That would be a great video to watch too! I think we know where it points to the modern day game. Baseline control and more angles available, seemingly less variety.
Perfect video! My 3 racquets growing up, Donnay, then Wilson 2000 then 3000, then Max 200G.I agree with everything you noticed. Donnay was fine but then I learnt how to volley so needed to boost the power. But then, for like 10 years I played with the Max 200G. The Max 200G was a heavy racquet but like a hammer, if you swung it well, the ease of power was great. When our club does Wimbledon Day using retro racquets only, I take down my Wilson T3000. Yep, still have it 40 years later.
Sometimes with my students to work on their feel with the slice and/or volleys. After several minutes with the smaller sweet spot they adapt. By the time they get back their own racket the level of control is dramatic.
One of the most fascinating parts of this video to me is the difference in feel when he volleys with an old racket vs new racket. I'd like to see him do entire video specifically focusing on the key differences. Great stuff!
I enjoyed your walk down racquet memory lane. I started playing tennis with my Dad (67 years old) to get him some exercise. He broke out some 60-70s looking metal racquets that I used to play with him when I was a boy 35 years ago lol. He played 10 games+ with his old racquet while making fun of the size of my modern Aero Pure Drive. I eventually put mine down and we played a few games with the metal racquets. Good times
Timely video! Today, I just finished playing tennis with my son ( 11 yr. old ) using a wooden Jack Kramer, T-2000, and Dunlop Maxply. He used a wooden Spalding racquet and even asked why they stopped making them. So I collect older frames and use them against a ball machine or with my son. Great seeing you test drive these frames...I have all of them myself! Came across your video later and loved it!
I love the love you have of your old best rackets. My first REAL non-Walmart 15.00 prestrung racket was a Prince Mono that Jimmy Connors played with. A terrible racket by today's standards and I LOVED that racket frame so much!!! It has it's things...light, smaller head, you could pound a ball with it. It FELT AMAZING. I should have never started hitting with a Babolat because I can't stop now. Babolat doesn't feel as good as many to me, but it PERFORS in a real tennis match like no other racket in my hands.
I just started collecting rackets about 4 weeks ago. You‘ve been testing all the rackets i want with one exception. LaCoste l’equijet LT301. Was able to get one. Such a beauty. Also got my hands on the Battistone Freestyle two-handled grip. Sadly i will not be able to play test them right now because of covid lockdown in austria. Thanks for cheering me up with this video.
Great history lesson, teach! My personal history is: Off brand Aluminum for kids early 80s, Prince Pro (80s), Wilson Agressor (90s), Fischer Black Granite (2009), Yonex tour 97 (2014), Volkl Organix 8 (2016), Prince Textreme 100 (2017), Wilson Burn 95 and Blade CV 98 18x20 (2018/19). And I just bought the 2020 Prince Phantom 100p.
I use Phantom 100P too.....great racket with excellent feeling....but the best is the POG....with modern strings is still a lethal weapon for power and precision/control.
The Prince racquet being used here was released in the mid 90s and used by Michael Chang. It was an update to the original prince graphite which was much older. Sabatini, agassi and chang used the oversize version of the older, original graphite racquet, and Monica Seles used the midsize version.
I have them all. The t 3000 makes me correct my technique because I brush too much but with that I have to go through. And it whistles, if I have a good swingpath then it makes a sound with the metal part on the throat. The POG even if it was born in 79 it's still good today .
i played with my dads old t2000. At the time I was using a head vilas. Funny thing about the T2000... if you got gammed on a serve and grossly mis hit... the ball would get wedged in the throat area of the frame. instant laughter would follow. I never saw Jimmy miss hit that badly on his.
You still use mechanics that look like you grew up with a graphite racquet. People who started with a wood racquet wouldn't quite swing the same way as people who started with a graphite racquet.
Great video that beings back some memories. First real racquet was a Wilson Jack Kramer in the early 80's. Switching to a Prince Graphite Comp was a game-changer for me - bigger head, more forgiving, transformed my serve overnight. Played that for a couple of years then bought the Dunlop Max 200G - I was a lefty and a huge McEnroe fan. Played that throughout high school, then switched back to Prince racquets in college (CTS Synergy) and have been with Prince ever since. Still playing my all-time favorite CTS Thunderbolt 115.
Coach Nick, I really enjoyed seeing your enthusiasm trying each frame, and your Mac imitation. I’ve done and felt the same over the years with some of the classic racquets and although I use a modern Head Speed MP, it doesn’t have the flexible, soft and wonderful feel of the Head Prestige I used 20 years ago.
I practice with the Bjorn Borg donnay allwood racket sometimes. And at times I warm up with it before a doubles match. It hits a heavy ball and it’s easy to get good depth with it. When I switch to my Wilson roger federrer signature pro staff racket it feels so light and it’s easy to generate racket speed. I love it. The jack kramer pro staff and autograph are also very good to work out with. Love them wood rackets.
