Tell me about your racquet collections!

galain

Hall of Fame
What is your collection based on? How did it begin?
Do you have a 'most coveted' frame?

My original goal was to match the Rossignol catalogue from 1983. F100, F200, F300, Johan Kriek Auto, Graphite 200, Tubex 200.
Then I went a little mad and just started adding more Rossignols.
Then I began picking up things from the 80's that I had fond memories of.
At some stage I thought wood-graphite sticks are so beautiful I need to have a few of them too...
(and then of course there are all the sticks that I've played with.....)

I've managed to control myself recently, although my brother has just located two hard to find Japanese market Rossi's that are probably going to occupy pride of place when they arrive!

i'd like to know what you have displayed or hanging on your walls, or just in storage. Was there a specific point to starting your collection? Which stick do you save if a fire breaks out in your house?
 

Antónis

Professional
My small collection (it's under 40 sticks now) started when I tried to get some of the racquets I played back in the 80's, than I move into 80's and 90's classic graphites, now I set my target on everything cool with an good price. Sometimes I buy to flip for a profit, or a trade. Some of my racquets were never played by me, or played 10 minutes or so, just to know how they feel. My go to sticks are classics, PS 6.0 95, and I fool around with a couple more racquets
 

mixtape

Professional
I like to collect Prince, mostly CTS racquets from the 80's & 90's, or racquets I wanted but couldn't afford when I was a teen. I started collecting a few years ago finding gems in thrift shops. I have a small corner in my garage where I hang my collection.
 

galain

Hall of Fame
I like to collect Prince, mostly CTS racquets from the 80's & 90's, or racquets I wanted but couldn't afford when I was a teen. I started collecting a few years ago finding gems in thrift shops. I have a small corner in my garage where I hang my collection.

I understand. I'm trying to convince my wife that our lounge room wall would look far more interesting with some frames hanging up but she's not having it. :D
 

Dino Lagaffe

Hall of Fame
I started collecting racquets 25 years ago. The first two I got were one mint NOS Dunlop Maxply McEnroe and one mint NOS Donnay Borg. Pretty soon I realized my main interest was in graphites, and I started looking for specific brands: Donnay, Rossignol and Völkl. I also got interested in specific models, and got a bunch of the same model, foolishly thinking I could stick to playing just one model. Among those are Head TT Radicals, Yonex SRD Tour 90, Völkl C10 Comp and C10 Pro Tour. Then I wanted each model of each generation of each racquet line of Head Radical and Head Prestige.

All in all I have some 650 racquets. I store them in a separate storage room in my garden. In case I had to bring just what I could carry, I'd probably take my pro stocks and the Snauwaert Hi-Ten.
 

galain

Hall of Fame
I started collecting racquets 25 years ago. The first two I got were one mint NOS Dunlop Maxply McEnroe and one mint NOS Donnay Borg. Pretty soon I realized my main interest was in graphites, and I started looking for specific brands: Donnay, Rossignol and Völkl. I also got interested in specific models, and got a bunch of the same model, foolishly thinking I could stick to playing just one model. Among those are Head TT Radicals, Yonex SRD Tour 90, Völkl C10 Comp and C10 Pro Tour. Then I wanted each model of each generation of each racquet line of Head Radical and Head Prestige.

All in all I have some 650 racquets. I store them in a separate storage room in my garden. In case I had to bring just what I could carry, I'd probably take my pro stocks and the Snauwaert Hi-Ten.

Awesome stuff Dino - thank you! Yep - the Hi-Tens seem to be rarer than just about anything else out there. I'd be saving that one too.
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
Not sure how many I have as they are stored in three different locations.
Too many.

