100 Square inch racquet recommendations for high school player

T

Tennis in the north

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Any recommendations for a 100 square inch racquet for a young varsity level player(8th grader). We did demo racquets, and he liked the E Zone 98 best. But I felt he needed a little more stability and depth on hard velocity returns and serves. I have never used a 100 size, so seeing what 100 users might think. He's 13, so don't want a super heavy or stiff frame, and feel some 100s might give a little more response to off center hits. Playing singles and doubles, so need some stability and good depth for volleys as well. I may go E Zone 98 for him with a little weight at 9 and 3 for some stability, and hybrid a natural gut(arm friendly as well) for him to get some oomph, but seeing if any 100 frames are worth hitting. Thank you for any feedback!
 
He's 13. He's not going to be playing alcaraz anytime soon.

The problem is not the racquet, he's still growing and learning to play. In my day i was using an aluminum dunlop enforcer. The racquet didn't matter, i was still trying to figure out the game. That racquet was easily 300G's + and who knows if there even were any spec on it.
If you have the cash to spend on his racquet journey then get him what he likes and let him figure it out as he develops. let him get used to the racquet, and if he still likes it then you start playing with string/tension.

This may come out the wrong way, but it sounds like you're paving the road for the kid vs preparing the kid for the road.
 
Dunlop CX400 Tour and you're good to go with one of the best 100 sq in control oriented yet under rated frames available; great all-court player's frame. It's great for both singles and doubles. If you prefer more spin the go with the SX300 100sq in. If you want more power then the FX500 100 sq in. and be like Jack Draper. You'll get some extra pop on your serve and if you're a steady baseliner you this maybe the one for you. If the Tour model is too heavy then try the "regular" models. You can always add some weight to customize as needed. I just found the CX400 Tour when I demoed it last year to be just about perfect without any changes. At any rate, these frames are worthy of consideration. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
 
Blade 100L. The softest firm frame you’ll find to provide the power and stability to play against the pure drives and aeros while still being manageable.

I have hated the feel of Ezone so can’t comment on the suitability of the 100L model.

A gravity is going to zap too much power away.
 
@Tennis in the north - While I would at least guide the kid towards choosing from among the more popular racquet models, if this youngster is excited enough about choosing a racquet, I would let the decision mostly come down to him. That way, he hopefully likes what he's playing with and it makes him want to get out and play more. You can always tweak for performance after the fact, including dropping string tension and/or change to more explosive strings. As for adding lead, probably not needed for most any 13-year-old. I would focus on string adjustments long before looking at adding weight.
 
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Tennis in the north said:
Any recommendations for a 100 square inch racquet for a young varsity level player(8th grader). We did demo racquets, and he liked the E Zone 98 best. But I felt he needed a little more stability and depth on hard velocity returns and serves. I have never used a 100 size, so seeing what 100 users might think. He's 13, so don't want a super heavy or stiff frame, and feel some 100s might give a little more response to off center hits. Playing singles and doubles, so need some stability and good depth for volleys as well. I may go E Zone 98 for him with a little weight at 9 and 3 for some stability, and hybrid a natural gut(arm friendly as well) for him to get some oomph, but seeing if any 100 frames are worth hitting. Thank you for any feedback!
Click to expand...

Ezone 100 is the obvious choice!
 
How tall is he and how much does he weigh and how skinny or thick is he and is he no muscle or body builder muscle?

You mentioned you want to give him a powerful racket. All of the rackets mentioned above are very low powered. Except Ezone 100, that might work. Dunlop cx400 tour has a little bit of power, but still not that much.

I agree that 98 is small for a 13 year old and is hard to use for doubles. I think 100 is better. Actually, after thinking a little, the ezone 100 is the best racket I would recommend.
 
Trip said:
@Tennis in the north - While some guidance is good, if this youngster is excited enough with choosing a racquet, I would let the decision mostly come down to him, even if it means a seemingly-less-than-ideal choice at the time. The biggest deal will be that he likes what he's playing with. Which, in all honesty, might be the color more so than anything. If after playing with it for a while, you both feel like he could benefit from a bit more stability or depth, then for sure, you can add some lead at 9 & 3 and/or drop tension or move to more explosive strings, but ultimately, he should feel good about the racquet itself, especially if it makes him want to get out there and play more. But I completely get the sentiment to want the stack the odds in his favor.
Click to expand...

