Prostaff Prototype? (RF97 18x20)

[RanchDressing]

Hey guys it has been a while since I've posted here, and I've come a long way in the tennis world. I've recently come across a gem. A 22mm, 97 square inch, 18x20, 59 ra (unstrung), 12oz unstrung "prototype" racquet.
From what I've been told this racquet has been strung twice, and played with. Once at ~58lbs and another at ~54lbs with wilson Natural Gut mains and Alu Rough cross. My source won't verify that Roger played with this, but the suspicion is he tried a few 18x20's and decided on a 16x19 instead. There seems to be lead tape (painted over?) on the frame which I'm told is to simulate different weight placement in a later production frame (similar to pws technology).
The paint has an odd tack to it, and no markings anywhere on the frame. The bumper and grommets do look similar to the current model fed is using, but I am told there have been alterations everywhere including the paint.
Specs of this frame are:
329sw, 343gm, 32.3-4 cm bal, and 59ra (would be lower strung) this includes the over grip.
Here are a few pics. I'm specifically not allowed to release photos of the but cap or grip underneath (you can guess what it says).
(I claim nothing here as fact for legal reasons, so take it with a grain of salt)

I will likely string it up once I can play again, I have some pretty serious shoulder damage, and am moving soon. With this swing weight you're looking at basically a stiffer version of what djokovic plays with, almost to the T. I play with a 325 unstrung SW in a 16x19 prestige and I thought that was hefty. With this 18x20 you can easily estimate a 33-35 sw increase when strung so a 361-364 strung swing weight and 12.5-12.6 oz weight!

 

[Seth]

Put a black grip on it and string it with red strings.

Just imagine, a black racquet (all black) with black grip and red strings.

 

[RanchDressing]

Put a black grip on it and string it with red strings.

Just imagine, a black racquet (all black) with black grip and red strings.

Some Kirsch Pro Line II would feel nice

But I've found my favorite string setup in bab VS main and TS Cyberflash crosses

 

[RJYU]

I'm going to say that he didn't play with that stick. I'm fairly certain that most of the Wilson prototypes came through our office first before going to him, and those specs that you are stating never came through us.

 

[RanchDressing]

I'm going to say that he didn't play with that stick. I'm fairly certain that most of the Wilson prototypes came through our office first before going to him, and those specs that you are stating never came through us.

It came from a very questionable source. We don't know if Roger played with it but that was the suspicion. We don't know anything about it. Thanks for the info. We may end up dissecting this thing to find out more.

 

[aimr75]

I'm going to say that he didn't play with that stick. I'm fairly certain that most of the Wilson prototypes came through our office first before going to him, and those specs that you are stating never came through us.

Do you have a ball park as to the type of stiffness/flex these prototypes had? No need for actual figures if you cant share them

 

[Seth]

Maybe it's a DelPo prototype.

 

[RanchDressing]

Do you have a ball park as to the type of stiffness/flex these prototypes had? No need for actual figures if you cant share them

It would be cool to know this. I'm curious too.

The swing-weight though, when I saw it on the machine, seemed quite high and that was a big red flag for me. I know someone who has spoken to P1 about the specs fed used (on the 90's; among other pro's) and that just seemed too high.

 

[BreakPoint]

Maybe it's a DelPo prototype.

Hard to imagine with that really low stiffness of below 59 RA, since Del Potro is coming from a PS 6.1 Classic which has a high stiffness of 72 RA.

 

[movdqa]

I can't imagine that something like that would be sold at retail. It looks like a pretty interesting frame though.

What I've gotten from the RF interviews is that he wanted more free and easy power. I suppose that bumping up the swingweight and lowering the stiffness is one way to get more power but I've never seen anything of a hint that RF has had arm problems. So my guess is that his real, new frame is at least as stiff as the old one.

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

No PWS, 8 mains in the throat, looks like a variant of theone he used in the middle of 2013 right after Wimbledon?

Because this is a 18x20, and he used a 16x19 with no PWS, 8 mains in the throat.

 

[Automatix]

Hard to imagine with that really low stiffness of below 59 RA, since Del Potro is coming from a PS 6.1 Classic which has a high stiffness of 72 RA.

Keep in mind that his frames are very beat up at the moment and it's very likely they are no where near that stiffness.

It isn't so far-fetched to assume that Del Potro got accustomed to the feel and lower stiffness of the beat up frames thus leading him to not liking the original, stiffer feel.

Even an amateur can feel the difference between a new, unused racquet and a pretty beat up one. Although to be honest I've experienced such a thing only once. I've bought a very beat up frame and liked it so much that I found a new one on the bay. Similar specs (IIRC, a difference of 3g and 2mm in balance) and they felt very different even though they were strung with the same setup. And I'm referring to the comfort and how stiff the racquets felt (even a friend of mine who hit with them said that one is definitely stiffer).
The new one at first felt so stiff that it was almost uncomfortable. Of course one can point out that the racquets could have had different stiffness to begin with (I think that the tolerance for this spec is about 3RA).

