Karen Khachanov Blacked out Racket!

Hi guys,

Here we have a Xavi Colominas, the guy of Barcelona Tennis Lab, he customize Karen Kachanov's racquets.


Very interesting podcast, I assume that you can watch it with English subtitles.

50:20min he talks about new Karen racquet, apparently it will be a great new launch in 2026.

Hope it helps
 
heavyD said:
Is it confirmed that this spin frame has the Shift vertical bending? That would likely be a requirement of continuing the Shift name.
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It most likely will inherit some of the technology from the Shift regardless of the name. Some have mentioned the new ultras have incorporated a bit of that too just without the marketing.
 
thebigz said:
Where you hear that?
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I heard it anywhere. I was asking a yes or no question, not making a statement.

I ask in order to seek clarification because the newer posts on this thread only mention the one(s) with 16 mains and thought maybe they scrapped Karan's frame.
 
d-quik said:
I heard it anywhere. I was asking a yes or no question, not making a statement.

I ask in order to seek clarification because the newer posts on this thread only mention the one(s) with 16 mains and thought maybe they scrapped Karan's frame.
Click to expand...

In terms of pro stock, I had option to get 16x20 or 18x20. Can’t speak for what will come to retail.
 
lidoazndiabloboi said:
tennis-atp-men.jpg
tennis-atp-men.jpg
csm_2025_Karen_Khachanov_R1_94aa5e1805.jpg
w.jpg

a couple of larger pics. red wilson prostaff buttcap
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looks definitely extended frame. 27.5 or 28 inches ??
 
dr325i said:
Here goes Mr. StaMford
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In the meantime while I wait for these blackouts, all of DR’s updates on his experience with the GT98 made me try it again.

I demoed the frame a while back, and do remember liking it. I have to say it’s probably been some of my best tennis for a few days in a row now. It definitely destroys strings even using RPM Team 1.30 @ 56/54 but the ball it produces is pretty nuts. I’ve hit some impossible angles on both sides dropping at service line with spin and pace then going off court. Untouchable. This were not one offs either, it felt like that shot was just a available whenever.

Yes, need to be focused on closing face to avoid a weird shot but most of the time, even miss hits dive and land due the spin imparted.

I will also add, perhaps best slicing frame offensively and defensively.

This frame feels like it was designed for higher level players. There is a lot packed into the frame. Really fun few days.
 
dl32 said:
In terms of pro stock, I had option to get 16x20 or 18x20. Can’t speak for what will come to retail.
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I’ve been hitting a pair of 16x19s for a few months now. Straight from the Pro Lab at Wilson. Retail layup but unconfirmed whether this is a retail string pattern.
 
thebigz said:
Any thoughts you can share? Hope they keep it 16x20
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It’s a nice frame. Plenty connected. Doesn’t run hot like the pa98 does and adds significant heft to my ball. I’m never worried about depth control or hitting long even with the added spin and speed compared to my racquets of choice for years. Plenty stable even sub-310sw stock. Bumped it to my specs and it’s lovely. Coming from blade 98s for years and pure storm tours before that. I appreciate most racquets but rarely switch and I’ll almost certainly switch to this. Blackout gloss stays in the bag anyway haha
 
colan5934 said:
It’s a nice frame. Plenty connected. Doesn’t run hot like the pa98 does and adds significant heft to my ball. I’m never worried about depth control or hitting long even with the added spin and speed compared to my racquets of choice for years. Plenty stable even sub-310sw stock. Bumped it to my specs and it’s lovely. Coming from blade 98s for years and pure storm tours before that. I appreciate most racquets but rarely switch and I’ll almost certainly switch to this. Blackout gloss stays in the bag anyway haha
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Would you mind sharing your specs after mods?

Any chance you have a twist weight number on it?

Thank you.
 
colan5934 said:
It’s a nice frame. Plenty connected. Doesn’t run hot like the pa98 does and adds significant heft to my ball. I’m never worried about depth control or hitting long even with the added spin and speed compared to my racquets of choice for years. Plenty stable even sub-310sw stock. Bumped it to my specs and it’s lovely. Coming from blade 98s for years and pure storm tours before that. I appreciate most racquets but rarely switch and I’ll almost certainly switch to this. Blackout gloss stays in the bag anyway haha
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Thanks for sharing. Amazing that you can get a black gloss test frame to keep. Cheers
 
dl32 said:
Would you mind sharing your specs after mods?

Any chance you have a twist weight number on it?

