Yonex Racquet History Museum

Tucked away in one obscure corner on the ground floor of the Istora Senayan Stadium was a tiny museum of the Yonex Racquet History. As such I don't think many have visited it during the TC/UC 2008 competitions.

It was in 1947 that Mr Minoru Yoneyama started the Yoneyama Company Ltd. It took the company almost 15 years later to manufacture and distribute the first YY racket locally and introduced it internationally 2 years later. In 1974 the company's name was changed to Yonex and now its rackets are used by about 80% of competitive players worldwide.

This museum gave an account of the first heavy wooden frame racket and how it has evolved into today's light weight, yet sturdy and powerful tool for the players. It also showed pictures of famous players who were associated with certain Yonex brands over the years.
Some of the better known brands and players:

1962 - B-2000 King Dia (Wood frame, steel shaft)

1968 - B-6000 Five-Ace Deluxe (Wood frame, steel shaft, 140-150g, popular for more than 15 years - Svend Pri (Denmark) 1975 All England winner. It seems this racket is a favourite with Rudy Hartono (Indonesia), AE Champion 8 times.

1969 - B-8000 Alumina Power (Aluminum frame and shaft) Emiko Ueno (Japan) 1977 Doubles World Championship in Sweden.

1974 - B-8100 Blacky (Aluminum frame, steel shaft) Machiko Aizawa (Japan) 1972, 1973 and 1975 AE Doubles winner.

1978 - Carbonex 8 (CAB-8) (speciality aluminum alloy frame/full carbon long shaft) Fleming Delfs (Denmark) 1977 World Championship winner.

1982 - Carbonex 15 (CAB-15) (All carbon frame & shaft) Liem Swie King 's jumping smashes.

1984 - Carbonex 20 (CAB-20) (All carbon with a built-in T joint) suitable for both offensive and defensive plays.

1992 - Isometric 500 (Titanium Graphite frame, carbon shaft)

2000 - Muscle Power 100 (MP-100) (H.M. Graphite frame + Ti Mesh/H.M. Graphite shaft + Ultimum Ti/Built-in T-Joint.

2004 - Nanospeed 7000 (NS7000)

2006 - Nanospeed 9000 (NS9000)

2007 - Armortec 900 (AT 900)

2008 - ARCSABER 10 (ARC 10)

Posted by Lucas Liau on 9:31 AM. Filed under Racquet . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0