RF 01 Pro
String and tension used for test: NXT 16 gauge, orange, 53 lbs/24 kg, first 1.5 hrs. ALU Power 1.25, silver, 50 lbs/23 kg for 9.5 hours.
Tennis experience/background: Will give my racquet progression as it's more germane - Pro Staff 6.0 85, Pro Staff 6.1 95 classic 16x18 (the favorite...still have it). Fourteen years elapse not playing 2003-2017. Return to tennis, search for new frames, everything I like is gone...end up with leftover new Pro Staff 90s ('14 version) and Pro Staff RF97s ('15 or v10) as they're most similar to what I used. But then the question appears, what has 14 years of progress meant for racquets?? Start reading TT and rabbits begin appearing instead of sheep at night...you know the rest.
Describe your playing style (i.e., serve & volley...): All courter, can mess up any stroke with equal aplomb, prefer half volleys because I'm low to the ground.
Current racquet/string setups: Current favorites -
Wilson: RF97 v13, PS97 v11, trying the PS97v14 lately
Prince: 2019 Textreme Tour 100 (16x18), 98 ATS, 95
Head Prestige (now)Tour 95 aux 1.0, 360+ Mid, Extreme Pro and MP, Speed MP Aux 1.0
Have a few Dunlops FX98, FX100; Tecnifibre TFight RS 315; Pro Kennex Q+Tour 300 & 315
Prefer this general recipe:
310-340g, 9-12 HL unstrung, constant thickness beam, stiff, 16x19 or 16x18 open pattern, SW 325-330 strung.
Gut/syn gut/multi @ 58-60 lbs, poly @ 48 lbs.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? 11 hours since receiving it August 20.
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke:
Groundstrokes: Excellent, swings smoothly and easily probably due to low twistweight. After adjustment period, easier to dial in trajectory. Launch angle was a bit different initially from what I'm used to, tending to go either a little too high or low until adapted to. The swingweight feels just about optimum for plowing through fast incoming balls or heavy spins.
Serves: Playing only in clinics, we haven't done much serving, but it serves comparably to my other frames. Good pace, spin a little harder to generate though.
Volleys: The starring role for this frame. Nearly equal to the RF97, with not quite the top end clobberability. Almost no adjustment period unlike the groundstrokes; first few were coming off a little low, but that quickly changed.
Serve returns: See Serves comments...what I did notice on the returns, which took place in the golden period (I'll explain below) was that every one was in, and went exactly where I intended. Will need more time to fully evaluate, but no problems for now.
Comments on racquet performance in each area):
Power/Control- This is a really powerful frame, that's what stands out above other qualities. It is substantially more powerful than a PS97, nearly as much as an RF97. Easy to cannon one if you have time. Control is good, but not quite at Pro Staff 97 levels. A small difference though.
Top Spin/Slice- Have to work a bit harder for top than the more open patterns in the RF/PS 97s. Slice for whatever reason is very easy to achieve, in fact another standout for this frame. I received a medical bill from my opponents for surgery expenses related to scalpel use.
Comfort- Big surprise here. Playing with poly for the last 9.5 hours, thought I might suffer for it. Usually I alternate to other racquets with syn or multi every other week to give my arm a break, but no problems here. I would say it's comfortable despite the RA. Even more so with multi.
Feel- Unique. You know immediately it's not an RF97/PS97, but it's in the neighborhood. Feels like it bends very little anywhere like the RF97. Definitely the missing Kevlar makes for a different hitting sensation. The foam seems to do a good job damping noise/shock.
Maneuverability- Good maneuverability; low twistweight combined with, speculatively, low spinweight, makes for easy movement. Definitely easier to accelerate upward for brushing than an RF!