Interesting trip down memory lane. I had Dunlop Maxply Junior (wooden) in early 70s. Dunlop Maxply (Wooden) late 70s. Dunlop Maxply graphite (wooden) early 80s Dunlop 200 G mid 80s, big improvement but I recall still quite heavy Prince Classic mid plus (Green version of the Prince Graphite you showed) late 80s - very nice racket, as you say the first of the modern rackets. Wilson Pro Staff 95 early 90s Wilson Six One 95 late 00s
Fun topic and well executed, Coach Nick! When I first start hacking around the racquets available to me were wood racquets but they were such a pain because you would have to put them in a frame clamp after use -- but it was no use because the frame would end up warping anyway. Thank God for the new materials!
Dude I'm 55. I am taking this video in piece by piece. Played all of these rackets at some time, thanks. Wilson Pro Staff/Jack Kramer though... where are they? And I had a Mac MaxPly too. I could never get with the OG Prince Graphite but years later like '89-'92 that banana colored one was lethal in my hands for my skill level. Thanks again!
This is the racket -test I have waiting for such a long time. Absolute great Nick, thanks! I like to see more, f.e. your test of the Head amf Guillermo Vilas (Wood), the Arthur Ashe Competition (metal) and the Adidas GTX Pro Graphite (Ivan Lendl). If you like testing vintage rackets, my friend Coach Milan have a pretty good museum with all the good old popular rackets of the last 5 decades, ready to play. And my compliments for your demonstration of the Johnny Mac Forehand and the Steffi Graf Slice-Backhand :-) all the best, Jörg
I played like 4-5 years with Dunlop MAX 200g and switched now to Yonex Vcore pro 97. But no other modern racquet gave me the same fantastic feel of the Dunlop, unfortunatly. The Max 200g is my absolute favorite among all racquets I tested and played with. Babolat, Head, Wilson are far to stiff for my liking, so I switched to Yonex and feel happy with my choise.
This is by far one of the most complete, if not the most complete and comprehensive comparisons I've seen about how racquets have evolved and how that has affected tennis technique. I would have loved to see the Wilson ProStaff in the mix, since along with the Prince Graphite and the Dunlop Max200G, were the gold standard of graphite in the 80s. I hope you do a comparison of string evolution in the near future, from gut, to multifilaments, to poli. Great video.
Back in the 70s and 80s I used a Authur Ashe Comp, a Jack Kramer wood. The first graphite racket I used was the Head Edge. Used the Edge for a few years. Now I use a Angell TC 95 18x20. Thanks for the video.
I had a graphite edge too... great frame. Mine was the latter glossy finish. My cousin had the older model that was more matte textured.... great frames. One weird thing about it, i remember the light brown leather grip turned olive-green color from my sweat chemistry. I used tournagrip to cover it up... hahaha... strange.
I started playing in late 70s and transitioned from standard woodies to midsize aluminum, then graphite. I enjoy the sport much more with the old woodies and conventional 65-66 sq inch heads. Today you’re lucky to see a point go beyond 4 strokes.
I also used the Prince Graphite Lonbody as a junior. Amazing racket, definitely my fave I ever used. The shiny blue with yellow spray paint job was fantastic... then somebody stole them, I had two. If I could find a couple somewhere I would snap them up.
The 200g was the biggest game changer for me. To go from the Borg Donnay to that was just such an upgrade. Don't know if anyone remembers the Dunlop Viangle racquets. They were amazing. One of the best I've used.
Dang! You seriously ripped that wood racket. I played with the Jack Kramer and Dunlop Maxply as a junior and loved em! I’m a big fan of the nostalgia as well. Fun video!
Interesting how you use modern grips with old school racquets :) tried soviet wooden one recently and it was so fun to try with traditional grips as well!
This Prince was used by Michael Chang in the mid of 90’s. The Original Graphite 110 was the version used by Agassi, Sabatini, Selles and Chang as well.🧐😉🎾
Funny video for me. I played some classic wooden rackets including the famous Maxply, the Lacoste metal ( copied by Wilson) , a Dunlop Midsize metal, the Prince Pro Midsize 90, and now a Babolat pure drive.
@@jamestan4165 Yep played tennis mostly with a prince diablo mid throughout highschool, ncode six one 95 or rossignol f200 or f250 are the only other rackets I could imagine preferring back then (didn't hit with either until after my prime, still played some great tennis with rossi's tho, right up there with modern frames at least for my style of play with top and variety more than pure power)
In high school in 1972 I played with a Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff (wood, obviously) and yes back then we would always check the height of the net just like Nick showed.
the earliest prince graphite, first version had a shorter grip and was ballanced a little more head heavy. It didnt have a plastic bumper guard, so layers of babolat tape further weighed it down. I think Gene Mayer was one of the earliest users. As a junior I had one of these early versions, and a couple of the newer 110 models with the longer grip, and plastic bumper guard. Great great racquets!! They also had a prince Boron model, that was even more $$$. Other racquets i used as a junior... head Vilas, Donay borg pro, head graphite edge, dunlop black max, boris becker puma. i enjoyed all of them. but those prince graphite 110s were "the shit".
I just picked up the Jimmy connors C1 Wilson T 3000 at a thrift store for under $3. This racket is really helping my serve! It's really helped my accuracy. When I switch back to a modern racket I have less accuracy but more power.
