Prince re-releases for their 50th anniversary

E

es-335

New User
As I posted before, the front page of princetennis.com goes to the TW page, likely because the website isn't complete (there's a few unfinished pages there.) But what's interesting is this page, which states -

Some absolute gems on this list. But even after narrowing down to the following, some of these stories seemed to just stand a little bit taller than the rest in terms of their significance. So, after countless hours of debate and discussion we settled on 3 “re-releases” for our 50th Anniversary.​
​
1. Prince Original Graphite (one stripe, individual grommets)​
​
2. Michael Chang Graphite OS (1st generation, OS)​
​
3. CTS Synergy DB26 MP​

http://www.princetennis.com/beyond-the-net/2020/3/24/re-creating-the-classics-part-1

I would not be surprised if this is on hold right now.
 
Automatix

Automatix

Legend
We'll see what we end up with...
Also interesting if they release grommets for these, based on history I think not...
 
vsbabolat

vsbabolat

G.O.A.T.
es-335 said:
As I posted before, the front page of princetennis.com goes to the TW page, likely because the website isn't complete (there's a few unfinished pages there.) But what's interesting is this page, which states -

Some absolute gems on this list. But even after narrowing down to the following, some of these stories seemed to just stand a little bit taller than the rest in terms of their significance. So, after countless hours of debate and discussion we settled on 3 “re-releases” for our 50th Anniversary.​
​
1. Prince Original Graphite (one stripe, individual grommets)​
​
2. Michael Chang Graphite OS (1st generation, OS)​
​
3. CTS Synergy DB26 MP​

http://www.princetennis.com/beyond-the-net/2020/3/24/re-creating-the-classics-part-1

I would not be surprised if this is on hold right now.
Click to expand...
They should have done the Prince CTS Lightning 90. Capriati never used the DB26 MP. It was always the CTS Lightning 90 and then the CTS Lightning 90 with DB26 MP paint.
 
Bhagi Katbamna

Bhagi Katbamna

Legend
I had a Graphite Comp XB that I really liked. I thought I broke a string when I heard a snap when I hit a ball but it was the racket that cracked. Probably not one of the classics though.
 
bleno567

bleno567

Professional
Looking forward to the Chang Graphite.

Wish they'd re-release the Diablo MP too. That was their last great frame before their dip happened... or better yet, release the Diablo MP in 28"
 
jersey34tennis

jersey34tennis

Professional
prince should release the precision equipe and precision equipe in the 95 version. for people who loved the 6.1 this would be perfect to fill that void. I also championed the equipe 95 longbody as a mix of a 6.1 95 and a pure drive tour plus. I believe michelle has a soft spot for the 95 lb. they might also want to look into the warrior 97's. the most versatile frame they ever produced. just change the paint around so it's either a better white paint or better yet change the pain. the classic response was a nice try but the warrior was a better spec honestly
 
M

MachoSauce

New User
vsbabolat said:
They should have done the Prince CTS Lightning 90. Capriati never used the DB26 MP. It was always the CTS Lightning 90 and then the CTS Lightning 90 with DB26 MP paint.
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing, thought I was going crazy. It'd be cool to see how that racket feels now. The Lightning was my first real racket and what I learned with. Played with them for many years.
 
E

es-335

New User
I can appreciate the challenge of deciding which racquets to pick - they had to balance how popular the racquets were with the public, historical significance and impact on the industry, and association with a professional player. I'm not sure I'd have picked the single stripe Graphite, though it was significant in being the original one - I would have preferred the 4 stripe Graphite (my racquet for the last 30 years) and the one Chang, Sabatini, and Seles won grand slam titles with, though the current one is close enough to it I guess. The Spectrum Comp, a very popular racquet with the public, would have been a nice pick though there weren't any significant tour players who used it. The Magnesium Pro (Pat Cash) would been another good pick - I would have picked one up for its retro appeal (and reputation as a really good frame).
 
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P

PaulC

Professional
Why limit at bringing back the exact old models?

Besides, for example, the 1-stripe POG with individual grommet may not sell as well as people thought. (seriously, a 13 oz+ frame nowadays?? Just for hanging up on the wall??)

A Taiwan (NOT Thailand) 4 stripes POG may sell much better (c.f. Head Pro Tour 2.0).

