Wilson ProStaff RF97 Autograph

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
Classic yet youthful ... I guess I can see that in this frame. I think most of us older folks would have preferred just classic.
 

gino

Legend
Nothing will ever eclipse the immortal 85. Nothing will ever come close.

God bless the St Vincent and all those that wielded her forth from Connors to Krickstein to Chrissy and into Petros' soul and passed to Roger so long ago. Goodbye scalpel. Hello uncontrollable fly swatter tweener death agony.

We need a Talk Tennis Hall of Fame for posts like this
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
Is Wilson still going to go through with introducing this racquet?

What if Federer switched back to his Tour 90? :shock:
 

courtking

Semi-Pro
Is Wilson still going to go through with introducing this racquet?

What if Federer switched back to his Tour 90? :shock:

I just put a comment on the Pro Match.. You might be right after all.. Federer seems can't control the balls with this new racket.. Any hard shots to his forehand give him problems.. As I said, the stupid Wilson PR Betterer might fire back them.. Fed might switch back to the old tour 90 and win the US Open.. that would be disaster for Wilson
 

Benben245

Banned
This new frame lacks the maneuverability of his older one, at least for federer. Anyone notice the racquet doesn't appear as headlight as he doesn't whip the forehand around as well. I notice his accuracy can be awry but especially on down the line shots or shots with low margins of error his swing speed is slower.

This new racquet hasn't done much for his errors as his former mishits off the frame are substituted by more unforced errors.

Im not saying a bigger racquet face wouldn't yield some benefits to roger, but I believe he molded this new frame to fit his older one in terms of weight etc and so forth and or his general predilection towards pro staff 88 k90 etc type of balances, but he its screwing with his game a little bit.

The power in his ground strokes isn't much better, and his accuracy suffers. A twelve ounce frame or 11.6 unstrung is something he should have considered with different dimensions of hl and sw.
 

JoelDali

Talk Tennis Guru
You will not see him execute those extreme power wrist flea flicker CC backhand GOAT passing shots with the new stick.

This is a huge change that the common Internet tennis technologist cannot identify with. The mechanics of his entire game needs to adapt and change. The choice of shots and the execution has all changed with a larger, less maneuverable stick.

It is the Indian not the arrow or the bow, and Roger could play with any Raquet and win ATP 500 events and he has done well with the 97 but I still do believe a 90 is what his entire game is shaped by.

If Rafa switched to a 93 it would not make sense for his game.

The 90 is Roger's game.

But who cares let's enjoy the last few remaining years of Rodguer GOATing.
 

Teniludius

New User
Brad Gilbert in the broadcast today called the new paint job an "unforced error." :) He too wanted a mostly black frame. But I must say these pics present it in a better light, especially from the side view. And of course, my respects to PeterFig -- awesome that he was involved.
 

Harry_Wild

G.O.A.T.
Not sure I like the shocking "red" color on the beam! I guess it helps if the photo was in focus too! I have to see it in person to tell however.
 

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Brad Gilbert in the broadcast today called the new paint job an "unforced error." :) He too wanted a mostly black frame. But I must say these pics present it in a better light, especially from the side view. And of course, my respects to PeterFig -- awesome that he was involved.

I think possibly from Wilson's view, a mostly black frame would have been too close to his blacked out pj and present less of an impact on television. It would have been as though there was no cosmetic update.
 

TennisLogic

Semi-Pro
Brad Gilbert in the broadcast today called the new paint job an "unforced error." :) He too wanted a mostly black frame. But I must say these pics present it in a better light, especially from the side view. And of course, my respects to PeterFig -- awesome that he was involved.

"unforced error?"

Spot on!
Brad Gilbert is the man
 

bad_call

Legend
I just put a comment on the Pro Match.. You might be right after all.. Federer seems can't control the balls with this new racket.. Any hard shots to his forehand give him problems.. As I said, the stupid Wilson PR Betterer might fire back them.. Fed might switch back to the old tour 90 and win the US Open.. that would be disaster for Wilson

one would think that Roger has adjusted to this frame by now. how many months does it take? especially for a pro that practices hours daily.

any bets on when "version 2.0" gets released?
 

Bobby Jr

G.O.A.T.
You will not see him execute those extreme power wrist flea flicker CC backhand GOAT passing shots with the new stick.

This is a huge change that the common Internet tennis technologist cannot identify with. The mechanics of his entire game needs to adapt and change...
He was hitting them at MC... and hit a fair few at Wimbledon too.

I think this change has shown how people see what they want to see regardless of either the merit or evidence (or lack of). He does not have to change his entire game - he would have needed to make adjustments so small for the most part that almost anyone claiming to be able to spot the difference in what and how much he changed are just plain dreaming.

He just played poorly here in the one match where he played in noticeably livelier conditions - conditions which his opponent had played in all week and honed his game against some really tough opponents.

It doesn't have to be about the racquet every bloody time he has an off day.
 

RFedNike

New User
He was hitting them at MC... and hit a fair few at Wimbledon too.

I think this change has shown how people see what they want to see regardless of either the merit or evidence (or lack of). He does not have to change his entire game - he would have needed to make adjustments so small for the most part that almost anyone claiming to be able to spot the difference in what and how much he changed are just plain dreaming.

He just played poorly here in the one match where he played in noticeably livelier conditions - conditions which his opponent had played in all week and honed his game against some really tough opponents.