Add some lead, for a 13yo....daft
 
Look for a stiffness range of 62-66ra. Many manufacturers make a 100 in this range that is also lightweight around 300g or less. I would suggest holding back on the natural gut. That is expensive. A good poly/solid core syn gut combo would be great. At this stage you want a frame that is medium in almost everything except for weight. You can always add some lead later for more power and stability. 16x19 or 16x20 or 16x18 (string higher) are all good patterns, but strung low enough, 18x20 is great (but you won't find much in lightweight frames).
 
Rosstour said:
Add some lead, for a 13yo....daft
Click to expand...
I was merely echoing the OP's mention of it, but agree that some guidance to avoid that was probably called for, so will edit my reply. That aside, my point was: if it brings the kid that much joy, let him mainly be the one to decide on the frame; they can tweak a good portion of performance afterwards.
 
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If he likes the Ezone 98 maybe stay with what he likes. With the Ezone head shape, it literally is as big as most 100 inch frames. It’s also much faster swinging than most 100’s. The 2025 has plenty of stability stock but does welcome weight too. A crisp string really brings out the feel in the racquet when deciding on strings. Poly Tour fire imakes a great string for hybriding with gut. It’s slick coating & with it’s crisp feel.
 
Ezone 98 is a great racket for a junior. Go with that if he likes it. You could drop string tension 2 to 4 lbs if you want a little more pop off the string bed. Or, maybe as he grows add a bit of weight to the head for more stability and pop. Adding weight to the head also tends to increase the sweet zone size. In other words, a 98" head with a 330SW can actually have a bigger sweet zone than a 100" head with a 315SW.
 
Trip said:
I was merely echoing the OP's mention of it, but agree that some guidance to avoid that was probably called for, so will edit my reply. That aside, my point was: if it brings the kid that much joy, let him mainly be the one to decide on the frame; they can tweak a good portion of performance afterwards.
Click to expand...
Totally agree with this as when you give children/teenagers some power in choosing their own racquet it gives them that little extra motivation to go hit with it and makes the whole process easier to me this is a very important point that not all parents/coaches pay attention to.
 
EZone 100L or VCore 100L for now.
Then maybe weight it up to the same weight as the (standard) 100 model when he is older and stronger.
BTW - are the YY 100 same as the 100L, but the only difference is the (additional) weight distribution?
 
esm said:
EZone 100L or VCore 100L for now.
Then maybe weight it up to the same weight as the (standard) 100 model when he is older and stronger.
BTW - are the YY 100 same as the 100L, but the only difference is the (additional) weight distribution?
Click to expand...
most likely, yes. Stick 17g in the handle and 4g in the hoop.
https://imgur.com/a/A9FO0KS
Some racquets aren't, though. The Pure Aero Team 2023 has a different drill pattern than the regular Pure Aero 2023, for example.
 
tjanev said:
He's 13. He's not going to be playing alcaraz anytime soon.

The problem is not the racquet, he's still growing and learning to play. In my day i was using an aluminum dunlop enforcer. The racquet didn't matter, i was still trying to figure out the game. That racquet was easily 300G's + and who knows if there even were any spec on it.
If you have the cash to spend on his racquet journey then get him what he likes and let him figure it out as he develops. let him get used to the racquet, and if he still likes it then you start playing with string/tension.

This may come out the wrong way, but it sounds like you're paving the road for the kid vs preparing the kid for the road.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply-I agree in general to everything you're saying!He's playing juniors and seniors on varsity that hit with a little more velocity, and a little wobbly on those returns at times
 
Dunlop300g said:
Dunlop CX400 Tour and you're good to go with one of the best 100 sq in control oriented yet under rated frames available; great all-court player's frame. It's great for both singles and doubles. If you prefer more spin the go with the SX300 100sq in. If you want more power then the FX500 100 sq in. and be like Jack Draper. You'll get some extra pop on your serve and if you're a steady baseliner you this maybe the one for you. If the Tour model is too heavy then try the "regular" models. You can always add some weight to customize as needed. I just found the CX400 Tour when I demoed it last year to be just about perfect without any changes. At any rate, these frames are worthy of consideration. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...
I will give the regular one for him to Demo this weekend as well. Thanks!
 