For me, as a former 4 stripes POG mid user who is now playing with various bigger Head Prestige Pro 95s / Wilson Blade 98s / Babolat PS 98s...

I would like to see a new POG 97 with glossy paint and original POG head shape. (not like the current Phantoms which are rounder)...

Kinda like the discontinued Graphite 100, but a tad smaller and with glossy paint job. G100 was too big for POG mid users while too small for POG OS users.

The current Phantoms are just ... not the same (at least not feeling the same without the horizontal bar) :)
Also, the Phantom 97 is simply too plush for POG users. We are forever 65-67 RA guys!!

Ditto to a Diablo Tour 97 with all glossy paint (like the Diablo XP), but lighter swing-weight like the POGs.

Seriously, for frames that are near or at 12.0z, you DON'T need a 335 gm strung swing-weight for most players. A 320-325 will be more than suffice, if you play with any topspin at all.

-- which is what I don't like about the Diablo mid 93, besides the matte paint job. It just felt too head heavy compared to POG.
 
McLovin

McLovin

Legend
My God we're such complainers on this forum. In case you just glanced the article, there's this paragraph near the bottom:

I’m sure that every single person reading this article has their own list, with their own reason and let me tell you right here and right now…. you’re right :). If we learned anything throughout this process, it’s that there was no way we were going to get it “right” for everyone. We had dozens of phone calls and twice as many emails and messages and not one of them had the exact same list.​

So, they get it. Everyone want's a different 'classic' brought back. But I say, instead of lamenting what they should have done, lets commend them for attempting to bring back some classics (and hope they don't F it up like Head did w/ the PT 2.0). Who knows, if they get it right and are able to actually re-create these 3 successfully, maybe they'll bring back a couple others...and then maybe a couple more.

In the mean time, I'm licking my chops for the Chang LB. I haven't played w/ an OS since college (not counting @J011yroger's Traveling Radical) which, ironically, was the CTS Blast...the predecessor of CTS Synergy 26 line.
 
E

es-335

New User
McLovin said:
My God we're such complainers on this forum. In case you just glanced the article, there's this paragraph near the bottom:

I’m sure that every single person reading this article has their own list, with their own reason and let me tell you right here and right now…. you’re right :). If we learned anything throughout this process, it’s that there was no way we were going to get it “right” for everyone. We had dozens of phone calls and twice as many emails and messages and not one of them had the exact same list.​

So, they get it. Everyone want's a different 'classic' brought back. But I say, instead of lamenting what they should have done, lets commend them for attempting to bring back some classics (and hope they don't F it up like Head did w/ the PT 2.0). Who knows, if they get it right and are able to actually re-create these 3 successfully, maybe they'll bring back a couple others...and then maybe a couple more.

In the mean time, I'm licking my chops for the Chang LB. I haven't played w/ an OS since college (not counting @J011yroger's Traveling Radical) which, ironically, was the CTS Blast...the predecessor of CTS Synergy 26 line.
Click to expand...
I don't think anybody here is really lamenting and complaining as much as talking about and reminiscing about Prince frames we love, which is a good thing especially since a lot of these frames are ones that younger players have never heard about.
 
McLovin

McLovin

Legend
es-335 said:
I don't think anybody here is really lamenting and complaining as much as talking about and reminiscing about Prince frames we love, which is a good thing especially since a lot of these frames are ones that younger players have never heard about.
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Do you have kids? Because it sounds a lot like complaining to me...

Stop antagonizing your sister! Don't make me pull this thing over!
 
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onehandbh

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
Diablo XP said:
Man this is a good idea. I have a Diablo XP in the garage that was gut for it's life.
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I wanted to like it when I got the Diablo Mid, but gave up. It just had too much power compared to the PS85 I was used to.

