Later, I got myself a Dunlop Max 200g in the vein of Johnny Mac and Steffi Graf. It was was a beautiful racket, full of touch and verve.. however, the head always felt too small, the frame was boxy and boy was it a heavy racket at 13oz or more. I used the 200g throughout my college days and midway (I cant remember exactly when though), I bought a Pro Staff 6.0 to replace it.My introduction to the Pro Staff 6.0, or PS 6.0 was during my army days while on the tennis team. I remember we were at NUS courts one day and some guy had a PS 6.0 and I tried it out knowing that great players like Edberg, Evert and Courier had used it. A guy called Sampras had not quite broken through yet. Well, my first impression of the racket wasnt good. It felt like a board and my arm hurt afterwards.
No idea why I bought the Pro Staff then a few years later. I bought a pair of PS 6.1s with a 95 sq inch head b4 that and good as those rackets were, I never felt comfortable with them. I sold them on Auction and bought a single PS 6.0 to try out. What a revelation. I must have been too used to the 200g's flex beforehand but the PS 6.0 felt perfect after the 6.1s.
The headsize of the PS 6.0 is really small at 85sq inches. Also, the frame is really thin and manoeuvrable. You cant find a racket like this anymore. I added some lead tape at 9 and 3 oclock and it felt even better on groundstrokes. There was a definite lack of power before I did that. Of course, the weight of the racket did go up to nearly 13 oz again.... but I hardly feel it. I am so used to heavy rackets, whenever I am tempted to get a new racket to replace the PS 6.0 e.g. like the Babolat Aeros or a Wilson K-factor, I give up the idea bcos these rackets feel like plastic toy rackets. I refuse to use the K-factor 90sq incher bcos that is the "Federer" racket and I just dont feel gay enough to use it. :p
Update in Sep 2012 -
I am not sure whether you guys know this but Tennis Warehouse has reissued the PS85 for a while at http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wilson_Pro_Staff_60_85/descpageRCWILSON-W6085.html. I grabbed two so my personal PS85 stash is at 6 now.
7 comments:
hi drew,nice to meet you. I am using the Prostaff 6.0s. Just loved using them after I tried my friends'. As a result, hunted all over and managed to get two without grips. Restored them, and now they are good as they can be. I know that given PSs are now no longer in production, it is very hard for owners to sell them so if possible, I rather get a chance to see them in action. Are you still playing tennis? Perhaps we can spar/rally? Lot
Hi. I know it's probably a little late now, but do you know if there're still places selling the ProStaff? I doubt the mainstream stores would have them on sale, since it isn't exactly the latest model, is it? Haha...
OOps I havent been logging in to the blog recently. As Lot said, the PS 6.0 is no longer is no longer in production. I used to see some used rackets popping up at Tennis Warehouse forum (http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19) so you can give it a try.
I started with a Adidas GTX Pro (a repainted Kneissl actually), flirted with a Max 200G, muddled through the early 1990's with all manner of wide bodies and finally settled into a Pro Staff Original. I have 4 Taiwan made ones and 2 St Vincents. In my opinion, it is a mistake to think of them as 'advanced' racquets. I think that it is simply a better balanced racquet in terms of weight balance, flexibility, heft and sweet spot. I think that a beginner would profit from using this racquet. Anyway, I'm a fan.
Hi Bryan, thanks for your post and glad to meet another 6.0 fan. I currently have 4 Taiwan-made 6.0s as well.. St Vincents rock.. Good hitting!
Hi. Might be pushing it a little to ask, but I'm wondering if you would be willing to sell one of the four you have?
I'm keen on getting a ProStaff 6.0 85 racket (be it the Taiwan or St Vincent models), but as both you and Lot Tan mentioned, they're no longer in production.
The closest now in terms of weight and headsize would probably be the KPS88, but nothing beats using one of the PS6.0 85s, no? :)
Not selling at the moment sorry.. Actually I think the newer Federer range of rackets i.e. Ncode Tour, Kfactor Tour etc are more forgiving and hit with a lot more power than the 6.0.
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