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Tennis anyone?

Ah, memories. I can't remember the exact names of racquets & lbs, but I believe I first picked up the old wooden racquets of my sisters, Wilson Chris Evert, to hit with some friends at the swim club.

Then it became borrowing my brother's Wilson Jimmy Connors metal one, before I got my own, a Spalding aluminum. My first oversize graphite was a Bard, which I had read about in Tennis magazine.

I have to say I loved that Jimmy Connors metal one, at the time very powerful, but man, what a sweet spot on the oversize graphite.

Haven't played in ages, and hip arthritis will keep me away for the remainder of this lifetime.

I'm sorry to hear about your hip.
They are doing great things with them these days.
One of my neighbors is going in for a new one.
Blessings and healing to you.
Ed
 
Sorry to hear about your arthritis Leo.
I have it in my ankle.
I hope you are healthy otherwise.
I was stringing at the tennis center yesterday. A busy day.
The grandkids will be here in a couple of hours.
Have a great day.
Ed
 
I'm down to play some tennis as my state opens up more. Have been missing out for several months. Just a casual HS varsity/ a bit of college player, playing for fun with my local friends.
Are you playing?
I hit a few after racquet stringing yesterday.
I like the Head Pro Tour 2.0.
A heavier frame which is solid and comfortable.
It felt good to crack a couple backhands with it.
 
Just thought I'd step out of the shadows....I've been lurking here for a while. I used to play in high school, then I got to college and discovered REAL players, so I stepped out of the game for a bit. But one of my first jobs was with a company that had tennis courts on the property and I'd play during my lunch hour (this was in the mid 90's). I'm now a fairly dedicated spectator and have the wife hooked on watching it with me. We've been to a half dozen US Opens and this was the year we were going to head to Wimbledon and travel over to Indian Wells....but both of those are delayed for us (and possibly others).

Looking forward to hearing you gents discuss the game and new equipment.
The Head Pro Tour 2.0 was really solid and fun to play with.
I’ll be looking at the Volkls this weekend. Are you playing yet?
 

Flintstone65

Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
The Head Pro Tour 2.0 was really solid and fun to play with.
I’ll be looking at the Volkls this weekend. Are you playing yet?
:laugh: Not yet, my friend. It will be a while, but I am going for a run this morning. I was trying to figure out what I did with my racquet the other day....I'm probably going to have to purchase one. The last one I bought was back in the 80's, so I'm guessing they'll be much nicer/lighter feeling.
 
Are you playing?
I hit a few after racquet stringing yesterday.
I like the Head Pro Tour 2.0.
A heavier frame which is solid and comfortable.
It felt good to crack a couple backhands with it.
No unfortunately. covid cases have been rising again so just taking precautions. I hit with my Donnay pro Int and it's my favorite. Strung with Gosen synth gut and isospeed poly. I might pick up a backup if I can get a good deal on it.
 
:laugh: Not yet, my friend. It will be a while, but I am going for a run this morning. I was trying to figure out what I did with my racquet the other day....I'm probably going to have to purchase one. The last one I bought was back in the 80's, so I'm guessing they'll be much nicer/lighter feeling.
My run was canceled due to grandkids and a car problem sidelined me waiting for a tow.
Hope yours was good.
I’m in week 6 of Couch to 5K.
With respect to tennis racquets demo some. The new racquets are lighter, larger and much easier to play with.
Ed
 
No unfortunately. covid cases have been rising again so just taking precautions. I hit with my Donnay pro Int and it's my favorite. Strung with Gosen synth gut and isospeed poly. I might pick up a backup if I can get a good deal on it.
Wise!
Stay safe and healthy!
Ed
 

Flintstone65

Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
My run was canceled due to grandkids and a car problem sidelined me waiting for a tow.
Hope yours was good.
I’m in week 6 of Couch to 5K.
With respect to tennis racquets demo some. The new racquets are lighter, larger and much easier to play with.
Ed
Demo is good advice. My wife and I run 3 to 4 miles every other day. Today was not a great run....we have to get up before the sun and start running shortly after, otherwise the heat takes you down. By 10am, the humidity is in the high 90’s and so are the “feels like” temps. Got a late start and the run suffered for it.
 
Get back out there.
It’s a game for a lifetime and the new racquets make it easier to play. Many are discounted now. Some good buys out there.
:laugh: Not yet, my friend. It will be a while, but I am going for a run this morning. I was trying to figure out what I did with my racquet the other day....I'm probably going to have to purchase one. The last one I bought was back in the 80's, so I'm guessing they'll be much nicer/lighter feeling.

Modern racquets are cheating. In fact, 80s racquets were cheating. Heck, all those 70s metal racquets were cheating. (My keeper was just a Head Standard. I had two, and they were restrung a lot.)

Wood, kept in a press, endorsed by Stan Smith some other dinosaur - that's a tennis racquet.

So I don't have a regular partner, but I do have a cheap Wilson Hyper Hammer Hybrid 5. Yet to be restrung. My message is: get a racquet, hit some balls, you can always fine tune later. No racquet will improve your game as much as fitness, a little coaching, and practice.

What I really need are some partners, now that courts are open again.
 

Flintstone65

Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
Modern racquets are cheating. In fact, 80s racquets were cheating. Heck, all those 70s metal racquets were cheating. (My keeper was just a Head Standard. I had two, and they were restrung a lot.)

Wood, kept in a press, endorsed by Stan Smith some other dinosaur - that's a tennis racquet.

