Roger Federer has put his signature on a string of Wilson rackets. Now he’s even added his entire design ethos—from technical specs to aesthetics—to the Wilson RF line of frames, beginning with the Wilson RF 01 in three models. Federer is a student of the game—and that includes the racket game.
The Swiss legend dipped into the history books for his latest lesson, listing out some of the most iconic racket frames in tennis history. “You gotta go with a wooden racket,” Federer tells me when starting his list, “the Jack Kramer or the Dunlop with John McEnroe resonates with me.”
Kramer signed as Wilson’s first Advisory Staff member in 1947 and became the name most associated with one of the premier wooden rackets from 1949 until 1984. The Dunlop Maxply Fort has a longer history, born in 1931 and featuring nine types of wood throughout decades of production until 1983. Laver won both his calendar slams with the frame in the ‘60s, but Federer remembers it best for McEnroe still using the wooden racket right into the 1981 Wimbledon final where he defeated Bjorn Borg.
Next up, “you gotta go with the T2000 from Jimmy Connors,” Federer says. The Wilson frame, designed by Rene Lacoste and licensed to Wilson, was first introduced in 1967 and remained in production until 1984. Connors made it famous, winning eight majors during his career, although Billie Jean King was also a key figure playing with the steel frame.
As the evolution continues, the 1983-born Wilson Pro Staff enters the mix. “[Stefan] Edberg’s, the one with the red, yellow and black,” Federer recalls as the first of three Pro Staffs he puts on his list. “That was super iconic, actually, that Pro Staff.”
The Pete Sampras Wilson Pro Staff was one of the first rackets Federer mentions, simply calling it “Pete’s racket.” His 84-square-inch head size featured a frame that was a blend of graphite and Kevlar, a design that led him to 14 major singles titles
Then, of course, “you gotta put in mine somewhere, humbly,” he says about the Pro Staff models he played with during his career.
Federer has long played with Wilson—he even wore Wilson footwear early in his career—and has not been shy about mentioning Edberg and Sampras as early idols. It is no coincidence that the Pro Staff models they played with were iconic in his mind from a young age. Federer moved into the Pro Staff and the young player was using the 2002 Hyper Pro Staff 6.1 early in his career, well before he won any of his 20 major singles titles. He captured his first major title using the Pro Staff Tour 90 before later in his career switching to a 97-square-inch head, eventually releasing at retail as the Pro Staff RF97 Signature