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[racketwiz]

The high tech trend continues with these new offerings for spring:

Prince introduces new and improved O3 technology.  The previously oval-shaped O-ports are now replaced by rectangular ports dubbed Speedports.  These larger openings are supposedly more aerodynamic than its predecessor thus resulting in an increase in racket head speed, more stringbed deflection and larger sweetspot on impact.  The Speedport sticks also sports a new aerodynamic shaft.  Wasn’t racket head speed the whole point of the old widebody airfoil frames first seen on the Wilson Profile about 20 years ago?

Head is injecting a material called Microgel into the frame ala Wilson’s nCode.  Unlike the nCode, however, the Microgel works to absorb shock instead of acting as a stiffening agent.  The rounded head shape design reminiscent of the old Head Master aluminum is back with the Microgel Extreme and Extreme Pro models (Ivan Ljubicic’s new stick, I was told).  The rounder head shape increases the length of the cross strings, allowing the ball to travel farther on the stringbed thus resulting a higher potential for spin. Sounds pretty promising until you realize that the ball only stays in contact with the strings for a microsecond.  Will an extra 0.1 inch of travel in that microsecond really give that topspin of yours a significant increase in RPM’s?

Dunlop goes NASA with the introduction of Aerogel into their frames.  This is the same material that NASA uses to capture space dust in their space probes.  The world’s lightest solid can hold 2,000 times its own weight, but it is also brittle just as high modulus graphite is.  Properly oriented, Aerogel is used as a stiffening agent to increase racket stability without adding more weight. Silica-based aerogel, which is what Dunlop uses, was first created in the 1930s.  The quantity of aerogel used in these rackets however are so minute and with such minute quantities, I wonder if racket performance will remain relatively the same with or without it.

Yonex introduces its Aero-Box Variframe which combines an aerodynamically-shaped cross section on the head for faster swing speed and a box-shape cross section at the top and shaft for more stability. Funny, I thought Prince already went through this idea in their Morph Beam technology last seen in the very late 90s.

Wilson is at it again with the much-hyped K-Factor technology.  Wilson has been tight-lipped about what it is and what it does, although it seems it has something to do with the addition of Carbon Black. This is basically the same crap they put in laser printer toner and rubber tires. This carbon material has a high surface area to volume ratio and although it is used as black pigment (in laser printer toners, where the letter K denotes the color black), my guess is that Wilson uses this as a stiffening and/or reinforcing agent. Looks like Wilson’s intent is to bring back the old-school feel of the Kevlar-reinforced ProStaffs of the Sampras era, without the bulk of Kevlar.  No wonder Serena is whipping around an unknown black K-Factor stick because she’s looking for something more flexible (according to Serena herself) than that cosmetically-challenged W-Series stick she used to hit balls with.  I’m guessing that Serena’s stick will be christened the K-Factor SixTwo, the newest generation of the ol’ “Skunk” racket, the black-and-white Hammer 6.2.  Well, whoop dedamn-doo! 

And don’t even get me started on this FlexPoint crap. Marat is still using a painted Head Classic. This idea was used years ago by Gosen in their Roots Gavun Titan models.  And this “Power Arm” thingy by Volkl?  I saw a Taiwanese racket just like it in 1997.

Sorry for the sarcasm, fellow racketeers, but while technology has admittedly improved the state of racket design, I believe all these new technobabble stuff is just plain old marketing hype designed to get you to buy new sticks every couple of years.  Too bad, that year-old nCode stick you have is now obsolete.  Seems like the big stick makers are going back to that old-school traditional feel. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

[LVL]

Hi Racketwiz!  Thanks for the heads up on the technology front.  It seems like tennis is going retro like a lot of other things.  Too bad, I gave away my 3 Wilson Pro-Staff Kevlar already.  Duh!

[racketwiz]

Wilson has finally released the details on the much-hyped K-Factor technology.  Just as a lot of industry insiders have suspected, the mystery material is indeed Carbon Black, the same stuff that your laser printer toner is made of. According to Wilson, they were able to bond this stuff with the nCode material (silicon dioxide crystals) and inject this mixture between the graphite fibers to create extra density. Better feel and less shock, they claim. Along with this 2nd-generation nCode technology, there are subtle design changes in the PWS, the bridge area, the distance between the grommet holes and the length of the grip.

The flagship kSix.One has been getting good performance reviews although I find it amusing that the consensus is that this stick has gone all the way back to its ProStaff roots. I mean, after 20+ years of technical innovations, these stick makers are going back to the future. Is it possible that after all this time, Federer was using the old ProStaff Tour 90 painted to look like an nCode?

I don't know but I think I'll wait until they come out with an all-metal racquet, a high-tech version of the old Connors metallic T-2000 before I bite.