I might start selling some of them or giving some away. I gave away/donated about 30-40 racquets a few years ago.
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
Some of the favorites in my collection:

non-wood:
Head Pro Tour 630 (love the paint)
Head Graphite Pro
Wilson Pro Staff 85 with Tour 90 paintjob
Wilson Hyper Pro Staff 85 (exposed braided fibers!)
Yonex Vcore 95D (pretty beat up because this is the racquet I play with usually)
Yonex R22
Dunlop Max 200G
Head Arthur Ashe Comp
Prince Spectrum Comp 90

Wood
Spalding Geneva from 1905 (no warping and I restrung it with gut).
Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff
Wilson Advantage
Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph Midsize (actually has some graphite in it)
Dunlop MaxPly
Tad Davis
 

Frankc

Professional
Have many, many - like to handle them. Particularly, I like to have the racquets (pristine, hopefully) that my favorite players used... Ashe, Edberg, Mandlikova, Mac and so forth...
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
Have many, many - like to handle them. Particularly, I like to have the racquets (pristine, hopefully) that my favorite players used... Ashe, Edberg, Mandlikova, Mac and so forth...
Reminds me I also have a Ultra 2 with a paintjob that was supposedly made for Mandlikova
 

Frankc

Professional
Ah, the Ulta 2... If I remember right, TW offered some Ulta 2 from Bosworth that were for Hana. I do remember that there were weights drilled into the handle (but I cannot trust my memory)...

Mandlikova is probably my favorite woman to watch - but, imo, she could really bring power and variety and precision with a Kramer. See the 1st set of the Australian ( against Turnbull) and the 1st set USO (80, I believe) against Evert... Yes, she had a great run later at the USO with the Ultra 2, but Hana and that Kramer - head shaking stuff, point after point...
 

badmice2

Professional
Head Pro Tour 630
Head Prestige Classic 600
Head Trisys 300
Dunlop 200G Muscle Weave - both OG and re- release
Wilson Original Prostaff 85
Wilson Prostaff 95 Stars and Stripe
Wilson Prostaff 7.1
Yonex VCore 89d
Prince Original Graphite 4 stripe Oversize
Prince Original Graphite 4 stripe mid
Babolat Pure Drive 2nd Gen (post swirly, but before Cortex)
 

galain

Hall of Fame
Head Pro Tour 630
Head Prestige Classic 600
Head Trisys 300
Dunlop 200G Muscle Weave - both OG and re- release
Wilson Original Prostaff 85
Wilson Prostaff 95 Stars and Stripe
Wilson Prostaff 7.1
Yonex VCore 89d
Prince Original Graphite 4 stripe Oversize
Prince Original Graphite 4 stripe mid
Babolat Pure Drive 2nd Gen (post swirly, but before Cortex)

Nice. I didn't realise the Muscle Weave had had a re-release
 

BorgCash

Legend
I mostly looked for racquets of my favourite period in tennis - the 80's. So the racquets from this period, especially models that were used well known players of the 80's - Borg, Mac, Jimbo, Lendl, Wilander, Edberg, Becker, Cash, Jarryd, Flash & Seguso, even Chang (though i don't like him), Leconte, McNamee & McNamara, Andre, Martina & Chris, etc. I like to play with these vintage racquets 'cause they're great. Also got some more modern sticks i like to play with: RD-7 and RDIS 100, VCore 89, Dunlop 200 & 300 series , Head Prestige Mid and MP, some modern Donnays - Dual Gold and Platinum, X-Blue and Red, Pro One, Vantage and Angell, etc.
 

galain

Hall of Fame
I mostly looked for racquets of my favourite period in tennis - the 80's. So the racquets from this period, especially models that were used well known players of the 80's - Borg, Mac, Jimbo, Lendl, Wilander, Edberg, Becker, Cash, Jarryd, Flash & Seguso, even Chang (though i don't like him), Leconte, McNamee & McNamara, Andre, Martina & Chris, etc. I like to play with these vintage racquets 'cause they're great. Also got some more modern sticks i like to play with: RD-7 and RDIS 100, VCore 89, Dunlop 200 & 300 series , Head Prestige Mid and MP, some modern Donnays - Dual Gold and Platinum, X-Blue and Red, Pro One, Vantage and Angell, etc.
That's great. Can I take this off topic a little? How do the Donnay X Blue and X Red compare to each other? And did you ever try the X Dark Red? That one sounded really interesting.
 

daddabompa

Hall of Fame
That's great. Can I take this off topic a little? How do the Donnay X Blue and X Red compare to each other? And did you ever try the X Dark Red? That one sounded really interesting.
I meddle in the speech because I tried myself a X-Dark Red 94.
It is a very nice try...pretty solid and amazing feel.
Only thing is that I found it a bit demanding to generate power/pace due to its pretty thin beam, especially when you hit outside the center/sweet spot area.
 