I still play competitively (4.0-4.5) with the Max 200G, Rossignol F200, and a pro staff 6.0 85. I don’t have the put away power with these as much as modern racquets but my error rate is much lower. Would I win more with modern racquets? Maybe. But I just love the nostalgia (I was an 80’s teen) and the feel of these frames. I just enjoy tennis more with these racquets.
My first racquet was a Wilson Jack Kramer. The Wilson T 2000 was a challenging to string. I never played with it. I got to watch Connors play quite a few times. You had to be court side to appreciate how hard he hit and his energy level on court. I always tried to copy his footwork.
I played with the Wilson T 2000 and other small size racquets in college in the 80s, then I tried a few large size, but I missed certain shots that could only be done with the small sized racquets. I had to get a stringing machine and learn how to string the T-2000 in the 2000 and 2010 decade. I'm back using the Wilson T, I found a T-3000, actually, online. So now I'm back to using that kind of racket, although I also enjoy using a Yamaha small size racquets. Check out me hitting against the wall with a Wilson T 3000: ua-cam.com/video/u9j2GGxMejE/v-deo.html
used to use a 14oz slazenger challenge no 1 through my high school back in the 70's.. then changed to a wilson advantage light, about 12.5oz if remembered right .. until I got my first non-wooden racket which was a wilson hammer 5.2 mid plus... hmm still miss those great wooden rackets.. today I'm using a babolat pure drive (17-18) also..
This was a great video, looked like u really enjoyed yourself which is fun to watch. The wood having great feel was unexpected, I tried one and it had trampoline strings. Guess string tension also super important. Mcenroe serve set up was funny
I used wood, Jack Kraemer I believe, then the aluminon Head Master, Dunlop Max 200g, Dunlop Revelation, Volkl V1 and Babolat Pure Drive. I am back to the V1, easy on the arm.
Wish somebody would test the Rossignol F200 C (the Wilander one). I was really beginning to get outgunned, sticking with a wood too long (Rossignol Strato), when an R rep told me to try the F200C. It suited me perfectly! All the Wilson graphite's of that era were too stiff for me. Got to a challenger semi within the first month of using the F200 C. Great stick!
Love this video! I own a couple of Borg pros and bot are at 415 grams. They feel great and I now play exclusively with them because at 61 I am not getting any better but I get a ton of enjoyment.
The Prince Graphite is the Swiss Army knife of the racquet world -- go anywhere, do anything. Having used one now for close to thirty years (roughly from the end of my college career to the present) I can say no other frame offers the combination of heft and touch at the net. As I get older and slower, I have come even to appreciate the "plow through" which allows me to pull a difficult ball out of the corner -- what my footwork once did, I rely on the heft of the racket now to do. By the way, that is not an endorsement of my technique, but rather a compliment to a tool that continues to amaze. The racket industry simply never improved on this frame. At a single blow, it combined the two most important advances of Open Era technology -- graphite construction and an oversized head. It is nonpareil.
Thanks Nick, great video. I have 3 Yonex RDS1s and was thinking of doing research to update them because I assumed it was old technology. 🤔 I’ll wait for your strings video.
Loved the video , maybe the Becker’s Puma and Navratilova Yonex , Lendl Adidas , Vilander’s Rossignol ? Thank you , keep ‘ em coming , I’ll keep watching. My favorite was the Dunlop 200G , you hit the forehand line Johnny Mac and the slice like Graff , I just missed Mac’s backhand and serve , just nostalgic . Thank you .
This made me laugh 😹😹😹. I tried the original wood Pro Staff I think it’s for Popeye. I heard back then Rod Laver would tell stringer to string it ‘tight but not too tight’.
I think you are such a good player, you could hit with a kitchen broom :). I still have the soviet made wooden racquet called Moscow. I bought it in the 70s when I started learning to play tennis.
So cool. After 18 years I have started playing again and have renovated my 89 Prince Graphtech db110. I'll be testing a new racket next Monday, but I'm a bit attached to the old one. And after this video I am reassured that I am not doing anything wrong with the old racket. 😅 Btw. Out, Out, Out. 😂 Thx for the Vid.
Great review! I am a POG enthusiast/collector I think it's the best racket ever made...I would use still today but the weight (POG 4 stripes) is 12,7 oz strung, a little bit too much for my preparation (Prince Phantom 100P is 11,64 oz strung)...I think that it could be really suitable to PROs also today...
Always interesting for me to see younger players try a wooden racket. Using those small rackets is a very different game compared with large graphite rackets.
My man you're on point you should be called tennis nerd to I play with all of those records but you missed out on the Wilson Pro Staff wooden racket and the T2000 and the Arthur Ashe competition series
i had a black max too, in junior circuit. I liked it a lot. Fairly flexible frame... IIRC. That thing was such an image beast / bad ass. I strung it with black synth strings... forget the brand. But it was such an intimidating image. I remember some younger kids at the tournament would say "dang hes got a black max". hahaha
It's not a straightforward matter of improvement. I've been playing the game since the 1970's, competitively in high school and then at University in the 1980's. A Pro friend of mine and I have recently started playing with woods again: he with a Medium Jack Kramer, me with a Medium Chris Evert. The game is entirely different. With a slower pace, the game demands far more by way of tactics. With far greater control over the ball comes much more varied gameplay and a much larger toolbox. We both find that pretty much across the board, our level of play is much higher. We are enjoying it tremendously. Probably going to start playing some all-wood tournaments once Covid is over.
