I'm no gearhead like the guys at the Tennis Warehouse Forums, but based on the above pic taken in Montreal, it looks like Masha has abandoned her trusty Prince 03 White and is trying out the Prince Speedport Black. Given her shoulder problems it makes sense. The 03 White and the Speedport Black are identical in head size (100 inches), length (27 inches), and weight (11.3 oz) but the Speedport Black is one point lighter in the head (5 points vs 4) but is a stiffer frame which actually gives it a higher swingweight. Theoretically the Speedport Black should be easier on the shoulder without sacrificing power.
We'll see how quickly she can adjust. Ana Ivanovic had a couple of months to transition from her Wilson nBlade to the Yonex RQiS 1. Masha will have less than 2 weeks. I've hit with both the White and the Black and even though their specs are similar they feel completely different due to the Speedport tuning system and the thinner beam of the Black. The Black feels a bit more unstable.
She's also changed strings. They're red in the picture. If anyone has any thoughts on those feel free to comment. But I can't tell by eyeballing it.
Thanks to Jean-Sebastien Marceau for the pic!
