The RF Pro Staff (latest black version) is my dream racquet. In fact, it is my favorite racquet of all time (40 yrs+ of playing). I crush average second serves, block back (with short swing) bullet serves and hit great topspin from the baseline. Can still flatten out on shots when wanting to be more aggressive......all with decent accuracy. At the net, the racquet is super at providing stability and control. I also love the feeling of hitting my 2HB with the racquet versus many others I have tried. The problem I have with the racquet is I'm an aging 4.5 to 5.0 level player whose shoulder is very tired after about 40 minutes of play. I don't think it's so much the weight that is bothering me. The racquet feels very stiff at the net even though I have switched to Wilson NXT Power 17. Off center shots from the baseline also produce unwanted vibration, despite being pretty good at hitting within the sweet spot. The RF racquet has a flex rating of 68 which is probably too high for my shoulder. My guess is I need a more flexible racquet but I really like the stability and spin potential of the Fed racquet. I have a demo on order of the following racquets:
1)Volkl V-Sense Tour
2)Volkl C10 Pro (racquet seems to have great specs, but skeptical how it performs versus more modern racquets)
3)ProKennex Ki Q+ Tour 300
4)ProKennex Ki Q+Pro 310
So far I've demoed:
1) Wilson CV Blade 18X20: Not enough topspin, I've been spoiled by the RF open frame which allows me to hit more topspin. Also, denser string pattern racquets are in by themselves more stiff so I've ruled the 18X20 Blade out.
2) Wilson CV Blade 16X19: Too head heavy. I also prefer a lighter head balance. I tried weighting the handle but still the racquet did not produce the control I was used to using the RF racquet and felt too head heavy after weighting it down.
3)Tried some of the Babloat Aero's but they are too stiff and found I couldn't flatten out on my shots as well as the Fed racquet.
4) I have tried various 16x18 racquets such at the Prince Textreme Warrior and Wilson Blade. I found these racquets more arm friendly and great for tremendous topspin but they are not very accurate when trying to be more aggressive when flattening out on shots.
So, the perfect racquet would have the following characteristics:
1)Arm friendly
2)Very stable
3)Access to spin (prefer 16x19)
4)Can flatten out on shots with accuracy
5)Head light balance of at least 6 points; preferably 9 points HL. (I can always customize to achieve the HL balance I like but don't want the racquet to weigh much more than 12.3 ounces)
What do you think of my demos I have on order? Any ideas where I can locate this dream racquet?
Thanks in advance........