DONNAY PRO CYNETIC WITH KEVLAR AND BRAIDED GRAPHITE TENNIS RACKET - STIFFER THAN PRO STAFF 85?

[@jaymacdonnell4730]

Great channel!

[@Doty6String]

Love the old frames

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

I have this racket. Jimmy Arias (and maybe Kriek) played it BTW.

[@enematwatson1357]

Yes. Johan Kriek was playing the Pro Cynetic at Roland Garros in 86. Guy Forget played it as well before he got a better offer from Lacoste.

[@pistolpete023]

Cool story - before Pete Sampras started using the PS 85, he actually used a Donnay Pro Cynetic when he was a junior, which he said was essentially the same thing.

[@enematwatson1357]

I think the Donnay was heavier or at least head heavier than the Pro Staff 85 in stock form but Sampras would not have been affected since he had a humongous amount of lead around the hoop anyway. I switched from that Donnay to a Pro Staff Classic back in the day and the Wilson felt shockingly (head) light to me.😅

[@jergans]

That was an amazing racquet. For about 12-24 months in the mid/late 1980s there were huge numbers of junior, college and pro (ranked between about 20 and lower) using that stick.

[@ronlaviolette360]

I had it but unfortunately destroyed it... It was heavy and I had to be dialed in.

[@roachford55]

I had that racquet in my 20's ! I wish I still had it ! Sometimes when I hit it well , it was a winner ! ❤

[@ronlaviolette360]

I also had it and loved until I hated it... Sadly destroyed it... That was the last racket I ever destroyed. 😢

[@enematwatson1357]

I'm not sure what "play stiff" means but I'd say it played solid. Rock solid. Courtesy of the weight and the Kevlar probably. BTW, a "Medium" weight back in the day would have been 13.5-14 oz.

[@squib311]

This is made for old school flatballers like me. I used the Prostaff 85 instead which is basically the same racket. I love watching modern topspinners struggle with such rackets. Very entertaining.

[@Vin-Cen-T]

I played with that Pro Cynetic 1 in the 80s and still have 2 of them. There also was a Cynetic 12 that had a weight kit to put weights at 3 and 9 o’clock (like pws) and a D shaped screw in the buttcap. The inside slots in the case were there to hold the different weights. There was also a Pro Ceramic 1 and 4. I had the Ceramic 1 as well and it was a also great stick.

[@returntotennis706]

I love old Donnay racquets. The new models also play really nicely.

[@grantboucher3230]

Didn’t Donnay make pro staffs for Wilson in Europe at some stage?

[@i.m.weasel3681]

Yes

[@veedoofthedum]

I think it was the first year of production?

[@i.m.weasel3681]

@@veedoofthedum At first Pro Staff was made in Chicago then St. Vincent and for a short while in Belgium. After that in Taiwan and then China.

[@ronlaviolette360]

?

[@i.m.weasel3681]

There should be no shared holes! Actual sting pattern is 16x19. There are eight strings going trough the hoop as opposed to six in Pro Staff. Grommets also tend to break with age... Pockets in the cover are meant for storing thee different colour weights that can be screwed at the butt-cap and glided at 3 and 9 o'clock positions.

[@ronlaviolette360]

I can't remember the pattern but it played like an 18x20

[@randrothify]

I remember these. It’s almost a one-for-one dead on ringer for the Pro Staff. If I remember correctly, Donnay may have even actually come out with this design before Wilson.

[@enematwatson1357]

Although very similar, the mould was not a straight copy of the Wilson minus PWS. Several other earlier Donnay models were the exact same shape but not the same double braid 80/20 Graphite/Kevlar construction as the Pro Staff. The Pro Cynetic came out later than the Pro Staff and also later than the batch of Pro Staffs that Donnay allegedly made for Wilson. I'd say 1986 or late 1985.

[@randrothify]

@ Very interesting! Thanks for the insight.

[@ontheside5942]

Reminds me of my Dunlop Black Max II made in West Germany.

[@kevinkchew]

18x19!!! 💓

[@bradleybrazington385]

Never seen this before

[@enematwatson1357]

Close to 40 years old by now. 😏