If anything one would question why wouldn't Wilson produce him a lower stiffness version of the PSC 6.1? But then again, why wouldn't they produce him PSC 6.1s in the [K]Factor pj in the first place? They could probably pay him much less for not using a current paintjob but publicity is publicity right?

Obviously everything what was already written is pure speculation and given how many headcases when it comes to equipment were and are present on the tour makes you wonder.

Haas couldn't even stick to a clothing sponsor. Blake insisted that no one is able to produce him his preferred racquets. Funny enough, if we put Sampras out of the equation, the greatest players aren't so sensitive.

 

[dr325i]

Hey guys it has been a while since I've posted here, and I've come a long way in the tennis world. I've recently come across a gem. A 22mm, 97 square inch, 18x20, 59 ra (unstrung), 12oz unstrung "prototype" racquet.
From what I've been told this racquet has been strung twice, and played with. Once at ~58lbs and another at ~54lbs with wilson Natural Gut mains and Alu Rough cross. My source won't verify that Roger played with this, but the suspicion is he tried a few 18x20's and decided on a 16x19 instead. There seems to be lead tape (painted over?) on the frame which I'm told is to simulate different weight placement in a later production frame (similar to pws technology).

Are you sure it is a 97 sq i or you are basing it on the latest pictures and specs circulation around??
I would expect it to be a 98 sq in and with PWS to be 97 as they take away 1 sq in. (as someone has already pointed that out)

 

[BreakPoint]

Keep in mind that his frames are very beat up at the moment and it's very likely they are no where near that stiffness.

It isn't so far-fetched to assume that Del Potro got accustomed to the feel and lower stiffness of the beat up frames thus leading him to not liking the original, stiffer feel.

Even an amateur can feel the difference between a new, unused racquet and a pretty beat up one. Although to be honest I've experienced such a thing only once. I've bought a very beat up frame and liked it so much that I found a new one on the bay. Similar specs (IIRC, a difference of 3g and 2mm in balance) and they felt very different even though they were strung with the same setup. And I'm referring to the comfort and how stiff the racquets felt (even a friend of mine who hit with them said that one is definitely stiffer).
The new one at first felt so stiff that it was almost uncomfortable. Of course one can point out that the racquets could have had different stiffness to begin with (I think that the tolerance for this spec is about 3RA).

If anything one would question why wouldn't Wilson produce him a lower stiffness version of the PSC 6.1? But then again, why wouldn't they produce him PSC 6.1s in the [K]Factor pj in the first place? They could probably pay him much less for not using a current paintjob but publicity is publicity right?

Obviously everything what was already written is pure speculation and given how many headcases when it comes to equipment were and are present on the tour makes you wonder.

Haas couldn't even stick to a clothing sponsor. Blake insisted that no one is able to produce him his preferred racquets. Funny enough, if we put Sampras out of the equation, the greatest players aren't so sensitive.

It doesn't matter how beat up Del Potro's PSC 6.1's were, there's no way it will ever feel like a 56 RA racquet (what 59 RA would be strung). The PSC 6.1 would break in half before it went all the way down from 72 RA to 56 RA. And from the way Del Potro crushes the living daylights out of the ball, I'm willing to bet that his racquets are still very close to 72 RA. The PSC 6.1 is a very stiff racquet, even by today's standards. When it came out in 1991, I thought it was totally unplayable.

 

[Sander001]

Keep in mind that his frames are very beat up at the moment and it's very likely they are no where near that stiffness.

It isn't so far-fetched to assume that Del Potro got accustomed to the feel and lower stiffness of the beat up frames thus leading him to not liking the original, stiffer feel.

Even an amateur can feel the difference between a new, unused racquet and a pretty beat up one. Although to be honest I've experienced such a thing only once. I've bought a very beat up frame and liked it so much that I found a new one on the bay. Similar specs (IIRC, a difference of 3g and 2mm in balance) and they felt very different even though they were strung with the same setup. And I'm referring to the comfort and how stiff the racquets felt (even a friend of mine who hit with them said that one is definitely stiffer).
The new one at first felt so stiff that it was almost uncomfortable. Of course one can point out that the racquets could have had different stiffness to begin with (I think that the tolerance for this spec is about 3RA).

If anything one would question why wouldn't Wilson produce him a lower stiffness version of the PSC 6.1? But then again, why wouldn't they produce him PSC 6.1s in the [K]Factor pj in the first place? They could probably pay him much less for not using a current paintjob but publicity is publicity right?

