matchmaker
Hall of Fame
Pro Kennex seems to have major distribution problems in the U.S., especially if it comes to Redondo mids, however Redondo MP’s are still largely available, which makes this review relevant.
In fact I wanted to test the mid, as I am currently more familiar with that headsize, but the guy I struck a deal with told me after I made the payment, on the day we had agreed upon, that he had already sold the racquet to another buyer. That is reliable for you…. He did restore payment BTW, but the frame had gone.
Anyway, so I got myself a midplus. Today I took it out for a test. Here are my impressions.
About me: I used to be rather a baseline player but lately have fully developed to an all court game, coming to net whenever possible and winning most points once I get there. I hit a semi-western to full western forehand (depending on the racquet I play with and on game intuition, for example with the Redondo midplus I was rather hitting with full western grip). My backhand is one handed and, even if I say so myself (and all my opponents), very good. Last week I played the perfect backhand game winning four consecutive points with amazing backhand shots, crosscourt and along the line. My service has become a more or less strong point at my level. I hit about 1 to 3 aces per set and quite some unreturnable services. I also come in after my service to finish the point at the net about 30 to 50 percent of the time, depending on what surface I am playing. I do not like to rate myself but, as I live abroad and cannot compete to have a ranking, I would say I am a 3.5 to 4.0 player. I play about 3 times a week.
My current racquet is a Wilson Reflex midsize, I have three of them and I am probably one of the last people on earth in that situation. Some people say it is a graphite version of the PS 6.0 out of the same mold, but I fail to believe so because the beam width is 19 and not 17 mm. Off course headsize and PWS are exactly the same. Although the frame must be a tad more flexible (no Kevlar in it) and the string pattern is 16/19, fairly closed.
So, here we go….
Design: 9,5/10
Hands off for the design. The PK Redondo is one of the most beautiful racquets out there
Quality : 7/10
The quality however leaves quite a bit to desire at some points. The fancy red you see on photos on the web turns out to be rather maroon and the paint is rubbery instead of glossy, which gives a sort of sticky feeling when you put your non-playing hand on the racquet throat to change grip. The racquet throat by the way is rather open, so a bit too broad IMO. I like a fine throat that fits almost in the palm of your hand, e.g. Becker’s Puma/Estusa, Pro Staff 6.0 or Wilson Reflex.
The grommets and bumper guard seem to be made out of a cheaper plastic than other brands. The handle does not have an open butt cap, which is typical for Pro Kennex, so too bad if you wanted to put some weight in it. The grip is made of leather but all in all very thin and could start to move around as, if I am not mistaken, it is not stapled on at the bottom and the glue is very loose. Under the grip there is no foam but a simple plastic pallet. BTW, the grip is rather short, which may be a problem for two handers.
Overall advice: buy an extra set of grommets and reglue the grip, off course after you decide whether or not to customise the frame with additional lead tape under the grip to balance the weight you might want to put at 9 and 3 o’ clock in the hoop. I will get back to this.
Comfort: 9/10
For comfort levels I think this frame could be compared with the holy grail of vibration absorbing frames, that is the Prince Original Graphite Oversize. Much has been said about the string sensitivity and the tinny feeling of the frame. I personally think that this issue is minimal and that it is a very comfortable frame, a very appropriate alternative for elbow sufferers. It does feel a tiny bit hollower and sometimes a little more unstable than the POGOS. IMO though, it does a very good job at offering relief for torque, twist and ball impact on the frame. I will get back to the degree of elbow friendliness of the frame.
Groundstrokes: 8/10
Point one: do not worry about the spin capacity of this frame. With its 18X20 string pattern, it creates heaps of topspin, probably due to the flexibility of the frame. As former observers have noticed, you need to keep your wrist firm not to spray the ball.
Point two: this is a catch and release frame. You can feel the dwell time of the ball on the strings, enabling good placement on condition that you have good footwork and that you execute a full, long swing.
