New Racket Review Channel

D

Donmikan

Professional
This actually popped up on my youtube recommended even before @gino posted a thread here, which got deleted. I think TT policy is no self promotion, so i thought i would post a genuine stand up for the guy. Always nice to see someone review classic rackets and spread the love.
@gino maybe you would like to hear some criticism: sound isnt balanced among multiple videos, the out of 10 grades seem somewhat made up and provide no usefull information, (how is 7 average?) better to give two more descriptive sentences on each department of play instead of it. Also, i think the intro is long for given the format, i would crap it completely.
Nonetheless, i aplaud you for taking your time and having courage to help grow our racket loving community. Cheers to you mate!
 
Donmikan said:
This actually popped up on my youtube recommended even before @gino posted a thread here, which got deleted. I think TT policy is no self promotion, so i thought i would post a genuine stand up for the guy. Always nice to see someone review classic rackets and spread the love.
@gino maybe you would like to hear some criticism: sound isnt balanced among multiple videos, the out of 10 grades seem somewhat made up and provide no usefull information, (how is 7 average?) better to give two more descriptive sentences on each department of play instead of it. Also, i think the intro is long for given the format, i would crap it completely.
Nonetheless, i aplaud you for taking your time and having courage to help grow our racket loving community. Cheers to you mate!
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Hey man, i want to start off saying im really flattered you took the time out of your day to repost my content

I'm new to this space, but not talk tennis (15 year member). i understand you guys and a lot of ppl who roam this subforum. the point of creating my channel was to review old/timeless frames that still have a place in tennis in 2025, but also pepper in some new stuff i like. the channel was created solely for you guys. people who want to collect/try/resell old frames. i didnt even monetize my channel because i have no interest in that. simply want to share my passion for classic racquets in an easy/quick format

While i was really bummed my initial thread was removed (mainly because I posted the content myself), I think a lot of you here will resonate with my approach. The idea is to keep these time capsules as clear/concise reviews of classic/cool new racquets. I know someone is going to be interested in the flexpoint radical in 10 years, im sure of it. I've got a bunch of reviews already done, just need to fine tune them

I also really appreciate the feedback, was a bit unsure about the intro so I will trim that in half or remove totally. Its a good point in this format it needs to stay concise. I also considered removing the /10 ratings, but figured it's easy for most people to process (IE average power is 75% like an "average" grade on a test). More to come there, maybe I can do letter grades or just talk about playing attributes as you suggest. Also really appreciate the shout about mixing. Im still working through some kinks, so be patient with me, but it's really a joy to know that some of you like what I'm doing. Thank you for posting this man, restored some of my faith in humanity
 
Fresh content on the YT feed is always a welcome development! Think this nicely fills a gap for classic / older sticks where the only video maybe a TW review (many of which don't seem to exist anymore), before we had all these content creators. Thanks for the effort, @gino. Can't wait for you to do every iteration of the Tour 90 haha.
 
Trying to think of different ways to show how a classic frame compares to something current: maybe up/down arrows in relation to 1 or 2 current/popular frames

Example: PT57A would get matched with a Blade v9 for the side by side. The 18x20 if you really want apples to apples.

Just a different idea if you wanted to shift away from number grades.
 
mpournaras said:
You can hear how stiff the Breathe Cage 2 was. Sweet backhand
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Lmao thank you homie - more old squeaky nikes with dried up glue coming your way. My closet is a Nike tennis museum

Rosstour said:
I really liked it. Straight to hitting. No talking to the camera standing on the court or holding the racquet. Nice job dude!! This is great
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Thanks brother appreciate you. If nothing else an excuse to wear all the Nike gear lolololol

naturalexponent said:
Fresh content on the YT feed is always a welcome development! Think this nicely fills a gap for classic / older sticks where the only video maybe a TW review (many of which don't seem to exist anymore), before we had all these content creators. Thanks for the effort, @gino. Can't wait for you to do every iteration of the Tour 90 haha.
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My man. Appreciate this sentiment and you know damn well every pro staff will find its way onto this channel

emhtennis said:
Trying to think of different ways to show how a classic frame compares to something current: maybe up/down arrows in relation to 1 or 2 current/popular frames

Example: PT57A would get matched with a Blade v9 for the side by side. The 18x20 if you really want apples to apples.

