Wilson Ultra Tour (18x20) vs. Yonex VCORE 98 (16x19)

[borna coric]

I have 17 years old nephew who is using the Wilson Ultra Tour 18x20 string pattern with Luxilon NG string @60lbs and he seems to be struggle with getting a lot of pace on the ball even though he is a strong kid @5'10 and 168 lbs. His UTR is about 11.5. I would like him to try out the Yonex Vcore pro 97 (300) and Yonex Vcore 98, both with 16x19 string pattern.

I called Tennis Warehouse experts and they advise that the Wilson Ultra Tour 18x20 and Yonex Vcore pro 97 are designed for very advanced D1 and professional players. Those racquets are designed for someone to generate a lot of powers because they provide a lot of control but they are underpowered.

The Yonex VCORE 98 is much more forgiving. More power can be generated with the same swing speed than the either Wilson Ultra Tour and Yonex Vcore pro 97.

I am going to order the both Yonex VCORE pro 97 and VCORE 98 demo racquets from TW today to try them out.

Comments? TIA

 

[lucieisland]

60lb???
i saw somewhere gael monfils suposed to play with uktra tour play with 55-57lb... maybe using lower tension?

 

[JoaoN]

In my opinion, 60lbs is way too much for the Wilson Ultra Tour, i would go for low fifties ou less.

About the yonex, never played with the Vcore 98, so can't comment about that.

About the Vcore pro 97, i really like this racquet, played for a while with it and love it. Nice feel, nice control and spin potential, with some lack of stability.

Since you can demo both, he is in a great position to choose what suits him better. But either way, i think using a lower tension, maybe below 50s, will help a lot.

 

[Anton]

I have 17 years old nephew who is using the Wilson Ultra Tour 18x20 string pattern with Luxilon NG string @60lbs and he seems to be struggle with getting a lot of pace on the ball even though he is a strong kid @5'10 and 168 lbs. His UTR is about 11.5.

Wilson Ultra Tour is very light in stock form - you have to add a lot of weight to it to be able to do first-strike damage from the baseline. You then excerbate that problem by stringing it waaay too tight.

I've been trying to squeeze out action out of the UT for two years now on and off and I think I finally arrived at a great place for it - 12.7oz 8.5 head light balance 17g natural gut (Klip legend) mains 53lbs with 17L poly cross at 51lbs. Smooth, powerful, stable.

 

[borna coric]

Wilson Ultra Tour is very light in stock form - you have to add a lot of weight to it to be able to do first-strike damage from the baseline. You then excerbate that problem by stringing it waaay too tight.

I've been trying to squeeze out action out of the UT for two years now on and off and I think I finally arrived at a great place for it - 12.7oz 8.5 head light balance 17g natural gut (Klip legend) mains 53lbs with 17L poly cross at 51lbs. Smooth, powerful, stable.

There was a typo in my original thread. It is Lunxilon NG @50lbs on both main and cross on the Wilson Ultra Tour and he is still struggle with the racquet. Both the FH and BH lack the "zoom" and the serve is not very good, according to him.

I called TW warehouse experts and they think the Yonex Vcore 98 has a bigger sweet spot and you can get faster speed on the ball with the same racquet swing speed than the Wilson Ultra Tour.

 

[Power Player]

I have 17 years old nephew who is using the Wilson Ultra Tour 18x20 string pattern with Luxilon NG string @60lbs and he seems to be struggle with getting a lot of pace on the ball even though he is a strong kid @5'10 and 168 lbs. His UTR is about 11.5. I would like him to try out the Yonex Vcore pro 97 (300) and Yonex Vcore 98, both with 16x19 string pattern.

I called Tennis Warehouse experts and they advise that the Wilson Ultra Tour 18x20 and Yonex Vcore pro 97 are designed for very advanced D1 and professional players. Those racquets are designed for someone to generate a lot of powers because they provide a lot of control but they are underpowered.

The Yonex VCORE 98 is much more forgiving. More power can be generated with the same swing speed than the either Wilson Ultra Tour and Yonex Vcore pro 97.

I am going to order the both Yonex VCORE pro 97 and VCORE 98 demo racquets from TW today to try them out.

Comments? TIA

I just demoed the Vcore 98 and the Pro 97 310. Awesome frames.

I am not sure that the pro 97 310 is a frame you need to be a pro to use quite honestly. If that was the case I would be struggling. It's frame that swings fast and lets you generate a lot of tip speed. The funny thing is that a lot of advanced pros use the Vcore 98 because that's what Yonex sends out to a lot of them.

