Wilson 1980s Midsize (85sqi) Thin-Beam Graphite Rackets - Complete List (!)

[Grafil Injection]

I’ve made a start on what I thought would be an unmanageable list, but it's actually not as long as I imagined. Perhaps I've forgotten a slew somewhere. I've left space to rearrange things. Are the five main moulds I’ve identified correct? Is the Avenger the only one with 19.5mm beam?

No wide-beams, Standards or 90sqi+ allowed, just the 85sqi, thin-beam graphite models.

PS85 Mould (short neck, wide throat, 16x18 pattern, 17.5mm beam, PWS)
PS85 - matt black
JK Staff - dark grey with crown graphic
Staff - matt dark grey
Aggressor - metallic dark-grey
Aggressor - glossy black
Avenger - semi-matt white, with PWS
GR-80 - metallic grey (no PWS)
Ceramic - glossy white (16.5mm?)
Chris-Evert PS - white
Comp 300 - metallic glossy brown (16.5mm)
Advantage II - matt black, with single gold stripe. (Asian market given SL weight?).

Matrix Mould (long neck, narrow throat, 16x19 pattern, 18mm beam)
Graphite Matrix - black with white and red graphics
Pro-Matrix - metallic dark grey
Graphite Matrix with PWS - semi-matt mid-grey
Pro-Matrix with PWS - metallic, glossy gold

Pro-Comp - matt green with white text
Pro-Comp - matt black with red text

Pro-Select - semi-matt dark-grey with PWS and gold stripes
Pro-Select - semi-matt light-grey with PWS and white stripes

Graphite Ultima - semi-matt dark grey with gold and red stripes
Graphite Cruncher - semi-matt black with gold text, and PWS
Graphite Performer - matt black with orange text and PWS
Graphite II - semi-matt black with PWS and red and white graphics like a Matrix.
Graphite 2000 - semi-matt black with PWS, red and white graphics like a Matrix.
Graphite 300 - metallic glossy grey with PWS

Comp 100 - metallic glossy grey

Pro 100 - semi-matt black

Pro 200 - glossy light grey

Odyssey Comp - black with yellow decals and PWS

Reflex - white pearl and matt black fade with PWS

APT Comp - grey and black fade with PWS

Prestige (not Head) - glossy silver with gold text

Tour Master

Laser - white pearl with blue graphics

Silver Shadow - semi-matt-white with purple and green stripes

GTX-2000 - glossy black with yellow graphics

RL-1000 - glossy black with red graphics

Harrods Midsize - glossy dark grey with gold text

Turbo 30 - matt mid-grey with PWS

Autograph - matt navy-blue with PWS

Sting Mould (16.5mm beam, narrow throat with arched cross-bar)
Sting - glossy black with blue text
Sting - braceless, glossy-black with blue text
Sting 2 - as Sting + PWS
Sting 2 - glossy black with red text
Sting SC - glossy dark bronze
Sting SC - braceless, glossy white
Sting SC 2000 - glossy white
Tour Select SC - glossy white

80/20 Mould (16.5mm beam, wide throat)
Graphite
Graphite Force - glossy black with gold text
80/20 - glossy black with red text

Avenger Mould (wide throat, 19.5mm beam, even string-bed)
Avenger - mid-grey semi-matt
Force - very similar to mid-grey Avenger
Silver Streak - mid-grey semi-matt with white and blue graphics

Others
Advantage - white with blue graphics. With Nylon throat bridge rather than graphite.

 

[legrandLeconte]

There is the Avenger with a 17.5mm PS85 mold in matte white 16x18 and PWS.

 

[kevin qmto]

I’ve wanted to compile this list for a while too. It would be difficult, but adding pictures, dates of availability, plus original msrp would make this thread a fantastic resource.

The 80’s Wilson Prestige (gloss silver with gold lettering and stripe code SKX) should be here too, goes under the Matrix category by looking at pics on the bay.

 

[Grafil Injection]

There is the Avenger with a 17.5mm PS85 mold in matte white 16x18 and PWS.

Thanks. I've moved the white Avenger to the PS mould group. It seems like the grey Avenger was the only one with a thicker (19.5mm) beam. It does play chunkier than the others IME.

