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Discontinued Tennis Racquets

I was doing some research on trying to get a couple of classic Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 (95 sq inch frames) and found out that Wilson has discontinued manufacturing the Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 indefinitely! Until sometime last year we still could order them through Tennis Warehouse, but according to some posts on the Tennis Warehouse forum, Wilson has decided to totally stop production of this legendary tennis racquet.

The Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 came in two different frames sizes, the famed 85 sq inch version made popular by Pete Sampras and the more forgiving 95 sq inch model. Looks like the only frame classic old school tennis racquet which is still being sold and manufactured now was Michael Chang’s Prince Original Graphite.

The list goes on… For those who were playing in the late 80s to 90s era, who would forget such classic tennis racquets such as the Head Genesis racquets, Wilson’s Profile Hammer and Fan Shaped Sledge Hammer Series, Prince’s CTS Thunder Sticks and Lightning series? Of course there are many others like the fabled Yamaha Secret 04 (specs for the Yamaha Secret 04 racquet here) and EX Series which I used to play with and no longer in production as well as signature series racquet’s such as Ivan Lendl’s Adidas and Mizuno frames. Not forgetting Becker's Puma signature lines but these tennis racquet frames have been long discontinued.

I would rate these racquets below as one of the most classic tennis frames that has been ever produce to this date!

1. Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 (85 sq inch and 95 sq inch models) – (Out of Production)
2. Wilson Pro Staff Classic 6.1.

3. Prince Original Graphite OS (Still currently in production and on sale at Tennis Warehouse)

4. Donnay Pro One OS (No longer in production but Tennis Warehouse sells reissues of the Donnay Pro One original). More Information about the Donnay Pro One Reissues Here.
5. Dunlop Max 200 (Out of Production).
6. Head Prestige Classic (Out of Production).
There are however still a handful of old school tennis racquet players and collectors alike who swear by these old tennis frames. They either still are currently playing with these legendary tennis racquets or have them in their personal collection. Till today many players still prefer the classic weight and old school tennis feel that have been often found missing in today’s newer generation lighter frames. Unfortunately very little resource is available on the internet about old discontinued tennis racquets. There are also very few tennis racquet dealers and collectors who are selling and trading them in the market. In most cases, you can find them off online auction sites such as eBay. If you can find a classic tennis frame available, its either in a really beat up condition or if it’s still in good condition, would cost you exorbitant prices within the range of US$300 to US$500 and sometimes even more or a piece of history!

I have consolidated a list of websites that gives you more information about old discontinued tennis racquets that are no longer in production now. Some of these are really classic, vintage tennis racquets that come in different brands, shapes and sizes with different patented technologies or the era of old that have long been discontinued. I have also listed a couple of old classic racquet frame dealers as well as websites that sell rare tennis racquets and tennis frames. Some of them are either discontinued tennis racquets that are no longer in production or not available for sale in certain countries. These are very rare tennis racquets and frames that you might not have even thought existed and are the original production and not reproductions. When in doubt check with the dealer or get some references.

Rare Discontinued Tennis Racquets
Find and Buy Rare Discontinued Tennis Racquets (Japanese Site).

Another thing to note when purchasing older tennis racquets would be that the frame might have lost its strength especially if it has been used or strung before. The other thing you should worry about are the plastic bumper and grommets that could be brittle over years of use and might break and eat into the racquet frame when strung at a high tension. Its always good to ask if they have new or replacements grommets available. If it’s a really old and rare racquet however, the chances getting a replacement is extremely difficult or next to impossible. Should you still want to play with that frame, try to string it at lower tension and make sure that your stringer places additional plastic tubing into the grommets to reinforce them so that they won’t eat into the original grommets and into the frame of the tennis racquet which can often happen should the grommets give way.

Please, stop this hype about forgiving/unforgiving racquets. I recently bought Yonex RDS001 mid (90"; I know you played midplus 98") all scary if I could able to play such "small" racquet after "more forgiving" 97". After racquet arrived I couldn't tell the difference in size, they both looked the same for me.

Let's do a little math, for simplicity let's assume racquet head is a circle, so compare 85" and 95" head. The radius for the first one is 5.50 inch, for the second it is 5.20 ich. The difference is 0.30 inch (7.5 mm) -- this is the difference of hitting the ball with frame or totally missing it (in practice the difference is even smaller because racquet head is rather longer than wider, it is not circle).
And I don't see any benefit in hitting ball with frame (instead of missing it by 7mm), the good shot is placed at center and in both racquet the center is about the same size -- any off-center hit causes rotation no matter if it is OS or 80" (80" in this case is "forgiving", but not for your hitting, but for your elbow).

In short -- if beginner cannot even hit the ball, ok, 112" head maybe will do some good, but for the rest of us, 95" brings a little more power than 85", but not "forgiveness" -- that's all.

And for old racquet I would love to buy old Wilson ProStaff 85" (for my elbow) but since the production ended I can only hunt for ProKennex Heritage Type C Redondo (93") -- not available in Poland unfortunately.

Hi Macias,

Thanks for your feedback. If you compare a 100sq inch frame to a 90sq inch by placing them on top of each other, you will notice that there is only a very slight difference in size. Technically you have to try to hit to sweet spot all the time and not off center shots. So even with a larger string bed you will have to aim for the center of the racquet (sweet spot) to use the racquet to it's full potential. Some racquets with a larger headsize will have a slightly more forgiving feel and can still generate good pace even when hitting off center shots. This can however still put some strain on your elbow.

