If you like the Yonex R-22 you are really going to like....

[graycrait]

I never had one of these back in the 80's but found a nice thrift store R-22, restrung it and now find it allows me to serve with even more ease than the PCG/POG OS's I normally use. Ground strokes were fine and my overheads made me look like "somebody."

Do any of you "classic" racquet enthusiasts think there is another racquet I should hunt down in light of the fact that I am probably going to wear this R-22 out for awhile? I suppose a 200G, but I was thinking that maybe one of the other Yonex racquets from the 80's. If there is a modern Yonex that feels like the R-22 I would like to know which one?

I gave my Prince Mono to my longtime hitting buddy as he was hitting big and controlled with that stick over his normal Volkl V1 MP. Interestingly last night I tried hitting serves with the T3000 and I had an issue initially of the serve going right, I mean way right. We both laughed, I can do kicks, spins out wide, topspin anywhere and flat down the T or out wide but the T3000 sure made me concentrate. On the other hand the R-22 seemed to flow naturally from my toes to the ball. With the R-22 I felt like the Reverend playing thunderstorm golf in Caddyshack.

 

[coachrick]

I never had one of these back in the 80's but found a nice thrift store R-22, restrung it and now find it allows me to serve with even more ease than the PCG/POG OS's I normally use. Ground strokes were fine and my overheads made me look like "somebody."

Do any of you "classic" racquet enthusiasts think there is another racquet I should hunt down in light of the fact that I am probably going to wear this R-22 out for awhile? I suppose a 200G, but I was thinking that maybe one of the other Yonex racquets from the 80's. If there is a modern Yonex that feels like the R-22 I would like to know which one?

I gave my Prince Mono to my longtime hitting buddy as he was hitting big and controlled with that stick over his normal Volkl V1 MP. Interestingly last night I tried hitting serves with the T3000 and I had an issue initially of the serve going right, I mean way right. We both laughed, I can do kicks, spins out wide, topspin anywhere and flat down the T or out wide but the T3000 sure made me concentrate. On the other hand the R-22 seemed to flow naturally from my toes to the ball. With the R-22 I felt like the Reverend playing thunderstorm golf in Caddyshack.

Having been a sales rep(for Dunlop, then Yonex, then Dunlop) during the heyday of both the R-22 and 200G, I can't say they are really anything alike. The shape of the YY series 'back then' actually did allow better response on balls hit toward the upper corners...IF that's a place you often hit. The 200G was a bazooka compared to the R-22. Some of the Volkl Tour series might work; but finding a 15- 20 year-old stick won't be easy(unless you look in MY bag ) .

I'm out of the racket loop(!) for the past eight years, so I'm no help on any truly current models that might be similar.

 

[galain]

graycrait - are you looking for something from the R22 era or a modern stick with similar feel or suggestions for both?

From the 80's, if you can manage to find one, I think the R32 did everything the R22 did, but better. It's a beauty of a stick. An RD7 may also feel quite similar but IIRC, perhaps a bit more unwieldy.

For modern sticks with that soft feel, Volkl's C10 would be the closest I can think of.

 

[teachingprotx]

I'd steer you towards a Babolat 95 pure control . It is an 18x20 and I don't think the yonex was???
But out of everything out its the closest in feel to any flexy 80's stick .
I agree as well that the c 10 volkl has that feel as well. I only hit briefly with your yonex and remember it flexing more uniformly like the Babolat . The volkl for me only flexed in the hoop..

 

[teachingprotx]

Or if you love your yonex but wanted a more modern look ,throw a white over grip and paint in black matte and string it with poly and get a stencil ..the yonex r 22 that my friend blacked out looks frighteningly new tech . He put a white grip on it strung with red code and put a black yonex stencil on it. We / other pros at our club assumed it was a pro stock from a court away. It's truly amazing what an all black racket can do as far as changing the lines and shape of any frame.. I' too have done this in black .. White .. And candy apple red ..
All glossy then all matte ..
The red looked dated in a bad way . The white looked dated in a 80's ceramic way.. The black looked like a brand new pro Stock 2016 model ..
Just my 2 cents here ..

