Dunlop

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Maxply Fort

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1932-1985

 

Dunlop Maxply Fort.  The most successful racket in the history of tennis.  Manufactured almost unchanged between 1932 and 1985.  Made from a mix of nine different woods.  Debuting in 1932, the racquet was used by a range of pros including Rod Laver, who was said to customize his Dunlops to reach the exact head weight he sought.  With apologies to the Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph from the late 1940s, the Dunlop Maxply Fort had a staying power that led a generation of wood-racquet users. It was the last wooden bat to win Wimbledon, John McEnroe over Bjorn Borg in 1981. 

 

The 2 racket shown are special versions of the historical racket.

• Personal Maxply by Hans Nüsslein. Racket was donated to the Berlin Tennis Gallery by the Nüsslein family in 1990s. Nüsslein let Dunlop make them custom in the 1960s.

• Maxply donated to the Berlin Tennis Gallery by Dunlop in the 1990th.  The racket is 1 out of 100 produced in a 1990 Special Edition to honor the Dunlop Fort´s history with the remarkable gripe size L10.