was, of course, the St. Vincent-produced Wilson Pro Staff Midsize (85).

It's kind of a chicken-and-egg scenario as to whether Wilson used a Donnay frame mould to launch the iconic PS85, or whether Donnay used a Wilson mould when it launched its CGX25 (and a few other variants) in late 1983 for the 1984 market. I know our colleague "Sanglier" has interviewed the Wilson project manager responsible for the genesis of the PS85, and the real truth may be hard to augur out. Both molds are very similar, indeed, though Wilson's has the PWS bumps inside the face at 3 and 9 o'clock positions, where the Donnays do not, and the Donnays had eight mains drilled through the throat bridge, where the Wilsons all had six, and the overall drill pattern on each was different (Wilson advocated for its variable density stringing, with smaller grids near the center of the head, whereas the Donnay was mostly evenly-sized grids throughout).
 
Last edited:
B

BorgCash

Legend
vsbabolat said:
Donnay manufactured some Pro Staff for the European market in 1984. The vast majority at that time were manufactured in River Grove by Wilson before Wilson opened the St. Vincent factory.
Donnay made a lot of racquets out the CGX/Pro Cynetic mold
Click to expand...

I have several CGX in different colours and Bjorn Borg Graphite Club 25 (the same mold - my first graphite racquet i got in 1986 from Australia), all these racquets have little different mold from PS 85. But GTX25 is exactly the same just without PWS. It is a racquet that has a hole in butthead and there were several different colours and weight little sticks that can be insert into racquet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Donnay Pro Cynetic 1 - how close to a Wilson PS85?
Replies
2
Views
683
BorgCash
B
P
Donnay Pro Cynetic 3 and 4 Differences.
Replies
0
Views
435
P1st0lPete
P
wallymann
donnay PC1 and its progeny
Replies
26
Views
562
Grafil Injection
Grafil Injection
C
Need Help re: late-model Donnay Pro One mid
Replies
2
Views
1K
Colpo
C
F
Just how flexy is Donnay Pro 1?
Replies
48
Views
3K
kike_valerin
kike_valerin
Top