Just a different idea if you wanted to shift away from number grades.
Click to expand...

Great idea man. I like the thought of making some way to quickly compare. Maybe I can have a list of OGs / gold standards to compare new stuff to. Like every blade ever compared against the nBlade. Every prestige compared against the pro tour. Every pure drive against the swirly. So on, so forth


To all - thanks for encouragement guys feel like this quest is a worthwhile one after hearing back from a few of you
 
TheBoom said:
Didn’t realize it was you behind it and I’ve been watching the reviews all week haha. Great stuff though, very concise and I find the approach refreshing. Looking forward to watching more!
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appreciate that one og to another man .. it’s interesting to hear the feedback mostly reinforce the intent in your comments. Intent is to be concise & light. I tore my LCL and broke my left knee in 3 spots last year (10 months ago), so moving in a lot of these videos is super gentle/upright as I work my way back into relatively decent (dad bod but agile) shape through rehab and a lot of ball machine hours. I wish I thought of this 5 years ago when I was 30lbs lighter and had fresher legs.. anyway, glad to see long time contributors like yourself see some value/entertainment in it
 
gino said:
appreciate that one og to another man .. it’s interesting to hear the feedback mostly reinforce the intent in your comments. Intent is to be concise & light. I tore my LCL and broke my left knee in 3 spots last year (10 months ago), so moving in a lot of these videos is super gentle/upright as I work my way back into relatively decent (dad bod but agile) shape through rehab and a lot of ball machine hours. I wish I thought of this 5 years ago when I was 30lbs lighter and had fresher legs.. anyway, glad to see long time contributors like yourself see some value/entertainment in it
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Good luck recovering! LCL injuries are no joke. Glad you've been able to get back on court!
 
gino said:
appreciate that one og to another man .. it’s interesting to hear the feedback mostly reinforce the intent in your comments. Intent is to be concise & light. I tore my LCL and broke my left knee in 3 spots last year (10 months ago), so moving in a lot of these videos is super gentle/upright as I work my way back into relatively decent (dad bod but agile) shape through rehab and a lot of ball machine hours. I wish I thought of this 5 years ago when I was 30lbs lighter and had fresher legs.. anyway, glad to see long time contributors like yourself see some value/entertainment in it
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Damn dude how did that happen? Impact or a DelPo/Yao style non-contact break?
 
Rosstour said:
Damn dude how did that happen? Impact or a DelPo/Yao style non-contact break?
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Hate to relive it but it's a wild story to tell. I was playing pickup basketball in an nba arena. Made a layup and was jogging back on defense when another player flat-tired me back of right foot. Never even saw who did it to me. I tried to catch the fall with my left leg, but my toe caught the lateral edge of my outsoles. Twist and crack. Thought I was cooked/going for a full knee replacement after the first couple days. Swelled like a balloon and couldnt bend. Diagnosis was luckily evaded any full crucial ligament ruptures. The LCL tore partially, but has held up fine. The three fractures are actually the worst part, brutal contact injury with the floor as I tried to regain balance. One of the bones still kind of protrudes out of my leg (fibular head). I made it 31 years of life with no lower extremity injury, so really struggled with this one. Laid up in bed for 4 weeks/crutches. I was very lucky no surgery was needed (LCL tear healed), but Im definitely not the same player or athlete anymore. & that's okay. Im just grateful I can still play tennis
 