BorgCash

Legend
I meddle in the speech because I tried myself a X-Dark Red 94.
It is a very nice try...pretty solid and amazing feel.
Only thing is that I found it a bit demanding to generate power/pace due to its pretty thin beam, especially when you hit outside the center/sweet spot area.
They (X- and X-Dual series) all play this way 'cause they all are thin beam. But in other hand they all are great control sticks.
 

BorgCash

Legend
That's great. Can I take this off topic a little? How do the Donnay X Blue and X Red compare to each other? And did you ever try the X Dark Red? That one sounded really interesting.
I have X-Blue 99 and X-Red 94 (don't try X-Dark Red), they play almost the same, i don't feel the difference in head size. What i like more about X-Blue - it is heavier and got strings i like more. All these racquets were used before i got them, so, if add some weight to X-Red and change strings (now there is hybrid version and i don't like it) i think it will play the same well as X-Blue. But anyway, i will probably sell Red, i got too many sticks for my small apartment (about 200), and i don't have neither garage or basement to store them.
 

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Like a few others here, I was an impressionable teenager in the 1980’s, and became obsessed with playing tournaments in that era, which really was the most interesting, racquet-wise and personality-wise in the sport.

Rekindling my passion for tennis in my 30’s, I started playing tournaments again, and noticed that the newer, stiffer, lighter racquets were hard on my shoulder and elbow, and that there were several shots in my repertoire that I just couldn’t execute with the newer equipment. I also noticed that the top-notch, interesting gear from the 80’s could often be found cheaply on auctions, or with a little luck, in thrift shops!

I started collecting my favorite models from the 80’s and early 90’s, rebuilding my museum of “playing stock,” and then I kept going. Models used by favorite ATP and WTA pros of the 80’s and 90’s. Some actual pro-owned specimens. And a few technically noteworthy models and oddities. All of which are hit with.

I am hovering around 150 racquets at present. Some come and go, given to friends or received from friends, fellow “gear-heads” who also actively enjoy this crazy, but intriguing hobby, a hobby rooted in sport, history, engineering, creativity, and fun.

I think I am in good company here.
 

WestboroChe

Hall of Fame
I never intended to have a racquet collection. Fortunately I haven’t spent very much on it. I originally started by looking for a really soft and cheap racquet I could use while rehabbing from tennis elbow.

TTW led me to the PK Silver Ace which I happily purchased for $15 on the bay. It not only allowed me to play while my elbow healed it led me down the PK and Prince early 80s rabbit hole. I currently own 2 Black Aces. A Silver Ace and at least one other PK whos name escapes me. I also own a couple of Prince frames too like the Graphite Pro.

None of those frames cost me more than $40 but the biggest find was some guy on here sent me like 20 wood and composite frames for free. They include a couple of Snauwert composites an Arthur Ashe composite Head and several other wood/carbon/fiberglass composites. I also own some racquets that my wife used to use.

. My regular playing frames though are a couple of Prince TT100Ls that I’ve customized with leather grips and some lead tape

I haven’t counted but I probably have about 30+ racquets. But fortunately even the most expensive ones were only $80 each (the tourLs were on clearance!)
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
I have about 50 rackets (or so), but I would not call it a collection- mainly just rackets I have found at thrift shops
My original Idea was to look for gimmicky rackets, but sometimes just anything that seemed interesting.
A few include a Super Fox with an elongated head, a Pro Kennex asymetrical racket, a Rox Pro Space Ti with plastic "fingers" to space out the strings, a Fin Genius with built-in dampener,
a Harry C Lee The Bat (Althea Gibson's model), a Head Ti S7 with no bridge, a Snauwaert Ellipse Touch F with a key that will loosen/tighten strings-
oh, and an old Dunlop racket that seems to be made of steel tubing fastened to a "Y" shaped yoke (like a badminton racket)- no model markings.
 

