Karen Khachanov Blacked out Racket!

yourtennisfit said:
Khachanov is definitely based on old Kobra throat, same design basically

Colton Smith is very obviously using an Aero ( Diadem Axis maybe ) beam with a classic shape of these
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atp-masters-1000-national-bank-open-presented-by-rogers-day-5.jpg
1723023777_51fCGOPZXHL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.webp


I'm not sure if I agree with that. The throat opening of the Kobra is much smaller, and the beam is much thicker. The tapering down to the handle is longer for the Khachanov racket.
 
heavyD said:
Can't be denied that Karen has played much better since making the switch to this frame.
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I dont know as his clay season was average and usually he does well on hard courts
albeit his form goes up for a few months at times then fizzles like when he beat Djokovic
he was having a good run till that event he comes and goes.

He has good stamina and not sure if he had this racquet in the clay season but if
he did with the extra fizz and margins he is making would have been tough on clay.

Anyone know if Karen is getting way more more speed than his older H22?
For me it seems he has more stability but no where near the sting of PA98 users
or other Aero/PD users. He should be crushing balls harder than ever but all I see
is him getting a little more rpm than all out power.

He doesnt flatten out his inside out like he used to he has more margin in all
his shots and even his coach was live saying he needs to commit more into
his shots rather than just fizzing them back safely vs Shelton.

His coach was pushing him to stand deeper into the court on Sheltons second
serves yet Ben was getting all of Karens serves back doing a Medvedev or
classic Nadal standing way back and just getting the return into play.

That was detrimental as he frames so many returns from the Ben seconds
and Karen is one of the tallest dudes, beefy lie Delpo and would be suited
to returning like Meds, and Ben then move inwards after the return is made.
 
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Well for Korda, his pretty stiff kBlade will surely not help him with his recent wrist and arm issues
If the Python is anywhere near the old Kobra stiffness, this could really help him there
 
mpournaras said:
HEAD would be wise to come out with a more direct Aero 98/EZone 98 competitor if they are paying attention. The Extreme Tour is not it and on paper thats the one that makes most sense
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This brings up an interesting question.

For years brands have been trying to differentiate themselves from each other,but here we have the PA98, and everyone is trying to to their own. Another example is the H19 and H22 being Wilson's Prestige & radical.

I get a bit of a feeling of Deja vu
 
mpournaras said:
The old 100! Soft and traditional beamed (and perfect haha)
Click to expand...

I think the new 98 isn't that far off, even if it looks and feels completely different.

But competing with the Aero98 in stiff spin frame is like playing a lefty topspin rallye with Rafa
I would strongly try to find a similar user group but different approach, and there the GT98 is quite fine - as is the Ezone
 
Years ago mostly every manufacturer was trying to mimic the Pure Drive.. some still do with pretty good results..
Now that patent has likely expired on aero throat design.. the fun has begun..
 
A_Instead said:
Years ago mostly every manufacturer was trying to mimic the Pure Drive.. some still do with pretty good results..
Now that patent has likely expired on aero throat design.. the fun has begun..
Click to expand...
Yeah, i've just picked up a couple of Dunlop FX500s to try as a PD clone, which tbh feels pretty good in hand. Looking forward to using it in anger tomorrow night.

But seems like this might be the Kobra reborn which might be a big improvement over the original (again going by a lot of the feedback). But tbh really looking forward to see what we end up with. There seems to be a few variations out there. So potentially a standard and Pro versions.

I do like the photos that are leaning towards a Wilson version of the Aero Storm. So hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer to find out
 
A_Instead said:
Back in the early days of PD cloning there was actually some good ones..
Some of the Wilson pro Opens were legit..
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The first BLX Pro Open was goated. Honestly most of the BLX frames balled. The BLX Blade went a little hard in the swingweight but still rocked and they all looked great. An awesome generation of paint scheming
 
A_Instead said:
Years ago mostly every manufacturer was trying to mimic the Pure Drive.. some still do with pretty good results..
Now that patent has likely expired on aero throat design.. the fun has begun..
Click to expand...
PK Destiny 1988 version One is what was licensed to Babolat and others
Babolat just modified it to the Aero and PA98, PD has no changes from PK Destiny.

