Thomas Muster Racquet

ericsson

Hall of Fame
i don't know for sure but my guess is he still plays the the head pro tour 280 european version, it was back in the 90 's endorsed by him and he played a long time with it, i guess he 's using his own stock :p the strings i guess he uses isospeed professional, very thin gauge.
 

tkramer15

Semi-Pro
Muster's racket

Maybe it's a paintjob (you guys would know more than me about that), but Muster appears to be using a Liquidmetal Prestige on the Senior Tour. I liked it when he used the Kneissl Tom's Machine and then the Tom's Reach Machine back from 1996 to when he retired in 1999. I remember reading that in '96 he was actually still using his Head Pro Tour 280 painted over to look like the Kneissl Tom's Machine. Then in '97 he began using an inch longer version called Tom's Reach Machine.
 

Colpo

Professional
What are you seeing to suggest his LM Prestige MP is a paintjob? Be specific. It's not 1995 anymore - it makes perfect sense that he'd now be using something light and mushy like the LM Prestige MP, no?

One of the interesting aspects of watching the Senior Tour is seeing the bats that our heroes are now using. Almost all of them have graduated to 98 or bigger heads (Courier and Krickstein excepted).
 

galain

Hall of Fame
More than one poster has also suggested that the LM Prestige MP plays very closely to the PT280. If this is the case he may be using the newer model.
 

Colpo

Professional
galain said:
More than one poster has also suggested that the LM Prestige MP plays very closely to the PT280. If this is the case he may be using the newer model.

galain, this cannot be true. The LM Prestige MP, at least with the set-ups I've tried, is underweighted and mushy-feeling, with a dumb, stiff, clubby shaft (yep, it's "dumb"). If that's what the fabled Pro Tour is about, it cannot be a classic.

My point is that as Muster's gotten older, his racquet needs have gravitated more towards what the LM P MP has to offer, rather than his old Pro Tour. By that logic, they'd play differently.
 

PBODY99

Legend
He has a build up on the butt cap and you would see the "+" of white tape on the handle for as long as I can remember, it looks like the knob on a baseball bat. He did say that he never switched, just a new paint job. His string was Isospeed.
 

hoosierbr

Hall of Fame
Colpo said:
One of the interesting aspects of watching the Senior Tour is seeing the bats that our heroes are now using. Almost all of them have graduated to 98 or bigger heads (Courier and Krickstein excepted).

I think Krajicek is using the NCode 90.
 

federmann

Rookie
Colpo said:
What are you seeing to suggest his LM Prestige MP is a paintjob? Be specific. It's not 1995 anymore - it makes perfect sense that he'd now be using something light and mushy like the LM Prestige MP, no?

One of the interesting aspects of watching the Senior Tour is seeing the bats that our heroes are now using. Almost all of them have graduated to 98 or bigger heads (Courier and Krickstein excepted).


i don't know if anybody out there remembers former austrian pro "Alex Antonitsch". he's also on the delta tour, at least he plays in graz every year as he's austrian.
Alex said that Muster is using the same racquet as ten years ago. graphite/kevlar and weight is about 400 gr.

so no, it doesn't make any sense that he would now be using something light and mushy like the LM Prestige MP.
 

ericsson

Hall of Fame
it wouldnt surprise me he played with that weight, i mean considered he played with one of the highest tensions ever i think, 40 kg!!!
that man has iron arms ;)
 

CX115

New User
Yea last night, I had dinner with Thomas Muster, and fellow Champions tour players, while on one of their tour stops in Hong Kong and when we hit the discussion based on racquets, Muster replied that his racquest are strung at a level that most people wouldn't think to string them at and that the racquets were paint jobs
 

daddabompa

Hall of Fame
Reviving this very old thread because I recently got a Kneissl racquet which, maybe, could have been a Muster Personal one back in the days.
It is a Kneissl Toms Reach Machine pj, being the mould slightly different from retail ones.
In particular, it does not feature the "plastic" piece on throat and racket's head does not have the typical median "groove" starting from about the middle of it straight to the top.
Also, racket's buttcap has that typical "+ shape" tape applied and on inner throat there's a yellow sticker from "Peter's Shop" (Peter Lehrner was his personal stringer as far as I know), but on it there's not Muster name unfortunately...maybe the racquet was played by another person after him, who knows...
I' d appreciate any hint on this topic, thanks :)

