I have just gotten back into playing tennis after a 5 year break. I am a 4.0 player who is approaching 4.5 if I am being really strict. I hit with an eastern forehand and a one handed continental backhand. I am 31, overweight but otherwise muscular build and I have never had trouble with the weight of the prostaff 85. I settled on it a while back and jumped all over it when they re released it. After messing around with different Ncode and Kfactor 90 sq inch frames, I just kept coming back to the pro staff 85. The feel of the pro staff 85 always felt just unmatched to me. On serves, the volleys at the net, crushing flat forehands, the sliced backhands... It just felt so awesome to use... but technology has changed. It's the big argument I always see that is just overwhelming no matter where I look when I read about tennis rackets. But the laws of physics have not changed. The frame performs incredibly well based on your ability, your swing, and your playing style.
So now that it's been 5 years later and I am a bit rusty, I forget which tension I like, and I forget which strings I like... I thought well... all things considered perhaps I should try something different. Perhaps I should try a bigger frame. My... how times have changed... Wilson no longer even makes a 90 inch frame (is that right?) let alone an 85. Federer uses a 97 now. Really? Wow. Well I'm not Federer. I don't try to be. I will never be a pro. I just want to have fun and enjoy swinging the racket. With the prostaff 85 I just love to hit with it. It IS fun and I have always performed the best with it too.
Ok so I heard all the rave reviews about the RF97 Autograph and so I decided to demo it through Tennis Warehouse. Fantastic experience as always from Tennis Warehouse. What I expected was a frame which would be about the same weight, balance, swingweight etc, just basically a bigger head size. So a larger sweetspot and more forgiving, without compromising too much on everything else.
My experience after demoing it is that I noticed quite a bit less power and accuracy on my serve. I noticed that it was easier a little bit easier to generate spin and I was able to handle the ball when it was hit high to my backhand. This frame felt lighter. I didn't feel as tired swinging it... which was odd because it's very similar to the prostaff85. Maybe the rubber vs leather grip made a noticeable difference? I have trouble sometimes with topspin shots that go high on me backhand side. This racket seemed to help a lot with these shots as I could slice them back very effectively. Other than that I did not like this racket at all.
I felt that with the RF97 Autograph it was significantly less powerful on backhand drives, forehand drives, and volleys. It felt more like a flyswatter and less like a frying pan. The shots just felt so much less concentrated in the middle of the frame in the way that they are in the prostaff 85 with the tiny sweet spot. I LOVE the unmistakable feel of a freight train in my hand slamming into the ball. With this racket I was bullied off the court a bit more so than with the prostaff85 during aggressive rallies.
The RF97 LS was basically not even usable. It felt like hitting with a styrafoam cup. More spin, easier to swing, probably good for a beginner or a junior who is working on their strokes and consistency, but It seemed like it took an awful lot to get the ball moving and put away shots. On the serve it was difficult to generate much pace and I did not even noticed much increase with slice at all.
All of this being said... I am here in the year 2018 wondering what to do. I love the prostaff 85 but feel that I am missing out on potential in a bigger head size. Frankly... if I have to be honest with you all I just picked up an old Wilson Ultra 2 80sq inch and tried it out. LOL. Now this may be my new racket of choice. More power on the serve and groundstrokes, powerful, low sliced backhand, powerful forehands, lethal volleys... the small head frame does not bother me at all.
Does anyone have any comments on this? Is it possible that I may enjoy the RF97 Autograph if I were to string it at something like 70 pounds to help give it that frying pan feel? The demo is strung at 57, which would be feel much tighter on an 85 sq inch IIRC. Does anyone have a similar experience? Should I just stick with the prostaff 85?
So now that it's been 5 years later and I am a bit rusty, I forget which tension I like, and I forget which strings I like... I thought well... all things considered perhaps I should try something different. Perhaps I should try a bigger frame. My... how times have changed... Wilson no longer even makes a 90 inch frame (is that right?) let alone an 85. Federer uses a 97 now. Really? Wow. Well I'm not Federer. I don't try to be. I will never be a pro. I just want to have fun and enjoy swinging the racket. With the prostaff 85 I just love to hit with it. It IS fun and I have always performed the best with it too.
Ok so I heard all the rave reviews about the RF97 Autograph and so I decided to demo it through Tennis Warehouse. Fantastic experience as always from Tennis Warehouse. What I expected was a frame which would be about the same weight, balance, swingweight etc, just basically a bigger head size. So a larger sweetspot and more forgiving, without compromising too much on everything else.
My experience after demoing it is that I noticed quite a bit less power and accuracy on my serve. I noticed that it was easier a little bit easier to generate spin and I was able to handle the ball when it was hit high to my backhand. This frame felt lighter. I didn't feel as tired swinging it... which was odd because it's very similar to the prostaff85. Maybe the rubber vs leather grip made a noticeable difference? I have trouble sometimes with topspin shots that go high on me backhand side. This racket seemed to help a lot with these shots as I could slice them back very effectively. Other than that I did not like this racket at all.
I felt that with the RF97 Autograph it was significantly less powerful on backhand drives, forehand drives, and volleys. It felt more like a flyswatter and less like a frying pan. The shots just felt so much less concentrated in the middle of the frame in the way that they are in the prostaff 85 with the tiny sweet spot. I LOVE the unmistakable feel of a freight train in my hand slamming into the ball. With this racket I was bullied off the court a bit more so than with the prostaff85 during aggressive rallies.
The RF97 LS was basically not even usable. It felt like hitting with a styrafoam cup. More spin, easier to swing, probably good for a beginner or a junior who is working on their strokes and consistency, but It seemed like it took an awful lot to get the ball moving and put away shots. On the serve it was difficult to generate much pace and I did not even noticed much increase with slice at all.
All of this being said... I am here in the year 2018 wondering what to do. I love the prostaff 85 but feel that I am missing out on potential in a bigger head size. Frankly... if I have to be honest with you all I just picked up an old Wilson Ultra 2 80sq inch and tried it out. LOL. Now this may be my new racket of choice. More power on the serve and groundstrokes, powerful, low sliced backhand, powerful forehands, lethal volleys... the small head frame does not bother me at all.
Does anyone have any comments on this? Is it possible that I may enjoy the RF97 Autograph if I were to string it at something like 70 pounds to help give it that frying pan feel? The demo is strung at 57, which would be feel much tighter on an 85 sq inch IIRC. Does anyone have a similar experience? Should I just stick with the prostaff 85?
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