gino said:
Hate to relive it but it's a wild story to tell. I was playing pickup basketball in an nba arena. Made a layup and was jogging back on defense when another player flat-tired me back of right foot. Never even saw who did it to me. I tried to catch the fall with my left leg, but my toe caught the lateral edge of my outsoles. Twist and crack. Thought I was cooked/going for a full knee replacement after the first couple days. Swelled like a balloon and couldnt bend. Diagnosis was luckily evaded any full crucial ligament ruptures. The LCL tore partially, but has held up fine. The three fractures are actually the worst part, brutal contact injury with the floor as I tried to regain balance. One of the bones still kind of protrudes out of my leg (fibular head). I made it 31 years of life with no lower extremity injury, so really struggled with this one. Laid up in bed for 4 weeks/crutches. I was very lucky no surgery was needed (LCL tear healed), but Im definitely not the same player or athlete anymore. & that's okay. Im just grateful I can still play tennis
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Fukfukfuk. That is awful dude

So the kneecap was secondary as you staggered--what was the crack in the initial "twist and crack"? Just the ligament?

Man, I know ppl love basketball, but I know too many tennis players who've been robbed of their explosion bc of lower leg injuries. My heart aches for ya bro
 
Rosstour said:
Fukfukfuk. That is awful dude

So the kneecap was secondary as you staggered--what was the crack in the initial "twist and crack"? Just the ligament?

Man, I know ppl love basketball, but I know too many tennis players who've been robbed of their explosion bc of lower leg injuries. My heart aches for ya bro
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Thanks for the wishes bro, appreciate that

Apparently the crack was my ligaments all folding around the twisted knee, but somehow they all held up aside from the LCL

I think you'll be pleased to know I've retired from pickup hoops lol not worth it at all
 
McGradey said:
Great work @gino
Love to see it. Subbed. Will look forward to the various 6.1 reviews which are no doubt in the pipeline!

And thanks for the heads up @Donmikan
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Thank you bro, yo know me too well on the pro staff/6.1 95 sticks. Going to try and get into a good formula/rhytmh before I drop those gems. Cheers man and thanks for the support

oldmanyellingatcloud said:
great content, looking forward to watching more of what you're cooking up

Mac Miller and the PT57A, two GOATs in one video
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hah thanks bro appreciate you. I think a lot of what Im going after is making these reviews "re-watchable" & a big focus in that intention is queuing up great music/melody that people dont mind hearing for 3 mins straight, thanks for the support man
 
gino said:
Thanks for the wishes bro, appreciate that

Apparently the crack was my ligaments all folding around the twisted knee, but somehow they all held up aside from the LCL

I think you'll be pleased to know I've retired from pickup hoops lol not worth it at all
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Where are you at dude? We should do a collab video but I have a feeling you're in CA haha
 
Rosstour said:
Where are you at dude? We should do a collab video but I have a feeling you're in CA haha
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You guessed right bro, bay area born and raised. Spent 10 years in southern CA (praying for those folks right now), but been back in the bay for about 7 years

You're welcome at the club if you ever make it out here. I'm sure I'll have some fun rackets laying around we can do a spin on together
 
I didn’t realized it was you @gino until this thread but also after watching a few videos.

Now I gotta get the channel going with @taylor15. Definitely have a few personal sticks and some others from him that we want to review.

Overall, love the content and hopefully one day we can collab!
 
David Le said:
I didn’t realized it was you @gino until this thread but also after watching a few videos.

Now I gotta get the channel going with @taylor15. Definitely have a few personal sticks and some others from him that we want to review.

Overall, love the content and hopefully one day we can collab!
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David my man. lol it's funny how many of you have been served the content but didn't realize it was your TT bretheren (makes sense given my channel is just branded as 3 min reviews)

Would love to get on a pod or do something together with you guys in the future. Thanks for the support man, appreciate you
 
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I dont want to post any of my content here personally (others can I believe if you feel inclined), to avoid the thread getting messed with.