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mctennis

Legend
big ted-That is the original "Tom's Machine" in the photo. Whether it is a REAL Kneissl Tom's Machine or not that is hard to say from that photo. I had one of those back in the day. Great color combination on the racquet.
 
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big ted

Legend
big ted-That is the original "Tom's Machine". Whether it is a REAL Kneissl Tom's Machine or not that is hard to say from that photo. I had one of those back in the day. Great color combination on the racquet.

yes true, i only showed that pic because it shows muster had the same cross tape on buttcap as described above...
but his butt end was enlarged and dont think he used tournagrip:unsure:?
 

mctennis

Legend
yes true, i only showed that pic because it shows muster had the same cross tape on buttcap as described above...
but his butt end was enlarged and dont think he used tournagrip:unsure:?
Probably not tournagrip. I never knew why there was an "X" on the buttcap except to perhaps hide what racquet it really was or for some other reason known only by him. I always liked seeing him play. He was a player that gave 100%. To me his real test was getting hit by a car and his leg smashed up and yet still came back to play after he healed up.
 

Hankenstein

Hall of Fame
That frame is a pro-stock frame but not for Muster. It’s made for and used by former pro player Markus Hipfl. A great player back in the days with a very nice one handed backhand.

Reviving this very old thread because I recently got a Kneissl racquet which, maybe, could have been a Muster Personal one back in the days.
It is a Kneissl Toms Reach Machine pj, being the mould slightly different from retail ones.
In particular, it does not feature the "plastic" piece on throat and racket's head does not have the typical median "groove" starting from about the middle of it straight to the top.
Also, racket's buttcap has that typical "+ shape" tape applied and on inner throat there's a yellow sticker from "Peter's Shop" (Peter Lehrner was his personal stringer as far as I know), but on it there's not Muster name unfortunately...maybe the racquet was played by another person after him, who knows...
I' d appreciate any hint on this topic, thanks :)

HlWG2qN.jpg
iIWWPYZ.jpg
0JTbynp.jpg
OonUnVE.jpg
ptq1uxx.jpg
XEtZly4.jpg
uQLMNAk.jpg
 

daddabompa

Hall of Fame
That frame is a pro-stock frame but not for Muster. It’s made for and used by former pro player Markus Hipfl. A great player back in the days with a very nice one handed backhand.
Thank you very much!
Actually I had the solution under my nose :laughing:
I checked the name on the yellow sticker and it actually says "M. Hipfl", but before your hint I had no idea he was a Pro Player at the time, so the sticker was useless for me.
 
Holy crap ! This is huge ! Wow man how super interesting! Can you please please tell us what you think the specs are !? Where did u find this ? Wow!
So cool . I would love to hear more about this . This is the reason why I come here to these sites ! For these kind of awesome brilliant posts .
wil you be playing with this ?
would love to know how it plays !
 
Muster cross on butt cap riddle :
Muster was a big fan of white athletic tape apparently. He used a type of this tape for his overgrip finishing tape also when he got his stash of rackets he / or his racket tech ,would remove all grips and secured 2 pieces of same finishing tape to “ secure “ his Butt cap... then apply the first factory grip . Then the overgrip w/ the white athletic tape .
 