 

[Grafil Injection]

I’ve wanted to compile this list for a while too. It would be difficult, but adding pictures, dates of availability, plus original msrp would make this thread a fantastic resource.

The 80’s Wilson Prestige (gloss silver with gold lettering and stripe code SKX) should be here too, goes under the Matrix category by looking at pics on the bay.

Yes, my plan is to move things around with more info, once I've got the basic mould groups confirmed.

Currently, we have a list of 40+ different models that were produced in a 7-year period 1982-88. The prices moved around over those years but they were about the following level in the UK in 1986 at full price, when the MAX 200G was £75:

PS85 - £120
JK Staff - £100
Sting / GR-80 / Aggressor - £80
80-20 - £65
Avenger - £55
Matrix / Pro-Matrix / Comp 100 - £40

I haven't seen a listing, but the Pro 100 and 200 look like the cheapest models to me, which I would estimate at £30 full price, £25 on discount.

 

[legrandLeconte]

Hello. I have both models in my collection, and they're very different. Best regards.

 

[Grafil Injection]

Hello. I have both models in my collection, and they're very different. Best regards.

You mean the white and the grey. Or are there two whites?

 

[legrandLeconte]

I mean the white one with PS85 mold and the gray one with a very different mold

 

[Grafil Injection]

I mean the white one with PS85 mold and the gray one with a very different mold

Just hit with my grey one. It actually seems to be the stiffest of all of mine, presumably thanks to the thicker beam. I wonder why they abandoned that mould. Mine is 1984, so perhaps they wanted to make sure the PS85 was the stiffest in the range going forward.

 

[legrandLeconte]

Yes, I agree. The PS85 molded Avenger is 50% fiberglass. It's the most flexible with that mold (a delight). The gray Avenger is much more rigid, partly due to its wider profiles.

 

[Grafil Injection]

Yes, I agree. The PS85 molded Avenger is 50% fiberglass. It's the most flexible with that mold (a delight). The gray Avenger is much more rigid, partly due to its wider profiles.

What you can hopefully see here is the grey Avenger has the most even string-bed too:

 

[wallymann]

Thanks. I've moved the white Avenger to the PS mould group. It seems like the grey Avenger was the only one with a thicker (19.5mm) beam. It does play chunkier than the others IME.

you missed the square-shouldered evert signature. i dont have one, found this pic on the interwebs.

 

[Grafil Injection]

you missed the square-shouldered evert signature. i dont have one, found this pic on the interwebs.

Never seen that one before, but the mould seems familiar. Emrik style perhaps. Is it an 85sqi?

 

[wallymann]

Is it an 85sqi?

not sure!

 

[kevin qmto]

Yes there were other Wilson midsize rackets, but I think this thread is focused on the ones that are, or are adjacent to; the PS 85 mold.

Because Wilson also made a racket called the Ceramic midsize that doesn’t appear to fit into one of the categories above, but I wouldn’t ask for it to get its own since i don’t think it was that important of a line.

 

[Grafil Injection]

Hitting with the Reflex then the Pro Comp tonight. Very very similar. Almost like the pearl paint of the Reflex makes it feel a bit smoother, and the matt finish on the Pro Comp makes it a touch crisper. But basically the same with reasonable power / stability and great pop on volleys. Even reasonable spin.

 

[legrandLeconte]

Two more excellent rackets. I fully agree with your review.
I especially like the ProComp: a great 1HBH.

 

[retrowagen]

I remember an oddball 93 square inch PWS thinbeam model in catalog, circa 1987. White or light gray in color… Avenger, perhaps?

 

[kevin qmto]

There’s also the APT Comp, which to my eye looks like a Reflex with grey paint instead of white, and red text. Not sure if there’s any other difference internally or if it was just a name used for different years or retailers.

 

[Grafil Injection]

There’s also the APT Comp, which to my eye looks like a Reflex with grey paint instead of white, and red text. Not sure if there’s any other difference internally or if it was just a name used for different years or retailers.

Added to the list. Was that supposed to be ATP?!

 

[kevin qmto]

Added to the list. Was that supposed to be ATP?!

I don’t think Wilson would mess that up lol. I have no idea but it’s definitely Apt if you look at examples on the web.