I will however update you all on what's been posted:
  • Wilson kBlade 98
  • Wilson Blade 98 18x20 v9
  • Wilson nTour 95
  • HEAD Youtek Prestige Pro
  • HEAD Flexpoint Radical MP
  • HEAD Prestige Pro Aux 1.0
  • HEAD Prestige Pro Aux 2.0
  • HEAD TGK 231.3 (MG Radical MP 16x19)
  • HEAD PT57A
  • Babolat Pure Strike Tour Gen 3
  • Babolat Pure Strike 16x19 Gen 4
  • Babolat Pure Strike VS
In the queue:
  • HEAD Pro Tour 2.0
  • HEAD ti.Radical MP
  • HEAD Graphene Radical Rev (our OPs wand of choice)
  • HEAD Speed MP 2024
  • HEAD GT98
  • HEAD Gravity Pro 2025
  • Wilson RF97 v10
  • Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14
  • Wilson Pro Staff k90
  • Wilson Pro Staff n90
  • Wilson Pro Staff 85
  • Prince POG
Please reply here with any suggestions for reviews. Almost to 100 subs and around 6k views. Thanks for the support everyone!
 
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Rosstour said:
I watched the Blade v9 video bc I love the Blade 98

Head Boom Pro or MP or whatever it is is a stick I'm curious about for sure.
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Boom pro added to the list, still need to try one. we have some demos floating around the club. to be continued..
 
gino said:
its in there mate! cheers from one PST-truther to another
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Just saw it - great endorsement! Once a racquet reviewer says a model is the primary one he has used for four years, enough said. It can be a 15-second review in that case!

If you look at specs, many players shied away because of the 12 oz static weight. When they’ve tried playing with it using one of my racquets, there is universal love on how easy it is to get power and control with a big sweet spot and good maneuverability.
 
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socallefty said:
Just saw it - great endorsement! Once a racquet reviewer says a model is the primary one he has used for four years, enough said. It can be a 15-second review in that case!

If you look at specs, many players shied away because of the 12 oz static weight. When they’ve tried playing with it using one of my racquets, there is universal love on how easy it is to get power and control with a big sweet spot and good maneuverability.
Click to expand...

thanks man, i do agree about the general playability of the PST. to me, its a frame that on paper scares people but its super forgiving in a lot of ways. I actually think having the extra SW and static weight on tap makes it easier to use than the lighter versions, so long as you can maintain decent RHS. appreciate you tuning in and your undying loyalty to the PST
 
gino said:
thanks man, i do agree about the general playability of the PST. to me, its a frame that on paper scares people but its super forgiving in a lot of ways. I actually think having the extra SW and static weight on tap makes it easier to use than the lighter versions, so long as you can maintain decent RHS. appreciate you tuning in and your undying loyalty to the PST
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I bought my wife a Strike normal weight 16x19 originally a few years ago in her 2nd year of playing. After a few months, she tried my Tour a couple of times, liked it way better and switched to it. It is as maneuverable as it is balanced more headlight while having more stability, comfort and a bigger sweet spot than the normal weight which I’ve demo’d in each gen. So, now we are a PST couple for the last four years strung the same way - VS/HyperG Soft at 47/44.
 
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socallefty said:
I bought my wife a Strike normal weight 16x19 originally a few years ago in her 2nd year of playing. After a few months, she tried my Tour a couple of times, liked it way better and switched to it. It is as maneuverable as it is balanced more headlight while having more stability, comfort and a bigger sweet spot than the normal weight which I’ve demo’d in each gen. So, now we are a PST couple for the last four years strung the same way - VS/Hyper Soft at 47/44.
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Love to hear it man. It’s funny how a heavy spec has built up stigma but can work for a lot of players. Had a funny instance with my wife where she thought my 365/approx 375SW pro staff 97 v14 was light. It was almost like it made tennis easier for her & was swinging very freely even at that spec. I think we should just swing what produces the best/more preferred flight of the tennis ball. The tennis ball is our best teacher
 
