Why do so many on these forums find it hard to believe pros switch?

[Arafel]

I was just looking at the DVD section on TW and a thought occured to me. Why do so many of you feel there is a great paint job conspiracy and that pros don't switch racquets? It used to be quite common. For instance, within a three year period, McEnroe switched from the Kramer Pro Staff to the Maxply Fort to the Maxply McEnroe to the 200G. Tracy Austin switched from a Kramer Autograph to a Spaulding Tracy Austin within a month. Chris Evert went from the Chris Evert Autograph to the PS 6.0 85. Or do you all think McEnroe was painting his Kramer Pro Staffs to look like Dunlops? I just thought it odd because I remember people saying there could be no way Federer could switch in one month from a Tour 90 to an nCode. Trust me, he could. The pros used to do it, and they still can. I do know that pros use paint jobs sometimes, but it's not because they can't switch racquets!

 

[The_Dark_Knight]

all the pros you listed played with woodies and i've played with most of those racquets and theres not alot of difference. Federer could not and would not switch 'cause it would mess up his game.

 

[TennisD]

There is far less performance and feel difference from wood racquet to wood racquet, than there is from modern racquet to modern racquet. This is because of a slew of new technologies, each more insane than the last...

 

[gregraven]

Arafel, I'm with you. I know plenty of 5.0+ players who can pick up just about any racquet and play well with it. It makes sense that a pro would have even greater ability to adjust and adapt to different equipment.

 

[TommyGun]

Truth is, in the days of wood most of the frames were made by only a handful of factories world wide. Spalding had most of its last years of production made at the Snauwaert factory. I'm not sure, but I believe the Tracy Austin woodie and the old Wilson lines were also made at the same place. Add to that the fact that wood performance was not all that different, and it would be easy to switch.

With graphite, different. Too many additional factors to effect feel and playability. While the top players could play with shoes and still be good, they still have tuned their games using a frame, and with todays specialized coaching...

 

[antontd]

it's not about playing well, it's about playing best...

 

[Arafel]

Well, I can remember that in 84 Connors used to switch back and forth between his T2000 and his PS 6.0 85 all summer, often from match to match. He made the finals of Wimbledon that year and lost a heartbreaker of a 5 setter to McEnroe in the semis of the US Open. See my post in the Racquets area under People rely too much on racquets. If you know what type of specs you like in a racquet, ie head heavy, head light, how many points head light, head size etc., I don't think switching is as difficult as you would make it out to be.

Second, as to wood racquets, since wood is an organic material, there would be more differences between racquets, even in the same model, than you might think. So either yesteryear's pros were better at just playing the game regardless, or today's players could adapt to different frames rather quickly. Don't think you can have it both ways. And remember, some of these pros switched from wood to graphite awfully quickly! Like within a few tournaments. And still they rocked.

 

[RafaN RichardG]

"McEnroe switched from the Kramer Pro Staff to the Maxply Fort to the Maxply McEnroe to the 200G." -arafael

yea, but if they switch who theyre sponsored by, they dont really have a choice, the company wont have them using a different brand, i think thatd be out of the question, and too noticeable fr the comp. to falsely advertise. but as long as theyre sponsored by the same company, they usually stick with what theyve got, what theyre used to. eventually im sure thay would adapt to a new racquet, but they may lack the time, or they may just, not want to. plus, they dont NEED to switch, when paint does just fine.

heres an atricle on it
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen04/news/story?id=1872892

every1 knows theres paint jobs, but a sometimes the pros do change. its a bit of both really

 

[ibemadskillzz]

what are you talking about? what the ****? Some pros do make changes, jeeez. We know this. Coria changed, davyd. changed, a lot of pros change. what the? Many pros tend to stick with what they have. If it works for their style and game, it is most likely that they will not change. what the f***?

 

[BreakPoint]

For instance, within a three year period, McEnroe switched from the Kramer Pro Staff to the Maxply Fort to the Maxply McEnroe to the 200G.

He didn't switch as much as you think. McEnroe's Dunlop Maxply Fort was heavily modified to play like the Kramer Pro Staff. In fact, it played more like the Maxply McEnroe, which is a totally different racquet from the Maxply Fort. I know, since I played with both of them back in the '70's and '80's.

BTW, I disagree that all wood racquets play the same and that all graphite racquets play more differently. I've played with many wood racquets in my day, and there were just as many differences between them as there are between modern racquets today, with the exception of the variation of head size. Yes, almost all wood racquets had around the same head size, whereas today, racquets come in numerous headsizes. Take that out of the equation, and you have many differences in the playability of both wood and graphite racquets. There were flexible, moderate, and stiff wood racquets just like there are today with graphite racquets. I used a Maxply Fort because it had a stiff throat but a very flexible hoop, similar to my PS 6.0 95 today. I never really liked the Jack Kramer Autos, JK Pro Staffs, Stan Smith Autos, Bancroft Borgs, etc., because they were all quite a bit stifffer feeling than the Maxply Fort.

 

[tetsuo10]

I think most pros are always trying out new rackets, regardless whether they switch or use paintjobs. Everyone is always looking for the edge. Obviously, if they're doing well with one, they're not going to change. If you're #1, why change? But if you've been at 150 for a while, you might want to try something new. Everyone using the O3 has switched, which is a good number of pros. Even Agassi has switch mutliple times in his career, the latest to the LM Instinct. Brad Gilbert during the FO coverage said Agassi is always tinkering with his equipment.

 

[TommyGun]

while i agree with the possibility of more "variety" frame to frame with wood, but the game is different now. Back in the day, games were more based on well rounded-ness, and feel was uber importante. Wood always gave you feel, no matter what brand.

I've found with graphite that feel is harder to come by, and when I find a frame that allows me to "feel", i never want to change it.

Pros clearly are the same.

 

[bamboo]

I think most pros are always trying out new rackets, regardless whether they switch or use paintjobs. Everyone is always looking for the edge. Obviously, if they're doing well with one, they're not going to change. If you're #1, why change? But if you've been at 150 for a while, you might want to try something new. Everyone using the O3 has switched, which is a good number of pros. Even Agassi has switch mutliple times in his career, the latest to the LM Instinct. Brad Gilbert during the FO coverage said Agassi is always tinkering with his equipment.

Coria and Ferrero made a major switch from crossbar racquet to non-crossbar racquet. Agassi switched from thin-beam to widebody mid-match. Like golf, pros often tinker with balance and frequently hit with different frames. There are no golfers using 1990 model clubs, there are no Indy drivers racing with fifteen year old cars, why should tennis be different? Do you want a fifteen year old computer? It is a message board urban legend that progress in racquets stopped fifteen years ago and that pros feel the same way.

 

[El Diablo]

25 years ago, a period you allude to, the banker, stockbroker and businessman in your community were among the most respected figures. Think that's still the case? Business ethics have taken something of a slide, and I suspect racquet companies may have joined that slide, deceiving the public in ways that weren't very prevalent a generation ago.

 

[BreakPoint]

25 years ago, a period you allude to, the banker, stockbroker and businessman in your community were among the most respected figures. Think that's still the case? Business ethics have taken something of a slide, and I suspect racquet companies may have joined that slide, deceiving the public in ways that weren't very prevalent a generation ago.

Think again. Paintjobs go all the way back to the wood racquet era. Lots of pros were using racquets like the Jack Kramer Auto painted to look like something else. Rod Laver even painted a wood Dunlop Maxply Fort to look like an aluminum Chemold racquet. Now that must have been the ultimate paintjob!