kevonian
Semi-Pro
Anyone know what string and racquet she uses? Looks like 4G or Big Banger
Zheng Qinwen (Chinese: 郑钦文) Racquet
- Thread starter kevonian
- Start date
Automatix
Legend
First of if a racquet doesn't have an obvious tell you can't identify the mold by one picture alone. Heck, if the racquet is pretty "generic" you often do guesswork.
When identifying molds look for characteristic parts and check the drill pattern - be aware though that a drill pattern on racquets is done after molding so if a player is "important" enough to the company they can get a custom drill, in other words just because a racquet has a 16x20 pattern doesn't mean it has to be a model that has a 16x20 pattern in retail.
What we can see in the picture above:
- PWS;
- 16x20;
- outer cross strings are pretty near the frame;
- peculiar pattern on the bumper guard which is important because we know Wilson doesn't care about grommets (see white throat grommet of the Steam 100 under various paintjobs).
That raindrop pattern on the bumper reminds me of the nCode line.
When identifying molds look for characteristic parts and check the drill pattern - be aware though that a drill pattern on racquets is done after molding so if a player is "important" enough to the company they can get a custom drill, in other words just because a racquet has a 16x20 pattern doesn't mean it has to be a model that has a 16x20 pattern in retail.
What we can see in the picture above:
- PWS;
- 16x20;
- outer cross strings are pretty near the frame;
- peculiar pattern on the bumper guard which is important because we know Wilson doesn't care about grommets (see white throat grommet of the Steam 100 under various paintjobs).
That raindrop pattern on the bumper reminds me of the nCode line.
bobeeto
Hall of Fame
can confirm it’s the nTour 95 Mid Plus. throw back but pretty cool to see her get the pro staff PJ. wish they did that for more of their models - why not throw the clash paint on some WTA rackets for kicks? not sure women stress as much about specs and pro stock. they probably make up a lot of their sales demographic. my local club’s ladies groups are 1. clash 2. pure aero/drive
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
Looking at the throat area, it definitely looks like a Tour 95 mold. Does anyone know how to differentiate between the N/K/BLX/Steam/Burn/Ultra 95? Have there been any significant changes between each model other than construction?
Back to Zheng Qinwen, in old pics she used a ProStaff 97LS in 2018, and the Tuxedo PS97 in 2019.
Back to Zheng Qinwen, in old pics she used a ProStaff 97LS in 2018, and the Tuxedo PS97 in 2019.
KungfuTennis
Semi-Pro
Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I just got an Ultra Tour 95 (newest paint) and it looks very very similar to Zheng Qinwen's mold. Same question as lidoazndiabloboi, what is the difference between this frame, the ntour, steam 95 (nishikori verison) and the Ultra Tour 95? Are they the same mold with different layups or different altogether? Looks similar to me
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
Bumping since she made the final
I’m surprised a young player like Qinwen would gravitate toward such an old racket model. Unlike some of the other pros that grew up using it, she made the change to the NTour 95 not too long ago.
I’m surprised a young player like Qinwen would gravitate toward such an old racket model. Unlike some of the other pros that grew up using it, she made the change to the NTour 95 not too long ago.
PBODY99
Legend
i think that it is the classic 95 mold 27.5from Wilson. Now just as HEAD as molds that they produce for their pro, that mold seems to be one of Wilson's "Pro Stock" molds. wit whatever layup they want to produce. As to why this old frame, why do many of us try something different & then change.
just a guess as a local player is still using this mold since its release in the ornge paint.
just a guess as a local player is still using this mold since its release in the ornge paint.
Anni.Angel
Semi-Pro
Because companies keep changing racquets, sometimes it's just the paint and that's a great thing, sometimes other feature change and that's not nice.
Since we are not pros that have the luxury to get the same frame forever and ever we have to find alternatives.
One option is to stockpile frames. But on the other hand we grow older and we have to switch anyway.
slipgrip93
Professional
Found the 'ncode' engraving on the bumper from a gettyimage of Zheng's match with Kalinskaya. Interesting that there is a named engraving and that big.
(jan 24th)
kevonian
Semi-Pro
Anyone know why wilson label was taped over on her bag at Olympics
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
My guess, purely speculation, is that the Wilson logo is too big, and does not meet the size requirement for Olympics. I notice on Rafa and Alaraz's Babolat bag, the Babolat logo on the side of the bag is extra small.