gino said:
Love to hear it man. It’s funny how a heavy spec has built up stigma but can work for a lot of players. Had a funny instance with my wife where she thought my 365/approx 375SW pro staff 97 v14 was light. It was almost like it made tennis easier for her & was swinging very freely even at that spec. I think we should just swing what produces the best/more preferred flight of the tennis ball. The tennis ball is our best teacher
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I think if you did blind demos of blacked out racquets just like you do blind tastings with wine, you would get different reactions than if a player knew what they are playing with. Some players want to like only heavy racquets and are biased against lighter racquets while others think heavy racquets will ‘tire out’ their arms. Or they may have biases against specific brands or certain models. A lot of ‘placebo effect’ going on when it comes to what players think of racquets. Maybe an idea for a tennis channel show!
 
Rosstour said:
Was coming here to say this. VC95

Also, left field....Volkl Power Bridge 10

93 inch oblong head and gets killer reviews
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VC95 is very much up my alley as a legacy Wilson 6.1 95 guy

Love the Volkl shout, I've used their strings for the better part of 10 years but for some reason dont give their frames a long enough look. Also added to the short list.. oh and per your early ask, found a Boom MP demo at the club today. More to come there. Cheers
 
gino said:
David my man. lol it's funny how many of you have been served the content but didn't realize it was your TT bretheren (makes sense given my channel is just branded as 3 min reviews)

Would love to get on a pod or do something together with you guys in the future. Thanks for the support man, appreciate you
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Why didn’t I see this reply till now :-D My bad

It’s your mysterious persona that’s why lol

Sounds like a plan, definitely down for a pod too. You bet, and I appreciate you too!
 
Hey all - quick update for anyone interested

Completed/posted since my last post:
  • Babolat PA98
  • HEAD Pro Tour 2.0
  • HEAD ti.Radical MP
  • Wilson RF97 v10
  • Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14
  • Wilson 6.1 95
    • Hyper pro staff
    • nCode
    • k-factor
    • BLX 1.0
In the queue:
  • HEAD Graphene Radical Rev (our OPs wand of choice)
  • HEAD Speed MP 2024
  • HEAD GT98
  • HEAD Gravity Pro 2025
  • Wilson Pro Staff k90
  • Wilson Pro Staff n90
  • Wilson Pro Staff 85
  • Prince POG
  • Yonex VC95
  • Babolat Pure Drives (filmed and editing)
    • Swirly
    • Team
    • Cortex 2.0 2009
    • Cortex 3.0 2012
 
Love your channel, and your review of older racquets. Kfactor 95 6.1 is one of my favorites. Seems like you're carving out a niche for concise, efficient reviews. Wish my strokes were as smooth as yours, especially your backhand.

Stylistic comment: frequent use of the phrase "in terms of" (the serve, the backhand, the volley, etc.). Maybe just say "the backhand is excellent" or whatever you want to say. Otherwise, congratulations on your channel!
 
SVP said:
Love your channel, and your review of older racquets. Kfactor 95 6.1 is one of my favorites. Seems like you're carving out a niche for concise, efficient reviews. Wish my strokes were as smooth as yours, especially your backhand.

Stylistic comment: frequent use of the phrase "in terms of" (the serve, the backhand, the volley, etc.). Maybe just say "the backhand is excellent" or whatever you want to say. Otherwise, congratulations on your channel!
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot man, I really appreciate comments like this. Kinda the fuel I need to keep going. Also, the k6.1 is so damn good. I think it’s the longest frame I’ve used as a main stick 2007-2011

It’s funny you mention that one phrase, it’s something I’m trying to intentionally vary, but for some reason my broken a— brain keeps blurting that out lol I really do appreciate the constructive critical notes. It’s helping me refine this formula.

I’m just glad to see some of you folks are entertained by my internal dialogue about frames. Thanks as well for the compliments on the mechanics, many hours spent trying to be Tommy Haas lol. Thanks again for the support and happy hitting
 
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