Dear Racquet Companies,
People involved in tennis know about paint jobs. We know that the models used by Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and many other pro players are not available to the public. I feel that it’s a bit unfair to the racquet purchasing population to keep hiding the fact that new models are released and portrayed as being used by the top players when they’re in fact not. My suggestion is therefore to do like Wilson did for Federer (and Dimitrov but not for all their pro’s) release a signature model that is difficult to handle for most amateurs (the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph) but also one or two lighter variations that are easier for the average tennis player to use.
Why can’t we buy an Andy Murray signature edition (a PT57A with 16×19 string pattern)? And why is Novak Djokovic’s racquet different from what you can buy in the store? Shouldn’t it be up to the consumer to figure out whether they can use the Djokovic’s actual specs or not? In most cases it might not be the best for their game, but let them make the decision. A lot of people playing tennis do not care so much about the results, but more about the beauty and enjoyment of the game and being able to mimic the style and gear of their favorite players.
Charge whatever you feel is necessary for a signature edition racquet and let the consumer decide. You can make cheaper/easier material versions of the same racquet as well, but don’t be shy to offer a 360 gram racquet to the masses as long as you offer a 315 gram version of the same model.
In short, stop twisting the truth about the racquets that pro players use and you won’t lose (much, if any) revenue and, more importantly, sleep about fooling people to buy something it’s not.
Regards,
Jonas