daddabompa

Hall of Fame
Holy crap ! This is huge ! Wow man how super interesting! Can you please please tell us what you think the specs are !? Where did u find this ? Wow!
So cool . I would love to hear more about this . This is the reason why I come here to these sites ! For these kind of awesome brilliant posts .
wil you be playing with this ?
would love to know how it plays !
Thanks for your kind appreciation words :)
I got lucky to find it online...it was not advertised as a Pro Player racket but I got curious as soon as I saw the strange "X"-shape tape on buttcap...honestly was hoping for a Muster Personal racket because before today I only knew hi playing with such a thing...possibly that was a kind of "tuning" thing offered by Peter Lehrner as a standard to his Pro customers.
Actually don't know if I'll ever play with it because it feels sensibly heavy just by handling it...the sticker says 341 g / 330 mm (unstrung I suppose), plus it also says 72 RA as flex rating and I definitely like flexy rackets (in the range of 53-63 max).
Anyway, as soon as I have a moment I'll check the basic specs (weight/balance) myself and report them here.
 
Aww well you are welcome man ! I love this type of stuff ! Aww man :( I was hoping you were gonna say it’s crZy flexible and only 11 oz strung ! Oh well I can dream ! Abs also maybe they messed up and said the string tension should be strung at 72 lbs instead of RA flex of 72.
I was gonna say that surely muster woukd of hated a72 RA hitting racket . But he did after all use a babolat aero pro for awhile
 

daddabompa

Hall of Fame
Was able to check racquet's specs finally and I got a bit surprised.
I found out it to be around 375 g / 308 mm unstrung (as pictured above), so not as reported on the yellow throat sticker from the stringer, and with a length just over 28".
Probably it has been modified by the guy who owned it after Markus...but who knows...
 

ron schaap

Hall of Fame
Reviving this very old thread because I recently got a Kneissl racquet which, maybe, could have been a Muster Personal one back in the days.
It is a Kneissl Toms Reach Machine pj, being the mould slightly different from retail ones.
In particular, it does not feature the "plastic" piece on throat and racket's head does not have the typical median "groove" starting from about the middle of it straight to the top.
Also, racket's buttcap has that typical "+ shape" tape applied and on inner throat there's a yellow sticker from "Peter's Shop" (Peter Lehrner was his personal stringer as far as I know), but on it there's not Muster name unfortunately...maybe the racquet was played by another person after him, who knows...
I' d appreciate any hint on this topic, thanks :)

HlWG2qN.jpg
iIWWPYZ.jpg
0JTbynp.jpg
OonUnVE.jpg
ptq1uxx.jpg
XEtZly4.jpg
uQLMNAk.jpg
I dont remember Muster did ever play with a Kneissl. I remember seeing him playing a Donnay at a gravel tournament at Netherland when he wasnt yet famous. I wonder if his grunting made him famous or his patience during baseline ralleys? Later he used them pro stock Head. Finally when he had to pay for his divorce when he tried his last come back when he was already 43 he appearantly tried normal Aero pro drives with moderate amount of lead and Babolat rpm blast with normal tension.
 

daddabompa

Hall of Fame
I dont remember Muster did ever play with a Kneissl. I remember seeing him playing a Donnay at a gravel tournament at Netherland when he wasnt yet famous. I wonder if his grunting made him famous or his patience during baseline ralleys? Later he used them pro stock Head. Finally when he had to pay for his divorce when he tried his last come back when he was already 43 he appearantly tried normal Aero pro drives with moderate amount of lead and Babolat rpm blast with normal tension.
What I got from reading here and there, plus by searching for images on web, is that he actually played with a Kneissl mould (the Toms Reach Machine in extended length) for a period during last years of his career, interchanging it with his beloved PT630.
 

