Donnay introduces the first mass-customized racquets.
If we can choose our tennis shoes’ colors, cushioning and fit—all of which can be done to the Barricade V sneaker at miAdidas.com—shouldn’t we also be able to tweak our racquets, without having to resort to the messy guesswork of applying lead tape or paying big bucks to a professional customizer?
That’s the idea behind Donnay’s innovative and pricey ($250–$300) X-Series, which are built on an ultra-thin 15-millimeter frame, with 10 color-coded variations that offer different weights, string patterns, stiffness levels, grips and degrees of balance. [For the complete, detailed list, click here.] If you get confused, which you might, there’s an interactive racquet selector at donnay.com to help you cut through the clutter and a find a model or two to playtest.
Each racquet also comes with three differently weighted buttcaps and a set of plastic slides that can be attached to the tip and sides of the head. The butt caps snap in and out with a small key-shaped tool. The heaviest cap distributes a little more weight toward the handle for better maneuverability, while the lightest version tips the balance toward the top of the frame for more power.
You can find the combination that best suits your game, or alter your racquet’s weight-and-balance properties in the middle of a match. Feeling sluggish? Lower the racquet’s swingweight by inserting the heaviest butt cap and removing the slides. Got your second wind? Power the frame up with the lightest butt cap and all of the slides.
Donnay’s approach takes its cue from the current trend of “mass customized” products and services, which invite consumers to add their personalized touches to mass-produced goods for an additional cost. The Adidas shoe is one example; made-to-measure Levi’s and personalized BMWs are others.
So how does the new Donnay play?
We found the interchangeable butt caps and weighted slides to be good added values, but the beauty is in the beam. At a fat-free 15 millimeters, it’s 40 percent thinner than the average tennis racquet today. No matter which Donnay model you choose or how it’s locked and loaded, it will be fast in your hand and help you produce plenty of racquet-head speed, give you mobility for quick exchanges at net, and allow you to hit well from the baseline even when you’re slightly off-balance. And with less beam width, there are fewer chances of hitting frame shots.
But is the Donnay strong enough for today’s game? We found that, unlike past attempts at making 15-millimeter frames, the thin beam stood up well to the force of hard-hit incoming balls. The difference may be Donnay’s XeneCore technology, a high-tensile but light carbon material that fills the frame.
Still, you’re going to need a full and fast stroke, because these racquets have little power from the ground with which to turn around your opponent’s sizzling shots. Merely blocking the ball isn’t going to work here. For that reason, we prefer the heavier Donnays—the X-Black 99 and 94, the X-Blue 99 and 94 and the X-Dark Red 94—which will give you a little more heft behind your shots.
Originally published in the November/December 2010 issue of TENNIS.