[Nadale]

How about Babolat Rackets?
Anyone who tried Pure Drive or Aeropro Drive?

[makinao]

Call me old school, but when my Slazenger Pro Braided Extremes finally die and go to racket heaven and I can't find any more of them, all I would want for Christmas will be a pair of Prince Original Graphite Oversize, or Wilson NCode six-one team 18x20 (red and  white).

BTW Rick, how much would it take to have a custom-built copy of my Slaz? I remember you talking about a company doing this in the US.

[racketwiz]

Call me old school, but when my Slazenger Pro Braided Extremes finally die and go to racket heaven and I can't find any more of them, all I would want for Christmas will be a pair of Prince Original Graphite Oversize, or Wilson NCode six-one team 18x20 (red and  white).

BTW Rick, how much would it take to have a custom-built copy of my Slaz? I remember you talking about a company doing this in the US.

Going old school seems to be the stick makers new schtick these days. It's really funny that Safin and most of his fellow Head Prestige users are still knocking balls around with a painted-on Head Classic.

The custom racket company, Vantage Tennis, is actually based in Great Britain. You get a better deal with two or more sticks, and if you can wait another year, they have a 50% discount on their anniversary in February. Incidentally, founder Paul Angell was employed by Dunlop Slazenger for many years before the company was sold. You may visit their website at www.vantagetennis.com.

[makinao]

Thanks Rick. I just visited the site, and signed up for their monthly giveaway. The prices are not cheap, but not very far off from the prices here in the Philippines. I can wait another year for their 50% off offer. Thanks for the heads up.

[SpyderMurphy]

Thanks for the info rick. How i wish  can have one of those dream sticks, it has a very high price tag for my pocket.One  of these days hope i can afford a babolat pure drive roddick

[racketwiz]

It looks pricey, yes. But I can personally say it's worth it. When I used to work for Prince many years ago before Benetton Sport bought the company (Prince has since been repurchased from Benetton by an American investment group, making it the only American-owned racket sports company), they were offering custom-built Prince Boron for $2000.  Considering the average price of performance sticks these days plus the relatively short model years, the price is not too bad.

In any event, if there is a serious interest here, I can email Paul Angell, introduce you to him and ask to see if he can give us some discount. After establishing contact, you guys can then discuss with him your racket requirements. He's a pretty nice guy, a very knowledgeable racket expert and I'm sure he can help us out.

[Francis]

Thanks for the info rick. How i wish  can have one of those dream sticks, it has a very high price tag for my pocket.One  of these days hope i can afford a babolat pure drive roddick

chris sports is now selling babolat rackets. they have pure drive roddick with cortex technology available and you may demo the racket before deciding to finally purchase.

[rsp1215]

and how much d price!!??

[Francis]

and how much d price!!??

if i remember it correctly, pure drive roddick and aeroPro drive costs P10,800.00. yung pure drive standard costs P9,600.00.

[altodds]

and how much d price!!??

if i remember it correctly, pure drive roddick and aeroPro drive costs P10,800.00. yung pure drive standard costs P9,600.00.

Hello Francis,
Ang tagal ko na talagang wala sa Pinas, hindi ko akalaing ganyan na ang presyohan ng tennis rackets ngayon

[Francis]

and how much d price!!??

if i remember it correctly, pure drive roddick and aeroPro drive costs P10,800.00. yung pure drive standard costs P9,600.00.

Hello Francis,
Ang tagal ko na talagang wala sa Pinas, hindi ko akalaing ganyan na ang presyohan ng tennis rackets ngayon

oo nga, medyo may kamahalan din ang tennis racket. that's why yung mga nabigyan ni slp ng rackets are very thankful.

[wesrex315]

hi, how bout the liquid metal raqkets from head specially the radical and flexipoint? any feedback kung maganda?? ive been contemplating on geting one kya lang medyo mahal and im not that experienced yet..

[racketwiz]

hi, how bout the liquid metal raqkets from head specially the radical and flexipoint? any feedback kung maganda?? ive been contemplating on geting one kya lang medyo mahal and im not that experienced yet..

There’s really no such thing as a good or bad racquet, per se.  One player’s super stick can be another player’s walking stick. For example, reviews hail the new Federer KFactor racquet as the best thing since sliced bread. Is it a good racquet? For certain players, it is. For me, it just doesn’t work.

Your strokes, skill level and other physical and technical factors determine the type of racquet you should be playing with. I would often advice against buying a racquet based on marketing hype, and racquet reviews are good for informational purposes only.  The only way you can determine if a racquet works for you is to demo it.  Without it, your decision will be based on speculations and guess work. More often than not, you could be spending money on sticks that would end up languishing at the bottom of your bag.

I see a lot of players clamoring after the newest and greatest $200 hi-tech sticks, then I remember Cedric Pioline getting to the US Open finals with an aluminum stick you can buy for $39.99 at Kmart.