 

[Grafil Injection]

Adding a bit of precision to my pricing estimates above, this 1986 advert includes a few relevant models. The Pro Matrix is almost bottom of the range at this sports shop, but it would probably be top of the range in a Walmart equivalent retailer.

About half way between the Normal Price and the The Our Price figures are what you would really pay on the high street. Prices are Pounds Sterling so multiply by 1.5 for US Dollars.

 

[kevin qmto]

Adding a bit of precision to my pricing estimates above, this 1986 advert includes a few relevant models. The Pro Matrix is almost bottom of the range at this sports shop, but it would probably be top of the range in a Walmart equivalent retailer.

About half way between the Normal Price and the The Our Price figures are what you would really pay on the high street. Prices are Pounds Sterling so multiply by 1.5 for US Dollars.

I’m most surprised that the Copper Ace cost more than the Pro Matrix. Usually PK tried to stay a bit below the other mainstream brands at each price tier.

 

[Grafil Injection]

I’m most surprised that the Copper Ace cost more than the Pro Matrix. Usually PK tried to stay a bit below the other mainstream brands at each price tier.

Yeah, this retailer is rather rare in having a Matrix amongst main-line sticks. It was really a department store offering, rather than a bottom of the main range stick. Copper Ace was a main line stick, often advertised in magazines, where you'd rarely see a Matrix. A more appropriate Copper Ace comparator would be an Avenger or Reflex.

 

[vsbabolat]

you missed the square-shouldered evert signature. i dont have one, found this pic on the interwebs.

Looks like A Donnay Pro 25

 

[Casey 1988]

Yeah, this retailer is rather rare in having a Matrix amongst main-line sticks. It was really a department store offering, rather than a bottom of the main range stick. Copper Ace was a main line stick, often advertised in magazines, where you'd rarely see a Matrix. A more appropriate Copper Ace comparator would be an Avenger or Reflex.

What Was Pro Kennex offering for Department stores? The Magnesium Ace?

 

[kevin qmto]

What Was Pro Kennex offering for Department stores? The Magnesium Ace?

Always hard to guess such things as I’m sure it changed from year to year and by region as well.

 

[Grafil Injection]

What Was Pro Kennex offering for Department stores? The Magnesium Ace?

I doubt Magnesium Ace was, as £40 was still a reasonable sum to pay in the mid-1980s. Department store rackets would be in the £10-£30 range typically at that time, which mainly meant aluminium no-name sticks. By the end of the 80s, as wide-bodies had taken over the main lines, some of the thin beamed models found their way to John Lewis etc, like Copper Ace 90, Bronze Ace II and the Matrix etc.

 

[wallymann]

Looks like A Donnay Pro 25

indeed somewhat reminiscent, but definitely not the same.

 

[onehandbh]

From my Pro Staff 85 sq inch collection:

Wilson Pro Staff Tour DB
Wilson Pro Staff Tour (PJ?)
Wilson Hyper Pro Staff "2000 Special Edition
Wilson Pro Staff Classic (PJ?)
Wilson Pro Staff Sampras Autograph

I also have a few regular Wilson Pro Staff 85 racquets (not St. Vincent version).

 

[onehandbh]

Some non-Pro Staff Wilson 85 square inch racquets.
The Ultra 2 might be less than 85 square inches.

Wilson Ultra 2 with Ultra FPK 95 paintjob (has PWS)
Wilson Graphite Force
Wilson Graphite Performer
Wilson Ceramic
Wilson Graphite Matrix
Wilson Aggressor

 

[Casey 1988]

From my Pro Staff 85 sq inch collection:

Wilson Pro Staff Tour DB
Wilson Pro Staff Tour (PJ?)
Wilson Hyper Pro Staff "2000 Special Edition
Wilson Pro Staff Classic (PJ?)
Wilson Pro Staff Sampras Autograph

I also have a few regular Wilson Pro Staff 85 racquets (not St. Vincent version).

That Pete Sampras version is kind of sick in the colors.

 

[kevin qmto]

That Pete Sampras version is kind of sick in the colors.

I agree. Too bad he never used it!

 

[Casey 1988]

I agree. Too bad he never used it!

Yes, he preferred the stock version it looks like from pictures I have seen.

