Price: $200
Hitting area: 98 sq. in.
Length: 27 in.
Weight: 11.9 oz.
Swingweight: 320 (medium range)
Balance: 1 in. head light
Beam width: 25mm/23mm/20mm
Stiffness: Flexible (64)
String pattern: 16x20
Swing: Long and fast
NTRP: 5.0 and above
Searching for Fischer in the tennis world has been almost as difficult as searching for Bobby Fischer, the chess master who mysteriously vanished at the top of his game. The Austrian ski and racquet manufacturer, never a mainstream player in court sports but always a niche favorite among tournament-level players, was on the endangered list in the American marketplace for the past 15 years before it got out of tennis for good late last year.
But we still get a query or two each week in the Friday Mailbag from staunch Fischer devotees about where they can find replacements for their Fischer Vacuum Pro Classic 98s or their M Pros. Most say they’ve never had a frame that could carve up a backspin drop shot or create an unreturnable angle at net like their old Fischers. Those shots were vital before powerful racquets and polyester strings turned much of the 5.0-and-up game into one continuous baseline bash fest.
The good news for Fischer fanatics: Your racquets are back, this time under the name Pacific Sports, which is primarily a string and grip manufacturer that bought Fischer’s molds. This time the line’s slice master is the Pacific X Force Pro. It’s a slightly stiffer version of the Fischer M Pro, tweaked in deference to the modern power baseline game with rigid basalt carbon fibers near the throat.
The X Force Pro (as well as its lighter sibling the X Force) isn’t as pliable at contact as its advanced-player predecessors. But it has retained Fischer’s flex point positioned in the lower region of the face, where a subtle flick of the well-trained wrist on volleys will catapult the ball out of your opponent’s reach. Still, the user must be able to hit the small sweet spot to enjoy the full result.
Overall, it’s a dependable and exciting performer for players who serve and volley and chip and charge on the return, especially those who have patterned their games after Fischer users and former Grand Slam champions Stan Smith or Michael Stich. But baseliners and mid-level players should look elsewhere. The X Force Pro could be as challenging for them to tame as it may be to find a demo version in a tennis shop. For now, Pacific’s home site doesn’t have a dealer locator, so it may be tough to find one of the 400 shops that stock Pacific frames, according to brand representatives. Your best bet might be to go to one of the major online retailers that carry Pacific racquets.