Last edited:
Casey 1988
Semi-Pro
Like I am doing with a cheap ProKennex Frame on e-Bay nobody wants even in new never used form. Old aluminum 25 inch Jr Ace Pro Power Contour red & black at 4 though do have 2 in Matte yellow & black I only bought becuse both were new unused and group of 2 were $50 free shipping but one had been used with the wrapper on grip as is becuse string broke and would never I prefer the Made in Taiwan red & black colors becuse racquet grip is 4 & 1/4 where most yellow & black are a slightly later Chinese made in matt and thus 4 inch grip, if you can find a non matte black & yellow in the 25 inch size and 95--98 head size, almost all they will have a 4 & 1/4 inch grip and if not 4 & 1/8. I do have to fix the grip to the specifications I like as stock grip the thin vinyl on grip is pealing.
naturalexponent
Legend
What a baller, love it
JJGUY
Hall of Fame
My guess, purely speculation, is that the Wilson logo is too big, and does not meet the size requirement for Olympics. I notice on Rafa and Alaraz's Babolat bag, the Babolat logo on the side of the bag is extra small.
Actually it's due to the conflict between her own sponsors and the official sponsor for Chinese Olympics athletes, which is Adidas here for the tennis team. If you pay attention to her shoes and clothing, you would notice two things, Zheng is sponsored by Nike but she is wearing Adidas dress in Paris and her shoes were taped over to hide Nike logo, I guess it's easy to wear a different skirt, but for shoes she sticks with Nike.
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
Thanks! I appreciate the clarification!
kevonian
Semi-Pro
Do you have a link to that
I’ve taken a screenshot:
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
The Sponsorship issue is quite interesting. The Olympic jacket for the China team is under Anta, while tennis is under Adidas. Other sports like track and field is under Nike, table tennis is Li-Ning.
slipgrip93
Professional
I just got a secondhand ncode 95 from the bay, for a good price, and in excellent condition. While there are a little few small details rubbed or chipped off, the overall paintjob is still glossy and it looks only restrung maybe a couple times, then the racquet was maybe kept in storage for up to two decades.
I was amazed at how light it was, at about 305g already strung, albeit with old , stiff and creaky wilson nxt strings I'll need to restring over sometime.
Light yet plenty of plow and good for spin production, has a very comfortable swing feel (easier on the arm and wrist than the ntour 90), and good for one handed backhands, ala the model is also famous for being the original Henin ntour frame. I can feel why it's a classic and am convinced why, such as the Steam 99 and 100 blx, it's also used by a couple of wta players (Zheng, Kalinskaya) under masquerading paintjobs.
I was amazed at how light it was, at about 305g already strung, albeit with old , stiff and creaky wilson nxt strings I'll need to restring over sometime.
Light yet plenty of plow and good for spin production, has a very comfortable swing feel (easier on the arm and wrist than the ntour 90), and good for one handed backhands, ala the model is also famous for being the original Henin ntour frame. I can feel why it's a classic and am convinced why, such as the Steam 99 and 100 blx, it's also used by a couple of wta players (Zheng, Kalinskaya) under masquerading paintjobs.
Last edited:
very light - but the swingweight is hefty with the Hammer balance - like up around 330, nice low 60s flex, 22mm beam - its weirdly pretty close to the current Prestige Tour (but lighter obv) - Nishikori used until recently (weighted up fairly significantly), now using what looks like a 100sq based on the Tour 95 mold, with an 18x19 pattern
Last edited:
slipgrip93
Professional
Zheng's ntour95 has had its "revenge" vs. Anisimova's steam 100 this uso 1st round. She had previously lost to Pavlyuchenkova with a Steam 100 at Cincinnati in R16. Meanwhile Kalinskaya playing with her ntour95 lost to Haddad-Maia with her Steam100 in the 3rd round uso late last night. Unfortunately , Steam100 involved with the bizarre incorrect point call by the confused umpire, shown in the replay video.
On seeing Zheng hitting hard and winners with the ntour95. The shots maybe sound a bit softer on impact than during Henin's mid 2000's time, maybe due to more modern poly strings almost 20 years later, with the frame still nicely viable with power with current strings. 'Tennisnerd' has an article identifying Zheng's strings on her racquet as Luxilon 4G on the mains and natural gut on the crosses, ("What is Zheng's racquet?').