 

[teachingprotx]

Ps.. The only thing that gave it away was on closer inspection of the thicker shoulders but it looked quite good .. Thought it was a wawrinka yonex blank .. It was also lighter than any other R 22. Came in strung at 11.8 . Grip size 3.
I figured it would have been a grip 1 due to the weight alone . But sanding and re-painted brought it down an ounce . Which to me was a good thing

 

[graycrait]

Thanks for the ideas. I traded away two C10 Pros because I thought the hoop was too flexy with respect to the rest of the racquet and the same thing goes for the Volkl Organix 10 Mid I still have. While I hit the Prince Mono a lot I thought its flex was more at the throat than along the whole racquet. With the R-22 the flex seems to be in the whole frame. I have mine strung with Ashaway Kevlar +Plus x Ashaway Zyex. My biggest complaint about my Yonex R22 (but how can you complain about an iconic racquet you only paid $3.00 for?) is that this particular one has a too small of a grip for me and thumb fatigue sets in about the 1 hr mark of hitting. Hand operation in 2006 changed a lot of things, yada yada yada. I use shrink wrap sleeves but at about 12.5oz for the strung R22 I didn't want to raise its weight or change the balance by increasing its grip size with shrink wrap sleeves.

I'll look into the Babolat 95 Pure Control and keep an eye out for a Yonex RX32, while looking for a 4&1/2 or 4&5/8 R22. I probably need to find a Prince Classic Graphite 100 to test out as well, but there is something about the overall design of the R22 that seems to fit me pretty well. I'm more about a racquet that helps me play tennis better longer than collecting, but flexible 12.5oz racquets seem to work well for me and they don't seem to make them any longer in the numbers and styles that allow a person to find "the one." The modern game played with a 72 RA 98" 18x20 11.3 oz Babolat strung with hybrid bed of Lux 4g x RPM Blast at 40lbs has passed me by.

 

[Lance L]

graycrait - are you looking for something from the R22 era or a modern stick with similar feel or suggestions for both?

From the 80's, if you can manage to find one, I think the R32 did everything the R22 did, but better. It's a beauty of a stick. An RD7 may also feel quite similar but IIRC, perhaps a bit more unwieldy.

For modern sticks with that soft feel, Volkl's C10 would be the closest I can think of.

Last winter I found a RX-32, and it has been my go to racquet this summer. Hard to define what is so great about it, but in every area it seems to play very nicely. Enough power, comfortable, flexible but not mushy at all, string pattern is appropriate. I've yet to find an area that it doesn't do well at. With volleys I can really feel the flex, which I don't particularly like but doesn't effect the volley. My ancient Prestige Pro feels dull/flat/heavy by comparision. I wish I had stumbled on this back in HS instead of the Max200G and then the Prestige Pro.

 

[graycrait]

I've got a couple of scouts out in major metro areas looking for a thrift store RX-32. Looks like I gotta have one.

 

[Lance L]

I've got a couple of scouts out in major metro areas looking for a thrift store RX-32. Looks like I gotta have one.

There was also an RX-37, same basic racquet but with boron. I have no direct experience, but everything I've heard it is just as good if not better than the RX-32. I'm guessing that it is even more rare than the RX-32

 

[coachrick]

With the R-22 the flex seems to be in the whole frame. I have mine strung with Ashaway Kevlar +Plus x Ashaway Zyex.

Nothing personal, but I'm surprised you can feel ANYthing with this string set-up

 

[coachrick]

There was also an RX-37, same basic racquet but with boron. I have no direct experience, but everything I've heard it is just as good if not better than the RX-32. I'm guessing that it is even more rare than the RX-32

As I thought the R-27 felt more solid than the 22. I played with that racket for a bit in '84, sold quite a few of them. The R-10 was the prize of the bunch...not a big seller, but absolutely sweet strung with Babolat VS teal ! Miami Vice anyone?

 

[galain]

My very first graphite frame! I remember looking at the R7 and thinking "Well, the R10 has a higher number so it must be the better stick!"

 

[graycrait]

Nothing personal, but I'm surprised you can feel ANYthing with this string set-up

I would not have believed it myself without trying it first. Normally I just use "plain old" Ashaway Kevlar x Zyex but in the R22 for some reason I tried Ashaway Kevlar +Plus x Zyex. I've been through a bunch of good multis, polys and nat gut set ups, but for long playability this is the "stuff." If I were 22 yrs old and had had good lessons and talent from early grade school I probably wouldn't use this if I could afford to cut out gut/poly every 10 hrs of play.

However, a guy I know who is older than me and has always played, including collegiate and now coaches "little league" tennis wrote this about Kevlar x Zyex when I sent him a racket strung with it:

I confess I live in a fool’s paradise when it comes to string, though hitting with these Volkls has made me a believer. The one I hit with is strung with Kevlar and Zyex and is a delight. The string has a sticky feel, like its holding the ball and the effect is oh-so impressive. “What strange alchemy is at work here?” Wonderfully forgiving even when things are a bit askew, as they often are! Sure makes the game a "helluva lot funner."