Category Archives: Racquet – Old

Older racquet information

ZUS Tennis

Never heard of them?  I hadn’t either until yesterday!

ZUS is a Chicago-based company that offers several racquets with various specifications available.

A ZUS Custom Sven Goth Design came in for work, so we had a great opportunity to get all of the specifications and include them in a “racquet review”!

First, the racquet seems to be a well-made version of the Wilson Pro Staff RF, with an ever so slightly thinner modified box section beam.  the geometry is very much like the Wilson Pro Staff RF, as is the weight.

Who wouldn’t want to be modeled after the Pro Staff RF?

This racquet has a bunch of weight at the rear end, plus a shrink sleeve to increase the grip size, so it is loaded up with weight down there, which is OK!

Rear Weight

 

 

The racquet is foamed, probably the entire tube, which may contribute a more muted feel than a non-foamed racquet.  The Pro Staff RF is also foam filled.

The small oval piece is a lead or steel, weight sandwiched between the two halves of the shaft.  This construction makes it impossible to remove that weight if you want to, but it is good to have it there!

 

 

ManufacturerZUS
Racquet ModelZUS Custom Sven Goth Design
Reference Tension50
String
Prince Tour XR 16
Machine UsedTrue Tension Professional
Static
String Bed Stiffness - RDC53.0 Units
String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour59.1 pounds
String Bed Stiffness - SBS50.6 pounds
String Bed Stiffness - ERT35 Kg/Cm
Racquet Flex, RDC63 - After stringing
Racquet Flex, FlexFour41.0
Racquet - In Plane Stiffness438.0 lbs/Inch
Weight, Grams354
Weight, Ounces12.49
Balance, mm316
Balance, Inch12.44
Length, Cm68.57
Length, Inch27.00
Head Width9.41
Head Length12.80
Head Area, cm2610.1
Head Area, Sq. Inch94.6
Beam Height @ Grip, mm20.5
Beam Height @ Mid, mm20.2
Beam Height @ Tip20.6
Beam Width @ Grip, mm10.8
Beam Width @ Throat, mm10.8
Beam Width @ Mid, mm11.6
Beam Width @ Tip, mm12.4
Number of Main Strings16
Number of Cross Strings19
Ratio Cross/Mains.619
Main String Grid7.25
Cross String Grid9.68
Density (% of head filled with string).742
Average Cross String Space.509
Average Main String Space.453
Dynamic
Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT35
Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in195.76
First Moment, Nm.854
Polar Moment348
Torsional Stability18
Swing Weight, Kg/cm2330
Swing Weight, Ounces11.64
Swing Weight Calculated353.5
Power, RDC51
Control, RDC49
Manueverability, RDC67
Power, Calculated 1965.9
Head Points8.46
Head Weight, %46.1%
Center of Percussion20.9
Dwell Time, ms8.74
Efective Stiffness - lbs28.8
K, Lb/In169.87
Recoil Weight167.26
Twist Weight235.57
End Weight 151.7
Tip Weight 197.9
9 O'Clock105.5
3 O'Clock108.1
Butt Cap137.1
COF, Main.382
COF, Cross.306

 

And now for something completely different!

It is not often we get to do something completely different but this is that time!

Everyone loves to see what the very latest racquets are going to look like and how they will play but what about taking a look back, not forward!

This racquet review is going way back!  I am not sure when this racquet was made but suffice it to say it was a while ago.  I will guess that it is over sixty (60) years old.

Well, OK!  What is it?

It is a Wright & Ditson Olympic!

Wright & Ditson Olympic

This is a beautiful 68 square inch wooden racquet.  The wooden grip pallet is wrapped with a very wide piece of perforated leather, not the slender leather used today.

The racquet has no butt cap.  Or didn’t have a butt cap but now it does.

Pay particular attention to the weight of this racquet, and the stiffness!

Many of the current racquets will be in the 315-gram range with an RDC flex of 55+.

When we received it the condition was not great but it was straight and worth renovating.  We all know how beautiful some wooden racquets can be so let’s get to the specifications.

ManufacturerWright & Ditson
Racquet ModelWright & Ditson Olympic
Reference Tension45lbs/20.4kg
String
Head Synthethic 17
Machine UsedTrue Tension Professional
Static
ASPS, RDC36
ASPS, FlexFour50
Racquet Flex, RDC12 - After stringing
Racquet Flex, FlexFour27.0
Racquet - In Plane Stiffness500.0 lbs/Inch
Weight, Grams401.0
Weight, Ounces14.14
Balance, mm307
Balance, Inch12.09
Length, Cm68.6
Length, Inch27.008
Head Width8.13
Head Length10.8
Head Area, cm2444.6
Head Area, Sq. Inch68.9
Number of Main Strings18
Number of Cross Strings20
Ratio Cross/Mains.677
Main String Grid7.00
Cross String Grid8.30
Density (% of head filled with string).843
Average Cross String Space.415
Average Main String Space.389
Dynamic
Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT30
Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in167.8
First Moment, Nm.932
Polar Moment368
Torsional Stability9
Swing Weight, Kg/cm2359
Swing Weight, Ounces12.66
Swing Weight Calculated377.9
Power, RDC0
Control, RDC100
Manueverability, RDC47
Power, Calculated 296.9
Head Points11.02
Head Weight, %44.9%
Center of Percussion21.0
Dwell Time, ms10.6
Efective Stiffness - lbs9.0
K, Lb/In115.4
Recoil Weight189.8
Twist Weight203.8
End Weight 174.9
Tip Weight 225.0
9 O'Clock115.9
3 O'Clock115.0
Butt Cap168.9

 

A Rarity …Continued

It is fun to have these fairly rare racquets to work on and get back into playing condition!  We will report on each of them as we go through the setup procedure, and note any differences that we find.

