The Snauwaert fanclub _/¯

Fedinkum

Legend
Paint job looks sexie. Not seeing flex below 60RA...was hoping they would have one model inline with a more classic stick.c
 
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ericsson

Hall of Fame
You are correct, it should have been 3 million rackets/year. Fixed it ;-)

Ok for once and for all, the correct number should be somewhere between 600.000 and 800.000 (max.) rackets per year!
The only one that made more then 1 million rackets per year was Donnay, not Snauwaert.
My apologies for the bad info coming from the Belgian press, my info now comes directly from a former employee of Snauwaert/Spalding.
 

Pepecom

New User
This is my Snauwaert collection

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Pepecom

New User
Thats amazing and intense!
Thanks vsbabolat, I appreciate your comment.
I have 3 Hi Ten 30 in my bag that I use to hit with, got them from an professional tennis player few years ago and I liked them. And then I was lucky to come across all the other frames some months ago. They are 30's and 25's, all brand new. Still searching for a 50 to complete my collection.
 

yonexRx32

Professional
Since this the the Snauwaert fan club, here's a pic of my newly acquired Snauwaert Dyneema S60. Notice the color matched full head guard, leather grip.. well.. photos don't do justice to this racket.

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joe sch

Legend
Miloslav Mecir is still using his open throat Wood and graphite reinforced Snauwaert Graphite Wood La Grande with the Graphite Mid paint job!
s-l1600-22_zpsyedbaq7o.jpg

The big cat is awesome. I really appreciate his skills and his confidence to still play wood against top competition ...

Mečíř was a finesse player whose career straddled the transition from wooden and metal racquets towards modern graphite composites. He was noted for his touch shots as well as the ability to disguise his shots, particularly his two-handed backhand. His court coverage and graceful footwork earned him the nickname "The Big Cat". The French called him "Le Prestidigitateur" (The Conjuror).

Many top players used to cite Mečíř as the one player they most enjoyed watching because of his beautifully simple style and touch. He was known as the "Swede Killer" for the success that he had against Swedish players, especially Mats Wilander.[2]

ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miloslav_Mečíř
 

joe sch

Legend
The big cat is awesome. I really appreciate his skills and his confidence to still play wood against top competition ...

Mečíř was a finesse player whose career straddled the transition from wooden and metal racquets towards modern graphite composites. He was noted for his touch shots as well as the ability to disguise his shots, particularly his two-handed backhand. His court coverage and graceful footwork earned him the nickname "The Big Cat". The French called him "Le Prestidigitateur" (The Conjuror).

Many top players used to cite Mečíř as the one player they most enjoyed watching because of his beautifully simple style and touch. He was known as the "Swede Killer" for the success that he had against Swedish players, especially Mats Wilander.[2]

ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miloslav_Mečíř

PS: How about his 1987 Dallas title win humbling Johhny Mac 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2 with a Snauwaert ?
 
I love this pic . I think it's awesome mecir still plays with his painted up la grandes . As a kid I underestimated him but as I've grown I can see his footwork was really astonishing .
And he could blast forehands wit that frame I watched an old match of him against Becker and there was a down the line forehand that he struck at 80 mph it had to be.. he could bend the ball flat . Which makes no physics sense at all but it would move from side to side when slowed down motion was set on my pc. Truly amazed what he could do with the flex of that la grande ... daddy want one ..

Miloslav Mecir is still using his open throat Wood and graphite reinforced Snauwaert Graphite Wood La Grande with the Graphite Mid paint job!
s-l1600-22_zpsyedbaq7o.jpg
 

vsbabolat

G.O.A.T.
I love this pic . I think it's awesome mecir still plays with his painted up la grandes . As a kid I underestimated him but as I've grown I can see his footwork was really astonishing .
And he could blast forehands wit that frame I watched an old match of him against Becker and there was a down the line forehand that he struck at 80 mph it had to be.. he could bend the ball flat . Which makes no physics sense at all but it would move from side to side when slowed down motion was set on my pc. Truly amazed what he could do with the flex of that la grande ... daddy want one ..
You can see the photo?
 
Not here but it was on google and it brought me back here . I wish it was here what a great photo that is! So cool how you can see the wood shine thru the green paint job he was sporting at the end of his career . A painted graphite mid yes?
Green and gold font :) if I am correct I played with a green graphite from snauwaert but it was all graphite no wood from the feel but maybe it had a wood core?
 
Ah man I bet that thing hits like flexee
Sweet cream butter.
Joe how would u compare it with your open throat pro Kennex mid woods ?
 

joe sch

Legend
Ah man I bet that thing hits like flexee
Sweet cream butter.
Joe how would u compare it with your open throat pro Kennex mid woods ?
Hard to compare since I never took them both out at same time and probably did not even hit them within same time period.
I can say that both of those midsize OT wood racket models are a joy to hit.
If I can find both in nice playing condition in my stock, Ill try to do this test :)
 

Megson007

New User
An ode to the classic racquets from Snauwaert, the manufacturer from Belgium.

They were the first (afaik) to engrave the weight and balancepoint of that particular stick on the racquet, making it very easy to find comparable frames. And who can forgot their (failed) adventure with the Ergonom.
Some of the pro's that used Snauwaert were Mikael Pernfors, Vitas Gerulaitis and Miloslav Mečíř.


