Greatest Rackets of All time?

ptennisb

Rookie
Yeah. I'm also thinking maybe the Yonex RDX, in terms of what it influenced in experimenting with tennis rackets. Before it, there were not too many mainstream rackets that looked different.
 

Alex78

Hall of Fame
Well, I suppose you could say that Head's PT57 mold "inspired" basically all other manufacturers to have one of their own so they could at least give it to their pro players (if they so desired). Also, Wilson's 6.1 mold seems to have enjoyed widespread popularity among pros (though it's been on a path downhill for some time now). Then, the mold used by Babolat for the Pure Drive (isnt't that an original Pro Kennex mold?). So these 3 would be among the rackets with the greatest impact on the industry as such in my opinion.
 

ptennisb

Rookie
I agree. Obviously the two big influential manufacturers pre-2000 were Wilson and Head, with some Prince and Yonex mixed in. Then as we entered the 2000's, manufacturers like Prince, Pro-Kennex, and Fischer kind of went away, while manufacturers like Yonex and Babolat really got their grove on. To this day, I only think that there are 4 manufacturers that actually have a major influence the tennis innovation in the world, Yonex, Babolat, Head, and Wilson.
 

dr325i

G.O.A.T.
Well, I suppose you could say that Head's PT57 mold "inspired" basically all other manufacturers to have one of their own so they could at least give it to their pro players (if they so desired). Also, Wilson's 6.1 mold seems to have enjoyed widespread popularity among pros (though it's been on a path downhill for some time now). Then, the mold used by Babolat for the Pure Drive (isnt't that an original Pro Kennex mold?). So these 3 would be among the rackets with the greatest impact on the industry as such in my opinion.
PT57 is not a mold.
the TK57-x is the mold
The PT57Ax/E...are the layups :)
 

1stVolley

Professional
Head's Arthur Ashe Competition racquet deserves a mention as perhaps the most successful of the early composite racquets.
 

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
In the mix would be: Wilson Pro Staff (Edberg, Courier, Pierce, Sampras); Prince Original Graphite (Agassi, Chang, Sabatini); Bab Pure Drive (as per OP).

Did Seles win any of her early Slams with her POG?

Of course "greatest" doesn't have to be limited to players winning Slams with that racquet.
 
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ptennisb

Rookie
Edit on why I mentioned the Bumblebee: It was one of the first major commercial rackets with an oversize head that was popular. It pioneered larger head sizes.
 
It's not about personal preference. It's more about the impact that the racket had on the industry. I have to choose either the Bumblebee Head Radical or the Pure Drive.

Prestige Pro 600. At one point in the 90's half of the ATP pros was playing with it.

I'll let you HEAD genius come up with the code ;)
 

ptennisb

Rookie
Prestige Pro 600. At one point in the 90's half of the ATP pros was playing with it.

I'll let you HEAD genius come up with the code ;)
I will say that the prestige line has had a lot of influence, but I still put the Radicals and the Pro Tours, and RDX's, and some Fischers, and the Prince OG graphite before I think of them as influential.
 
D

Deleted member 768841

Guest
It's not about personal preference. It's more about the impact that the racket had on the industry. I have to choose either the Bumblebee Head Radical or the Pure Drive.
Which pure drive? Original? I have to say maybe the 2003.
 
D

Deleted member 768841

Guest
I was talking about the 2003 pure drive, the one that perhaps influenced most modern day rackets with its popularity. Of course we have to attribute some of that to Roddick though. 2003 was a great season for him.
I love the PJ of the 2003, was so understated and yet had all the a pure drive flair
 

ptennisb

Rookie
Thoughts on the 2018 pure drive?
I dont like any of the pure drives. Even though my game should be perfect for them, I just cant get used to them. I do appreciate the effort that Babolat put into the design of the 2018 pure drive though. Out of all Babolat rackets, the only one I consider playable for me is the Pure Strike.
P.S. I use a Yonex Ezone DR 98, and am extremely satisfied. Have not been able to find anything even close to its quality and feel.
 
D

Deleted member 22147

Guest
Head Prestige Classic, Head Prestige Tour, Wilson Pro Staff, Prince Original Graphite.