We will try to compare some of the specifications to current or “recently current” racquets to see how far we have come…or not!

A few things stand out right away:

  • The racquet is nearly 28 inches long (71.1cm)
  • The racquet is very flexible in (RDC48) and out (285.7) of plane
  • The racquet has a straight thin (21mm) beam
  • The racquet is (was) made in Austria
Head Radical Tour OS - Austria
ManufacturerHead
Racquet ModelHead Radical Tour OS - Austria
Reference Tension58 lbs - 26.3 k
String: Main/Cross
Polyester
Machine UsedTT Professional
Static
ASPS, RDC64
ASPS, FlexFour63
Racquet Flex, RDC48 - After stringing
Racquet Flex, FlexFour44
Weight, Grams352
Weight, Ounces12.42
Balance, mm329
Balance, Inch12.95
Length, Cm71.1
Length, Inch27.992
Head Width10.23
Head Length13.43
Head Area, cm2695.9
Head Area, Sq. Inch107.9
Beam Width, mm, Shaft, Center, Tip21, 21, 21
In Plane Stiffness, Pounds/In285.7 Lbs/In.
In Plane Stiffness, Kg/cm51.1 Kg/cm
Number of Main Strings18
Number of Cross Strings19
Ratio Cross/Mains.721
Main String Grid7.81
Cross String Grid10.12
Density (% of head filled with string).733
Average Cross String Space.533
Average Main String Space.434
Dynamic
Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT37
Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in206.94
First Moment, Nm.894
Polar Moment389
Torsional Stability20
Swing Weight, Kg/cm2369
Swing Weight, Ounces13.03
Swing Weight Calculated381
Power, RDC36
Control, RDC66
Manueverability, RDC41
Power, Calculated 2063.3
Head Points8.35 (negative = head heavy)
Head Weight, %46.3%
Center of Percussion22.0
Dwell Time, ms, No Swing7.96
Effective Stiffness - lbs27.4
K, Lb/In (SBS) RDC205.13
Recoil Weight186.9
Twist Weight273.6
End Weight139.3
Tip Weight213.3
Total Weight352.6
9 O'Clock106.3
3 O'Clock106.0
Butt Cap140.7
Total Weight353

 

 

A Rarity!

Just like an animal that is near extinction you hardly ever see one, but three at the same time is unheard of!

Of course, we are not talking about animals here but the rarity still applies to these racquets!

Head Twin Tube Radical

Most players have heard of this racquet but many probably have never seen one!  

Three (3) of them came into the World Headquarters today for some TLC.  

The bottom one is brand new with the protective sleeve still intact!  So intact that it was nearly impossible to get it off, except in little tiny pieces.

However, the top one was well used, including the overgrip!

All of these racquets are getting new grip pallets so it is not an issue!

I will add more pictures as the work progresses on these rare racquets!

 

 

 

House Cleaning!

Every once in a while Racquet Quest decides to do a little house cleaning and that means opening boxes that have not been open for a long time!

And surprise!  We find a lot of really interesting and exciting tennis racquets!  Most of these have been on the Racquet Museum site but now it is time for them to find a new place to hang out!

Most of these racquets are new!  Many have been strung for evaluation purposes but have not been played with!  All of the racquets will be fitted with a new grip.  All the racquets will come with the string that is now in the racquet, unless new stringing is requested.  All racquets are sold “as is”.  Most of them are new, but the string may be several years old.  There will not be any “junk” offered, just good racquets!

Racquet BrandModelHead SizeGrip SizeStringConditionPrice
Wilson nCode n11155NXT16New200.00
Weed125 Tour EXT1253Weed Synthetic GutNew50.00
Weed135 Open Tour1353ALU Power RoughNew50.00
Weed125 X-One 251253Weed Synthetic GutNew50.00
PrinceTour 100 18x201003NoneNew150.00
PrinceEXO Warrior 1001002Prince Premier AttackNew
150.00
PrinceEXO Red 1051053Prince Premier LTNew125.00
Prince EXO Blue1103Prince Premier LTNew125.00
PrinceEXO Rebel Team 98983Prince Premier/Beast HybridNew150.00
PrinceEXO Rebel 98983Prince Premier/Beast HybridNew200.00
PrinceEXO Rebel 95953Prince BeastNew200.00
HeadSpeed LTD Edition XT1004NoneNew100.00
HeadInstinct MP XT1002NoneNew100.00
HeadGraphene Instinct PWR1153PPS 17New 150.00
HeadGraphene Touch Radical PWR1103FXP 16New 150.00
DunlopAeroGel Smoke1005Silk 17New 100.00
DunlopM-Fil 3 Hundred985NoneNew150.00