My New Prince O3 Speedport Black Team Tennis Racquet
Saturday, September 13th, 2008I know, I know, you have been getting “Jay’s Blog withdrawal.” I haven’t written in a few days. It’s not because I don’t love all of you, it’s just because I have been a little tired.
Ever since we got this Bowflex and I started playing tennis again, it seems as though I am constantly sore. I mean, my muscles are always in recovery. My shoulder hurts, my back hurts and I think I pulled a butt muscle.
The muscle injury in my shoulder is from twelve years ago when I “over served” a few days in a row. I was so thrilled that I could actually serve, that I went to the club day after day to practice. Well, lets just say that I must have served about a thousand balls. I am not sure I even got any better. If today’s playing is any indication, I didn’t. Oh well, it’s working itself out, with the help of some Motrin and ice.
I remember when I could do a good workout and then go back and hit the gym the next day. I am trying that now, but unfortunately, it’s not the same. Apparently, it now takes two and a half weeks to recover. Maybe that is exaggerating a little bit, but for any of you over 30 years old, go out and get drunk. Then, come back here and tell me how long it took you to recover from that. My point is that we are falling apart. That is why I am trying to stay in shape as best I can.
I have now been to two tennis clinics and have had two private lessons. I learned a lot in yesterday’s lesson, only to apply none of it in today’s clinic. I don’t know what happened. I guess I am going to have these kinds of days. Tomorrow, I am going to hit with a youngster from the club. He is a really cool kid (17 years old) and is going to kick my butt. He has been playing since he was four years old. His father is the pro that gave me yesterday’s lesson. I think he is pretty lucky to get free lessons for life. I told him that today. Tomorrow, we are just going to hit back and forth, with no games. He is great at giving advice too, which I appreciate.
At least I am now learning the proper way to hit a tennis ball. After all these years of playing tennis, I never actually had a real lesson. I mean, I guess I had a few lessons over at the town beach when I was like five, but those don’t count. These are real, hour long tennis lessons. I walk away actually thinking I might get better.
Now to the point of this blog post. I have been using the same tennis racquet since I was 21. It’s one of those cheap ones from some store like Jamesway or Caldor. I am not even sure where I got it. I have been using it with some success, but thought that since I am going to need to get it restrung soon, I may as well get a high quality racquet to play with. I tried a few different racquets at the club and there is a huge difference in quality and playability.
A few days ago, I ordered a new Prince O3 Speedport Black Team tennis racquet and received it today. It’s the latest from Prince. I did a lot of research on different racquets and am hoping this is the one.
Here are the specs:
- Length: 27.0”
- Headsize: 100 sq in
- Cross Section: 23-24-22mm
- Weight: 9.9 oz/280g unstrung
- Balance: 13.6 in/34.5 cm, 1 pt. Head Heavy
- Grip: DuraPro+
- Rec. Strings: Syn Gut w/ Duraflex 16
- Power Level: 975
- Swing Weight: 295
- String Pattern: 16 x 19
If you notice in the photos above, the great feature of this racquet is the “Os” on the sides, where the strings go through. These “Os” are supposed to make the racquet more aerodynamic. When I read that, I said, “Yeah right.” Well, as is turns out, you can actually hear the wind whistle through the racquet when you swing. It cuts through the air much easier than my other one.
I had this racquet strung at 57lbs, which is too loose. The recommended stringing tension is 58lbs, plus or minus 5. 57lbs is too loose for me and I may play with it for a while and then cut the strings out to get it strung tighter. We’ll see. I can always wait for them to break too.
I am going to give this racquet a try tomorrow and let you know how it plays.