Trip said:
@Tennis in the north - While I would at least guide the kid towards choosing from among the more popular racquet models, if this youngster is excited enough about choosing a racquet, I would let the decision mostly come down to him. That way, he hopefully likes what he's playing with and it makes him want to get out and play more. You can always tweak for performance after the fact, including dropping string tension and/or change to more explosive strings. As for adding lead, probably not needed for most any 13-year-old. I would focus on string adjustments long before looking at adding weight.
Click to expand...
Thank you! Yes, will leave it to him on final decision, but wanted him to try a few that may fit his game and who he's playing against. Great point on string/tension adjustments first and foremost.
 
jimmy8 said:
How tall is he and how much does he weigh and how skinny or thick is he and is he no muscle or body builder muscle?

You mentioned you want to give him a powerful racket. All of the rackets mentioned above are very low powered. Except Ezone 100, that might work. Dunlop cx400 tour has a little bit of power, but still not that much.

I agree that 98 is small for a 13 year old and is hard to use for doubles. I think 100 is better. Actually, after thinking a little, the ezone 100 is the best racket I would recommend.
Click to expand...
Everything you said sort of in my thought process as well. He needs a little help to generate power with his size against bigger teens. The doubles aspect as well. Will be trying pretty much all of these recommendations to and he can make final decision Sunday. He'll get to feel the difference for sure.
 
esm said:
EZone 100L or VCore 100L for now.
Then maybe weight it up to the same weight as the (standard) 100 model when he is older and stronger.
BTW - are the YY 100 same as the 100L, but the only difference is the (additional) weight distribution?
Click to expand...
Thanks-going to try a L of one of these(they said they'll have one or the other this weekend to test)this weekend.
 
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What does he play with now?

If he likes the Ezone 98, then it's due to the throat flex combined with a taper beam. I have a 14yr old finishing 8th grade and I went thru this exact process cause his frames were getting beat up and we decided for now, he's not moving up to a 300g frame. All of them just felt too heavy once he tried to put it thru real match play and we have tried a ton (Yonex Ezone 100, Volkl V Cell 8, Pure Drive VS, Dunlop FX500 and CX400 Tour, Tecnifibre 298 IGA)...as you can see a lot of variety. I find demos limiting because usually they have the wrong string setup for a junior so I end up buying the above used, tinker with the right string and tension setup he uses and go from there. All of them have flamed out for him right now.

I use the Ezone 98 so I am quite familiar with how it feels. You could get him the Ezone 98L but I agree you should try and get a 100sq inch to help out your kid. So my son is sticking to the frames we have been using the last year Prince Twistpower X100s. These are 290g, with a similar thin throat, wider head beam as an Ezone 98. He loves these and so we will kinda wait longer.
 
Ok it took a few extra weeks to demo everything, but the racquet we finally chose for our 8th grade boy was the Wilson Blade 100(v9). He also liked the Head Speed MP and Dunlop CX400 Tour. Head Speed a tad bit heavy for him but what an awesome racquet. Dunlop was great as well. The EZone does make you addicted with it's winner power and serves, but unless you can harness it and reign it in, a more playable control racquet is the only way to go(for good players or those that take full swings). Wilson Blade 100 fits the bill for him and me(I'm switching to it as well, former college player who put the racquets down but playing again, early 50s). Blade let me take full rips on my serve so I didn't lose much velocity compared to EZone, and my accuracy was probably 10-15% better. My high school player just loved the feel of the shots, and volleyed well with it. Could really angle backhands for both of us. No problems with arm or shoulder. Anyone looking try the Dunlop as well. I've now noticed in these HS matches many are playing too heavy of a racquet. Another reason we bought the Blades-he likes it as is but it's easy to customize-I put 3G each at 9 and 3.
Concluding-13 year old high school level player went with the Blade 100, also liked Head Speed MP, Dunlop 400 Tour CX. EZone was his favorite, but once he tried different kinds of racquets went away from it. 50 year old guy who's playing against 5.0s and 4.5s changed to Wilson Blade 100 as well. Also liked the Head Speed MP(also the 2022 version), Dunlop FX500, EZone for plow and power. Some like EZone, Pure Drive, Dunlop FX are really fun to hit, but if I'm trying to win a match it's the Blade for me.
 
