Condition
9
10: New
9: Mint
8: Excellent
7: Good
6: Fair
5: Average
4: Below Average
3: Poor
|
Rarity
9
10: Impossibly rare
9: Extremely rare
8: Hard to find
7: Fairly rare
6: Uncommon
5: Common
<4: Big Seller
9: Mint
8: Excellent
7: Good
6: Fair
5: Average
4: Below Average
3: Poor
9: Extremely rare
8: Hard to find
7: Fairly rare
6: Uncommon
5: Common
<4: Big Seller
– – – – – – – – – – –
As used by Martina Navratilova
About This Racket
Yonex was originally a badminton manufacturer with its first racket coming in 1957, but in 1974 they started experimenting with wooden tennis rackets. Their first success came with Tony Roche who was with us company Chemold (1971-74)……….but in 1975 he switched to Yonex OPS. He used Yonex at Wimbledon and New York. Also in 1975 Wimbledon doubles winner Ann Kiyomura used a Yonex and finally some big name in 1979/1980 Billie Jean King (USA), Martina Navratilova (USA) and Dianne Fromholtz (Australia) all signed on with yonex. Yonex did not make many wooden rackets but when they did , they did it extremely well! Martina used the Carbonex then the R-7 then the R22 composite to secure multiple Wimbledon singles wins. However this is the even less common Couguss 7200 released around 1980 and you no doubt noticed the crazy fuzzy towelling grip which was fashionable in the early 80s but looks insane today!
The full Yonex wooden range is very collectible and hard to find:
7300 Minhow
7200 Couguss
7000 Ladyflex
2500 Grain Top
1500 Young Arbor
CAB2-Carbonex
Historic Gallery
Specifications (👋 not yet accurate….check back soon)
| Measurements | Value | Performance | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 338g | Power | 19/100 |
| Head Size & Length | 64.9sq in | 26inch | Control | 28/100 |
| Balance | 6pt head light (35.3cm | 186) | Spin | 25/100 |
| Grip | Perforated leather | Handling | 70/100 |
| Strings | 18 x 20 | gut | Comfort | 66/100 |
| Flexibility | RA 36 | Consistency | 33/100 |
Gallery
Yonex by Time
| YEAR | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 1946 | YONEX Founder Minoru Yoneyama starts manufacturing wooden products in Niigata. |
| 1957 | Badminton racquets start to be made. |
| 1971 | Aluminium racquet introduced to the USA market. |
| 1973 | Logo changes to YY Yoneyama blue and green. |
| 1974 | Production of wooden tennis racquets starts. Tony Roche signs with YONEX. |
| 1975 | YONEX GRAFLEX tennis racquet T-9000 goes on sale. |
| 1976 | Wimbledon doubles winner Ann Kiyomura signs with YONEX. |
| 1977 | CARBONEX 7 and CARBONEX 8 racquets go on sale. |
| 1980 | ISOMETRIC frame racquet goes on sale. Top players sign with YONEX. |
| 1981 | Martina Navratilova wins Roland Garros with R-7 racquet. |
| 1983 | Navratilova wins singles and doubles titles in every Grand Slam. |
| 1990 | Navratilova achieves nine Wimbledon victories. Monica Seles signs with YONEX. |
