Category Archives: Players
Wilson H-22
We have a few Wilson H-22 at the World Headquarters!
These are custom racquets, so any resemblance to retail racquets is cosmetic! These racquets are cut to a length of 27 inches (68.6mm) and have no grip, and the butt cap is not stapled to the pallet! This means it is ready for a Wilson Leather grip (or standard synthetic) and some minor length adjustment if necessary.
Wilson H-22
There is a well-deserved mysticism around this iconic racquet model! This racquet has been in the hands of many top professionals over the years and probably many right now! The relatively thin beam and box cross-section create a predictable and consistent racquet.
These racquets are customizable to achieve the perfect hitting experience for the player seeking a “companion” not just a racquet!
Head Prestige Pro 18×20 2023 Retail
This Head Prestige Pro 18×23 Retail version offers a high performance racquet ready for serious play! However, we offer the custom version for players who prefer a slightly more open string pattern and some customization.
As you will see on the specifications, this racquet is serious, but most players can use this racquet if they get over the idea that these are stiff racquets!
| Manufacturer | Head |
|---|---|
| Racquet Model | Head Prestige Pro 2023 18x20 Retail |
| Reference Tension | 52 |
| String | MonoGut ZX Pro (PEEK) |
| Machine Used | True Tension Professional |
| String Bed Stiffness - RDC | 54 |
| String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour | 56.4 |
| String Bed Stiffness - SBS | 44 |
| String Bed Stiffness - ERT | 35 Kg/Cm |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 58 |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 44 |
| Racquet - In Plane Stiffness | 342.9 |
| Weight, Grams | 340 |
| Weight, Ounces | 11.99 |
| Balance, mm | 3234 |
| Balance, Inch | 12.72 |
| Length, Cm | 68.6 |
| Length, Inch | 27.03 |
| Head Width | 9.476 |
| Head Length | 13.052 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 626.7 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 97.1 |
| Beam Height @ Grip, mm | 20.8 |
| Beam Height @ Mid, mm | 20.0 |
| Beam Height @ Tip | 20.0 |
| Beam Width @ Grip, mm | 10.7 |
| Beam Width @ Throat, mm | 10.8 |
| Beam Width @ Mid, mm | 11.5 |
| Beam Width @ Tip, mm | 12.2 |
| Number of Main Strings | 18 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 20 |
| Ratio | .655 |
| Main String Grid | 7.56 |
| Cross String Grid | 10.25 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | 71.4% |
| Average Cross String Space | .513 |
| Average Main String Space | ,453 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 35 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 195.76 |
| First Moment, Nm | .844 |
| Polar Moment | 335 |
| Torsional Stability | 16 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 319 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 11.25 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 354.7 |
| Power, RDC | 44 |
| Control, RDC | 57 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 74 |
| Power, Calculated | 1811.3 |
| Head Points | 6.3 |
| Head Weight, % | 47.1% |
| Center of Percussion | 20.5 |
| Dwell Time, ms | 6.125 |
| Efective Stiffness - lbs | 28.0 |
| K, Lb/In | 173.08 |
| Recoil Weight | 152.3 |
| Twist Weight | 229.34 |
| End Weight | 139.8 |
| Tip Weight | 198.9 |
| 9 O'Clock | 100 |
| 3 O'Clock | 101.7 |
| Butt Cap | 137.4 |
| COF, Main | .383 |
| COF, Cross | .204 |
Head Prestige Pro 2023 16×19 SMU
I told you something special is coming soon! Soon is here now! And it is special!
Head Prestige Pro 16×19 2023 SMU
We have a limited number of Head Prestige Pro 2023 with a custom 16×19 string pattern instead of the standard 18×20 (we have those as well). These are full custom racquets, meaning they need some customization, and are usually referred to as “Pro Stock” racquets.
These racquets have a different finish than the retail version, primarily shiny instead of a matt finish anywhere.
We receive these in “raw” form, meaning they are not cut or have any post-manufacturing additives, i.e., swing weight and overall weight.
This means we can make a “full custom” version of the retail model up to 27.8 inches long (70.6 mm) except with a more open 16×19 string pattern!
