Rackets used by pro's from mid 80's to late 90's

Sanglier

Semi-Pro
Since this thread is not limited to just the pros and their gear, I think the picture below belongs here; it does a decent job of capturing the aspirational 'mood' of the consumer market circa 1989, the kind that Brett Easton Ellis lampooned in American Psycho right around that time. Not sure on what basis they selected PK's Black Ace Micro as the quintessential yuppie racquet though. On the day this picture was taken, I was driving a 1973 Fiat 128 bought for $380 at a public auction, drinking cheap beer, and working for $5 an hour at a tennis/ski shop selling two of these items to colleagues of this couple. :)

This is the original caption: "Milson's Point: Yuppies what they waer, drive and what it costs.Favourite Car: Porsche 944 ... $86, 931 (from John Newell Porsche Centre Pty. Ltd.).Favourite Skills ... Kastle Rx National Team SL, $494, bindings are Tyrolia 390 ***** $188 (from inski, York St.).Favourite Phone: NEC mobile telephone service $3,300 (from NEC).Favourite Sport: Tennis, Pro Kennex Black Ace Micro $235 (from Tennis World Epping Rd, North Ryde).Favourtie Drink, Champagne: Bollinger Grande Annee 1981 rose $69.30, Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 1976 $47.22 (from Champane Information Centre, Double B. November 19, 1986. (Photo by Peter Morris/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)."

milsons-point-yuppies-what-they-waer-drive-and-what-it-costsfavourite-picture-id1080945202
 

Sanglier

Semi-Pro
This one also deserves a spot in this thread. Mondale just passed away two days ago. With all the crap going on right now, almost no one paid any attention to it; which is really something! This picture was taken in 1977. Graphite racquets like the C-6 came on the scene less than two years earlier; very few pros used them, but people like Mondale snapped them up in an effort to compensate for their aging tendons and ligaments (I was told that rich women also warmed up to these very quickly, because they were so much lighter than wood and metal alternatives). Who knows, without these early-adopters who could afford such luxury, the graphite revolution might have died a premature death, for better or worse.

walter-mondale-during-6th-annual-rfk-tennis-tournament-at-forest-in-picture-id117933778
 

Sanglier

Semi-Pro
One more. This one was also taken at the RFK Memorial Pro Celebrity Tournament, but a year later (1978) and without VP Mondale. I find it quite hilarious, because my sense of humor is stuck at age thirteen. According to the credits, the photographer who shot this was associated with Walt Disney Television. He aimed his lens mostly at the lovely Ms Tiegs, who doubled as a celebrity interviewer for ABC at the tournament, so whatever humor one might find here is purely accidental, and only in the eyes of the unenlightened beholder.

For those who are not familiar with US celebrities of that generation, the silver-haired gentleman with the fiber-reinforced woodie (a Head Vilas just like the one Tiegs is holding, with a custom RFK cover, possibly supplied by the tournament) is Walter Cronkite, a legendary TV anchor idolized by those who remember an era when broadcast media enjoyed almost unfettered public confidence and respect.

walter-cronkite-cheryl-tiegs-appearing-at-the-1978-rfk-tennis-7th-picture-id1213387553
 
I did a mini-clinic with Tom Gullickson when he was using the Profile Largehead. His lefty kick serve had me returning from the adjacent court!!!! ca 1991, IIRC
I don't recall the ATP tour player who used the 95(I want to say it was Jim Pugh)at the same Atlanta event...strung with Pro-Blend at max tension...what a brick!!!
He and his twin bro used the Aldila Cannon graphite for a while. Was a classy looking racket
 

AndrewD

Legend
I concentrated more on uncommon player or rackets. Most of the rackets are from the 80's, 90's.

Sfida
That's the Sfida logo on a Snauwaert Hi-Ten 50. Woodforde did sign with Sfida and they developed a racquet for him to use (widebody - could be strung using either extreme open pattern or conventional) but he quickly went back to the Hi-Ten 50. The Sfida was okay but really nothing like the Hi-Ten 50 in feel or performance.
 

AndrewD

Legend

That brand is 'Stellar'. Very big here in Australia in the 70s and 80s. Pat Cash used one as a junior and when he first turned pro (Stellar Centre Court - conventional size wood) and Provis used the one in your picture when she got to the French Open semis in 88 (and Wimbledon Mixed Final in 87 with Darren Cahil).
 
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