So I don't have a regular partner, but I do have a cheap Wilson Hyper Hammer Hybrid 5. Yet to be restrung. My message is: get a racquet, hit some balls, you can always fine tune later. No racquet will improve your game as much as fitness, a little coaching, and practice.

What I really need are some partners, now that courts are open again.
Yeah, courts are really the issue for me. It’s quite a hike to the nearest one. And I’ll need to convince the lady of the house that hitting a ball outside (couldn’t find any inside courts) in the Louisiana heat will be tons of fun. We’ve been running, swimming and biking...and that stuff really needs to be done really early in the day, or you risk heat stroke (at least for running and biking).
 
Demo is good advice. My wife and I run 3 to 4 miles every other day. Today was not a great run....we have to get up before the sun and start running shortly after, otherwise the heat takes you down. By 10am, the humidity is in the high 90’s and so are the “feels like” temps. Got a late start and the run suffered for it.
Fantastic!
I’m now running about 2.25 miles as part of the Couch to 5K program. My first 5K will be in August and 10K in the spring.
(God willing and the creek don’t rise.) Today was 97 and my starter went kaput.
Todays run will be tomorrow morning.
 
Modern racquets are cheating. In fact, 80s racquets were cheating. Heck, all those 70s metal racquets were cheating. (My keeper was just a Head Standard. I had two, and they were restrung a lot.)

Wood, kept in a press, endorsed by Stan Smith some other dinosaur - that's a tennis racquet.

So I don't have a regular partner, but I do have a cheap Wilson Hyper Hammer Hybrid 5. Yet to be restrung. My message is: get a racquet, hit some balls, you can always fine tune later. No racquet will improve your game as much as fitness, a little coaching, and practice.

What I really need are some partners, now that courts are open again.
You are correct sir!
My all time favorite racquet was a Dunlop Maxply Fort Medium weight (12.75 oz) with Natural gut. And tennis whites, and either Jack Purcells, Robert Hallaitts, or Stan Smith shoes.
Head standard. Blue throat?
The red throat was the Head Pro. I’ve strung many of those.
And T2000s too.
Classic Tennis!
 
Part Two:
You are correct about racquets.
Tennis is very much like shaving as technique is more important than the technology.
The rest is a matter of preference. It is interesting that the wheel has come around to softer flexing racquets. Manufacturers are heralding flexibility as if it was a new thing. But you understand because you’ve been there.
Did you ski in Heads too?
 
You are correct sir!
My all time favorite racquet was a Dunlop Maxply Fort Medium weight (12.75 oz) with Natural gut. And tennis whites, and either Jack Purcells, Robert Hallaitts, or Stan Smith shoes.
Head standard. Blue throat?
The red throat was the Head Pro. I’ve strung many of those.
And T2000s too.
Classic Tennis!

Blue throat. Strung in gut, but I was never so pure as to have one restrung before I put plenty of sets on the factory nylon. I really did buy two, always ready to play, even when one was being restrung.

I had my whites, including a nice v-neck sweater, even if I was not a club type. I used to work for Jantzen. But public courts and parks department teams and tournaments. My observation - when my look was very conservative, the opponents were even more surprised and annoyed when I mixed in a little junkball. It is a head game too!

I got beaten by plenty of guys with T2000s. Those boys liked to unleash!

And I still play in actual tennis shoes, even if I outgrew my whites a while back:
4669987F-C0FB-4BFD-AEF1-813B89AFCDBA.jpeg
 
Hey, I ski more than I get to play tennis! More K2s and Rossignols than Heads, but some short (170s) narrow Head Icon 80 TTs are in my quiver right now as my 'ice skates'. I bought some spring sale priced Nordica Enforcers just in time to ski one day before the pandemic shut it all down.
 
Blue throat. Strung in gut, but I was never so pure as to have one restrung before I put plenty of sets on the factory nylon. I really did buy two, always ready to play, even when one was being restrung.

I had my whites, including a nice v-neck sweater, even if I was not a club type. I used to work for Jantzen. But public courts and parks department teams and tournaments. My observation - when my look was very conservative, the opponents were even more surprised and annoyed when I mixed in a little junkball. It is a head game too!

I got beaten by plenty of guys with T2000s. Those boys liked to unleash!

And I still play in actual tennis shoes, even if I outgrew my whites a while back:
View attachment 1123740
You worked for Jantzen. Too cool! I was on staff with Head.
I played with the XRC, Vilas, Graphite Edge and TXE before switching to the Wilson Ultra and Ultra 2 Mid.
I worked my way through college in a ski and tennis shop in Denver.
Not a junk baller!
I loved to serve and volley.
I learned on cement and fast asphalt courts.
 
Hey, I ski more than I get to play tennis! More K2s and Rossignols than Heads, but some short (170s) narrow Head Icon 80 TTs are in my quiver right now as my 'ice skates'. I bought some spring sale priced Nordica Enforcers just in time to ski one day before the pandemic shut it all down.
I skied on Fischer’s mostly with a few Head GS and powder ski is. I haven’t skied since I blew out my Achilles in 1990.
I miss it.
 
Serve and volley! I still love the rush, but I have to choose my moments. I also loved playing the net in doubles. Haven't played doubles in 30 years. :001_unsur

I'm not claiming to be a true junkballer, but crushing the opponent's hopes and dreams of tennis purity? That is "Inner Tennis", much more effective than throwing a McEnroe.
 
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