PhilSki

Rookie
Wow, a personal T. Muster;

https://www.e**y.co.uk/itm/Head-Prostock-Pro-Stock-Personal-Muster-Tour/383783436527?pageci=613583ff-f9a8-4345-aff6-ad9787da063d
 

ron schaap

Hall of Fame
What I got from reading here and there, plus by searching for images on web, is that he actually played with a Kneissl mould (the Toms Reach Machine in extended length) for a period during last years of his career, interchanging it with his beloved PT630.
You forget Muster made numerous comebacks. An original adp cant be mistaken by other racquets. What is the end of his career? Maybe he is going to try another comeback? There are two boxers who are in the ring again while both are over 50.
 

mctennis

Legend
What I got from reading here and there, plus by searching for images on web, is that he actually played with a Kneissl mould (the Toms Reach Machine in extended length) for a period during last years of his career, interchanging it with his beloved PT630.
I remember seeing him playing with a Kneissl (maybe a paintjob) at a tournament on tv. With the low def tv images you could not really tell what racquet was he really using. Interesting player and a great playing career.
Sounds like you have a great racquet find.
 
What I got from reading here and there, plus by searching for images on web, is that he actually played with a Kneissl mould (the Toms Reach Machine in extended length) for a period during last years of his career, interchanging it with his beloved PT630.


Ok, a lil bit of TM history, he moved from Head to Kneissl about 1996 , initially using a repainted ProTour630, they then made a Gen1 Tom's Machine, this was black/gold/and a little white in color, these are very rare. From there he wanted a frame to "help" him more on hard courts, and we got the Tom's Reach Machine in late1996 , and with this in the following Aussie Summer tournaments in 1997, reaching the Semi's in Melbourne loosing to Sampras in 4 (gr8 match that 1, i was very fortunate to be there 10 rows off the court). TM kept using that frame and a short time later he used it to win in '97 Miami (which TM had a history at being the tourny where his leg was hurt the night b4 the final).

From here i understand the TM experimented with the reach machine at 27.5 inches rather than the original 28 inches, and even had some made @ 27 inches again. and he used a variety of these until leaving the tour.

here are some image i found:


VBqXX-z6EdFaHvmLSe_-eFs8M9zebVlshSEk7wA4uPPRpfKDEnZgZE6LAKVATNOuVXHHuA_Be1K7of-aiV81Oo54kmnZRRdl9T4sq8iRGXOdXltTvgl88RLJKI-gSjGDF6k1MPxhEx6pFWcPw0bPipG8kN8UKd6cT6Hd1JelGAC5RmKn9YtQHQZ-R7DX
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You can also find more info in this thread here: TT TM thread
 

encylopedia

Professional
What people will probably also not remember is Muster's shocking candor about his racquets. At one point, when he was supposedly using his new Kniessl he asked about it, and he quipped "same racquet - new paint", and shrugged lol. Later when he did actually switch, he openly said it had helped him on hard courts but hurt him on clay.
 
What people will probably also not remember is Muster's shocking candor about his racquets. At one point, when he was supposedly using his new Kniessl he asked about it, and he quipped "same racquet - new paint", and shrugged lol. Later when he did actually switch, he openly said it had helped him on hard courts but hurt him on clay.

Very true, I like that about him. but the interesting 1 was where they made him a 27 version of the TM Reach machine, but foe the life I cant remember what year that was. I also remember seeing a pic of it at one time.

The last true "Toms Machine" was the green 1, i missed out on a pair of these earlier this year. I had 2 or the 28 inch frames that I eventually cut back to 27.5, Loved them. Only switched away after I broke 1, in of all places the Shafts after hitting the ground slipping on En tout cas court (sort like a faster clay we use in my part of Australia), i gave the remaining 1 to me brother in law, and it was eventually lost in a house move. :(

Gotta say they don't make stuff like these anymore. But would love to get an try 1 of the 1st gen Toms Machine (the blk 1), there is 1 here in Australia for sale, but way outside what I can afford
 

daddabompa

Hall of Fame
I remember seeing him playing with a Kneissl (maybe a paintjob) at a tournament on tv. With the low def tv images you could not really tell what racquet was he really using. Interesting player and a great playing career.
Sounds like you have a great racquet find.
Thanks :)
Yep, it is quite a unique frames, even though I hoped it to belong to Muster rather than Hipfl.
Anyway the curious thing is that frame's current specs are not the ones written on the yellow stringer sticker, so much probably it has been later modified by someone else.
Also the static weight is around 375 g, that is pretty near to the one Muster used to play with (around 370-373 g from what I read).
 