Yep very first all graphite racket was apparently the Trabert c-6 (cost $300 back then, equivalent to around $1000 today), released in '74. Graphite looking racket in the Volkl zebra (black and yellow) released in '73... Dam I just literally saw one of those in a goodwill a few weeks ago, didn't know it was so old (is all or mostly fiberglass). Almost bought it, but knew I wouldn't use it for fun as much as my t2000 or max200g Ashe racket also released in '74 but apparently mostly fiberglass with some aluminum
Really enjoyed this I do collect old racquets the one you ended with is in the loft and my dad owns it I’ve always wanted it he doesn’t know I loved it when I tried it years ago I’ve currently gone back to Wilson pro staff 6.0 85
Your Pure Drive maybe similar in terms of the frame shape, however the stiffness of the Pure Drive is a bit higher and will generate easier power. IMO as the the racquet stiffness gets higher, the overall feel is not as good. Definitely interesting with the evolution in technology of these racquets. Prince is making some really nice flexible frames in their Phantom line that offer great feel.
0:00 Bjorn Borg Donnay Allwood
5:45 Wilson T 3000
9:43 Dunlop Max 200 g
12:31 Prince Graphite
15:46 Serves
I suggest you also use a camera on the opposite side of the court because your body was blocking our view on many of your shots.
5:09 this guy just made the ball spin back over from the other side of the court on his first try. What a legend!
Very interesting for me, as one who played in the 80's and quit in 1990 only to start playing again in 2019
me too and I just bought the classic Prince graphite they just re issued...UNREAL!!!
Yay, keep at it 👍
R u me? My daughter is on the high school tennis team which has re kindled my passion
Now we wait for an analysis of strings.
Yes pls
That would be a great video to watch too! I think we know where it points to the modern day game. Baseline control and more angles available, seemingly less variety.
LFG!
Perfect video! My 3 racquets growing up, Donnay, then Wilson 2000 then 3000, then Max 200G.I agree with everything you noticed. Donnay was fine but then I learnt how to volley so needed to boost the power. But then, for like 10 years I played with the Max 200G. The Max 200G was a heavy racquet but like a hammer, if you swung it well, the ease of power was great. When our club does Wimbledon Day using retro racquets only, I take down my Wilson T3000. Yep, still have it 40 years later.
Check out my T 3000 against the wall. I extended the length about an inch. ua-cam.com/video/u9j2GGxMejE/v-deo.html
Still hit with the max 200g too regularly. Incomparable. I play with Wilson profile even more. The game changer in widebodys
Sometimes with my students to work on their feel with the slice and/or volleys. After several minutes with the smaller sweet spot they adapt. By the time they get back their own racket the level of control is dramatic.
One of the most fascinating parts of this video to me is the difference in feel when he volleys with an old racket vs new racket. I'd like to see him do entire video specifically focusing on the key differences. Great stuff!
I enjoyed your walk down racquet memory lane. I started playing tennis with my Dad (67 years old) to get him some exercise. He broke out some 60-70s looking metal racquets that I used to play with him when I was a boy 35 years ago lol. He played 10 games+ with his old racquet while making fun of the size of my modern Aero Pure Drive. I eventually put mine down and we played a few games with the metal racquets. Good times
🙏🙏
@@IntuitiveTennis The old racquets have a K on the handle just above where the grip starts. Not sure what brand they are, any clue?
this was incredibly satisfying i watched the whole video
Thank you Patrick
YESSSS. I have a prince OG graphite just so I can explain that strings are the real revolution. You nailed it.
Timely video! Today, I just finished playing tennis with my son ( 11 yr. old ) using a wooden Jack Kramer, T-2000, and Dunlop Maxply. He used a wooden Spalding racquet and even asked why they stopped making them. So I collect older frames and use them against a ball machine or with my son. Great seeing you test drive these frames...I have all of them myself! Came across your video later and loved it!
This brings back memories. I still have my wooden racket I bought in 1982 and my first composite racket from 1986. Both made in USSR.
Да ладно.
@@андрейенютин-ы5ъ Да-да, деревянная Москва и композитная Мастер сделланая госпромспортом "по лицензии фирмы Кнайсл":-)
I love the love you have of your old best rackets. My first REAL non-Walmart 15.00 prestrung racket was a Prince Mono that Jimmy Connors played with. A terrible racket by today's standards and I LOVED that racket frame so much!!! It has it's things...light, smaller head, you could pound a ball with it. It FELT AMAZING. I should have never started hitting with a Babolat because I can't stop now. Babolat doesn't feel as good as many to me, but it PERFORS in a real tennis match like no other racket in my hands.