It doesn't have to be about the racquet every bloody time he has an off day.
Definitely agree! ^^
 
Awesome heritage there, hoodjem. Your loyalty is to be commended.

I loved the brown diamond feel. When i switched to maxplys, i had my last kramer staff signed by johnny mac.

I went to various dunlops and slazzes, then the max 200g second yr in 14s until well after college....i still competed with some pumas and donnays, then i used mostly volkls, dunlop 200s, a bunch of babolat controls. Then storm ltds, aerostorm tours, and since may, pure strike 98s customized to the same numbers as the forthcoming rf autograph.

Looking fwd to october!

Vcore, to answer your q, the kramer staff was fairly stiff when new. Stiffer than a maxply or a challenge 1, which must be in the low fifties as i recall from a quick visit to an rdc in the early 90s. Thing is, a wooden frame is smaller so it reads stiffer, i think. And it's firmness really deteriorated after just six months of tough use.
 
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JoelDali

Talk Tennis Guru
He was hitting them at MC... and hit a fair few at Wimbledon too.



I think this change has shown how people see what they want to see regardless of either the merit or evidence (or lack of). He does not have to change his entire game - he would have needed to make adjustments so small for the most part that almost anyone claiming to be able to spot the difference in what and how much he changed are just plain dreaming.



He just played poorly here in the one match where he played in noticeably livelier conditions - conditions which his opponent had played in all week and honed his game against some really tough opponents.



It doesn't have to be about the racquet every bloody time he has an off day.


My comments were not derived from 'he had a bad day - blame the Raquet' argument.

They were made well before the Tsonga match and have nothing to do with any matches.

It's simply my belief that the structure and mechanics of his game are far more suited for the 90.

But again, I am over it. But it is just sad that the era of the 1 hander with small frame sticks is evaporating into 100 square inch death agony selfie destruction.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Do you think Fed will make some extra money off this racket, or will it just be absorbed as part of his regular sponsorship deal?
 

bad_call

Legend
Do you think Fed will make some extra money off this racket, or will it just be absorbed as part of his regular sponsorship deal?

still waiting for you (or someone other than Roger) to post serves & service returns with the RF97 in a vid.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
Vcore, to answer your q, the kramer staff was fairly stiff when new. Stiffer than a maxply or a challenge 1, which must be in the low fifties as i recall from a quick visit to an rdc in the early 90s. Thing is, a wooden frame is smaller so it reads stiffer, i think. And it's firmness really deteriorated after just six months of tough use.
I'm pretty sure the stiffness ratings for the Maxply Fort and Challenge 1 were quite a bit lower then the "low fifties". Probably more like in the thirties. Even the graphite Max 200G had a low RDC rating of only 40RA and those wood racquets were certainly more flexible than that.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/MW200G/MW200GReview.html
 

Chezbeeno

Professional
That looks like a retail version, complete with barcode and everything, there's no way Wilson is selling those at Cinci...right?
 

geese_com

Semi-Pro
That looks like a retail version, complete with barcode and everything, there's no way Wilson is selling those at Cinci...right?

They are not selling them at Cincy. Just a demo racquet for people to look. Not allowed to hit with it. For sale October 1st.
 

Chezbeeno

Professional
They are not selling them at Cincy. Just a demo racquet for people to look. Not allowed to hit with it. For sale October 1st.

Yeah I knew they were going on sale officially on October 1st, but sometimes racquet companies do weird things, so I thought it might be worth asking, just to make sure.
 
My comments were not derived from 'he had a bad day - blame the Raquet' argument.

They were made well before the Tsonga match and have nothing to do with any matches.

It's simply my belief that the structure and mechanics of his game are far more suited for the 90.

But again, I am over it. But it is just sad that the era of the 1 hander with small frame sticks is evaporating into 100 square inch death agony selfie destruction.

I agree with you 100%.
 

WhereIsMacMac

Professional
30rs7m9.jpg
 
I'm pretty sure the stiffness ratings for the Maxply Fort and Challenge 1 were quite a bit lower then the "low fifties". Probably more like in the thirties. Even the graphite Max 200G had a low RDC rating of only 40RA and those wood racquets were certainly more flexible than that.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/MW200G/MW200GReview.html

You are probably right. And absolutely right if you are talking about a well used maxply. Overcooked Noodle, basically. Brand new, though, and freshly strung, they measure fairly taut, as i recall. Higher than the max 200g i measured on the same day. My former teammate at the shop said all sox of my max 200gs were cashed. I think he wanted me to switch back to wood, hahha. Or ask coach for some new ones.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
It's simply my belief that the structure and mechanics of his game are far more suited for the 90.
Yup, that's what I've been preaching here for at least the past 5 years. Maybe, just maybe, it's finally starting to slowly sink in for other people.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
You are probably right. And absolutely right if you are talking about a well used maxply. Overcooked Noodle, basically. Brand new, though, and freshly strung, they measure fairly taut, as i recall. Higher than the max 200g i measured on the same day. My former teammate at the shop said all sox of my max 200gs were cashed. I think he wanted me to switch back to wood, hahha. Or ask coach for some new ones.
At the time, the Maxply Fort was rated "stiff" because I think it had a stiff throat but a very flexible hoop. I could never understand this rating because the Maxply always felt extremely flexible to me, due to the flexy hoop, and certainly more flexible than any of the popular Wilson wood racquets.
 
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