Generally how much better are racquets now than they were 15+ years ago?

[optic yellow]

In golf the technology has advanced so rampantly out of control that using a driver from 2005 in a serious competition now is seriously hamstringing yourself - you are probably giving up at least 10 if not 20 yards on an identically hit ball and with noticeably less forgiveness too. This is something you can tell quite easily simply from how the respective clubheads look and feel when held in your hand. In the case of tennis racquets, however, the few nice modern frames I am able to see in stores have not given me that same impression of being an obviously "better" tool than my current frames from the mid-aughts. I can tell they are newer and nicer but there is no strong feeling that I would be disadvantaged in a league setting by not using them. Since I have not hit with any the aforementioned frames and generally lack the tennis experience to strongly discern racquet performance I thought I'd ask.

 

[ProRadTour]

I think it depends on which frame you are using. For example, if you are using an older Pure Drive to latest Pure Drive, not a lot has changed. Adjustments in feel and response across the various releases, but from a performance perspective I don't think there is any advantage. I doubt shot speed or spin rates would be all that different.

If you were using a Prestige Mid or Wilson Pro Staff 90, then there would definitely be a competive/performance improvement if you were to be using the latest generation players frames like the Pro Staff 97, Yonex VCore Pro 97, Prestige Pro 98 etc. Assuming you are playing against players of equal calibre/level. I think for the most part the newer players frame a more forgiving and have larger sweetspots going from 90/95 sq inch frames of the past.

 

[A_Instead]

The microgel radical is still a great racket..
Great then.. great now... greatness never goes out of style..

 

[esgee48]

Most pros and current 5.0+ players use old technology. They grew up playing with that tech and continue to use it. Lower levels use tech to fix their playing/player issues. Racquet companies roll out new ‘tech’ every few years for these lower level players who are looking to improve their game.

 

[badmice2]

If we’re talking about layups, then it’s comparable to golf where it’s still a personal thing. Some like myself probably still prefers the graphite frames of yesteryears than the fill-in that’s used today. On the design from, I think string patterns and change in racket design (inclusive of weight and balance) is making the most advancement. I think the average players now are more conscientious of the “mm / gram adjustments”.

Most advancement I would say comes from strings. The intro of poly impacted and evolved the game the most given the playing benefit it provides ( health benefit is subjective). You can still take an old frame, string poly on it, and change the playing characteristic of the frame.

 

[Trip]

@optic yellow - Per what @badmice2 highlighted, it's not really tech "advancements" so much as it is differences. Many of us prefer the more dense, meatier, chunkier layups of the 90's, 2000's and early 2010's over a lot of what's being pumped out today -- often lighter, airier, crispier, and laced with dampening "tech" to try and counteract the loss of recoil weight and higher amount of vibration and shock propagation. On the flip side, the redesign of certain beam shapes and inclusion of new graphite co-composites has brought a certain degree of desirable enhancement, so the overall "progress" is a mix of better and worse, IMHO.

Besides needless change for the sake of simply selling more tennis racquets, a large portion of frame evolution has centered around optimizing for poly and poly-like strings, as well as attempting to provide easier access to higher racquet speed, spin and power, all of which have become paramount at really any level above beginner. While most of those changes may seem like no-brainer "progress" to most, there's still a fairly large contingent that prefers their weighty (both static and swing weight), dense and/or thin-beamed frames, which are often more meaty/thuddy in feel, and prefer them for a myriad of reasons, often just because they simply feel better on contact and are more of a joy to play with, win or lose. Obviously, most of those qualities tend to align less and less with where certain trends are moving in racquet design -- namely dumping weight and adding dampening. So from that more old-school type perspective, one might even say there's been some de-evolution going on. Older-school racquets can still get the job done, quite enjoyably (even preferentially) for certain players, even if those types of players and play styles are dwindling.

So in summary, I would say the newer racquets aren't always an obvious step forward, but rather they're more of "usually" at this point -- a bit less cut-and-dry as golf drivers, where, as you said, the change in tech is a bit more of an obvious march forward, about which most golfers can universally agree. With tennis, it's a bit different, at least at this point. Just my 2C.

 

[Grafil Injection]

In golf the technology has advanced so rampantly out of control that using a driver from 2005 in a serious competition now is seriously hamstringing yourself - you are probably giving up at least 10 if not 20 yards on an identically hit ball and with noticeably less forgiveness too. This is something you can tell quite easily simply from how the respective clubheads look and feel when held in your hand. In the case of tennis racquets, however, the few nice modern frames I am able to see in stores have not given me that same impression of being an obviously "better" tool than my current frames from the mid-aughts. I can tell they are newer and nicer but there is no strong feeling that I would be disadvantaged in a league setting by not using them. Since I have not hit with any the aforementioned frames and generally lack the tennis experience to strongly discern racquet performance I thought I'd ask.