I just started collecting rackets about 4 weeks ago. You‘ve been testing all the rackets i want with one exception. LaCoste l’equijet LT301. Was able to get one. Such a beauty. Also got my hands on the Battistone Freestyle two-handled grip. Sadly i will not be able to play test them right now because of covid lockdown in austria. Thanks for cheering me up with this video.
Glad you liked it 🙏
Great history lesson, teach!
My personal history is: Off brand Aluminum for kids early 80s, Prince Pro (80s), Wilson Agressor (90s), Fischer Black Granite (2009), Yonex tour 97 (2014), Volkl Organix 8 (2016), Prince Textreme 100 (2017), Wilson Burn 95 and Blade CV 98 18x20 (2018/19). And I just bought the 2020 Prince Phantom 100p.
Fischer were great racquets Stich 🙌🙌
I use Phantom 100P too.....great racket with excellent feeling....but the best is the POG....with modern strings is still a lethal weapon for power and precision/control.
The Prince racquet being used here was released in the mid 90s and used by Michael Chang. It was an update to the original prince graphite which was much older. Sabatini, agassi and chang used the oversize version of the older, original graphite racquet, and Monica Seles used the midsize version.
I have them all. The t 3000 makes me correct my technique because I brush too much but with that I have to go through.
And it whistles, if I have a good swingpath then it makes a sound with the metal part on the throat.
The POG even if it was born in 79 it's still good today .
Prince Graphite still good today for sure
i played with my dads old t2000. At the time I was using a head vilas. Funny thing about the T2000... if you got gammed on a serve and grossly mis hit... the ball would get wedged in the throat area of the frame. instant laughter would follow. I never saw Jimmy miss hit that badly on his.
You still use mechanics that look like you grew up with a graphite racquet. People who started with a wood racquet wouldn't quite swing the same way as people who started with a graphite racquet.
Still have my Donnay Borg Pro from 1983....and my Kneissl White Star Pro 🤗🤗🤗
What a impressive contents to see wooden racquet test.
Legendary power grunts.
Great video that beings back some memories. First real racquet was a Wilson Jack Kramer in the early 80's. Switching to a Prince Graphite Comp was a game-changer for me - bigger head, more forgiving, transformed my serve overnight. Played that for a couple of years then bought the Dunlop Max 200G - I was a lefty and a huge McEnroe fan. Played that throughout high school, then switched back to Prince racquets in college (CTS Synergy) and have been with Prince ever since. Still playing my all-time favorite CTS Thunderbolt 115.
Coach Nick, I really enjoyed seeing your enthusiasm trying each frame, and your Mac imitation. I’ve done and felt the same over the years with some of the classic racquets and although I use a modern Head Speed MP, it doesn’t have the flexible, soft and wonderful feel of the Head Prestige I used 20 years ago.
True
this passion for racquets and the game is great lol!...also sweet court/set up :)
I practice with the Bjorn Borg donnay allwood racket sometimes. And at times I warm up with it before a doubles match. It hits a heavy ball and it’s easy to get good depth with it. When I switch to my Wilson roger federrer signature pro staff racket it feels so light and it’s easy to generate racket speed. I love it. The jack kramer pro staff and autograph are also very good to work out with. Love them wood rackets.
Interesting trip down memory lane.
I had Dunlop Maxply Junior (wooden) in early 70s.
Dunlop Maxply (Wooden) late 70s.
Dunlop Maxply graphite (wooden) early 80s
Dunlop 200 G mid 80s, big improvement but I recall still quite heavy
Prince Classic mid plus (Green version of the Prince Graphite you showed) late 80s - very nice racket, as you say the first of the modern rackets.
Wilson Pro Staff 95 early 90s
Wilson Six One 95 late 00s
I enjoyed this video very much. I’m a bit nostalgic about the old tennis greats, and their rackets. Thanks
Fun topic and well executed, Coach Nick! When I first start hacking around the racquets available to me were wood racquets but they were such a pain because you would have to put them in a frame clamp after use -- but it was no use because the frame would end up warping anyway. Thank God for the new materials!
You must have played really hard for the frame to warp anyway
Dude I'm 55. I am taking this video in piece by piece. Played all of these rackets at some time, thanks. Wilson Pro Staff/Jack Kramer though... where are they? And I had a Mac MaxPly too. I could never get with the OG Prince Graphite but years later like '89-'92 that banana colored one was lethal in my hands for my skill level. Thanks again!
Miloslav Mecir was the last finalist with wooden racket of Major in the US Open 1985. Not surprise it was The Big Cat.
yeah wilson had a jack kramer mid size version in the mid 80s... it was weird looking.
This is the racket -test I have waiting for such a long time. Absolute great Nick, thanks!
I like to see more, f.e. your test of the Head amf Guillermo Vilas (Wood), the Arthur Ashe Competition (metal) and the Adidas GTX Pro Graphite (Ivan Lendl). If you like testing vintage rackets, my friend Coach Milan have a pretty good museum with all the good old popular rackets of the last 5 decades, ready to play.