Stability- Generally quite stable like its relatives but a little more prone to being deflected on below center strikes. Probably goes back to the twistweight.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
| RF 01 Pro | PS 97 v14 |
Weight, unstrung | 323.3g | 316.5g, 322.3g (leather grip) |
Weight, strung+overgrip (Pro Sensation) | 342.6g, 2.7g overgrip | 336.7g |
Swingweight, unstrung | 305 | 302 |
Swingweight, strung | 334 | 329 |
Twistweight, strung | 13.4 | 13.6 |
Balance, unstrung | 8.5 HL | 8.5 HL |
Balance, strung | 5.5 HL | 5.5 HL |
When I first saw the announcements for the new RF series (here at TT...many deleted posts

) I wasn't too intrigued by the specs of 320g, 9HL and the frame geometry. When the playtest thread appeared I decided to apply anyway, since the RF97 has been done away with and this might be the nearest thing. Coincidentally, on Aug. 6th, a clinic mate had gotten one early and let me hit a few with it, and I did like it immediately, though you can't tell much from 6 hits. So I was glad I had applied, and very much have enjoyed testing it. TW, I'm sure not their fault, was delayed in getting them out and I only received mine Aug. 20th, hence the relatively short amount of hours with it...I only get to play 2 - 3 times a week.
Opening the box, I misread the NXT packet to say "Control" in place of the word "Comfort." So I strung it up at 53 lbs/24 kg...my mistake! Felt just like NRG2 which I also don't like at low tension in stiff and heavy frames. My mistake and I cut it out after 1.5 hrs. Really soft on the arm though. No tragedy as I didn't really want to test this racquet with full multi anyway. So in went Lux ALU Power 1.25 at 50 lbs/23 kg for the remainder of time, 9.5 hrs. My choice of tension is because I have been using that in the RF97 over the past few months, and to eliminate a variable I chose the same tension. Didn't go as planned and the stringbed was somewhat harsh the first 2-3 hours. In contrast, the RF97 was great right off the stringer. Since momentum is mass(velocity), to get the same momentum as the RF97, you have to have (320g/340g), or about 6% higher velocity at impact to impart the same bending to the string. In other words, you have to swing the RF01P a bit faster to get similar results as the RF97. Using 6% as a scaling factor I would next time string it at 50(.06) or 47 lbs/21 kg to start off.
Nonetheless, after hour 2, ALU settled into a golden period (or should that be silver?) till about the last 2 hours, when it's been declining into stiffer/harsher/deader. All to say while ALU dropped to roughly where I should have started, 47 lbs, my comments on the racquet should be viewed in the context of the 5.5 hours of good string time. And it was good; everything came together and the racquet felt great...sweetspot opened up, mind had adapted to racquet face adjustments needed, this is a good frame.
The natural comparison, and the one I'll make, is to the RF/PS97. This racquet required a longer initial adjustment period for me, where usually I can adapt to a different racquet within a 20-30 minutes. The response of the ball off the racquet face is not quite the same as it's relatives. In fact, I'll call the PS85, PS90, RF/PS97 brothers where the RF01P is more like a first cousin. It's not worse, just different, and in the golden period I was hitting just as well with it as the others. Whether the adjustment needed was due to mains spacing, variable elliptical beam, or something else I can't say. I would say if it's a try for you, stick with it for a little longer than usual if initial impressions aren't totally positive; you may end up liking it.
The reason I put the PS97v14 in the table above is I capped off this test by playing with it last night to offer a direct comparison. Specs for both are quite close to each other. From first hit to last, the PS97 was familiar territory and surprising to me, didn't need a readjustment after playing with the RF01P for the last three weeks. Clearly the RF01P offers more pop at the expense of slightly less control.
In comparison to the RF97, you have to swing the 01P a bit faster to get equal results. The RF97 is like a 10 speed transmission with good, closely spaced ratios; the RF01P is like a 6-speed with wider ratios; you need to be on the gas a bit more.
From the silverback paint (I have it on good word from a local shop that the initial run of RF01P went mostly to the over 50 crowd!) to the sculptured beam shape with odd flats in the top of the hoop this is an attractive and well designed frame. It'll be interesting what future iterations bring. Big thanks to TW for selecting me, I hope some of this info will be useful. I plan to continue playing with it, as 11 hours was a bit short, with gut/poly next, to fill out my impressions. Will update later.