On seeing Zheng hitting hard and winners with the ntour95. The shots maybe sound a bit softer on impact than during Henin's mid 2000's time, maybe due to more modern poly strings almost 20 years later, with the frame still nicely viable with power with current strings. 'Tennisnerd' has an article identifying Zheng's strings on her racquet as Luxilon 4G on the mains and natural gut on the crosses, ("What is Zheng's racquet?').
Last edited:
naturalexponent
Legend
Also consider that Henin played with a much stiffer Hyper Hammer 5.3 under her Tour 95 paint.
Yeah Henin was using probably a 70 stiffness, 27.5 inch frame with nat gut - Zheng's Tour 95 is probably 63
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
Definitely no gut on the racket. I can’t tell if she’s using 4G or BBO. I’m leaning towards BBO cause from the pictures I’ve seen, her strings don’t looks as gold in ever single pic. Plus there’s the pic from the above poster with Qinwen and the BBO reel
Tour Limited was Henin's custom frame based on her 5.3 w/ Power holes spec I believe
jesseleeporter
New User
i am currently working on a project to make a complete replica of the racket that she is using right now.
jesseleeporter
New User
the only thing im stuck on is the string tension. I have the tensions strung at M:52/C:50 but I dont have exact details for the actual tension that she uses. hoping that this is something that i can come across in the future and then I will be able to restring the racket with those specifications.
Casey 1988
Semi-Pro
but the Rec model or the USA open model has a similar head and both models have PWS on them.First of if a racquet doesn't have an obvious tell you can't identify the mold by one picture alone. Heck, if the racquet is pretty "generic" you often do guesswork.
When identifying molds look for characteristic parts and check the drill pattern - be aware though that a drill pattern on racquets is done after molding so if a player is "important" enough to the company they can get a custom drill, in other words just because a racquet has a 16x20 pattern doesn't mean it has to be a model that has a 16x20 pattern in retail.
What we can see in the picture above:
- PWS;
- 16x20;
- outer cross strings are pretty near the frame;
- peculiar pattern on the bumper guard which is important because we know Wilson doesn't care about grommets (see white throat grommet of the Steam 100 under various paintjobs).
That raindrop pattern on the bumper reminds me of the nCode line.
they might have tweaked the layup but it still has Countervail etc... in it so its not the nTour
well yes the retail was softer than the v3/v4 crush zone 95 which was v stiff - but that said the pro stocks with nCode bumpers on them are still 68RA - v different to the retail so, i don't think QZ is necessarily using the original retail Ncode, but yes, its the original Tour 95 mold for sure
TNNSDR
Semi-Pro
While the 98 and 98J have Countervail (Material: BLX+ Countervail + High Performance Carbon Fiber), the 95 QZ does not (Material: BLX + High Performance Carbon Fiber)! It's from the official Wilson website. https://jp.wilson.com/products/tennis-racket-ultra-95-qz-v5?variant=51658809737429 It is maybe a softer BLX Tour 95 (I still have a few old ones and will compare them). In fact, I went to a tennis shop in Kyoto today, where I was able to test one 95 QZ for 15 mins: strung SW 324 with 4G (full bed @1.25) - SW 326 with Luxilon dampener - amazing feel (soft, but not muted). A leather grip to fix the balance and it's good to go... Aaand the third Ultra V5 purchased within a few weeks.
yeah interesting - does seem to be slightly different then - so yeah could well be the BLX Tour (which was 62RA)While the 98 and 98J have Countervail (Material: BLX+ Countervail + High Performance Carbon Fiber), the 95 QZ does not (Material: BLX + High Performance Carbon Fiber)! It's from the official Wilson website. https://jp.wilson.com/products/tennis-racket-ultra-95-qz-v5?variant=51658809737429 It is maybe a softer BLX Tour 95 (I still have a few old ones and will compare them). In fact, I went to a tennis shop in Kyoto today, where I was able to test one 95 QZ for 15 mins: strung SW 324 with 4G (full bed @1.25) - SW 326 with Luxilon dampener - amazing feel (soft, but not muted). A leather grip to fix the balance and it's good to go... Aaand the third Ultra V5 purchased within a few weeks.
