Yonex R-1

 
My first tennis racquets were Yonex, which were very popular with club players in the late seventies and early eighties. My first was the Carbonex 8, which in the Seventies must have been one of the very early graphite racquets, followed by the R-3, an aluminium racquet which was the successor to the very popular  OPS series of alloy racquets, the R3 differing from the OPS series by its rectangular shape which became a Yonex signature theme.

Now this is where it got confusing, because the R-1, R-2 and R-3 model names existed as both an aluminium series and a graphite series, with only the rectangular shape in common.

The R-1 is a solid even-balanced racquet that plays very nicely, being stiffer and therefore a bit more powerful than similar racquets of the era like the PK Silver Ace. Id' consider it to be the forerunner of my RDX500, with a similar boxy frame that usually carries a nice blend of power and control. 

OK, I've got number 1;  now for the other twenty-odd R-series Yonex graphites!

Pro Kennex Composite Destiny

 This is the first of the three versions of the original Destiny model, all of which have different compositions and flexibility.  The Composite Destiny reportedly has a 60/40 Graphite/Fibreglass mix, and is the slightly heaviest of the three, coming in a shade under 13oz strung.

It's even balanced, which means it swings quiet a bit heavier than its bigger brother , the head-light Graphite Destiny, and has noticeably less power;  but since the Graphite is far from underpowered, that's not necessarily bad.

It's a lovely looking racquet, but I suspect it won't be replacing the Graphite Destiny  in my affections just yet. Now I just need the middle of the series, the gorgeous cherry-red Ceramic Destiny, to complete the trio of possibly the best looking racquets ever made.