Dino Lagaffe

Hall of Fame
I won a competition at a local radiostation last week. They rang me up while I was on court playing tennis, so the conversation turned towards tennis, and my collection was mentioned. The reporter thought it was so interesting that they are coming home to me tomorrow for a live interview.
 

mctennis

Legend
I won a competition at a local radiostation last week. They rang me up while I was on court playing tennis, so the conversation turned towards tennis, and my collection was mentioned. The reporter thought it was so interesting that they are coming home to me tomorrow for a live interview.
Great accomplishment. I always appreciate the fact you have so many wonderful racquets. Kudos to you and I hope the reporter gets out a great article about you and your racquet collection.
(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)
 

mctennis

Legend
I had a racquet collection for a number of years, all by accident ( haven't we all said that, :-D).
It started out a few racquets that I found that I really liked playing with. Then I wanted to try out the version prior to that one, and that one before that, etc. Then it was an interest in some odd ball technology racquets. Then it was more main stream solid racquets that were rare to find, my quest was to find them somewhere WITHOUT paying a huge $$$$ orice for them. When I actually realized I was running out of room for my "collection" I had around 150 racquets.
I actually enjoyed hitting with each one of them over the years.
I was sort of forced into moving to another house because of a medical condition in the family. Then I got injured as well after moving. I was told i would probably not be able to play tennis after I healed from my injury. So I started selling them off one by one.
I miss my old collection but what is now is what it now. Great memories of having them and the fact I could actaully play with some of these classic racquets. The older technology and feel is a lot better in the older racquets.
 

galain

Hall of Fame
I had a racquet collection for a number of years, all by accident ( haven't we all said that, :-D).
It started out a few racquets that I found that I really liked playing with. Then I wanted to try out the version prior to that one, and that one before that, etc. Then it was an interest in some odd ball technology racquets. Then it was more main stream solid racquets that were rare to find, my quest was to find them somewhere WITHOUT paying a huge $$$$ orice for them. When I actually realized I was running out of room for my "collection" I had around 150 racquets.
I actually enjoyed hitting with each one of them over the years.
I was sort of forced into moving to another house because of a medical condition in the family. Then I got injured as well after moving. I was told i would probably not be able to play tennis after I healed from my injury. So I started selling them off one by one.
I miss my old collection but what is now is what it now. Great memories of having them and the fact I could actaully play with some of these classic racquets. The older technology and feel is a lot better in the older racquets.
Sorry to hear about your injury @mctennis. Did you keep any favourites after selling off your collection?
 

Henry Hub

Professional
My formative years were the early 90s, when I would spend my summers losing the Monday morning of a junior tournament each week. This gave me plenty of afternoons to wander around the courts, waiting for my lift home and admiring the fancy frames that the other kids had (because my lack of success clearly stemmed from my clunky Dunlop Power Series racket rather than from my utter absence of athleticism, skill and technique...).

So when I got back into tennis a few years ago and realised that you could pick up a Dunlop Max 200G for less than a fiver in a charity shop, I set about fulfilling my adolescent dreams. There followed a few happy years of foraging around London charity shops which only a global pandemic has put a stop to.

While I’ve picked up all the frames I coveted as a 13 year-old, the joy of charity shops is the variety of what you find. So my collection is a real mixed bag with rackets of all eras. It’s also a bloody big mixed bag, fast approaching 300 rackets, and is in desperate need of being pared back.

In terms of storage, I have dozens of racket bags straining at the seams stashed all over my house but I am planning to stick a few rackets up on a wall (our impending second crack at a national lockdown may be the perfect time for this project). Any tips and pointers on how to best to put this kind of display together would be appreciated.

In terms of the racket I’d save in a fire, it would probably be the Streamline or the Slazenger Demon fishtail I picked up recently (Tapatalk doesn’t seem to want to let me post a pic).
 
