The Sincerest Form
of Flattery: The
Wilson Pro Staff

Looking back at the racquets I chose to use as a kid, a pattern reveals itself: Whatever was good enough for the No. 1 player in the world was good enough for me.

First, when I was 11, came the black-and-orange Donnay Borg Pro. Never mind that this board-stiff frame could more accurately have been described as a club than a racquet. It was the most iconic piece of equipment of the early ’80s and, like the Swede’s signature skin-tight Fila shirts, a must-have status symbol for all junior players.

Next, when I was 15, came the black-and-green Dunlop Max 200g. That this early graphite midsize was a few ounces too hefty for my spindly teenage body mattered less than the fact that not one, but two No. 1 players—John McEnroe and Steffi Graf—used it.

I did my best to swing the 200g until I broke one of its strings and picked up a college teammate’s racquet. It happened to be another orange-and-black icon, the midsize Wilson Pro Staff, complete with a leather grip and an 85-inch head. I borrowed it for the day and ended up using it for a decade. After the first swing, all I could think was, “This is it.” (A future No. 1, Pete Sampras, announced his arrival in 1990 by winning the US Open with it.)

Like Sampras and many of his rivals, the Pro Staff was well-rounded. It was suitable for net-rushing and baseline bashing, gave you power without too much poundage and was maneuverable without feeling whippy. By today’s standards, the sweet spot was small, but trying to hit it made you a better player. Unlike so many modern frames, the Pro Staff never did too much of the work for you. But when you put a good swing on the ball, the ball responded.

The Pro Staff’s head soon went to 90 inches, and eventually I went with it—it may be hard to change your game, but it’s easy to change your frame. Like Sampras, though, I never left the original behind. He loved the racquet so much that, when production was discontinued at his factory of choice, he bought all of the remaining frames. I understood: For years, I kept one of my 85-inch Pro Staffs in the far reaches of my racquet bag, as a backup. It never stopped making me think: “Ahhhh, this is it.”