I am currently using the Wilson K Blade Tour 93 sq inch frame. I was previously using the Wilson K SIx One 95 Asia model. I found that I could easily transition and switch play to a smaller head sized frame. The only thing I found difficult was not having a larger sweet spot to hit with, as off center shots results in poor shots lacking pace and I will find myself in a defensive position after this.

A racquet being unforgiving or forgiving is very much dependent on your skill level. A good player may find an 85/90 sq frame forgiving enough, as he/she manages to hit the sweet spot almost 90% of the time. Personally, I prefer playing with a slightly smaller head size, but above 90 sq inch... I feel a 93 to 95 sq frame is just about right for me. A 85 sq or 90 sq frame might be too demanding for me as I will not be fast or quick enough to hit the sweet spot all the time, although we all aspire to that ;)

Thank you for the answer. Well, you wrote about sweetspot -- the truth is I don't believe what manufacturers tell about sweetspot, or even tennis players, but I do "believe" in physics -- any off-center (I mean off-center, not off-sweetspot) hit causes rotation. So no matter how manufacturer defines sweetspot, the more you hit off-axis you get rotation of your racquet.

If you go and watch some slow-mo excerpts from tennis matches you will see that even Federer hitting off-center cannot handle the racquet and it rotates during hit.

And I prefer to mishit the ball rather than hit if with frame (the bigger the head the bigger the force of rotation) so that is why I bought 90" version. If something smaller was available I would buy it :-)

> A 85 sq or 90 sq frame might be
> too demanding for me as I will
> not be fast or quick enough to
> hit the sweet spot all the time,
> although we all aspire to
> that ;)

I am just starting to play tennis and 90" is not demanding for me (comparing to 97", 98" and 105" before). But I bought it on another purpose -- to have really tough lesson, so I hope this racquet will force me to make more clear shots (my nemesis is hitting the ball a bit too high, which causes rotation down, which leads to ball hitting the net :-) ) -- and I enjoy playing 90".

i bumped into your blog, while looking for tennis related website.. i can still remember those old sticks in the old days... we still keep our old ones (from my father's) and still use them...

i still use the old Wilson Pro Staff 7.0 Lite (Steffi Graf's, the white rackets she used in the mid 90's)... coz i still can't afford the newer ones, but all in all, i still prefer to use my old stick...

Cool Blog; I just discovered it. I'm not sure that those old racquets have any use anymore - the technology has advanced so much...



Mark
http://tennisopolis.com
The Tennis Social Network

I believe different people have different ideas about "forgiveness". Reviews in tennis warehouse would sometimes use this word; I think they probably know what they're talking about.

And perhaps even racquets with the same headsize have different "demands".

I, too, have only begun playing tennis (probably less than a month combined), and use a Wilson KFactor Six-One Tour 90, which is a 90" frame, too. Yes, that's probably considered quite a daring (and perhaps stupid, to some people) choice of racquet, but I haven't had problems with it. I'm thinking of adding more weight to bring it to (almost) on par with the US Edition's weight.

I didn't have much problems with it (the ball-stringbed impact sound is lovely), except I do hit the frame when I have less than two hours of sleep... :)

It's all in the mind, I guess.

But then, for us beginners, "demanding" is probably not the same as "demanding" for Nawin and other more seasoned players. Wait till we need to do pinpoint placement and rapid shot making. Ah, that's when we'd probably know what "demanding" is. Hehehe...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Oh yah, forgot to add: I'm also interested in getting a ProStaff 6.0 85" (perhaps even the original Saint Vincent ones).

Personally, I have a predilection for smaller head sizes; not just for the control they offer, but for the overall aesthetics: Over-sized racquets (even the midsize 95" ones, and the midsize-plus) somehow look ridiculous to me.

I have this Head aluminium racquet (I think it's a Head Master; not too sure) that's probably only 60-70" at most; not much problems wielding it, too, although it's a little heavier than I'm used to at first; still, didn't take really long. (But again, that's for a beginner-level game).

Oops. I think the Head Master's a steel racquet, not an aluminium one.

I'm not sure of the difference, although I think aluminium's lighter, and the Head Master I have is noticeably heavier than the KFactor SixOne Tour 90, so it would be steel, then. Or is it?

Do you know which it is?

Hi there. Just discover your blog. Well, I don't play tennis on a regular basis. So I find some of your posts here quite helpful.

How come didn't update for quite a while?

Wow! What a great article !! ;-) I always wanted to write a short little article just like yours... now all I have to do is link to it :-)

Reading it, made me think I'm a truly "classic" kinda guy...

My last rackets are all in your list :-) Went from the 200G to the Prince Graphite Classic, to the Wilson Prostaff Classic 6.1, and just in the last two weeks I went back in time (ahead?) for the the Six.One Tour 90 (family closeness to the 6.0 Prostaff).

Searching for the true classic feel.

Great stuff ! Good to know Im not alone

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About me

  • I'm Nawin from regentville
  • Residing in Hougang Singapore
  • Racquets: X2 Prince EXO3 Graphite 100 (Main) X3 Wilson K Blade Tour 93 (Backup) Strings: Toalson Ultimate 115 Strung @ 48-50 pounds. Plays: Right Handed (Single Backhand). Shoes: mi Adidas Barricade V Apparel: Lacoste & Adidas Favourite Players: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic

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