I have documented the bulk of my collection on the "My First Racquet" thread, but it basically consists of the frames I have used over the past 45 years. I have kept at least one of each, but there are a few that I don't have for various reasons. I am not a collector per se, but like many here I do enjoy both the memories involved with the old racquets as well as the various technology developments from the 70's to now. I string up an old frame every once in a while and take it out and see how I play with it. Now that I am reducing my tournament participation I am not so worried about "messing up my timing" by occasionally playing with something old. The crazy thing is that I basically play exactly the same with my mid-90's Head Pro Tour 280 as I do with my current Head Gravity Pro. I still play great with a Prince OG, which is the racquet I used with pretty good success in high school and college. Basically if the frame played well for me back in the day it still does. I have supplemented the "collection" with a couple of frames I coveted in the day but did not use, including a Head Vilas and a Fischer Stan Smith Superform. If I ever run across a Aldila Cannon or Trabert C-6 for cheap I would probably grab it for their historical significance as well as an Adidas Lendl GTX since my doubles partner says that my style (definitely not skill):laughing: is like Ivan's... :D
 

StringGuruMRT

Semi-Pro
My collection is pretty easy... I'm trying to replace all of the racquets I personally played with for any real amount of time, and some other random late 80s/early 90s frames that I wanted but never got, like the Spectrum Comp limited color, and the Wilson Stars and Stripes.
 

galain

Hall of Fame
My collection is pretty easy... I'm trying to replace all of the racquets I personally played with for any real amount of time, and some other random late 80s/early 90s frames that I wanted but never got, like the Spectrum Comp limited color, and the Wilson Stars and Stripes.
How's it going for you so far? What's in your bag/on your wall/scattered about your house?
 

StringGuruMRT

Semi-Pro
Its going pretty well. I have a couple that I'm still looking for (for the right price). I don't display any of them, because I just move too often. They've taken up residence in a couple of my large racquet bags, except for three classic Prince frames, which are in a vintage Prince case that someone gifted to me!
 

SOY78

Professional
My collection is all about under 105 sq.in. heads (POG OS and Radical Tour OS are exceptions) and comfortable/flexible racquets (around 60 ra). Have around 30+ (full closet in bags) or so racquets that fit this description.
 

Conan

Rookie
I have a small collection.

Dunlop Maxply
Dunlop Mcenroe Maxply
Donnay Allwood (2)
Donnay Borg Pro
Slazenger Challenge no 1 (3)
Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff
Dunlop Max 200g

Rackets I played with High school-Today
Prince TT Warrior MP
Wilson N Code 6.1 95
Wilson K Factor 6.1 90 (3)
Wilson Pro Staff RF97 2015
Wilson Pro Staff RF97 2016

My three favorite to play with
RF97 red black
Donnay Allwood medium
Slazenger challenge no 1 medium
 

tennisbike

Professional
I have about 40 rackets .. no, goodness, about 45 composite and 26 woods/T-2000/Yonex YY/ArthureAshe.

The Earliest were the Head Vilas and Bancroft Borg which I played in high school at around 1980. But out of those woodies, my favorite is the Yonex YY-8500 and a Head Vilas L. They both swings perfectly.

When I returned to tennis in around 05, after play testing a bunch of sticks, I bought a Prince TripleThreat Warrior OS. And that is the kind of the stick I stayed with mostly after that. Now I have two, which on my log was restrung the most times. I have 2 Warrior OS. My current best/favorite stick is a Prince Triple Threat Bandit OS with about 70 grams of added mass to the total 350 gram and balance point at around 31.5 cm. I felt like I could swing it like an extension of my arm, so easy. Telepathic!

Majority of my collection came from local recycling center. I like to call myself a racket whisperer, rescuer. There is something irresistible about finding a diamond the rough. That including a PS95 Chicago, Head Speed MP, Head Vilas, lots of Dunlop Max Ply Fort, .. Head LM Radical MP, Yonex YY, T-x000 ... Cleaning, then stringing them up, to hitting them is a great feeling.
 

