Fox Bosworth Tournament

My all-time favourite stick, the Fox Bosworth Tournament: flexible frame, dense string pattern, tapered handle - just awesome!

This racquet is my match favourite and has been for a long time, even though I regularly test out other frames.  But this is the one I always come back to.

For those that don't know, Fox were an American racquet manufacturer who teamed up with Warren Bosworth, a professional racquet technician and innovator who worked with some of the sport's greats! He is possibly best known for being Ivan Lendl's personal racquet stringer in the 1980s.The story goes that Lendl needed rackets restrung and dispatched to him asap.He rang Bosworth up late one night but when asked for the stringing tension Lendl was not sure. So Bosworth set up a tape recorder and got Lendl to give the string tension tone of his existing match racket over the phone. Using this he was able to string up Lendl's new racquets to perfection. But Bosworth is also a master of experimentation with racquet materials and shapes and in this regard Fox signed him up to develop their Professional and Signature Series sticks.

the tapered handle that makes this racquet uniquely comfortable and spin friendly

The one here has a dense string pattern (18 x 20) that allows for a lot of control.It is also head light, which promotes good spin. But the standout feature of this model is the unique grip shape, which is tapered to fit easily and smoothly into the hand. It allows for extremely wristy shots and is paricularly helpful for imparting extra slice and spin because you can really snap your wrist sharply as you execute the shot. In my view, all racquet handles should be made like this but I imagine Bosworth owns the patent.It is the ONLY racquet I have ever seen with this feature and is why I love this stick so much. Added to which, this is a very flexible frame that holds the ball as you hit it for a milisecond and is arm friendly too. All in all, and pound for pound (well, gram for gram/ounce for ounce) this is my fave racquet of all time....and I have used quite a few!

Originally, I came across my beloved Fox Bosworth Tournament in a charity shop for around 3 GBP and this seemed a gamble as I had never heard of Fox or Warren Bosworth at this time. But I am SO glad I bought it.  I have used a lot of flexible frames, in particular Yonex frames (RD series, RQ, RDS) and also some other Fox Bosworth frames too - but none of these even come close to the flex and control I get with my Fox Bosworth Tournament.I especially enjoy using it to win against players using expensive modern frames, who often ask me what brand I am using. This really is an undiscovered classic in this reviewer's opinion! 
 
I have tried to find more examples of this stick on online auction sites but despite finding lots of Fox Bosworth sticks, never this one!  I would love to buy a spare frame, so if anyone has one to sell or will possibly swap with me for one of my other sticks, please get in touch!