If you’re not that experienced yet, I would suggest getting an affordable racquet that’s medium weight, oversized and stiff.  The racquet’s brand or model is irrelevant. The medium weight gives some heft to your strokes without taxing your arm; the oversized head is more forgiving on off-center hits; and the stiff frame gives you some power and directional control.  When your skill level rises to the point where your strokes are long and fast, you can generate your own power, and are consistent in hitting the general area of your racquet’s sweetspot, then you’re ready for a racquet upgrade.

[servnbogli]

racketwiz,

Just curious about a racquet product line known as 'power angle'. If you look
at the picture of their racquets the stringing pattern is very different. Is there
some truth to their claim that it improves spin production per se? Hope you
can shed light on this ?

[racketwiz]

racketwiz,

Just curious about a racquet product line known as 'power angle'. If you look
at the picture of their racquets the stringing pattern is very different. Is there
some truth to their claim that it improves spin production per se? Hope you
can shed light on this ?

I know about Power Angle and a couple of years ago, I've had a chance to meet and speak with Maddy Hauptmann, the stick's inventor. I asked her the same question and without delving into the technicals, her answer was that she stands by Power Angle's claims.

Diagonal string patterns are not a new idea. About 20-odd years ago, Snauwert came up with the asymmetric racquet head where they basically rotated the head to create a diagonal stringbed. It was called the "Ergonom" and it was one weird-looking stick. At around that time, the same Maddy Hauptmann came up with Mad Raq, a conventional looking frame but with a combined diagonal AND horizontal strings. This created hexagonal spaces between the strings instead of the squarish shape created by conventional vertical and horizontal stringing. It may have worked but it was a pain in the butt to string and you needed two sets of strings for one Mad Raq. I realized there was a reason it was called "Mad". I was so pissed I was ready to hit the player over the head with it after I finally got done stringing. MacGregor also came out with an adjustable-tension diagonal stringing stick designed by Borg's then-coach, Lennart Bergelin. Called the Bergelin LongString, it had a hexagonal head and the strings had to be looped thru a device in the handle that allows the player to manually vary tension on the fly. Like the Mad Raq, it was a big pain in the butt. After stringing one, I realized why t was called "LongString". You needed about 50 ft of string to complete the job.

Today, Power Angle is basically Maddy's new version of the old Mad Raq. And as far as the Snauwert Ergonom is concerned, a company called X-45 has resurrected the idea. Well, apart from these KFactor Microgel Texalium Cortex technology that's going around these days, it's nice to know that someone out there is trying to come up with old ideas to make us hackers play better. hehehe

[altodds]

Wow, I remember the ergonom, its a weird looking racket, I tried to use it , its cool but when you turn the racket, like federer 's habit, it makes my arm tire so easily.

About the stringing type, the first time I saw and tried the diagonal pattern, I think it was from the racket maker TAD DAVIS, its a wood racket, and I dont feel more spin in it , all I felt was the string bed is hard compared to the conventional stringing pattern.

[servnbogli]

Racketwiz,

Thanks for the insights on PowerAngle. At first glance it seemed like a winner but
I thought it would be a murder of a stringing job. specially so if you brought it here
where stringers maybe unfamiliar with the configuration. You might end up
with a damaged racquet. You're right ... at least people are still trying to innovate
for less gifted players such as me.
 

[racketwiz]

Wow, I remember the ergonom, its a weird looking racket, I tried to use it , its cool but when you turn the racket, like federer 's habit, it makes my arm tire so easily.

About the stringing type, the first time I saw and tried the diagonal pattern, I think it was from the racket maker TAD DAVIS, its a wood racket, and I dont feel more spin in it , all I felt was the string bed is hard compared to the conventional stringing pattern.

I purposely avoided mentioning the diagonal Davis. It pre-dates the Ergonom and Mad Raq. Halatang gurang na tayo. hehehe

[racketwiz]

Racketwiz,

Thanks for the insights on PowerAngle. At first glance it seemed like a winner but
I thought it would be a murder of a stringing job. specially so if you brought it here
where stringers maybe unfamiliar with the configuration. You might end up
with a damaged racquet. You're right ... at least people are still trying to innovate
for less gifted players such as me.
 

It's not as bad as the Mad Raq. hehehe. There are numbers around the frame so basically stringing it is kinda like connecting the dots (same as the Bergelin LongString). It does take some getting used to and for the first couple of stringjobs the stringer needs to be aware of the left and right halves of the string set because it's easy to get confused (PowerAngle offers a half white/half black string to make stringing easier). I'm sure it can be strung locally, but you may want to go with a more experienced stringer. If the stringer doesn't know the difference between a nylon string and a polyamide string, you may want to go elsewhere. hehehe