13GATOSNEGROS

Professional
i am not a collector.
back then in the 70s and earlier 80s, i just carried home each and every racket, which i got for free (and i got a lot) or won. sometimes i also got paid in rackets at the club.
then i used to play them just for a try and if i liked them, i put them into my slazenger-suitcases. those, which i did not like, i gave to other kids. i also threw away or smashed some (especially loved to kill adidas). at the age of 18 - after 10 very good years - i retired from tennis. it went boring and i really hated most of the people in that business. i put my slazenger-cases into the (dry) cellar.
almost 35 years later i gave tennis a new try and opened my tennisbags. i found donnays, maxplys, wilsons, heads, slazengers, snauwaerts, sirts ... even fischers, which i didnt like back then but kept for some reasons. i found rackets from the 30s to the year, in which i left tennis. so i even tried modern rackets but they have no soul. they dont fit my game, even though, they also have positive sides. but to me, they are boring, just as boring as today's pros. ok, connors was disgusting too but at least he was not boring, i mean, think of his idiot-haircut, unique style.
so my "collection" includes dozens of old wood, alu, boroncarbongraphite whatever. i did not count them, they are mostly new strung now and i put a few new leather-grips, some got thin overgrips. i play ALL OF THEM except one wilson budge all star, i have no idea, why i kept it. but now, it's on the wall, it looks nice. do i have favorites? yes, of course, but it changes all the time, i like all of them, they all play different, givin me different feelings. if i had to choose ONE for takin into grave, it would be the snauwaert graphite dyno, nothing special about that racket, i just love it. or maybe the wilson budge auto, what a log. maybe the beautiful and perfectly balanced donnay super ace ... or the wilson ellsworth vines personal (hands on wood) which plays so sweet. maybe the rossignol strato; outstanding design and great feeling, a beauty as well as a beast. could also be the edgewood, which i always preferred to the vilas, the slazenger challenge cup with its matte finish, one of the best volleyer ever or probably my 50s maxply, a compact explosive which still surprises me. it was given to me by a guy who said "take it, i dont like it". could also be the head professional, my first non-wood, what a racket, i played it for years, night and day, rain or sun, summer and winter; never felt like switching. yes, i guess, for eternity, i choose the red head.
i love my sluggers, all of them.
 
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1hander

Rookie
I relatively new to collecting racquets but I have 3 2018 ezone, 2 2020 ezone 98, previous vcore pro 310 and vcore sv 98. I think I like yonex a little bit.
 

Kemitak

Professional
I played as a junior with the PS85, took a break and came back to tennis after everybody stopped selling them; so while hunting on the auction site, I discovered I could get NOS woodies for next to nothing. Now I have two matched re-issue PS85’s from TW and a lot of Wilson Autographs. At the bottom of that slippery slope, I found what I think are some interesting rackets, such as a first generation Ergonom, an AMF Head Vector String Lock (each string is tied off so if you break a string you just replace that one string), a couple different Snauwaert Ellipses, a Pro Kennex Laver Heritage Type C 93 prototype, and a first generation Slazenger Phantom (early graphite with two cross bars, the same size as a wood). I also have future classics like the RDS001, PK Ki5 PSE, PB10Mid, Diablo Mid, Phantom 14x18, Dunlop Aerogel 4D 200 Tour, KPS90, KPS88, Pacific XFeel Pro 90 Vacuum, and Solinco Pro 10 and Tour 10. Of course I also have the usuals, like the Puma Boris Becker Super, Rossignol F 200, and Rexking R-22. I was a racket collector until today, when my mint Snauwaert Hi-Ten 30 arrived. Now I’m done.

... until I find a nice PK Micro Mid. Then I’m done. I swear.
 