Point three: the frame is rather underpowered. Balls do tend to fall short of their target, leaving the opponent the occasion to kill off the point as, BTW, the Redondo easily creates topspin and will then deliver a half court half high ball. Much has been said about the supposed inability of the Redondo to kill a shot and about the question whether it hits a heavy ball or not. I have to agree with those saying it does not hit a very heavy ball, though in terms of spin plus pace still quite heavy, and that it does not finish the point in a compelling way sometimes. Why? A lack of weight. At 12 ounces this frame lacks a few extra grams to have the plough through of, say, a Head Prestige or PS 6.0 or if talking about flexible frames a Dunlop Max 200g.
IMO, there is something like a turning point weight for a racquet at about 349 grams, which is coincidentally about 6 times the weight of the ball, with, let’s say, a few grams of clay or dirt stuck on it. So there is something like a golden proportion between racquet and ball weight. From that weight on, your racquet stays stable on all balls and ploughs through with ease.
In stock form, the Redondo forces you to take really loopy swings and to whip your racquet through the ball with high racquet head speed. Now, I have a long swing, but in comparison with the Wilson Reflex I use, I have to consciously accelerate it and perform a windscreen wiper forearm movement, keeping the wrist firm. This, I think, can lead to certain elbow problems at its turn. I have been a long time elbow sufferer and notwithstanding the above mentioned comfort of the Redondo, I started to feel some vague twinges of pain in my elbow after using this frame for an hour. I suspect that by playing more with this stick this would increase.
Solution for all of this: customisation. I believe that about 6 to 10 grams of lead tape at 9 and 3 o’clock would do miracles for this frame. One could opt to counterbalance this at the handle but as this is a rather intricate procedure for Pro Kennex frames and considering the fact that this stick is already very headlight (10 pts.), I do not think that it would do any harm to its manoeuvrability to bring it back to, let’s say, 8 pts. headlight. On the other hand, by putting an overgrip on the leather grip you already add about 5 grams.
Volleys: 7,5/10.
The strange thing is that I seemed to hang on more to the baseline and come less to the net with this racquet. This has undoubtedly something to do with the fact that we were playing on clay court. Plus the above description of the underpowered and spin creating capacity of the frame, which made me pound heavy topspin shots to the corners of my opponent’s side of the court, varied with knifing slices, finding quite some pleasure in that and forgetting at times to come in after my shots. On the other hand, the Redondo did not really seem to hit heavy approach shots to come in after, as described above.
The times I did come to the net, I did have success. The flex of the frame allows for good placement. But once again, I think that the frame could be pushed around against a good service returner/passing shot player because of the plushy character of the stick. Personally, I also prefer the more compact feel of a midsize for volleys.
Serves: 8,5/10
There was easy access to topspin and slice on serve. Pace seemed to be okay, when enough racquet head speed, nothing extraordinary, however. The serve is something you have to grow into with a new racquet but my first impressions were rather good. The Midplus seems to be quite forgiving also.
Returns: 8/10
My opponent of the day was not really a big server so it is hard to grade this section. Returns were rather like groundstrokes as his serves came in with very average speed and were begging to be whipped. I suspect however that this racquet would more or less deliver against a heavy server. Again, adding weight would make this stick more stable.
Final thoughts
One the one hand side you may have noticed that I have been sceptical about some aspects of the frame in the above review. On the other hand my ratings were rather generous. My overall impression of this frame is positive. I even thought for a moment it could be a good alternative for my Wilson reflex on clay court, given its longer dwell time and higher spin capacity. However, I feel it needs extra weight. No need for heavy customisation IMO but simply three grams on each side of the hoop should do. I might test this and get back to you on that.
I regret I could not lay my hands on a mid as I suspect that racquet might have suited me better, allowing for a more compact style of play, with the necessary weight adjustments, though.
I would not make the Redondo MP my main stick, however, I would recommend a demo of the PK Redondo Midplus to 3.5/4.0 players. It is a good all-round racquet, which reflects in the similar scores on the different aspects of the game. Had Pro Kennex made this stick a tad heavier, it would probably have been an excellent tool, for now, I feel a little weight customisation would do much good to it.