Obviously everything what was already written is pure speculation and given how many headcases when it comes to equipment were and are present on the tour makes you wonder.

Haas couldn't even stick to a clothing sponsor. Blake insisted that no one is able to produce him his preferred racquets. Funny enough, if we put Sampras out of the equation, the greatest players aren't so sensitive.

Yes, i know a player who still uses that racquet and it feels more comfortable than my Prestige Tour, which itself is beat up and plays much more flexible than my other Prestiges, probably an RA in the low 50's. Full poly, very low power and not that stable, but of course we don't swing with the immense power and racquet head speed of Del Potro.

 

[BreakPoint]

Yes, i know a player who still uses that racquet and it feels more comfortable than my Prestige Tour, which itself is beat up and plays much more flexible than my other Prestiges, probably an RA in the low 50's. Full poly, very low power and not that stable, but of course we don't swing with the immense power and racquet head speed of Del Potro.

It's comfortable because the Kevlar and foam fill absorbs a lot of the shock and vibration, but it is still a very stiff racquet. Many elbows and wrists have been destroyed by the PS 6.1 Classic. Just ask Del Potro.

 

[Sander001]

It's comfortable because the Kevlar and foam fill absorbs a lot of the shock and vibration, but it is still a very stiff racquet. Many elbows and wrists have been destroyed by the PS 6.1 Classic. Just ask Del Potro.

Yeah but this one was indeed very flexy, it played with a lot of dwell time, low power and instability.

 

[BreakPoint]

Yeah but this one was indeed very flexy, it played with a lot of dwell time, low power and instability.

Maybe it was cracked or a fake or something else was wrong with it? Because normally the PSC 6.1 is a very stable racquet.

 

[Sander001]

Maybe it was cracked or a fake or something else was wrong with it? Because normally the PSC 6.1 is a very stable racquet.

Not one crack but many micro-cracks as the material breaks down through time and use.

 

[Bdarb]

It doesn't matter how beat up Del Potro's PSC 6.1's were, there's no way it will ever feel like a 56 RA racquet (what 59 RA would be strung). The PSC 6.1 would break in half before it went all the way down from 72 RA to 56 RA. And from the way Del Potro crushes the living daylights out of the ball, I'm willing to bet that his racquets are still very close to 72 RA. The PSC 6.1 is a very stiff racquet, even by today's standards. When it came out in 1991, I thought it was totally unplayable.

Even if this is the case, if his biggest complaint is that his is broken down and softer, maybe they went way off the charts in the ra to try and replicate it. Given that it is in Ranch's hands, maybe this was the case and a failure.

 

[insiderman]

Nice shoes...

 

[Bdarb]

Nice shoes...

noticed those too, sweet barricades.

 

[Power Player]

Wow, if that was a more open pattern it would be perfect. Those are pretty much my exact preferred specs.Plus the flex...awesome score.

 

[Bdarb]

Wow, if that was a more open pattern it would be perfect. Those are pretty much my exact preferred specs.Plus the flex...awesome score.

except you'd NEVER find a back up

 

[RanchDressing]

except you'd NEVER find a back up

HAH. I'm hoping I don't like it for that reason.

Personally I need a 16x19. I always have struggled with 18x20's. I guess I just need the spin help.

And thanks for the compliments on the shoes. I picked those/the white ones and one last prestige (and like 5 sets of vs/few reels ) before I left working at TW.

Well I'll definitely string this bad boy up when my shoulder's fixed, just got another MRI yesterday. By that time the playtesters/everyone will likely have the rf97 in their hands. At that point I can show you all the handle/buttcap. Never seen anything like it really. I'm pretty well convinced this wasn't one of Roger's frames, but I'll do some more digging and find out where this frame really came from.

 

[Bdarb]

HAH. I'm hoping I don't like it for that reason.

Personally I need a 16x19. I always have struggled with 18x20's. I guess I just need the spin help.

And thanks for the compliments on the shoes. I picked those/the white ones and one last prestige (and like 5 sets of vs/few reels ) before I left working at TW.

Well I'll definitely string this bad boy up when my shoulder's fixed, just got another MRI yesterday. By that time the playtesters/everyone will likely have the rf97 in their hands. At that point I can show you all the handle/buttcap. Never seen anything like it really. I'm pretty well convinced this wasn't one of Roger's frames, but I'll do some more digging and find out where this frame really came from.

My votes for a Delpo prototype. Interested to see though.

 

[NLBwell]

Sounds like it might have been a prototype for a Head player that they were trying to get to switch to Wilson.

 

[RanchDressing]

Sounds like it might have been a prototype for a Head player that they were trying to get to switch to Wilson.

What I'm suspecting.