Another 30+ Years Old Racket by Head

I think I'm feeling nostalgic. I grew up watching Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander and Jimmy Conner play tennis and I've always wondered how their sticks would feel and perform.

Instead of merely reminiscing, why not just string up the oldies and play with them!

So here's another old racket I believe was introduced in the 1970's or maybe 1980's. It is the Head Arthur Ashe Competition 3. It's a composite racket made of aluminium and boron graphite. It feels exactly like a wood racket. Whichever year it was introduced, the racket should be at least 30+ years old by now.

If you look carefully at the strings, you can see the brand "Gutex". From what I've read online, it is a multifilament nylon string introduced in the 70s or 80s. So the strings should be the same age as the racket!

Power pads, or small pieces of leather are usually placed near the holes in the throat area to protect the strings and the holes. Seems like the original ones are still firmly in place.

Some last measurements and inspections before stringing it up with new synthetic gut...

Some of the holes have been cut by the previous stringjob. Teflon tubes would not fit well to protect the holes since this racket have 4 shared holes (7 & 9 Top & Bottom, Skip 8). I think I'll just use some synthetic leather pieces over the holes that I can.

With such a tight 16 by 20 pattern in such a small 70 square inch frame, the string pattern is really dense. It is very difficult to weave the last few crosses. The picture above shows how much space I have to weave the last bottom cross and it is through a shared hole!

But the hard work is all worth it! Take a look at Woody (无敌) and the Head Arthur Ashe below! Together they have become 无敌-铁金钢!

How about a "Back to the 80s" tournament using these rackets?

Strings:

Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Spiral Flex 16g 1.30mm @ 45 lbs strung 2 piece