Thank you.
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I put every frame right around 338g/32cm/325sw which is near my stock storm tours before mods and what I grooved my game with the most. I’ve bounced around experimenting looking for better, but this and 345/32/330 always feel like home. Lower swingweight only brings benefits with how little I actually hit now.

No I don’t have Twistweight, and neither me nor my MRT colleagues pay attention to it when matching and speccing (but if it works for you, keep using it)
 
Finally got it. I have roughly 8 hours on it.
1 singles match, 1 doubles match and rest of the time open play with some serve practice.

I’ve tried strings and tension I normally use in my PA98, which I didn’t like in the Wilson, and I’m only 3rd string setup, which seems to be a perfect fit.
 
dl32 said:
Finally got it. I have roughly 8 hours on it.
1 singles match, 1 doubles match and rest of the time open play with some serve practice.

I’ve tried strings and tension I normally use in my PA98, which I didn’t like in the Wilson, and I’m only 3rd string setup, which seems to be a perfect fit.
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Please god make it gloss black. Please.
 
I doubt that will be the case unfortunately. I obviously would not know just saying based on what these companies do. I hope retail is gloss at a minimum. The gloss blacks would be fantastic however.

I will give some thoughts after a few more sessions and matches. It plays differently than what I expected. I’m not saying good or bad. I thought it would behave in a certain way and it just has different dominant attributes.
 
Could you go into more detail? How did it behave differently than you think? What are its dominant attributes? What do you think it adds/takes away? Comparisons to PA or other spin rackets (like vcore - I use a vcore lol so it'd be helpful)? etc etc
 
I’ll be more complete after a little bit more time with the new strings, but I find driving and flatting out is far more natural than the PA98 or VCore98, and I do have some good time with each.

I’m not missing short balls long, whatsoever, due to the frame wanting to push the ball up. I’m not fighting the frame to push the ball down, it just does it. I do need to be more intentional shaping the ball.

I expected the opposite to be the case.
 
Last edited:
Mircat said:
Please god make it gloss black. Please.
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There are still some purported pics of this frame in the Blade V10 thread. In them, it's gloss finish red/gold with a fading snake skin pattern (bc it has the Cobra name). I just question them bc normally pics like that would have gotten nuked by now if they were the real deal.
 
Whatever that red frame is, is not the Khach or Korda blackouts. Head shape is completely different as well as the throat.
 
dl32 said:
I’ll be more complete after a little bit more time with the new strings, but I find driving and flatting out is far more natural than the PA98 or VCore98, and I do have some good time with each.

I’m not missing short balls long, whatsoever, because the frame wants to push the ball up. I’m not fighting the frame to push the ball down, it just does it. I do need to be more intentional shaping the ball.

I expected the opposite to be the case.
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Thank you for the insight, especially the comparison to the vcore. I look forward to your more complete review.
 
@dl32 - As far as you know, is what you have the final proto? As in, they're going to go to production with that you've got? Or not sure?

Also interested to know more on the playability.

TIA for anything more you can share!
 
dl32 said:
No clue on retail PJ.

The ones I’m testing are gloss black, identical to those DR325 posted
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I got to hit with the 16x19 version today, string with poly, customized (not to my spec) but 320SW, 335g, about 32.5cm balance.
I would need to add the weight at 3 and 9 for better stability and more Sw (330-332) and more to the but to make it more HL.
However, it is a nice feel stick, lower power than my GT98 (strung with gut/poly; 332SW).
Soft feel. I’d say low 60s. Muted but not too much.
 
dr325i said:
I got to hit with the 16x19 version today, string with poly, customized (not to my spec) but 320SW, 335g, about 32.5cm balance.
I would need to add the weight at 3 and 9 for better stability and more Sw (330-332) and more to the but to make it more HL.
However, it is a nice feel stick, lower power than my GT98 (strung with gut/poly; 332SW).
Soft feel. I’d say low 60s. Muted but not too much.
Click to expand...
dl32 said:
I’ll be more complete after a little bit more time with the new strings, but I find driving and flatting out is far more natural than the PA98 or VCore98, and I do have some good time with each.

I’m not missing short balls long, whatsoever, due to the frame wanting to push the ball up. I’m not fighting the frame to push the ball down, it just does it. I do need to be more intentional shaping the ball.

I expected the opposite to be the case.
Click to expand...
Reads like it is a Blade in a PA98 dress for halloween. Seems to have not much to do with the initially thought of a PA98 clone or a Shift V2.
 
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