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galain

Hall of Fame
I played as a junior with the PS85, took a break and came back to tennis after everybody stopped selling them; so while hunting on the auction site, I discovered I could get NOS woodies for next to nothing. Now I have two matched re-issue PS85’s from TW and a lot of Wilson Autographs. At the bottom of that slippery slope, I found what I think are some interesting rackets, such as a first generation Ergonom, an AMF Head Vector String Lock (each string is tied off so if you break a string you just replace that one string), a couple different Snauwaert Eclipses, a Pro Kennex Laver Heritage Type C 93 prototype, and a first generation Slazenger Phantom (early graphite with two cross bars, the same size as a wood). I also have future classics like the RDS001, PK Ki5 PSE, PB10Mid, Diablo Mid, Phantom 14x18, Dunlop Aerogel 4D 200 Tour, KPS90, KPS88, Pacific XFeel Pro 90 Vacuum, and Solinco Pro 10 and Tour 10. Of course I also have the usuals, like the Puma Boris Becker Super, Rossignol F 200, and Rexking R-22. I was a racket collector until today, when my mint Snauwaert Hi-Ten 30 arrived. Now I’m done.

... until I find a nice PK Micro Mid. Then I’m done. I swear.
Nice. How did you manage to pick up the HiTen? That's a rare bird - especially the 30. I'd love to hear more about the PK Laver C too. What does it play like and how did you find that one?

There was a small sports store in an Singapore shopping mall and I swear, from 1996 through to 2015, they had the same rack of PK Micro Mids sitting there waiting to sell. I spoke to the owner about them and he said "they'll go eventually". Last time I was there he was closed so I've no idea if they're still waiting for a buyer.
 

Kemitak

Professional
I found the Hi-Ten 30 on the auction site. Photos were of the racket, but the description was for a Graphite La Grande. I asked, but the seller said there was no mistake, so I paid the man. $40. I don’t think he knew what he had. It’s minty with just two small scrapes and the original string. It even has the inspection sticker on the grip.

The Type C Mid prototype was also from the auction site, maybe eight years ago. I think it was about $70, brand new, unstrung. The seller said he had more if I wanted, but I couldn’t afford more at the time. I had played with the retail version and loved it. Far better racket than the Redondo, in my opinion. The only differences between the prototype and the retail racket are that the grip shape of the prototype is a little more square, like a Prince, and the bumper guard says ‘Miller’ on it.

If the sun ever breaks through here, I’ll snap some photos and post here.

One of my favourite rackets in y collection is my Pro Kennex Silver Ace (1st gen with the straight throat). Also bought it unstrung and never used. I put RPM Blast in it. It’s a bumperless M5, and it absolutely murders the ball. It might be the best hitting racket I own. I wish PK still made rackets like they used to.
 

galain

Hall of Fame
That's fantastic mate - very lucky finds! I remember the Type C and then the Redondo making a lot of noise on the board when they first came out. The Laver C didn't seem to have had a very long run though - it felt like it got replaced/removed quite quickly.

I have an original Silver Ace too - pretty gutsy for an early graphite. It seems to hit well no matter what strings are in it.

Have you taken the HiTen out on court? How does it play and how does it feel?
 

derick232

Rookie
I have only just started my collection a few years ago when I won the 2015 RF97 Autograph during the US open from Wilson. My goal is to have every kind of racket used by Roger Federer and maybe one day if I'm lucky enough, one that he actually played with. So far I just have the 2015 but I'm looking hard for a pro staff 85. So if anyone has an extra laying around let me know! Once I have them all, I told my wife I'm going to put them in a display case and mount them on the living room wall... she didn't like that idea.
 

Antónis

Professional
I have only just started my collection a few years ago when I won the 2015 RF97 Autograph during the US open from Wilson. My goal is to have every kind of racket used by Roger Federer and maybe one day if I'm lucky enough, one that he actually played with. So far I just have the 2015 but I'm looking hard for a pro staff 85. So if anyone has an extra laying around let me know! Once I have them all, I told my wife I'm going to put them in a display case and mount them on the living room wall... she didn't like that idea.

this?
scroll down
 

Antónis

Professional
I have only just started my collection a few years ago when I won the 2015 RF97 Autograph during the US open from Wilson. My goal is to have every kind of racket used by Roger Federer and maybe one day if I'm lucky enough, one that he actually played with. So far I just have the 2015 but I'm looking hard for a pro staff 85. So if anyone has an extra laying around let me know! Once I have them all, I told my wife I'm going to put them in a display case and mount them on the living room wall... she didn't like that idea.