In fact I wanted to test the mid, as I am currently more familiar with that headsize, but the guy I struck a deal with told me after I made the payment, on the day we had agreed upon, that he had already sold the racquet to another buyer. That is reliable for you…. He did restore payment BTW, but the frame had gone.
Anyway, so I got myself a midplus. Today I took it out for a test. Here are my impressions.
About me: I used to be rather a baseline player but lately have fully developed to an all court game, coming to net whenever possible and winning most points once I get there. I hit a semi-western to full western forehand (depending on the racquet I play with and on game intuition, for example with the Redondo midplus I was rather hitting with full western grip). My backhand is one handed and, even if I say so myself (and all my opponents), very good. Last week I played the perfect backhand game winning four consecutive points with amazing backhand shots, crosscourt and along the line. My service has become a more or less strong point at my level. I hit about 1 to 3 aces per set and quite some unreturnable services. I also come in after my service to finish the point at the net about 30 to 50 percent of the time, depending on what surface I am playing. I do not like to rate myself but, as I live abroad and cannot compete to have a ranking, I would say I am a 3.5 to 4.0 player. I play about 3 times a week.
My current racquet is a Wilson Reflex midsize, I have three of them and I am probably one of the last people on earth in that situation. Some people say it is a graphite version of the PS 6.0 out of the same mold, but I fail to believe so because the beam width is 19 and not 17 mm. Off course headsize and PWS are exactly the same. Although the frame must be a tad more flexible (no Kevlar in it) and the string pattern is 16/19, fairly closed.
So, here we go….
Design: 9,5/10
Hands off for the design. The PK Redondo is one of the most beautiful racquets out there
Quality : 7/10
The quality however leaves quite a bit to desire at some points. The fancy red you see on photos on the web turns out to be rather maroon and the paint is rubbery instead of glossy, which gives a sort of sticky feeling when you put your non-playing hand on the racquet throat to change grip. The racquet throat by the way is rather open, so a bit too broad IMO. I like a fine throat that fits almost in the palm of your hand, e.g. Becker’s Puma/Estusa, Pro Staff 6.0 or Wilson Reflex.
The grommets and bumper guard seem to be made out of a cheaper plastic than other brands. The handle does not have an open butt cap, which is typical for Pro Kennex, so too bad if you wanted to put some weight in it. The grip is made of leather but all in all very thin and could start to move around as, if I am not mistaken, it is not stapled on at the bottom and the glue is very loose. Under the grip there is no foam but a simple plastic pallet. BTW, the grip is rather short, which may be a problem for two handers.
Overall advice: buy an extra set of grommets and reglue the grip, off course after you decide whether or not to customise the frame with additional lead tape under the grip to balance the weight you might want to put at 9 and 3 o’ clock in the hoop. I will get back to this.
Comfort: 9/10
For comfort levels I think this frame could be compared with the holy grail of vibration absorbing frames, that is the Prince Original Graphite Oversize. Much has been said about the string sensitivity and the tinny feeling of the frame. I personally think that this issue is minimal and that it is a very comfortable frame, a very appropriate alternative for elbow sufferers. It does feel a tiny bit hollower and sometimes a little more unstable than the POGOS. IMO though, it does a very good job at offering relief for torque, twist and ball impact on the frame. I will get back to the degree of elbow friendliness of the frame.
Groundstrokes: 8/10
Point one: do not worry about the spin capacity of this frame. With its 18X20 string pattern, it creates heaps of topspin, probably due to the flexibility of the frame. As former observers have noticed, you need to keep your wrist firm not to spray the ball.
Point two: this is a catch and release frame. You can feel the dwell time of the ball on the strings, enabling good placement on condition that you have good footwork and that you execute a full, long swing.