And my compliments for your demonstration of the Johnny Mac Forehand and the Steffi Graf Slice-Backhand :-)
all the best, Jörg
Thank you Jörg, the Adidas Lendl is a classic
yep... i had a head Vilas... loved it. My cousin had an arthur ashe model. I liked the feel of the wood composite mix of the vilas though
MuvoTX that‘s real old school ✌🏼😎
Awesome! Started with a wooden racket then moved to ps85 line. Completely agree the strings made the biggest difference in last 20 yrs.
Wow, the Sound of the Graphit Racket ist awesome
It’s quite amazing seeing the difference in your shots when going from the wooden racket to the metal racket.
💯
Thanks for the video and walk down memory lane. I bring out the Donnay
Such a cool racquet
All of those “early” rackets brought something new, great choices. Stringing....not so easy 😅
@@ap7498 especially the T 2000 😂😂
please make more videos like this - thank you - very interesting
Thank you Alexander and more vids like this coming...
Wow! What a fun test! Thx for doing it. Enjoyed it very much. 👍🏻😃
Enjoying the real time commentary as you cycle through the various vintages. At age 62, liked the historical review as well!
I played like 4-5 years with Dunlop MAX 200g and switched now to Yonex Vcore pro 97. But no other modern racquet gave me the same fantastic feel of the Dunlop, unfortunatly. The Max 200g is my absolute favorite among all racquets I tested and played with.
Babolat, Head, Wilson are far to stiff for my liking, so I switched to Yonex and feel happy with my choise.
Really enjoyed your video as I have the 3 older rackets you tested and totally agree with your evaluations. Keep up the good work!
Thank you Scott
This is by far one of the most complete, if not the most complete and comprehensive comparisons I've seen about how racquets have evolved and how that has affected tennis technique. I would have loved to see the Wilson ProStaff in the mix, since along with the Prince Graphite and the Dunlop Max200G, were the gold standard of graphite in the 80s.
I hope you do a comparison of string evolution in the near future, from gut, to multifilaments, to poli.
Great video.
Thank you Eric. I have a string video coming out soon. Yes could have included wilson pro staff but didn’t want the vid to be too long.
Great analysis of rackets development and putting into perspective. Thank you.
Hands down the best coach I've seen online.
Love this video! Great historical perspective. Johnny Mac would approve for sure. :)
Back in the 70s and 80s I used a Authur Ashe Comp, a Jack Kramer wood. The first graphite racket I used was the Head Edge. Used the Edge for a few years. Now I use a Angell TC 95 18x20. Thanks for the video.
I still play with a Head Edge from time to time - very powerful frame. I think I heard the Prestige line was modeled on the Edge.
I had a graphite edge too... great frame. Mine was the latter glossy finish. My cousin had the older model that was more matte textured.... great frames. One weird thing about it, i remember the light brown leather grip turned olive-green color from my sweat chemistry. I used tournagrip to cover it up... hahaha... strange.
I started playing in late 70s and transitioned from standard woodies to midsize aluminum, then graphite. I enjoy the sport much more with the old woodies and conventional 65-66 sq inch heads. Today you’re lucky to see a point go beyond 4 strokes.
Thanks for this. Closed down FH grip also shrinks the racket face even more!
I also used the Prince Graphite Lonbody as a junior. Amazing racket, definitely my fave I ever used. The shiny blue with yellow spray paint job was fantastic... then somebody stole them, I had two. If I could find a couple somewhere I would snap them up.
Such a great racquet
I started tennis in 1967 with a TAD Davis Imperial racquet, it needed a clamp to prevent warping when not in use
The Dunlop Max 200G is a lot of fun to play with, and the POG was what I used as a junior too, it was a top quality racquet 🎾
Hahaha great!! Make an imitation video!! The Mcenroe strokes looked really similar; good acting talent!!
😂😂 mac is the only one I can do
The 200g was the biggest game changer for me. To go from the Borg Donnay to that was just such an upgrade.
Don't know if anyone remembers the Dunlop Viangle racquets. They were amazing. One of the best I've used.
One of my highschool team mates played with a 200g. I tried it and it felt great, the grip was too short for my 2 handed back hand though.
Dang! You seriously ripped that wood racket. I played with the Jack Kramer and Dunlop Maxply as a junior and loved em! I’m a big fan of the nostalgia as well. Fun video!
Interesting how you use modern grips with old school racquets :) tried soviet wooden one recently and it was so fun to try with traditional grips as well!
Very interesting thanks, and almost like McEnroe is there! I have my old wooden racquet somewhere. I will try it for fun.
This Prince was used by Michael Chang in the mid of 90’s. The Original Graphite 110 was the version used by Agassi, Sabatini, Selles and Chang as well.🧐😉🎾
Gene Mayer and IIRC pam shriver too. Wasnt Nick Boliteri a huge prince endorsee?... seemed every junior in his programs turned pro playing a prince.
You should do a head-to-head of the Prince Graphite strung with modern strings and your Pure Drive - to really prove your closing point. Cool video!
Funny video for me.
I played some classic wooden rackets including the famous Maxply, the Lacoste metal ( copied by Wilson) , a Dunlop Midsize metal, the Prince Pro Midsize 90, and now a Babolat pure drive.