Unless you have big money to pay, you'll not get an original RF's Pro Staff. He played with late Chinese production 6.0 mid ( I have one of those) but when he start playing with the 90 sq.i. racquets, they were different from the retail racquets you can buy.
 

Kemitak

Professional
What a weird racket! Weight and balance are great, stamped at 340 and
310 unstrung. It’s very flexible and feels more like my F200 Carbon than any other racket I’ve played. The two most surprising things about playing with it are the noise it makes and the spin it produces. It sounds like I’m killing a small animal with every shot. I’ve never heard anything like it. And it actually doesn’t make as much spin as I expected. I thought there would be gobs of felt flying through the air, but compared to my Phantom 14x18, strung with 17g Black Code 4S at 40lbs, the Hi-Ten 30 makes less spin; or rather, it can produce spin or depth, but not both at once. I’m a clean hitter, but it feels like I’m never quite finding the sweet spot, even though I am. Anyway, neat racket, money well spent.
 

galain

Hall of Fame
What a weird racket! Weight and balance are great, stamped at 340 and
310 unstrung. It’s very flexible and feels more like my F200 Carbon than any other racket I’ve played. The two most surprising things about playing with it are the noise it makes and the spin it produces. It sounds like I’m killing a small animal with every shot. I’ve never heard anything like it. And it actually doesn’t make as much spin as I expected. I thought there would be gobs of felt flying through the air, but compared to my Phantom 14x18, strung with 17g Black Code 4S at 40lbs, the Hi-Ten 30 makes less spin; or rather, it can produce spin or depth, but not both at once. I’m a clean hitter, but it feels like I’m never quite finding the sweet spot, even though I am. Anyway, neat racket, money well spent.
Thanks @Kemitak.That sounds so interesting. I'd always thought (and I believe i'd read when they were released), that the HiTens were very stiff frames. They needed to be because of the high tensions required to bring control to that open pattern. Never would have thought it'd play like an F200! That's awesome.
 

Dino Lagaffe

Hall of Fame
I've revisited this thread a few times now. Great topic @galain and thanks to all of you who have contributed. I mentioned earlier that a local radiostation was coming for an interview, and they did. I was asked about how I got started, which racquets I thought one should have in a collection, favorite players and racquets and so on. It was a nice experience.

My next step isn't really adding a ton of racquets, although there are still a few on the way, but rather organizing everything. I hope to be able to combine my inventory with pics and specs from my RDC-log, to make a digital archive of my collection. I also need to get more racquets on the RDC-machine, as the log isn't updated at all. At the same time I'm thinking that I'll go along at the pace I feel like, as I don't want my hobby to be stressful. I get enough of that in everyday life.
 

Dino Lagaffe

Hall of Fame
Dino, what was your answer to the question what rackets one should have in a collection?
I didn't answer it in this way on the radio, but I don't think there are any mandatory racquets. All collections start as an interest in maybe a player or a brand, and it evolves from there.

Often age has a little bit to do with it, as it's common to get what was popular at a younger age. I'm a couple of years shy of 50, and my main interest is bats from the 80s and 90s. A friend of mine, who is about 20 years my senior, has a great collection of racquets from the 60s and 70s.

So based on my age and interest, there are a few classics that are hard to overlook. If you're interested in getting a variety of racquets and maybe play with them to see different brands' approaches in this era, I suggest the following:

Wilson 6.0 and 6.1
Prince Original Graphite
Head Prestige, Radical of the first few generations. Head Pro Tour
Dunlop Max 200G
Rossignol F200
Völkl C10
Puma Winner/Super
Yonex RD7 and SRD Tour
Donnay Pro One
Fischer Vacuum Pro
Adidas and/or Kneissl Lendl-version

One could argue for or against a couple of racquets here, and maybe I've missed a couple that deserve mentioning, but from my perspective this would be a great little collection.
 
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