Prince Tour Team vs Yonex Vcore 100s. ie: Too little power vs too much?

[verite]

This is strange dilemma.

I'm a mostly baseliner. 3.5-4.0. Weakest part of my game is the serve, since I'm only 5'6 I need a bit of help with my serving pace.

After playtesting many racquets - my favorite two were actually very different styles.

Prince Tour Team. This needed a bit of tape, but when brought up to 11.5oz and 3pts HL, it had great control, lots of spin and good stability. I could really change the speeds on my forehands and bring people into midcourt and then blow it past them.

Pros : Control, spin, easy on the arm. Not giving away points by hitting the ball out. Maneuverable.
Cons: Needs to be modded. Lack of power on the serve. Not a great racquet at the net. Might be locking myself into a future of long rallies without easy put-aways.

Yonex 100s:

This was everything I liked about the Babolats, but much easier on the arm. Huge power, and I could serve absolute bombs with it. But its a bit unwieldy and easier to frame a ball or launch it out than with the Prince. Maybe it can be tamed a bit by going HL or by changing string setup (it still has the TW demo multi).

Pro : Awesome serve. Ample power from everywhere on the court and not too bad on the arm.
Cons: Less maneuverable. Smaller sweetspot. Power needs to be tamed. Might be setting myself up for giving away lots of points by launching ball out.

My question is this:

Is it better to go with the more powerful racquet and adjust my setup/technique to reign it in? Or the less powerful racquet and add weight + gut and hope my serve continues to get better?

[Fed Kennedy]

I would look into the prince 03 white original...its sort of a hybrid between the two you have and can be greatly tuned with string and a choice of throat grommets.

[themitchmann]

I usually recommend going with a less powerful frame, then adjust string as necessary.

[verite]

@ themitchmann.

I usually recommend going with a less powerful frame, then adjust string as necessary.

True, couldn't you also argue that when in doubt, go with the stick that gives you the best serve?

[themitchmann]

I find that sometimes it takes a little while for your body to get used to the way a particular racquet travels through the air. You might just need a little more time for it to make sense.

Unless you're hitting aces/service winners, I wouldn't sacrifice the rest of my game just for the serve.

[monomer]

Originally Posted by verite

Yonex 100s:

This was everything I liked about the Babolats, but much easier on the arm. Huge power, and I could serve absolute bombs with it. But its a bit unwieldy and easier to frame a ball or launch it out than with the Prince. Maybe it can be tamed a bit by going HL or by changing string setup (it still has the TW demo multi).

Pro : Awesome serve. Ample power from everywhere on the court and not too bad on the arm.
Cons: Less maneuverable. Smaller sweetspot. Power needs to be tamed. Might be setting myself up for giving away lots of points by launching ball out.

My question is this:

Is it better to go with the more powerful racquet and adjust my setup/technique to reign it in? Or the less powerful racquet and add weight + gut and hope my serve continues to get better?

That's exactly how I felt about the 100S. All the good features of a Babolat without the hollow feeling. I know this isn't much of a help, but generally you want to go with the most powerful racquet you can handle. You'll probably have to decide if you think you can tame it.

My daughter switched from an APDGT and loves the 100s. I play an APD original and would switch if the 100s came in a "+" length.

[LiBai1]

Originally Posted by verite

@ themitchmann.

True, couldn't you also argue that when in doubt, go with the stick that gives you the best serve?

I had the same view as you for tour team and 100s last year, and bought both . I mainly played the tour team with a high power string. Because I felt some qualities you mentioned helps me to improve timing and develop different shots.

You now got the new 100s, judging from your signature. Is it better in maneuverability and comfort level than the vcore 100s?

[SELFMADESOUL]

Originally Posted by themitchmann

I usually recommend going with a less powerful frame, then adjust string as necessary.

+1 on this - also besides string you can always add some lead tape to the lower powered racquet to help increase the power