What a fun clip - thanks for putting this up. Last match I played was with a Max200G. Beautiful feeling stick.
Amazing racquet
@@IntuitiveTennis almost up with the Rossignol F200! (my favourite of all time)
@@jamestan4165 Yep played tennis mostly with a prince diablo mid throughout highschool, ncode six one 95 or rossignol f200 or f250 are the only other rackets I could imagine preferring back then (didn't hit with either until after my prime, still played some great tennis with rossi's tho, right up there with modern frames at least for my style of play with top and variety more than pure power)
Interesting tidbit about the dimensions of the Donnay!
In high school in 1972 I played with a Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff (wood, obviously) and yes back then we would always check the height of the net just like Nick showed.
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the earliest prince graphite, first version had a shorter grip and was ballanced a little more head heavy. It didnt have a plastic bumper guard, so layers of babolat tape further weighed it down. I think Gene Mayer was one of the earliest users. As a junior I had one of these early versions, and a couple of the newer 110 models with the longer grip, and plastic bumper guard. Great great racquets!! They also had a prince Boron model, that was even more $$$. Other racquets i used as a junior... head Vilas, Donay borg pro, head graphite edge, dunlop black max, boris becker puma. i enjoyed all of them. but those prince graphite 110s were "the shit".
I just picked up the Jimmy connors C1 Wilson T 3000 at a thrift store for under $3. This racket is really helping my serve! It's really helped my accuracy. When I switch back to a modern racket I have less accuracy but more power.
I still play competitively (4.0-4.5) with the Max 200G, Rossignol F200, and a pro staff 6.0 85. I don’t have the put away power with these as much as modern racquets but my error rate is much lower. Would I win more with modern racquets? Maybe. But I just love the nostalgia (I was an 80’s teen) and the feel of these frames. I just enjoy tennis more with these racquets.
Do you have to buy new racquets or the old frames still function well after 30+ years? I'm using a 20 year old Dunlop myself.
My first racquet was a Wilson Jack Kramer. The Wilson T 2000 was a challenging to string. I never played with it. I got to watch Connors play quite a few times. You had to be court side to appreciate how hard he hit and his energy level on court. I always tried to copy his footwork.
I played with the Wilson T 2000 and other small size racquets in college in the 80s, then I tried a few large size, but I missed certain shots that could only be done with the small sized racquets. I had to get a stringing machine and learn how to string the T-2000 in the 2000 and 2010 decade. I'm back using the Wilson T, I found a T-3000, actually, online. So now I'm back to using that kind of racket, although I also enjoy using a Yamaha small size racquets. Check out me hitting against the wall with a Wilson T 3000: ua-cam.com/video/u9j2GGxMejE/v-deo.html
Most interesting. Never seen such a benchmark. 👍🏻
(please make the measures available in metric system with grams & cm for us in Europe. Thanks.).
Sure will
I have about 4 prince michael Chang’s. love to play with the aluminum Spaulding rebels.
Great video though. The old heavy aluminum slows me down with the small head and concentrate on placement. General not caring. Need more practice.
used to use a 14oz slazenger challenge no 1 through my high school back in the 70's.. then changed to a wilson advantage light, about 12.5oz if remembered right .. until I got my first non-wooden racket which was a wilson hammer 5.2 mid plus... hmm still miss those great wooden rackets.. today I'm using a babolat pure drive (17-18) also..
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Great video! love the interesting content
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Very interesting. Please consider doing something similar for strings.
Coming soon...
I still have my Prince Graphite, from the 80s almost never used it. Thanks for the post.
This was a great video, looked like u really enjoyed yourself which is fun to watch. The wood having great feel was unexpected, I tried one and it had trampoline strings. Guess string tension also super important. Mcenroe serve set up was funny
Wood was surprisingly good
I still have my high school racquets, a Max 200G and a Prestige Pro. My Max200G is quite warped, which I hear is fairly common.
This is the best tennis video ever made, especially for old guys like me that have all of those racquets:)
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I used wood, Jack Kraemer I believe, then the aluminon Head Master, Dunlop Max 200g, Dunlop Revelation, Volkl V1 and Babolat Pure Drive. I am back to the V1, easy on the arm.
I found a brand-new unused Jack Kramer here in Malaysia 6 months ago; they wouldn't sell it to me :-(. I was a Dunlop Fort guy.).
Wish somebody would test the Rossignol F200 C (the Wilander one). I was really beginning to get outgunned, sticking with a wood too long (Rossignol Strato), when an R rep told me to try the F200C. It suited me perfectly! All the Wilson graphite's of that era were too stiff for me. Got to a challenger semi within the first month of using the F200 C. Great stick!
Love this video! I own a couple of Borg pros and bot are at 415 grams. They feel great and I now play exclusively with them because at 61 I am not getting any better but I get a ton of enjoyment.
The Prince Graphite is the Swiss Army knife of the racquet world -- go anywhere, do anything. Having used one now for close to thirty years (roughly from the end of my college career to the present) I can say no other frame offers the combination of heft and touch at the net. As I get older and slower, I have come even to appreciate the "plow through" which allows me to pull a difficult ball out of the corner -- what my footwork once did, I rely on the heft of the racket now to do. By the way, that is not an endorsement of my technique, but rather a compliment to a tool that continues to amaze. The racket industry simply never improved on this frame. At a single blow, it combined the two most important advances of Open Era technology -- graphite construction and an oversized head. It is nonpareil.