 

[Grafil Injection]

Graphite Ultima and Pro Select light grey models added.

 

[kevin qmto]

Graphite Ultima and Pro Select light grey models added.

Wait there was a box beam Graphite Ultima? The only racket I’m familiar with that name is a 90’s high beam series with a 8.5si rating. Usually dark grey to silver paint job.


Also just noticed one of the oddest named editions of the Matrix mould is still not on the list - the Graphite Cruncher.

 

[Grafil Injection]

Wait there was a box beam Graphite Ultima? The only racket I’m familiar with that name is a 90’s high beam series with a 8.5si rating. Usually dark grey to silver paint job.


Also just noticed one of the oddest named editions of the Matrix mould is still not on the list - the Graphite Cruncher.

Ha-ha, they had some fun with that one! Cruncher added!

Yes, I found the matrix mould Ultima on a page herein on the Pro Select.

 

[kevin qmto]

Share perhaps?

 

[Grafil Injection]

Share perhaps?

Wilson 85 pro select ?

i was having conversation with someone the other day at the pro shop with a gentleman who was asking me about a RACKET he had or still may have. What he said was it was the same color pin stripes and all to the og Wilson 85 pro staff . But he said it wasn't a matrix or aggresssor nor a" staff"...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

 

[kevin qmto]

Wilson 85 pro select ?

i was having conversation with someone the other day at the pro shop with a gentleman who was asking me about a RACKET he had or still may have. What he said was it was the same color pin stripes and all to the og Wilson 85 pro staff . But he said it wasn't a matrix or aggresssor nor a" staff"...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Wow yep that’s a new one for me. Yet another with similar graphics to the Pro Sraff. I do wonder if several of the matrix moulds are literally the same layup with a different paint job depending on year or retailer. Or whether or not they have a bumper guard.

 

[teachingprotx]

I still remember back in 2006 ish.. I stumbled onto a white wilson matrix 85.. I really really didn’t care for that long neck.. but I swear it’s one of the best hitting rackets I’ve ever used.. so much so I had 3 in rotation at one time … ahhhhhhhhh… 2006……

 

[onehandbh]

I haven't played with some of my 85 sq inch racquets and some are in storage. I'll make an effort to start playing with them this year.

 

[Grafil Injection]

I haven't played with some of my 85 sq inch racquets and some are in storage. I'll make an effort to start playing with them this year.

You should, there's probably one Wilson we haven't got on the list yet!

 

[Grafil Injection]

Just looking at this picture of a Wilson Force, and I noticed the similarity in the graphics to the mid-grey Avenger, and it also looks thicker beamed like that Avenger. Perhaps it replaced the grey Avenger, when the thinner-beamed white Avenger came out. Anyone got a Force they can measure the beam of?

 

[kevin qmto]

Right now on the bay there’s a racket that looks like the Matrix, with PWS, no head guard, simply called the Wilson Graphite II. If you wanna look it up and maybe add it to the list.

 

[Grafil Injection]

Right now on the bay there’s a racket that looks like the Matrix, with PWS, no head guard, simply called the Wilson Graphite II. If you wanna look it up and maybe add it to the list.

Looks very like a Matrix with different text. I note the DKZ 1987 code. Many others have D as the starting letter, which I'm wondering if indicates Kunnan, SanHoSun or another manufacturer?

 

[Grafil Injection]

Anyone know about the 'Staff Plus' in white, also on the bay. I guess that's what @retrowagen was highlighting above. It shows Wilson Mid-93, but looks very similar to the 85s. Is it actually a bigger mould? Unfortunately, the bay pictures don't have a full length shot.

 

[Grafil Injection]

It's like London buses! Up pops another one called 'Dimension II', which definitely seems to have different proportions to the others, with a short neck, and graphics like a Prince / Wimbledon! Might be an oversize head actually.

 

[kevin qmto]

Spotted this one too, the Silver Streak, no PWS, is that throat too wide to be a matrix clone?

 

[Grafil Injection]

Spotted this one too, the Silver Streak, no PWS, is that throat too wide to be a matrix clone?

Yeah, looks too wide to be a Matrix mould model. With the short neck and even looking string-bed too, I'm going to put it in the Avenger mould section.