There's very little information about Snauwaert to be found on the internet, so anyone that has some info, please post it in this thread.

Also feel free to add pictures from your frames.


I'll start with my small collection from this innovative company (click the pics for the full screen version):



Picture 1:
ATP Tour 103
ATP Tour 93
ATP Tour 85
Hi-Ten 50
Hi-Ten 30
Mikael Pernfors


Picture 2:
Comp Dyno (2x)
Dyneema S60
Vitas Gerulaitis AUtograph


Picture 3:
Ergonom
Comp Mid
Cosmos Pro
Graphite Mid

Hey everybody, I recently acquired a bag of vintage tennis rackets and within I found a near perfect condition Snauwaert racket that I'm unable to identify, would anyone be able to help me out?
Here are some pictures, thanks in advance.
 

BorgCash

Legend
hi everybody.
could somebody please help me with information about what Snauwaert models were used by Pernfors and Svensson in the mid 80's?
thanks in advantage.
 

BorgCash

Legend
I actually had that racquet bag as a kid, but in blue!

Snauwaert also made tennis balls, sold in a brown metal can. I don't know if they manufactured them or had them made by another company and simply re-badged them. Probably the latter. There were interesting brands of tennis balls in the late seventies, like Tretorn, Pirelli, and Nassau.
Tretorn is still here.
 

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
hi everybody.
could somebody please help me with information about what Snauwaert models were used by Pernfors and Svensson in the mid 80's?
thanks in advantage.
Mikael Pernfors used the Mikael Pernfors Autograph, which looks as though Snauwaert purchased the molds of the Wimbledon 100% Graphite (produced by Kunnal Industries in Taiwan) to make the frame in Belgium beginning in 1987 or 1988, with a slightly different layup. It’s almost a perfect copy; comparing specimens of each we see minor differences in the grommet ends and its molded channel.

Jonas B. Svensson switched to Snauwaert from Fischer around 1986, if I remember correctly, and I believe he used the Graphite Impact, a model which was a graphics refresh on the old Graphite Mid model.
 

daveyboy

Rookie
Ive taken most of the past week and hit with a Graphite Impact. NOS, strung with plain synthetic gut. Lovely to volley with, and I'll get used to it on groundstrokes. I'll post pics in a little bit.
 

BorgCash

Legend
Mikael Pernfors used the Mikael Pernfors Autograph, which looks as though Snauwaert purchased the molds of the Wimbledon 100% Graphite (produced by Kunnal Industries in Taiwan) to make the frame in Belgium beginning in 1987 or 1988, with a slightly different layup. It’s almost a perfect copy; comparing specimens of each we see minor differences in the grommet ends and its molded channel.

Jonas B. Svensson switched to Snauwaert from Fischer around 1986, if I remember correctly, and I believe he used the Graphite Impact, a model which was a graphics refresh on the old Graphite Mid model.
Thank you for information. Was this Pernfors Autograph/Wimbledon Graphite a mid-size (85") or different size?
 

BorgCash

Legend
I would have guess 98 or so. We didn't sell that many, so I could be wrong ;) Good looking stick!
Enough came back broken that we quit with it pretty early, even though Pernfors and Steven Snauwaert lived in the area for a time.
I only have one Wimbledon racquet - Traditional Pro and it is 98 (it's written on it). For that period it looks like OS, though i think that 88 that retrowagen mentioned is more correct.
 

MagicBen

New User
Hello from Paris to you Snauwaert fans across the globe. I just bought here a brand new and never strung Snauwaert Ultimate. Included its original full size leather cover and the original tag with pictures of John McEnroe. I think it's one of the last wooden sticks produced in the history of tennis racquet manufacturers. But really I don't know more about this beautiful racquet. Like when it was released, at what price at that time, how many (approx.) were sold by Snauwaert, its specifications also, etc. In case one or some of you could help me in knowing more about this Ultimate, I'd be so happy to know more about this gem I just bought.
 
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galain

Hall of Fame
Mikael Pernfors used the Mikael Pernfors Autograph, which looks as though Snauwaert purchased the molds of the Wimbledon 100% Graphite (produced by Kunnal Industries in Taiwan) to make the frame in Belgium beginning in 1987 or 1988, with a slightly different layup. It’s almost a perfect copy; comparing specimens of each we see minor differences in the grommet ends and its molded channel.

In his interview with Craig Shapiro it really seemed as though he had a soft spot for the Wimbledon frame. It was the one he named immediately when asked if he had a favourite stick. He did go on to say that Snauwaert made something similar but my impression after listening was that the Wimby frame had some magic to it that the Snauwaert didn't.
 

East Lions

Rookie
Just got my hands on a La Grande to keep company to my Meso Graphite. These sticks are the definition of elegant beauty. Havent played with the Meso Graphite due to it beeing totally unused and I wouldnt risk scrathcing it. But the La Grande has a few minor scrathces here and there so I think I am gonna give her a try when the heatwave is over.

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IMG-20230727-143159.jpg

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Crocodile

G.O.A.T.
This brand was very popular and ahead of their time in Australia in the 1980’s and they were not afraid to be adventurous or innovative.
 
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