Great to see the comparisons. I thought your groundstrokes with the Max 200G looked the best.
bought a 4 stripe Prince Original Graphite from the thrift this week for 14 bucks GREAT CONDITION
Nice 👍
Thanks Nick, great video.
I have 3 Yonex RDS1s and was thinking of doing research to update them because I assumed it was old technology. 🤔
I’ll wait for your strings video.
Loved the video , maybe the Becker’s Puma and Navratilova Yonex , Lendl Adidas , Vilander’s Rossignol ? Thank you , keep ‘ em coming , I’ll keep watching.
My favorite was the Dunlop 200G , you hit the forehand line Johnny Mac and the slice like Graff , I just missed Mac’s backhand and serve , just nostalgic .
Thank you .
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So question...what's your take on my idea that there should be at least one pro tournament for both men and woman with wood rackets?
Would be fun to watch
@@IntuitiveTennis would be fun to watch all these modern players using the incorrect technique for wood and blowing out their shoulders and elbows XD
@@oldfrend yep... youd see a TON of tennis elbow injuries... like we used to see before the 80s
Great content. Cheers!
Great video!!
This is a great video!!! Thank you for this one!!!!!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video, thanks.
So the next one will be about strings ... ?
Yes absolutely
Excellent presentation
This made me laugh 😹😹😹. I tried the original wood Pro Staff I think it’s for Popeye. I heard back then Rod Laver would tell stringer to string it ‘tight but not too tight’.
I think you are such a good player, you could hit with a kitchen broom :).
I still have the soviet made wooden racquet called Moscow. I bought it in the 70s when I started learning to play tennis.
Would love to see that racquet
Intuitive Tennis if I knew your email, I would take a photo and send it to you.
So cool. After 18 years I have started playing again and have renovated my 89 Prince Graphtech db110. I'll be testing a new racket next Monday, but I'm a bit attached to the old one. And after this video I am reassured that I am not doing anything wrong with the old racket. 😅 Btw. Out, Out, Out. 😂 Thx for the Vid.
Great review! I am a POG enthusiast/collector I think it's the best racket ever made...I would use still today but the weight (POG 4 stripes) is 12,7 oz strung, a little bit too much for my preparation (Prince Phantom 100P is 11,64 oz strung)...I think that it could be really suitable to PROs also today...
I agree David
The old school head rackets are worth a mention. The graphite edge and so on
Always interesting for me to see younger players try a wooden racket. Using those small rackets is a very different game compared with large graphite rackets.
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Nice video - interesting content. Thanks 🙏🏼
My man you're on point you should be called tennis nerd to I play with all of those records but you missed out on the Wilson Pro Staff wooden racket and the T2000 and the Arthur Ashe competition series
Still have my Dunlop Black Max from high school tennis.
i had a black max too, in junior circuit. I liked it a lot. Fairly flexible frame... IIRC. That thing was such an image beast / bad ass. I strung it with black synth strings... forget the brand. But it was such an intimidating image. I remember some younger kids at the tournament would say "dang hes got a black max". hahaha
@@MuvoTX Yes very flexible, I still like a flexible frame
It's not a straightforward matter of improvement. I've been playing the game since the 1970's, competitively in high school and then at University in the 1980's.
A Pro friend of mine and I have recently started playing with woods again: he with a Medium Jack Kramer, me with a Medium Chris Evert. The game is entirely different. With a slower pace, the game demands far more by way of tactics. With far greater control over the ball comes much more varied gameplay and a much larger toolbox. We both find that pretty much across the board, our level of play is much higher.
We are enjoying it tremendously. Probably going to start playing some all-wood tournaments once Covid is over.
9:50 I think before Max 200G, Adidas Lendl GTX Pro / Kneissl Pro Star were already in market and were made with graphite and fiberglass.
Yep very first all graphite racket was apparently the Trabert c-6 (cost $300 back then, equivalent to around $1000 today), released in '74. Graphite looking racket in the Volkl zebra (black and yellow) released in '73... Dam I just literally saw one of those in a goodwill a few weeks ago, didn't know it was so old (is all or mostly fiberglass). Almost bought it, but knew I wouldn't use it for fun as much as my t2000 or max200g
Ashe racket also released in '74 but apparently mostly fiberglass with some aluminum
Really enjoyed this I do collect old racquets the one you ended with is in the loft and my dad owns it I’ve always wanted it he doesn’t know I loved it when I tried it years ago I’ve currently gone back to Wilson pro staff 6.0 85
Your Pure Drive maybe similar in terms of the frame shape, however the stiffness of the Pure Drive is a bit higher and will generate easier power. IMO as the the racquet stiffness gets higher, the overall feel is not as good.
Definitely interesting with the evolution in technology of these racquets. Prince is making some really nice flexible frames in their Phantom line that offer great feel.