mike morris
New User
I'm rated 4.5 but left tennis for about 8 years. I went from the Head Elite Pro to the Ti Radical (loved it), LM Radical (too muted), and finally the flexpoint (liked it). I briefly started playing again a few years ago and found the new graphene radicals too stiff. I promptly hurt my wrist and didn't play for another year. I then strung up my old flexpoints (1 was still in good shape) but a combination of sucking and not having anybody good to play against made me think I needed something with more power. I recently bought the new Graphene Speed 360 after using a friends. The specs showed that it was a little softer than the new radicals and I thought the more open string pattern would help me to generate the level of spin that I was used to but didn't seem to be able to hit without framing the shot. It was working pretty well with 16g string but as I got better I didn't feel that I could hit the touch volleys, angles and kick serves that are a big part of my game. Now that i'm playing close to 4.5 tennis again I don't think that the racquet is right for my style of play so I restrung my best flexpoint (I still have my own machine) with 17 gauge NRG at 53 pounds thinking i'd give them one more shot. This morning I played great and the racquet felt natural, I hit with more spin, my slice return was biting and the touch volleys went in (mostly). While I made plenty of errors I didn't feel that any of them were a result of the racquet not doing what I expected. So, my question is: What came after the Flexpoint, the Youtek or the Microgel? And did anybody go through the same progression of Radicals and what was your opinion of the Youtek and/or Microgel? I have no issue generating my own power or spin. I will likely switch to one of those if I can find them new. I see that TW has the microgel for $89; which is appealing. Sorry for the long post.