Why did Roger Quickly dismiss the tuxedo RF97?

[ron schaap]

I thought about this, but I've played with the tuxedo and the ncode 90. The red is lighter and brighter, so the white blends into the racquet colour more and it's easier to ignore. The white on the tuxedo was contrasted with the black and I hated it personally.

I can see how the PJ was a problem with the tuxedo but not with the ncode.

the white part is glossy white paint but the black is velvet/rubbery paint
so in bright sunlight u get some sun reflection from the glossy white

In a presser around the time he went back to the black, he said something like "I just played so well with the black".
In an extended interview a bit earlier, he said that changing to the all black (from the 2014 red/black) required some adjustment, but he had time for it. It was during the injury lay off before the infamous '17 AO. He added that the change to the tuxedo was no problem, since it was only the colour/paint. But after a couple of losses, he changed back. I am sure Wilson was not pleased, but I suppose it turned out ok for them as well.

Assuming you aren’t trolling ‘Schaapstradamus‘ style; isn’t Kohlschreiber still using an extended H22? Probably ranking and COVID have resulted in repaint delays. Don’t recall Grigor having any issues with the tuxedo; he used the cosmetic extensively.
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I m not buying it!The tuxedo paint doesnt seem to bother the Spanish Navarro Suarez and Agut, and also Kohlschreiber to name only a few of which the men still play with it on Roland Garros. Covid has nothing to do with it because i learned here that tuxedo already dates from 2017. . So in 2018 it should already not be used anymore as an outdated color and then furthermore with a bad reputation because Fed feels he loses with it!

i think Fed is the standard to which all lower ranked players take example. So nice theories here but again, i dont buy it!,

 

[Povl Carstensen]

I do not think I posted any theories, just facts. Apart from the obvious assumption that Wilson was not pleased with his dumping of a new model.

 

[HBK4life]

It was ugly.

 

[ThirdEye]

If you ever tried both the regular v6 Blade (green pj on the sides) and the Ltd Black version, you'll know the feeling is rather different. And the only change is the paint on the sides. I guess the same can be stated for the black vs white ones.

 

[King No1e]

I just wish black overgrips weren't so slick. Otherwise Fed would be wielding the totally blacked-out 97, which would be the coolest thing ever (especially combined with a WTF19 or USO07 kit).

 

[Tennis_Hands]

I just wish black overgrips weren't so slick. Otherwise Fed would be wielding the totally blacked-out 97, which would be the coolest thing ever (especially combined with a WTF19 or USO07 kit).

Single colour tennis racquets (with matching OG) are ugly. I saw the new Radical PJ and almost vomited. Some people said it was "cool". Disgust.

 

[ron schaap]

Single colour tennis racquets (with matching OG) are ugly. I saw the new Radical PJ and almost vomited. Some people said it was "cool". Disgust.

black racquets are boring and non creative anyway.
Appearantly the research department of Wilson nowhere compared to Yonex.
Black tennis clothing is just as boring.

 

[Lorenn]

Anyone know why Roger never liked the black/white version of the RF97? Was it really as simple as the white paint feeling different?

If I had to guess it is that the white racquet head was distracting. That or he simply played poorly. Oddly other players seemed to dislike the White Racquet Head of lets say a Speed Pro 360+.

 

[KYHacker]

I think it’s what you get used to. I personally like the white or contrasting colors. It helps me to visually “frame” the ball when I’m hitting. But I could also see that not working for someone who is used to the racquet being a uniform color or who wants the racquet to be invisible.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

black racquets are boring and non creative anyway.
Appearantly the research department of Wilson nowhere compared to Yonex.
Black tennis clothing is just as boring.

Yeah, they used to use "blacked out" racquets to not betray the "identity" of the new sticks the players were testing. A kind of says everything about how much identity all black frames exude. The test Radical in all grey was something else though: it looked like the racquet had been treated with primer and then the person responsible for carrying out the job of actually painting the racquet suddenly went on a vacation and there was no-one to actually do the job. I think that for the final version someone from the office is going to the local market for construction materials and is buying a spray canister of orange paint.

 

[Arak]

If you ever tried both the regular v6 Blade (green pj on the sides) and the Ltd Black version, you'll know the feeling is rather different. And the only change is the paint on the sides. I guess the same can be stated for the black vs white ones.

I have the tuxedo and the blue laver cup versions. I definitely feel that they play differently, though I’m not advanced enough to pinpoint the differences. Perhaps the laver cup version is slightly softer.

 

[bleno567]

Assuming you aren’t trolling ‘Schaapstradamus‘ style; isn’t Kohlschreiber still using an extended H22? Probably ranking and COVID have resulted in repaint delays. Don’t recall Grigor having any issues with the tuxedo; he used the cosmetic extensively.

He never used an H22 to my knowledge. It's an extended hyper pro staff 6.1.

https://imgur.com/a/mkxI0Bh

 

[jmacdaununder2]

For bonus points, could you or someone else explain what a ‘cabbage writer’ is/does? Record cabbage sales perhaps? Or did a ‘Kohl‘ marry a ‘Schreiber’? Also, did the seller above misspell ‘Kohlschreiber’ or am I misspelling it?

 

[big bang]

I dont buy the argument about the White part, of I remember correctly he used to do quite Well with the ncode in a similar pj

 

[ron schaap]

He never used an H22 to my knowledge. It's an extended hyper pro staff 6.1.

https://imgur.com/a/mkxI0Bh

Thank you. Some members here seem to think that all pros are using special pro stocks while the pros actually keep using their former of the shelf racquet models.
Anyway the German appearantly had no trouble playing with the tuxedo paintjob and nor did this Spanish player i forgot his name.

 

[Alexh22]

The tux is one or two point lower in RA than the all black and red ones. Maybe Fed didn’t like it and went back to the regular.
The RF97 is a combination of a beefed up H22 neck and a Prostaff head. Fed probably rested many sticks including H22 before making the final RF97.

 

[lelopez]

The tux is one or two point lower in RA than the all black and red ones. Maybe Fed didn’t like it and went back to the regular.
The RF97 is a combination of a beefed up H22 neck and a Prostaff head. Fed probably rested many sticks including H22 before making the final RF97.

Don't buy it. I'm sure P1 gets paid enough to make sure all Feds racquets are DNRO with his desired spec. To me it was all superstition with the tuxedo and the fact that he did not have good enough results with it.