The Vcore 98 has more pop and pace on the ball than the 97, but the 98 has far less ball feel or touch. For me it is easier to control the 97 and I went with that, but I don't consider it to be an advanced frame. I'd say intermediate to advanced can use it.

The one thing I am pretty good at is generating my own pace. I would also say that the Wilson Ultra is more of an advanced frame and is harder to generate your own pace with, unless you add lead to it.

Basically if he likes the softer feel of the Ultra and wants something a little easier the 310 will work great. If he doesnt care about the feel of the frame and likes things stiffer than the 98 will provide him a lot of power, the question will be if it is too much.

 

[McLovin]

First, 60lbs in a full bed of natural gut is normal. It kills me here when people start having a fit about string tensions. As a comparison, Sampras strung 17g VS in an 85 sq in frame at 78+ lbs. 60lbs is perfectly acceptable. Hell, I used to string Kevlar/gut at 66/70 in college.

On the frame, the VCORE Tour is a solid frame for a hard hitting player. And you don’t have to be a Pro to use it. My regular hitting partner is a 5.0, and he generates a ton of pace & spin with that frame.

I’m a 50 yr old 4.5, and just recently switched to the VCORE 98 +, and I love it. Controllable pace, solid & stable.

I suspect either frame will be fine, it will likely come down to what feels best to him.

 

[Power Player]

I forgot to mention string tension. I play with full poly at 45#s.

The Vcore 97 Pro, I'd probably string full gut at 58#s for reference.

The 98, I'd stay at 60, just to give you an idea of the power difference between the 2 for me.

 

[McLovin]

I forgot to mention string tension. I play with full poly at 45#s.

The Vcore 97 Pro, I'd probably string full gut at 58#s for reference.

The 98, I'd stay at 60, just to give you an idea of the power difference between the 2 for me.

Agreed. I’m full YPTP at 48lbs in the VCORE 98, and I’d probably go 54/52 gut/poly, and 60 if I did full gut (which I may do just for the fun of it).

 

[Anton]

There was a typo in my original thread. It is Lunxilon NG @50lbs on both main and cross on the Wilson Ultra Tour and he is still struggle with the racquet. Both the FH and BH lack the "zoom" and the serve is not very good, according to him.

I called TW warehouse experts and they think the Yonex Vcore 98 has a bigger sweet spot and you can get faster speed on the ball with the same racquet swing speed than the Wilson Ultra Tour.

Oh, 50 natural gut is fairly relaxed setup.

It is the weight. Ultra Tour specifically comes low weight so you can weight it up just how you like it. In stock form it has no go.

As far as another racket having more speed, it's not true in absolute sense because power is a function of WEIGHT and balance working with your technique.

A stock VCORE 98 will produce less consistent power and depth than a 12.7oz Ultra Tour in the hands of someone that has the smooth technique to sling it right.

Don't get me wrong, VCORE 98 is a good frame for someone who likes to spin the ball, but my advice is that you get a couple of bucks worth of lead and try that before going to another racket.

 

[aaron_h27]

underpowered with full natural gut at 50 lbs? something isn't right here...

 

[leojramirez]

I play an UT leaded with 3g at 12 and 2 on 3&9 each with a gut/poly hybrid strung at 50/48. Today I had a training session with a VCORE 95 I bought second hand with a multi/poly hybrid at unknown tension and I felt, and was also told by my coach, that my balls were faster and heavier with the 95. I also felt it on the serve and was able to generate more pace. In general the VC95 was easier to move, more comfortable and had noticeable more power. In favour of the Ultra Tour it has more control, slices are better and is a more stable but I suppose I can fix that on the 95 with lead. Normally full pace smashes or volleys gives me a slight pain on my hand with the UT but did not have the problem with the VC95.

I've not hit the VC98 which I've read its got more power than the VC95, which in turn has more power than the Ultra Tour, but I played with the VCORE Pro 97 310 for a few months prior to the UT. I did not like and it gave me a tendinitis on the top of my hand just under the index and middle fingers which I'm carrying for a year now but its a lot better, had to stop for 6 weeks last summer. I also found the VP97 hard to control with my usual gut poly hybrid.

I think your nephew @borna coric will have to adjust to the VC98 in terms of the loss in control and the increment in power, I suspect its easier to use so why not give it a go, if he doesn't have any arm/wrist/hand issues then he can handle the increased stiffness of the frame compared to the UT.