The Babolat Pure Drive's have looked like those cheap rackets you see in sports shops for the last 10 years, such ugly rackets. They used to look very sleek in the 90's and peaked in 2002 until the next paintjob came along.
 

vsbabolat

G.O.A.T.
Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph
Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff
Wilson Ultra 2 Midsize
Wilson Pro Staff Midsize

HEAD Arthur Ashe Competition
HEAD Graphite Edge
HEAD Prestige Pro/Classic 600
Radical Tour 630 and 690 Bumblebee
Pro Tour 630/280

Prince Classic
Prince Pro
Prince Graphite Oversize
Prince Graphite 90

Babolat Pure Drive

Dunlop Maxply Fort
Dunlop Max200G
 

ptennisb

Rookie
Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph
Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff
Wilson Ultra 2 Midsize
Wilson Pro Staff Midsize

HEAD Arthur Ashe Competition
HEAD Graphite Edge
HEAD Prestige Pro/Classic 600
Radical Tour 630 and 690 Bumblebee
Pro Tour 630/280

Prince Classic
Prince Pro
Prince Graphite Oversize
Prince Graphite 90

Babolat Pure Drive

Dunlop Maxply Fort
Dunlop Max200G
Dunlop Max 200G????
 

ptennisb

Rookie
Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph
Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff
Wilson Ultra 2 Midsize
Wilson Pro Staff Midsize

HEAD Arthur Ashe Competition
HEAD Graphite Edge
HEAD Prestige Pro/Classic 600
Radical Tour 630 and 690 Bumblebee
Pro Tour 630/280

Prince Classic
Prince Pro
Prince Graphite Oversize
Prince Graphite 90

Babolat Pure Drive

Dunlop Maxply Fort
Dunlop Max200G
Thought it was a below average completely normal racket.
 

jackie.tan

New User
Rackets range that changed the game earlier on... Wilson Pro Staff, Prince Original Graphite and HEAD Prestige.

The oversize racket, however, were designed and pioneered by Howard Head, who long before then has sold off his shares in HEAD and took over Prince.
 

storypeddler

Semi-Pro
If you are talking about impact the racquet had on the industry (as opposed to anything else), you have to consider the wide-body racquets of Wilson, especially the Profile and the original Hammer 2.7. If you take professional players out of the equation---and they represent a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of all tennis players---then I would argue these racquets along with the original Prince graphite have to be very near the top. They revolutionized tennis thinking---and the rackets that followed.
 

gino

Legend
It's not about personal preference. It's more about the impact that the racket had on the industry. I have to choose either the Bumblebee Head Radical or the Pure Drive.

well there has to be some subjectivity in the answer given it’s how I perceive what influenced tennis

Wilson Kramer Auto
Wilson T-2000
Wilson PS85
Wilson 6.1 95
Wilson blade 98
Wilson RF97

HEAD prestige classic / 600
HEAD prestige mp/PT630/280
HEAD radical mp
HEAD radical OS

Babolat pure drive
Babolat aero pro drive

Dunlop Max 200 G
 
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joe sch

Legend
Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph
Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff
Wilson Ultra 2 Midsize
Wilson Pro Staff Midsize

HEAD Arthur Ashe Competition
HEAD Graphite Edge
HEAD Prestige Pro/Classic 600
Radical Tour 630 and 690 Bumblebee
Pro Tour 630/280

Prince Classic
Prince Pro
Prince Graphite Oversize
Prince Graphite 90

Babolat Pure Drive

Dunlop Maxply Fort
Dunlop Max200G
VS is first to recognize that GOAT just like the player debates, included all of tennis history, ie not just graphite.
Just as with player GOAT debates, diff eras are very difficult to compare, lawn tennis, woods, transitional, graphites.
I put together this listing by decade long ago and it surely can use some updates.
Greatest Tennis Rackets of all time "GROATs" https://www.woodtennis.com/groat.htm
 

joe sch

Legend
Dunlop Max 200G also really helped the graphite racket transition as many players wanted no part of the metal racket transition but dropped the woods for this wonderful playing graphite. Graphite rackets became stiffer, bigger, and more powerful over the next decade. There were also many other very flexible playing rackets developed like the Rossignol f-series including F200 and F250.
 
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