Lifespan of a graphite racquet

[JoshG]

I have two Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 Classic frames that I bought in 1994. I played a lot for 2-3 years then (decent club level), but rarely touched the racquets since. They mostly sat in a closet (room temperature) strung at around 62 lbs.

Now I'm starting to play more regularly. Despite restringing both racquets (synthetic gut, around 62 lbs), both racquets seem fairly dead to me. I have to hit the ball very hard to get any pace, and even then the ball doesn't have much zip on it, much of the time.

Question: What should I expect the useful life of these racquets to be? Is it likely that they are dead or severely diminished in power? Or is the cause most likely me? Thanks!

[Stefano]

Hi Josh. Welcome aboard :)

Look, racquets - even used every day, if treated well - last forever.

So I think there is nothing wrong with the frames. The problem could be the string tension.

You said you barely touched the racquets for 13-14 years, so most probably that's the problem. You are not used to such a frame anymore.

If I were you, I would try to go down a bit with the tension. I am pretty sure the situation would improve ;)

[JoshG]

Hi Stefano,

Thanks for your welcome, and your kind and useful response. I should have made my actual usage a bit clearer. I played a lot with those racquets for a couple years, then very little with ANY racquets at all for 13-14 years (to my eternal regret :o). So perhaps I'm simply not used to ANY frame anymore.

A couple of follow-ups, please; let's say I hit with medium strength now.
1. What tension might you recommend? Someone else recommended dropping it to 55. Note that this is the bottom of Wilson's recommended range for that racquet (55-65).
2. What type of string would you recommend?

Thanks,
Josh

[Stefano]

Josh, I know exactly what you are talking about, because it was the same for me.
I have been restringing racquets since 1987 and never stopped, but I haven't played AT ALL (funny, huh?) from 1993 until 2008...15 years!
As soon as I decided to go back to playing, I found out that the court was so short and the net so damn high! hahaha :D

It took a while to get back, but I will never play as I used to. Also because I'm 47 now, 20 or more cigarettes a day...nah! Too hard LOL But I still love it ;)

If you still have good control and what's missing is the power I would try a soft co-poly on the main at 55 with a multi or - even better - natural gut on the crosses at 59.

This kind of set up should give you much more power, but the poly on the mains would allow you to still keep good control.

I used to play with a Fischer Vacuum Pro 90 strung at 52 lbs, which was the highest tension allowed. Now I play 46 on the mains and 52 on the crosses with a Volkl C10 Pro 98 sq.in., same set up as I told you before, poly/gut.

Proportionally, I should string it at 60, but I wouldn't be able to put the ball on the other side of the court.

So don't be afraid to lower the tension. Still great control, great power and much much less tiring ;)

[JoshG]

Hi Stefano, thanks again. Can you recommend some soft co-polys that are easily found?

[MojoMan317717]

Here is a thread you should see: http://www.stringforum.net/board/showthread.php?t=3358

I love the soft feel of the Technifibre 17g in my current setup.

[KendraB]

Hi Josh. I think, like Stefano, that graphite frames last forever, if treated well.

When you get older, the game of tennis is different. The court gets larger, since you don't have your old movement. Your serve gets slower, since you don't have your old muscle. On the positive side, your mental game gets better.