Author Archives: RacquetQuest
Happy New Year!
2019 here we come! It is going to be hard to top 2018 but we will do it…together!
Together includes Racquet Quest, LLC, You, Racquet makers, string makers, and everyone interested in the growth of tennis.
The mission of Racquet Quest is to provide the best possible playing experience based on data. Data assures you are getting the proper combination of all equipment.
Tennis cannot grow if players can’t play due to injury or discomfort!
Most of our regular customers know this and take advantage of us…you can too!
Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year & All Other Happiness!
To all of our friends wherever you are and whatever you celebrate we send our wishes for all kinds of happiness for this season and the year to come!
2018 has been filled with great people and friends which add up to the best year ever!
Thank You!
John
Year End
As this day nears the end and the year sprints to it’s conclusion it is worth the time to reflect on 2018!
This year was the busiest in the history of Racquet Quest, LLC and one of the most rewarding in terms of helping players. Helping players is the “mission” of Racquet Quest so we appreciate the communication with clients that contribute to understanding the goal.
If you have been around Racquet Quest much you know the importance of discussions, some of which may be boring, redundant, or incredibly exciting. It is the boring ones we want to eliminate. We want every discussion to be exciting and helpful so beginning in 2019 we will be requesting comments, suggestions, and participation from you the readers of this and other posts. Be assured that every comment will be treated with “care” and responses will be as meaningful as we can make them.
All of our clients are special and we thank each of them for letting us help their game. Of course there are “Very Special” clients!
Brittany Tagliareni is one very special player. Brittany is Autistic and plays at a very high level in tournaments around the world. I know you have read about Brittany on this site so we will not go into detail except to say Brittany has been an inspiration for me to become better in what I do each day. Period!
We want everyone to be inspired and we hope it can lead to a healthier life and a better tennis game. Please contrbute your inspirational story to our readers. Here are just a few of the people that made 2018 so terrific…
Robert, Sophie, Aleks 
New Logo 
Ela 
Dr. Zarda and The ZSCS Prototype 
John 
The most famous Joe Falzone! 
“Champion” 
Jack Anthrop & Harrison Gold Junkanoo Bowl 
Samantha 
Madeline 
Omar…happy! 
String Stiffness 
Lachlan 
Eric & Carine 
Ready Racquets 
Jack after removing string from 40 racquets 
IT Support Team 
Our Package Designer 
Carine & Barbara in France…not 2018
Racquet Quest is looking forward to 2019 and we ask that you join us is making 2019 an incredible year for you and your tennis.
Thank you to everyone that made this year, 2018, a very special year! I can’t wait to see what we can do in 2019!
A Little Down Time!
To the thousands of you that tried to view the Racquet Quest site in the last 65 hours I apologize for the down time! To the 2 or 3 of you ( I know who you are) that did not try to view the site I also apologize!
The site is up and running normally so now is a good time to make a comment and suggestions for new content.
Thank you to all the new subscribers!
Anta Racquets?
A recent communication from Wilson Sports makes it official that Anta Sports is buying Amer Sports, the owner of Wilson Sports, for a tidy sum of $5.2 billion! This includes, I imagine, the entirety of Wilson Sports products including tennis racquets…which we care about!
Anta Sports is a Chinese company that is not new to the business, so I would expect that the great people at Wilson we deal with will not change. It is reported that Anta will operate Amer Sports independently from Anta with a separate board of directors.
You may be saying to yourself right now…”well here goes another US company to foreign ownership!” However, Wilson was acquired by Finn-Amer (a Finnish company) in 1989 I believe.
Wilson has produced some of the best selling tennis racquets of recent years so I would not expect Anta to change much, if anything!
Weight is Your Friend!
Is this instance we are talking about racquet weight. Not the few pounds we put on yesterday, Thanksgiving Day!
In the early 1990’s we made a tennis racquet which weighed slightly over 7 ounces. Awesome, some said! This racquet traveled along with the standard weight racquets in the line and was available for anyone to hit with.
“Hit” in this case is a misnomer because the mass of the racquet was not enough to get the ball over the net in most cases! Instead of a “hit” it was like a light “shove”!