Now if there was a PA98 with same thin form factor but 100 could be a winner
that leaves the clunky Aero in its wake.
 
mpournaras said:
The first BLX Pro Open was goated. Honestly most of the BLX frames balled. The BLX Blade went a little hard in the swingweight but still rocked and they all looked great. An awesome generation of paint scheming
Click to expand...
Wilson BLX Juice Pro 96 inches was a beast but needed a tad more spin like on current pa98 pattern
just the right static and swing weight @ 333-338
 
A New KBlade would be good in 98 & 100 16x20 and 18x19
ra65-67, simple graphite and pa98 or GT98 proper spin pattern

Even a Wilson Pro Staff 98 v15 no PWS and 22mm is welcome
the Pro Staff 97 v14 is almost there but just misses the mark
that has been set so high by other manufacturers.
 
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tele said:
why do yoi think so?
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You have three of Wilson's most prominent Blade users testing this new line. I doubt Wilson want to introduce another line of frames after the Shift didn't sell well. My bet is on this frame being apart of the Blade line up.
 
MSUspartans said:
You have three of Wilson's most prominent Blade users testing this new line. I doubt Wilson want to introduce another line of frames after the Shift didn't sell well. My bet is on this frame being apart of the Blade line up.
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I believe that the pro staff line will be turned into this will be the next gen
 
After Python, they will C if it does well, and if not, they will want to Go and be Swift to release a SeQueL. But it takes time to start from Scratch. This time it will be Visually Basic, with a new Logo, like a beautiful Perl or Ruby.
 
onehandbh said:
After Python, they will C if it does well, and if not, they will want to Go and be Swift to release a SeQueL. But it takes time to start from Scratch. This time it will be Visually Basic, with a new Logo, like a beautiful Perl or Ruby.
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idk man, after we've seen these brown pro staffs, i think we got Java next.
 
https://imgur.com/a/e2c8OfA

Got to hit with one today.
Nice feel, nothing that reminds me of Aero or Pure Bab. Low SW, so, I could not adjust right, but could be an interesting frame.

EDIT:
I am talking about the feel/softness/firmness/feedback of the racket, not ball trajectory, etc. I did not spend much time with either Aero or Pure Bab due to harshness and too much power. So, I cannot talk much about differences (if any) in launch angle, control, spin...
However, I can definitely tell that this frame is nowhere nearly as "harsh" as the Babs and definitely (in this form, un-customized) lower power.
 
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I can guarantee the PJ won’t be blackout gloss like that if it gets to the retail market.

I have had a pair inbound for a few weeks now and hoping to have them this week Identical to the pictured units above at least in terms of PJ and string pattern.
 
gutfeeling said:
How does it compare to gt98? Will retail pj be glossy as well?
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No idea about Wilson PJ. The GT98 feel was still better, higher launch angle and higher power though the W was only about 320SW vs 332 on my GT98. Not apples to apples to my frames but definitely decent feel. I could control the ball better with my GT98 however, it could be my setup, I am used to, again.
 
dr325i said:
No idea about Wilson PJ. The GT98 feel was still better, higher launch angle and higher power though the W was only about 320SW vs 332 on my GT98. Not apples to apples to my frames but definitely decent feel. I could control the ball better with my GT98 however, it could be my setup, I am used to, again.
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320 SW or slightly below would be great for me. Hopefully the shape is faster through the air than the Shift one.

Too many of the Shift 99 300g came in below 310 SW strung that was the downfall of that line
 
dr325i said:
No idea about Wilson PJ. The GT98 feel was still better, higher launch angle and higher power though the W was only about 320SW vs 332 on my GT98. Not apples to apples to my frames but definitely decent feel. I could control the ball better with my GT98 however, it could be my setup, I am used to, again.
Click to expand...
Which one is more power and higher launch angle? The string pattern of the Silson also looks pretty opepn for a 16x20 98sqi.
 
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