@Tennis in the north - Thanks for the well-explained update and congrats on the choice. The Blade 100 is a pretty universal, do-it-all "pleener", whose highest redeeming quality is probably its balance between all qualities, less so a few overt strengths plus some weakness. That's more than you can say for a lot of frames out there. So, well done, and happy hitting. Do come back after some time and let us know how the Blade 100 has worked out, for the both of you!
 
Tennis in the north said:
Ok it took a few extra weeks to demo everything, but the racquet we finally chose for our 8th grade boy was the Wilson Blade 100(v9). He also liked the Head Speed MP and Dunlop CX400 Tour. Head Speed a tad bit heavy for him but what an awesome racquet. Dunlop was great as well. The EZone does make you addicted with it's winner power and serves, but unless you can harness it and reign it in, a more playable control racquet is the only way to go(for good players or those that take full swings). Wilson Blade 100 fits the bill for him and me(I'm switching to it as well, former college player who put the racquets down but playing again, early 50s). Blade let me take full rips on my serve so I didn't lose much velocity compared to EZone, and my accuracy was probably 10-15% better. My high school player just loved the feel of the shots, and volleyed well with it. Could really angle backhands for both of us. No problems with arm or shoulder. Anyone looking try the Dunlop as well. I've now noticed in these HS matches many are playing too heavy of a racquet. Another reason we bought the Blades-he likes it as is but it's easy to customize-I put 3G each at 9 and 3.
Concluding-13 year old high school level player went with the Blade 100, also liked Head Speed MP, Dunlop 400 Tour CX. EZone was his favorite, but once he tried different kinds of racquets went away from it. 50 year old guy who's playing against 5.0s and 4.5s changed to Wilson Blade 100 as well. Also liked the Head Speed MP(also the 2022 version), Dunlop FX500, EZone for plow and power. Some like EZone, Pure Drive, Dunlop FX are really fun to hit, but if I'm trying to win a match it's the Blade for me.
Click to expand...
In my own racquet serach process I read many statements like these. But I found that it's better to learn to reign in the power rather than go to something weaker that will just mask your ability to control power. Just an observation - nothing bad about the Blade 100.
 
ghostwind said:
In my own racquet serach process I read many statements like these. But I found that it's better to learn to reign in the power rather than go to something weaker that will just mask your ability to control power. Just an observation - nothing bad about the Blade 100.
Click to expand...
Yeah in golf I've had my boys work on distance first then reign it in-unlike when I grew up. Percentages say hitting longer is better for scoring. Probably the same in tennis. More velocity means more points won. My son hits pretty hard but he really liked controlling his ball a bit more and the better return of serve he had. For me, the E Zone and Dunlop FX500 gave me more easy points, but I was winning more games in play with the Blade. Returns were awesome(could block, take a rip when needed, slice). Serves were a little less MPH but I could locate areas in the service court for me. All personal preference I know. Cheers!
 
Tennis in the north said:
Yeah in golf I've had my boys work on distance first then reign it in-unlike when I grew up. Percentages say hitting longer is better for scoring. Probably the same in tennis. More velocity means more points won. My son hits pretty hard but he really liked controlling his ball a bit more and the better return of serve he had. For me, the E Zone and Dunlop FX500 gave me more easy points, but I was winning more games in play with the Blade. Returns were awesome(could block, take a rip when needed, slice). Serves were a little less MPH but I could locate areas in the service court for me. All personal preference I know. Cheers!
Click to expand...
What was the advantage of the Wilson Blade 100 compared to the Dunlop CX400 Tour? Why not the Dunlop CX400 Tour?
 
mesaage85 said:
What was the advantage of the Wilson Blade 100 compared to the Dunlop CX400 Tour? Why not the Dunlop CX400 Tour?
Click to expand...
I just saw this sorry! Both really good racquets. More personal preference-had a bit more power and placement on serves, and placement on down the line backhands. Dunlop had better spin than Blade 100. If someone said you have to play with the Dunlop I'd be more than happy(son as well). I'd take either into a tournament.
 
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