With out a doubt the weight of a racquet must be “usable”. Take a look at these brief warm-up videos to see weight in action then we will find out how much these racquets weigh and the swing weight…
This is a Wilson Blade 98 18×20 pattern. Racquet weight is 329 grams (11.61 Oz.) with a swing weight of 332 kg/cm^2.
Next let’s take a look at a different player…
This is a Head Radical with the Pro Cap System creating a racquet that weighs 340 grams (11.99 ounces) with a swing weight of 349 kg/cm^2.
It is obvious that both payers are swinging the racquet with gusto and it should be obvious that the racquets are stable on impact and this stability is necessary for power and control.
So the next time your oppponent asks if you have “gained weight” it will because the ball is coming at them with more “heaviness”! And you can repsond “yes!” with a smile on your face! Just like Robert, Sophie, and Aleks!
How Lucky Can You Get!
Having one celebrity in the shop is quite rare but two…that is amazing!
The World Headquarters was visited by Bill and Aleks (aka GBS)! What is also amazing is that they came in separate cars so they did have a choice! If you are in the area stop by. You may see a celabrity! Probably not but you will see the latest racquets!
Visitors!
Brittany Tagliareni…a Winner!
In all the years I have been involved in tennis racquets I have worked with players of all levels, from top-ranked to no ranking at all! The one thing that remains constant is that every player received the same attention to a goal.
Typically that goal is to win!
As I reflect on the high points of this journey there are a few players that really stand out. One of those players is Brittany Tagliareni.
- Brittany is one of the best tennis players in the world.
- Brittany has won many awards and accolades from the tennis community and press.
- Brittany is Autistic.
Here is the deal. Every day I talk to players about the most minuscule of performance specifications…one (1) gram here, one gram there, one (1) pound here, and so on.
Brittany is different.
Brittany is very busy and wants to get to her next function whether it is taking care of dogs or tennis! She really doens’t want to talk to me about tennis racquets!
So, to really understand what needs to be done her mother, Catherine, communicates for Brittany.
Brittany plays with a Yonex SV100 racquet strung with Ashaway Monogut ZX at 46 pounds.
She travels with three (3) matched racquets. This is where it gets interesting and one of the reasons I wanted to write this post.
Brittany needed some extra encouragement to hold the racquet with the proper grip (she is left-handed) to generate the amount of spin her coach wanted her to have. Just telling Brittany how to hold the racquet was not consistently working so we re-shaped the grip to offer some tactile “encouragement”.
The grip has been changed to have different “feelings” for each bevel of the grip shape. So one side is exaggerated for a certain length on the grip and other sides were accentuated shape wise.
The grip re-shaping had to be done in a laminated way because it works, is expedient, and minimizes costs associated with major grip modifications.
Now when Brittany holds the racquet she can feel exactly where it needs to be.
Brittany goes to Washington, and beyond!
See what Brittany has accomplished.
Brittany is incredibly busy so it is difficult to keep up with all of her travels. Most recently she was in Dubai!
Yonex VCore Pro 100
Yonex has done a brilliant job of updating the performance series with the new VCore, however, there is a Yonex series that has been around for a while and needs to be considered when thinking about a performance racquet, and that is the VCore Pro 100!
Yonex V-Core Pro
The VCore Pro 100 is the Yonex “legacy” performance racquet, much like the Head Prestige is for Head. The VCore Pro 100 is slightly stiffer than the 97 version which may contribute to a little more power. The weight of 300 grams offers a more maneuverable racquet for all court players.
The thin beam and flex fits the bill for those looking for a traditional feeling racquet but with technical materials and components. As with all the Yonex performance raquets this one is made in Japan and the consistency is top notch! This is important when choosing a racquet.
If you are considering a performance racquet you need to demo this one!
Weight: 316 (strung)
Swing Weight: 312 (strung)
Head Size: 100 square inch
Flex: 63 (RDC) (strung)
Length: 27.0 Inches
Beam: 21mm
Pattern: 16 x 19
Racquet Quest, LLC