However, to get things started, we will post the specifications of each racquet “as is.”
| Manufacturer | Head |
|---|---|
| Racquet Model | Head Prestige Pro 2023 16x20 SMU |
| Reference Tension | 52 |
| String | MonoGut ZX Pro (PEEK) |
| Machine Used | True Tension Professional |
| String Bed Stiffness - RDC | 49.0 Units |
| String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour | 59.5 pounds |
| String Bed Stiffness - SBS | 43.0 pounds |
| String Bed Stiffness - ERT | 35 Kg/Cm |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 57 - After stringing |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 43.0 |
| Racquet - In Plane Stiffness | 346.1 lbs/Inch |
| Weight, Grams | 296 |
| Weight, Ounces | 10.44 |
| Balance, mm | 331 |
| Balance, Inch | 13.03 |
| Length, Cm | 68.6 |
| Length, Inch | 27.03 |
| Head Width | 9.476 |
| Head Length | 13.052 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 626.7 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 97.1 |
| Beam Height @ Grip, mm | 20.0 |
| Beam Height @ Mid, mm | 20.0 |
| Beam Height @ Tip | 20.0 |
| Beam Width @ Grip, mm | 10.7 |
| Beam Width @ Throat, mm | 10.8 |
| Beam Width @ Mid, mm | 11.5 |
| Beam Width @ Tip, mm | 12.2 |
| Number of Main Strings | 16 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 19 |
| Ratio Cross/Mains | .611 |
| Main String Grid | 7.25 |
| Cross String Grid | 10.0 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | 74.6% |
| Average Cross String Space | .526 |
| Average Main String Space | ,453 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 35 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 195.76 |
| First Moment, Nm | .758 |
| Polar Moment | 299.0 |
| Torsional Stability | 14 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 285.0 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 10.05 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 324.3 |
| Power, RDC | 37 |
| Control, RDC | 64 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 97 |
| Power, Calculated | 1593.8 |
| Head Points | 3.78 |
| Head Weight, % | 48,3% |
| Center of Percussion | 20.3 |
| Dwell Time, ms | 6.048 |
| Efective Stiffness - lbs | 26.3 |
| K, Lb/In | 157.05 |
| Recoil Weight | 129.23 |
| Twist Weight | 199.70 |
| End Weight | 117.0 |
| Tip Weight | 179.2 |
| 9 O'Clock | 89.5 |
| 3 O'Clock | 90.0 |
| Butt Cap | 116.6 |
| COF, Main | .412 |
| COF, Cross | .331 |
Wrong Planet?
Yesterday a good friend was in the World Headquarters, and as usual, our discussion turned to player training, the necessity, and the over-training of players, mainly juniors!
This training may include the wrong equipment setup, unnecessarily stiff strings, and sometimes stiff, light racquets. This may cause injuries at every level of player from recreational to professional!
My friend, by the way, is a Collegiate All-American, a professional player, and a coach!
After we discussed how to change this behavior, she said something quite interesting;
“John, you are on a different planet!”
Yikes!
So two things can happen;
- Abandon my planet
- Invite you to join our planet!
We have chosen number 2!
- to invite you to our planet!
There will be no need for interplanetary travel right now, but we do need to pick a name for our planet, so, the person presenting the best name will be the Mayor of our planet (your name here)…for a while.
We hope you will join us and make our planet a place we can all go to discover, learn, share, and understand as much as we can about tennis equipment, customization, stringing, and “best practices”.
Please use the “Leave Comment” tab below to submit your name for our new planet!
Comparing Racquets (for real)
The Racquet Quest podcast recently aired a session on comparing racquets, so, to be fair I wanted to post that same data here. If you listened to the podcast this will sound familiar.
These racquets are not random. These racquets are owned by a client that is seeking an upgrade without going overboard!
Here is what Jess has to say:
“Hey, John –
Jess definitely likes the VS more than the Rafa. She said that she gets more easy power and stability with the Rafa but she’s able to accelerate faster on the forehand side with the VS.
She also felt like the VS was more maneuverable at the net. She said that if she’s in control of the point that she can really whip her forehand for a winner. She definitely noticed the lighter swing weight and liked that.
However, she also said that sometimes it feels a little unstable – like the VS is getting pushed around a bit. For example, she noticed that the head of the racquet can twist sometimes if her opponent nails a hard ball at her.
She has more control for sure with the VS – felt like she blasted more balls out with the Rafa. Overall, she likes the racquet- just would like a little more stability.”
By the way, Jess had not seen the racquet data prior to her hitting. So, there you have it. I believe you can see how much numbers help us find the right performance characteristics for a racquet.
Racquet Quest, LLC