You can debate it all day, but what's for certain is (keeping frame size the same), you have to be a very high level player to reveal any significant and consistent performance improvements. Most of the 'advances' are really just modifications in the feel / stiffness profile which aren't going to make you a better player. The best way to assess it though is to try a few old sticks. Take a Dunlop Aerogel 300, Prince Precision Response Titanium or Head Radical Zebra (which are even older), and you won't find much meaningful performance difference to a modern stick, just a different feel. Virtually all of the 'tech' like different types of graphite, exotic materials blended in, elastomers to aid dampening etc, were all first used in the 80s and optimised in the 90s.

BTW, the same is true in golf recently. The 10-20 yards gained in the last decade only apply if you swing like Rory. Try a Nike Covert Tour v2 or Ping Anser driver from around 10 years ago - they're still very good.

 

[socallefty]

In golf, distance is good especially with drivers and so, new technology is delivering more power. In tennis, control is what all serious players want as it is easy to generate all the power you need with full swings, but you have to keep the ball inside the court. It is not so easy for new technology to deliver that. I would say that the biggest advancement I see compared to fifteen years ago is that the power range is more uniform and sweet spots are bigger than they used to be. Also, racquet companies have figured out better how to damp vibrations while keeping stiffness fairly high.

 

[am1899]

“Better” in the context of tennis racquets is a bit in the eye of the beholder imo.

I would say that mfg’s have generally improved at being able to produce a stiff racquet that is not so jarring - as some racquets of old. Of course, there are exceptions on both sides.

Overall, the actual technologies and materials utilized are not worlds different - or better necessarily. This bears out a little with pros - if the tech was so much better, one would expect they would be changing sticks more frequently. You can, of course, make the assumption that pro tennis players are creatures of habit and all that…and there is some truth to that. But to your point, you don’t see (many) pro golfers hanging on to drivers from 10-15 years ago.

Bottom line, it depends. If you are after feel, I would say a lot of racquets from past years are better (perhaps you’d have to go back further than 15 years). If you are after more of a tweener stick, there are a few timeless classics…but is now a plethora of good ones to choose from in the more current models.

 

[jmacdaununder2]

Companies have actually been forced to get better at using dampening technology, as it is no longer economically viable for them to mass produce racquets without using undesirably - for tennis applications - stiff graphite prepregs.

 

[Power Player]

I think what has mainly gotten better is they can make powerful frames that are easier on the arm. If comfort is not an issue, you could use a Pure Drive from the early 2000s and not really lose out on anything.

Golf is such a game of distance that I can see clubs getting better and better over time, but in tennis we need to keep the ball in the lines still.

 

[mhkeuns]

I think the technology has helped in a way that the current 305 grams rackets can perform similarly to the heavier 330 grams rackets of the past.

I used to need the heavier player's racket's plow and feel, but I can now almost get the same playability from the Blade 98 & other similarly weighted frames.

 

[ProRadTour]

I think the technology has helped in a way that the current 305 grams rackets can perform similarly to the heavier 330 grams rackets of the past.

I used to need the heavier player's racket's plow and feel, but I can now almost get the same playability from the Blade 98 & other similarly weighted frames.

Isn't that more just a function of swingweight? If you took a 20 year old frame lighter frame, placed a bunch of lead tape at 12 you would have a similar performing frame to a modern 305 frame. I am thinking of frames like the Blade or Blade Pro with this example.

The older radicals were 295 unstrung and had lower swingweights. If you modified them to a spec of a blade I think you would have a similar performing frame to a Blade.

 

[ProRadTour]

I kind of like that the tech hasn't changed that much. In this fast paced tech world that is drastically changing the human experience I like the fact that tennis is still predominantly a game of skill.

The biggest changes in tennis over the last 20 years are strings, but more so that that I think the physical side of the game is the biggest change. The athletic performance and capabilities at the professional level seems significantly higher than in the past. Which again goes back to improving at the human level than relying on tech to make things better.

