Interesting question.
A racquet is very personal. What suits one player can be alien to another.
Yonex has been a driving force in the development of racquets over the last 30 years or so. Since I began playing... erm way back in 1970's (yes I'm that mature - but not old) we had the steel framed, heavy Carlton 3.7 or 3.7X.
Along came a carbon frame, WOW! Since around 1984 when we first saw all carbon one-piece racquets, there has been massive development in racquet technology.
Whatever your favourite brand, you cannot deny Yonex as a world leader. Remember, it was Yonex who pioneered carbon frames and then made them stronger. Early models were susceptible to breakage from the slighest clash and could not be strung at high tension.
Not only has Yonex continued to push the boundaries of science in terms of frame material, they've probably been the only supplier to extensively test frame shape, hence virtually every manufacturer is now using the ISO head shape.
History has shown that Yonex is the main supplier of "firsts" in the market place, usually swiftly followed by the other manufacturers. It's the most copied brand too in terms of fakes entering the market. You only have to look at ebay to see the number of "clone" racquets. For the record, whilst these racquets look like the top Yonex racquets, they play nothing like (I've got many friends who can testify to that and regret having bought them).
If you look at current catalogues, I'll be surprised if there's a manufacturer with as many models available for a player. In other words, there should be something to suit any type of player. From what i know, consistency in quality is also at the forefront of this brand too which cannot be said for other manufacturers. Just recently, Central Sports have dropped a major name brand from their list of racquets because of the fall in quality and onerous changes to distribution/availability. The owner of this brand also owns Newcastle United FC and we all know how much unrest there has been at that club.
In summary, I believe the badminton market owes a huge debt to Yonex. In my book, they are the top brand in the world because they do make the best racquets. That doesn't mean they're everyones cup of tea but I, for one, have huge confidence in the quality and I know that over the next year or so there will be further developments in technology that may improve my game. Whilsy they may cost that little bit more, I'm willing to pay it because I feel I get value for money and not some "we can do that too" brand.
Oh, by the way, I'm a professional Business and Marketing Consultant so I'm not fooled by marketing hype to get me to buy a brand.
As a registered Advanced Coach I have extensively tested racquets over my badminton life and therefore feel I'm in good position to make these observations.
So, thank you Yonex for your legacy to the game to date and long it may it continue. Here's hoping the market continues to bring in new suppliers to challenge our highly individual unique perception of racquet perfection as this can only be good for the game.
Signing off from my first post.
Paul
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