Tennis - Dunlop Maxply Fort / Dunlop A-Player - Tennis racket set

Iconic wood-era pair of racquets. The set includes: - Dunlop Maxply Fort - Dunlop A-Player + case Racquets in condition as shown in the photo for frame, grip, and strings. ••• DUNLOP MAXPLY FORT The Dunlop Maxply (in particular the famous Maxply Fort model) is considered the most iconic, best-selling, and winning wood racquet in tennis history. Introduced in 1931, it dominated courts for over half a century and was wielded by champions such as Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Ken Rosewall, and Virginia Wade. Here are the main features that made it a legend: 1. Multilayer Construction (Multi-ply) • Wood mix: The key to its toughness and flexibility lies in the shaft comprised of several layers of pressed and glued wood (including ash, beech, maple, and sycamore). • Torsion resistance: This laminated structure reduced the risk of the frame warping or deforming with humidity and string tension compared to one-piece wooden racquets. 2. Technical Specifications • String area (string pattern): About 65-68 square inches (~430 cm²). Extremely small by today’s standards (ranging from 98 to 100+ square inches). • Weight: Very high by modern standards. Strung, it generally weighs between 360 g and 390+ g. • Sweet Spot: Very small. Required millimetric precision at the center of the string bed. • Flexibility and Control: The flexible wood provided extraordinary ball control and impact feel, at the expense of the free power offered by modern graphite materials. This racquet presents an optimal frame and original grip and strings. ••• DUNLOP A-PLAYER Beautiful and rare model with elegant design. LM - 4 3/8 Frame, grip, and strings conditions as shown in the photo. Comes with the original Dunlop case dedicated to the model. The Dunlop A-Player (and its A-Player Plus variant) represents a fascinating chapter in tennis history: produced in the early 1980s, it sits squarely in the transitional era where manufacturers sought to blend the feel of wood with the stability of new composite materials. It is not a classic all-wood racquet, but a wood/graphite hybrid model (Wood/Graphite Composite). Main Technical Features • Construction and Materials: The frame is multilaminated (a mix of precious woods such as maple and ash) reinforced with graphite inserts (Grafil Injection or Graphite Composite). This combination was used to stiffen the structure compared to traditional all-wood frames, reducing torsion on impact. • String Bed Size: It is one of the few wood-based racquets with an enlarged string bed (midplus/oversize for the era), estimated around 95-97 square inches (very similar to the dimensions of a modern 98" head, but with the iconic slightly squared head shape). • Weight: Definitely high by modern standards. Strung, it sits around 365g - 368g. • Balance: Quite head-light, around 33 cm (strung) to maintain decent maneuverability despite the overall substantial weight. • String Pattern: A very open 16x19 pattern. This ensures great access to spin and generous string flex. • Flexibility: Extremely flexible. It offers excellent control and a very soft feel at impact, but requires a lot of physical strength to propel the ball. Curiosity about the name: In the American market, and particularly in the very large ALTA Atlanta amateur league, the highest levels of play were historically classified as "A-Player". Dunlop chose this name precisely to wink at club players seeking peak performance gear while not wanting to abandon the wooden feel yet.

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