Everytime I hear about someone's self-rated ntrp rating, it was always inflated. So I took it with a pinch of salt.
We met for coffee.
He requested for anonymity so I cannot post too much details. I'll call him "RX".
In a nutshell, RX was a college player who dabbled in several futures tournaments. He trained and played through pain, and is now paying the price with recurring tennis elbow.
Surprisingly, he has never heard of ProKennex rackets. And the racket manufacturer's claim that it helps with tennis elbow!
If you missed the test report by the professor from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it was quite impressive! (link)
The question RX kept asking was whether this comfort-oriented racket could perform for a high level player. Other than Andreas Seppi, he could not google anyone else using a ProKennex on tour.
RX was not the first, nor the only high-level player asking me that question. So I had expected it.
Ultimately, there was only one way to find out. RX gave me his racket specs and asked if I would be willing to modify one of my ProKennex to his exact specs. Then let him test. He offered to bear all materials cost plus labour.
I accepted.
What intrigued me was that his specs was similar to a current ATP top ten male player. I have always wondered how would such a stick wield. How could I turn away this chance to kill two birds with one stone? And I still get to keep my racket after!!!
If you are a hardcore follower of tour pro's racket specs, you will know there are only three variables that determine every other aspect of the racket.
RX allowed me to share only one digit from each of the three variables. See if you can make any sense out of it:
x6x
x5x
x2x
Here's some pics of the process...
Added three layers of lead tape under the bumper in above pic.
Added three layers of lead tape inside throat grommets.
Can still see the thick layers of lead tape after replacing the throat grommet.
This was the peek inside the butt before some silicone and lead was inserted. If you are attempting this, please remove the rusty staples first.
These were just a part of the changes made. There were others that I agreed to keep confidential.
When all was completed, I went to RX's apartment for a playtest with his hitting partner. I observed.
As RX was here on holiday and recuperating from his tennis elbow, he was a little rusty. His timing was off for some difficult shots. But during co-operative hitting, I was amazed at his consistency, depth, direction and spin. It looked so effortless!
It rained last night so I could see the ball marks where his shots landed. For that co-operative hitting, I could fit 90% of his shots within a 4 ft by 4 ft square! And they were not pushing, blocking nor dinking the ball!
Search youtube for tour pro practice videos. That's how it looked like. Very humbling for a hacker like me. With their kind of pace and spin, I would not have lasted more than 3-4 shots in their usual 15-20 shots rallies.
And the sound of their ball impacts were loud and crisp. The ball crushing came with loud distinct pops.
Then they played a match while I sat miserably staring at my phone.
Almost two hours and very little pain or discomfort. I could see RX was back to swinging the racket freely. He was no longer held back by pain, nor fear of pain.
When I had my chance later, the racket was quite maneuverable. Heavy but not completely unwieldy. Not as difficult to use as I had imagined it to be. I liked the plowthrough and stability!
Thanks RX, I enjoyed working with you and have learnt much too!
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