Point three: the frame is rather underpowered. Balls do tend to fall short of their target, leaving the opponent the occasion to kill off the point as, BTW, the Redondo easily creates topspin and will then deliver a half court half high ball. Much has been said about the supposed inability of the Redondo to kill a shot and about the question whether it hits a heavy ball or not. I have to agree with those saying it does not hit a very heavy ball, though in terms of spin plus pace still quite heavy, and that it does not finish the point in a compelling way sometimes. Why? A lack of weight. At 12 ounces this frame lacks a few extra grams to have the plough through of, say, a Head Prestige or PS 6.0 or if talking about flexible frames a Dunlop Max 200g.
IMO, there is something like a turning point weight for a racquet at about 349 grams, which is coincidentally about 6 times the weight of the ball, with, let’s say, a few grams of clay or dirt stuck on it. So there is something like a golden proportion between racquet and ball weight. From that weight on, your racquet stays stable on all balls and ploughs through with ease.
In stock form, the Redondo forces you to take really loopy swings and to whip your racquet through the ball with high racquet head speed. Now, I have a long swing, but in comparison with the Wilson Reflex I use, I have to consciously accelerate it and perform a windscreen wiper forearm movement, keeping the wrist firm. This, I think, can lead to certain elbow problems at its turn. I have been a long time elbow sufferer and notwithstanding the above mentioned comfort of the Redondo, I started to feel some vague twinges of pain in my elbow after using this frame for an hour. I suspect that by playing more with this stick this would increase.
Solution for all of this: customisation. I believe that about 6 to 10 grams of lead tape at 9 and 3 o’clock would do miracles for this frame. One could opt to counterbalance this at the handle but as this is a rather intricate procedure for Pro Kennex frames and considering the fact that this stick is already very headlight (10 pts.), I do not think that it would do any harm to its manoeuvrability to bring it back to, let’s say, 8 pts. headlight. On the other hand, by putting an overgrip on the leather grip you already add about 5 grams.
Volleys: 7,5/10.
The strange thing is that I seemed to hang on more to the baseline and come less to the net with this racquet. This has undoubtedly something to do with the fact that we were playing on clay court. Plus the above description of the underpowered and spin creating capacity of the frame, which made me pound heavy topspin shots to the corners of my opponent’s side of the court, varied with knifing slices, finding quite some pleasure in that and forgetting at times to come in after my shots. On the other hand, the Redondo did not really seem to hit heavy approach shots to come in after, as described above.
The times I did come to the net, I did have success. The flex of the frame allows for good placement. But once again, I think that the frame could be pushed around against a good service returner/passing shot player because of the plushy character of the stick. Personally, I also prefer the more compact feel of a midsize for volleys.
Serves: 8,5/10
There was easy access to topspin and slice on serve. Pace seemed to be okay, when enough racquet head speed, nothing extraordinary, however. The serve is something you have to grow into with a new racquet but my first impressions were rather good. The Midplus seems to be quite forgiving also.
Returns: 8/10
My opponent of the day was not really a big server so it is hard to grade this section. Returns were rather like groundstrokes as his serves came in with very average speed and were begging to be whipped. I suspect however that this racquet would more or less deliver against a heavy server. Again, adding weight would make this stick more stable.
Final thoughts
One the one hand side you may have noticed that I have been sceptical about some aspects of the frame in the above review. On the other hand my ratings were rather generous. My overall impression of this frame is positive. I even thought for a moment it could be a good alternative for my Wilson reflex on clay court, given its longer dwell time and higher spin capacity. However, I feel it needs extra weight. No need for heavy customisation IMO but simply three grams on each side of the hoop should do. I might test this and get back to you on that.
I regret I could not lay my hands on a mid as I suspect that racquet might have suited me better, allowing for a more compact style of play, with the necessary weight adjustments, though.
I would not make the Redondo MP my main stick, however, I would recommend a demo of the PK Redondo Midplus to 3.5/4.0 players. It is a good all-round racquet, which reflects in the similar scores on the different aspects of the game. Had Pro Kennex made this stick a tad heavier, it would probably have been an excellent tool, for now, I feel a little weight customisation would do much good to it.