 

[FiddlerDog]

technology has advanced so rampantly out of control ?
10 yards on a 250 yard drive is 4%.
You're a fool

 

[fundrazer]

technology has advanced so rampantly out of control ?
10 yards on a 250 yard drive is 4%.
You're a fool

 

[optic yellow]

technology has advanced so rampantly out of control ?
10 yards on a 250 yard drive is 4%.
You're a fool

Where are you getting the 250 number from? Technology advancing rampantly out of control is an obvious thing to anyone noticing the absurd contrivances golf courses are going to to keep their layouts playable for professional tournaments. I should acknowledge the ball also plays a role in this outcome but it's readily apparent from comparing a 2020 onward demo model to my driver from 2010 that club technology has reached ridiculous extents.

 

[1HBHfanatic]

-technology has moved away from old stuff, because old stuff sucks in comparison!
-no denying it, a 10-15 year old frame feels OLD!, in contrast to the new tech
-just a few minutes/hits with both frames will tell you why time has left the OLD stuff in the past
-you can relive your old days with an old frame, but a new tech frame just delivers in a smother/fresher package
-companies tweek their frames with every update
-some updates might be misses, but most updates fill the holes where the last one left off

-case in point: go to a GOODWILL store and pick up some old racquets,
-you'll hit with them for like an hour, and then you'll be back to your new racquets, everytime

-people who cant seem to let go of a certain frame model, end up buying lots of their favorites and miss out on all the new updates

 

[optic yellow]

-technology has moved away from old stuff, because old stuff sucks in comparison!
-no denying it, a 10-15 year old frame feels OLD!, in contrast to the new tech
-just a few minutes/hits with both frames will tell you why time has left the OLD stuff in the past
-you can relive your old days with an old frame, but a new tech frame just delivers in a smother/fresher package
-companies tweek their frames with every update
-some updates might be misses, but most updates fill the holes where the last one left off

-case in point: go to a GOODWILL store and pick up some old racquets,
-you'll hit with them for like an hour, and then you'll be back to your new racquets, everytime

-people who cant seem to let go of a certain frame model, end up buying lots of their favorites and miss out on all the new updates

Interesting. This flies in the face of what a lot of other responses have said.

 

[Grafil Injection]

-technology has moved away from old stuff, because old stuff sucks in comparison!
-no denying it, a 10-15 year old frame feels OLD!, in contrast to the new tech
-just a few minutes/hits with both frames will tell you why time has left the OLD stuff in the past
-you can relive your old days with an old frame, but a new tech frame just delivers in a smother/fresher package
-companies tweek their frames with every update
-some updates might be misses, but most updates fill the holes where the last one left off

-case in point: go to a GOODWILL store and pick up some old racquets,
-you'll hit with them for like an hour, and then you'll be back to your new racquets, everytime

-people who cant seem to let go of a certain frame model, end up buying lots of their favorites and miss out on all the new updates

I agree with you regarding very old and small-headed frames, say pre the 1988 wide-body revolution. I like to use such ancient sticks because I enjoy the feel, but if I were in an important tournament I would definitely use a larger, lighter stick. However, the OP is talking about 15 years old. I would say many 95-100sqi frames from then are just as useable as a modern racket, and whilst the latest version might give you a different and perhaps nicer feel, actually making you win more tennis matches is very hard to prove.

 

[mhkeuns]

Isn't that more just a function of swingweight? If you took a 20 year old frame lighter frame, placed a bunch of lead tape at 12 you would have a similar performing frame to a modern 305 frame. I am thinking of frames like the Blade or Blade Pro with this example.

The older radicals were 295 unstrung and had lower swingweights. If you modified them to a spec of a blade I think you would have a similar performing frame to a Blade.

You’re probably right. The modern 305 gram frames don’t feel as flimsy as the ones before (*in comparison with heavy player’s sticks) because of the weight distribution and better vibration dampening. Maybe the technology has improved the feel of the lighter rackets. Even just 10 years ago, plush feeling rackets weighed around 330 grams unstrung.

 

[Bambooman]

-technology has moved away from old stuff, because old stuff sucks in comparison!
-no denying it, a 10-15 year old frame feels OLD!, in contrast to the new tech
-just a few minutes/hits with both frames will tell you why time has left the OLD stuff in the past
-you can relive your old days with an old frame, but a new tech frame just delivers in a smother/fresher package
-companies tweek their frames with every update
-some updates might be misses, but most updates fill the holes where the last one left off

-case in point: go to a GOODWILL store and pick up some old racquets,
-you'll hit with them for like an hour, and then you'll be back to your new racquets, everytime

-people who cant seem to let go of a certain frame model, end up buying lots of their favorites and miss out on all the new updates

Not so.