hey guys, first post on here so cut me some slack on my review. i am an open level player with big ground strokes/serve (all courter/attacking style). i have tried almost every racket on the market within the last few years (mostly out of curiousity) and i use a weighted up blade 98 18x20 countervail around 12.3 ounces with a rubber band for dampener and one overgrip (tourna or wilson pro). string was luxillon big banger rough @ 57.
i started off with volleys at the net at the racket feels super crisp and buttery. as the TW guys say, a real "point and shoot racket." manuaverabity was about an 8.5/10. i think the racket could use some lead in the handle or even a leather grip. the racket is VERY solid at the net though, i honestly don't think the racket needs much, if any, lead on the head.
moving on to groundstrokes, my first few shots went long to be completely honest. i tend to hit big groundstrokes with loads of spin but a low trajectory on the ball. once i figured out the way the ball came off the racket it was game on! i could barely miss! the racket is really smooth and buttery as i mentioned before. the ONLY time i felt any vibrations is if i had a mishit or was way out of the sweet spot. slice was really nice too, the ball goes exactly where you want it 95 percent of the time i felt. id give groundstrokes an 9/10.
i know some of the TW playtesters didn't love this racket on serve but i had no problems whatsoever. i was hitting bombs with my flat serve and nailing my spots. my kick actually had a lot more than usual compared to my blade 98 as well. id give serves an 8/10.
OVERALL: this racket is definitively going to be my next racket. i've hit with it three days in a row now and the more i hit with it, the more i enjoy it! i know people are saying that this is a great platform racket, which i agree with, but in all honesty this racket doesn't really need MUCH.. i'm not a huge guy or anything (5'11" 165) but i hit really big and this racket really kept a lot more balls in that usual for me. fair warning though, if you are looking for a racket with good power and easy spin this one isn't for you. you definitely need to be able to give this racket some UMPH in order to get what you need from it. for me, it's almost perfect. for a beginner or really anyone under a 4.0 or 4.5 i think it's probably not your best option. i'm going to be adding a little weight to the handle but besides that, probably nowhere else for the time being. this racket is kind of like a blade but a little more demanding. if you can handle that demand, i would HIGHLY recommend you give this racket a shot. 8.5 or a 9/10. let me know if you have any questions, happy to answer