With full poly it might be nice.
 
jersey34tennis

jersey34tennis

Professional
i have a diablo mid with vs black mains and rpm crosses that is such a good racquet to inject pace with , I don't bring my racquet head speed to the game but this thing seems to add it's own boost just when you need it. still have a few of the mids and a couple midplus in the basement waiting to see sunlight
 
H

hadoken

Semi-Pro
I generally agree with the list if you want to align a frame to the players that made a splash with them, but I think Prince is missing the mark here. These are going to be marketed to tennis enthusiasts (not the casual player) so I would have gone with frames that might have more appeal to that market without sacrificing the historical context (which IMO should be the technology). From that perspective I would have done as follows

-Switch POG to Prince Boron...POG is still somewhat around whereas the Boron was that ultra rare unicorn in the 80s because of the price tag
-Switch to CTS Graduate, Approach or maybe even Lightning. The CTS Synergy line was not very good IMO. The original CTS was a massive seller with the widebody revolution - I would have picked from the 1st generation CTS
-Chang OS - No change here

Prince wasn't a market leader with designs like the Diablo or the Equipe...so I get why they would not make the list. O3 is too new, not to mention I feel people have a love/hate with O ports that limits the appeal. Lastly, the original Vortex kinda sucked so it's was a very expensive but not-very-good frame...
 
Slowtwitcher

Slowtwitcher

Legend
hadoken said:
I generally agree with the list if you want to align a frame to the players that made a splash with them, but I think Prince is missing the mark here. These are going to be marketed to tennis enthusiasts (not the casual player) so I would have gone with frames that might have more appeal to that market without sacrificing the historical context (which IMO should be the technology). From that perspective I would have done as follows

-Switch POG to Prince Boron...POG is still somewhat around whereas the Boron was that ultra rare unicorn in the 80s because of the price tag
-Switch to CTS Graduate, Approach or maybe even Lightning. The CTS Synergy line was not very good IMO. The original CTS was a massive seller with the widebody revolution - I would have picked from the 1st generation CTS
-Chang OS - No change here

Prince wasn't a market leader with designs like the Diablo or the Equipe...so I get why they would not make the list. O3 is too new, not to mention I feel people have a love/hate with O ports that limits the appeal. Lastly, the original Vortex kinda sucked so it's was a very expensive but not-very-good frame...
Click to expand...


I suspect the Phantom 93P's are a lot like the CTS Approach/Graduate
 
McLovin

McLovin

Legend
Dartagnan64 said:
I would have asked for a Prince Woodie, Michael Chang POG LB and the Spectrum Comp 110.
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The article is no longer accessible, but I’m sorry to tell you the Woodie is one they said everyone asked for, and the one they said they simply cannot make. Period.
 
T

thanu

Semi-Pro
Interesting they're bringing back the Chang OS. I have a few of them if anyone is interested... would trade for some Prince Graphite longbodies in 1/4 or 3/8... wish they would bring that back!
 
bleno567

bleno567

Professional
scotus said:
I am just waiting for Phantom Graphite LB in 97 to 100 sq in.
Click to expand...

That would be good. I really wish they'd mass produce something similar to the ozone tours that Ferrero, Coria, Ferrer, Andujar, Davydenko etc. played with. If top young players got their hands on them, Prince would probably have them on the hook for their entire pro careers since nothing else really feels similar.
 
Rock-solid

Rock-solid

Rookie
Not sure if these are related to 50th Anniversary, but my local Prince source said that these new Phantoms Limited Editions are due to be released in August:

1) Phantom 100G LTD (updated version of Phantom 100P with crossbar) unstrung weight 310g, unstrung balance 31cm, swing weight 290, 16x18, length 27.5(?)

2) Phantom 100G LG LTD (updated version of Phantom 100P with crossbar and 28" length) unstrung weight 310g, unstrung balance 31.5cm, swing weight 305, 16x18

3) Phantom 107G LTD (special 107 version of Phantom with crossbar, 21-17mm CTS section) unstrung weight 305g, unstrung balance 31cm, swing weight 290, 16x18, length 27.5(?)

Only confirmed length was the longbody at 28", the other two are guessed at 27.5.
 
AceyMan

AceyMan

Professional
Rock-solid said:
2) Phantom 100G LG LTD (updated version of Phantom 100P with crossbar and 28" length) unstrung weight 310g, unstrung balance 31.5cm, swing weight 305, 16x18
Click to expand...

Uoof. I can see me needing a bag full of these bad boys. I hope it's true.
 
E

elitekuo

Rookie
Phantom 107G LTD
7tj109.jpg
 
DJ-

DJ-

Hall of Fame
Limited edition pj only as mentioned for the 50th anniversary. There will also be standard paint prince style.
 
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