ron schaap

Hall of Fame
What people will probably also not remember is Muster's shocking candor about his racquets. At one point, when he was supposedly using his new Kniessl he asked about it, and he quipped "same racquet - new paint", and shrugged lol. Later when he did actually switch, he openly said it had helped him on hard courts but hurt him on clay.
What i do remember that he was also peculiar about his stringings. He sent his racquets to his home country to let some them strung overthere and sent back by air. Correct me if i m wrong.
 
What i do remember that he was also peculiar about his stringings. He sent his racquets to his home country to let some them strung overthere and sent back by air. Correct me if i m wrong.

He wasn't guite that pedantic, but he did use a special ISO-Speed string that lost tension very quickly, which is ok if you're a pro and getting then done all the time. the string itself was brilliant, had wonderful feel, but was like a trampoline after about 5 to 7 hours hitting,, and really needed to be pre-stretched when u strung it. i tried a few sets, loved the feel, but not the lack of durability. Think a spinny multi. but this was late 90's so way before poly's were the norm. the 1st poly i remember was Kirshbaum, but that also lost tension really quickly
 

Hankenstein

Hall of Fame
He wasn't guite that pedantic, but he did use a special ISO-Speed string that lost tension very quickly, which is ok if you're a pro and getting then done all the time. the string itself was brilliant, had wonderful feel, but was like a trampoline after about 5 to 7 hours hitting,, and really needed to be pre-stretched when u strung it. i tried a few sets, loved the feel, but not the lack of durability. Think a spinny multi. but this was late 90's so way before poly's were the norm. the 1st poly i remember was Kirshbaum, but that also lost tension really quickly
He used isospeed professional 1.20 mm string. It came pre-tensioned in a plastic coil from the factory. If my memory is correct he used to string his frames about 40 kilos (like 88 lbs!).
 

I.M. Weasel

New User
Muster cross on butt cap riddle :
Muster was a big fan of white athletic tape apparently. He used a type of this tape for his overgrip finishing tape also when he got his stash of rackets he / or his racket tech ,would remove all grips and secured 2 pieces of same finishing tape to “ secure “ his Butt cap... then apply the first factory grip . Then the overgrip w/ the white athletic tape .
A few days ago I was watching this
Marseille 1999 QF - Federer vs Clement
It seems that Clement had same white "cross" on his butt-cap!!! Also, his extended Radical Candycane was capped.
Federer had dyed hair and was throwing his racquet a lot...
 

Antónis

Professional
I don't know if this story is real, but I read or heard somewhere that most stringers couldn't make their machines achieve the tension levels Muster wanted (high 30's kgs, or so), and the head stringer here on Estoril Open had a trick to do it, and he used to call him "maestro" for that reason
 

Antónis

Professional
this story is told here , but it's in Portuguese - page 8/9 - you have to get it translated
Probably they didn't have a Star 5 stringer there, it's a small event
 

newyorkstadium

Professional
Did anyone ever get to the bottom of this? The sticker says Hipfl, but everything else suggests Muster. Though unlikely, perhaps it was passed on to Muster by Hipfl. @daddabompa Have you tried contacting the seller to see if they have any info.
 
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travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
Muster cross on butt cap riddle :
Muster was a big fan of white athletic tape apparently. He used a type of this tape for his overgrip finishing tape also when he got his stash of rackets he / or his racket tech ,would remove all grips and secured 2 pieces of same finishing tape to “ secure “ his Butt cap... then apply the first factory grip . Then the overgrip w/ the white athletic tape .
I use tape across my buttcap (with each strip extending an inch along the pallet) in the same way to secure them (in the absence of staples) on racquets where have modified the length.

Gorilla tape is superior to electrical tape for this purpose because it doesn’t stretch.
 
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