RF97A was my weapon for ~5 years as well, and I'm still thinking of going back to them, although I didn't like when I was late with it, that my strings last 2h, that it's string and tension sensitive, and tiresome and clunky on clay against weaker opponents who send floating high balls, slices etc. But I really adore the plow through and power and much more, and just hitting and playing on hard court is a such joy with it.
As a path towards a lighter racquet first I had dark blue Vcore Pros 330g, really great, I played really well with them too. Then the actual Radical Pro, I still have those as well, great but lack punch through, they are more for a grinding type of tennis, think Murray or Schwartzman, placing the ball around and holding it in play, ultra consistent and controlled, I lack power but I feel like I could hold the ball in play indefinitely. Not exactly my style, but still a good racquet, stable, fabulous on returns, light and fast but polarized and super sturdy and stable.
Both my VCP 97 and 97D are almost on spec, 310/320g with very slightly lighter head than spec, ~308/318mm balance (spec: 310/320mm). On 97 I now have 3+3g of lead at 3&9 but will make that 2+2+2 to 3-9-12, I need more weight and plow, higher SW. But even without it it's a great racquet. On 97D I have 1.5+1.5g at 3&9 but it's not really necessary. However I need more power, and I'll try adding some at 12 too, if it doesn't make me too slow. I've now played with 3 different new 97s, and two different 97Ds.
VCP 97 is slightly stiffer than 97D, I don't really feel the flex. I wouldn't call it plush, but it is forgiving and it's faster, needs faster swinging, and full long swings. It is a racquet for fast attacking tennis with variety, good on volleys too. Great ball trajectory, you can punch it flat through the court, or bend it as you will, a great quality in a frame. Great on one handed backhand too, with or without lead. Could be better on returns, but that is expected from a lighter frame. It's stable, but if I try to return bombs I can't just stab at the ball, I need more mass in it, and if I go full swing at the ball Tsitsipas style then I can be late. I still have to tune that part in, since I'm more used to heavier racquets and more blocking on returns. Lead at 12 will prolly help some. Great on serves, precise, fast, flat or kick, really good. Serve, like groundstrokes, could be heavier, but again, it's a lighter racquet and I like it a lot really. It's maneuvrable, and that is a big weapon in points play.
97D is plusher feeling than 97, I can feel the racquet flex, on groundstrokes and serves. It flexes nicely, sort of absorbing but not too much, it's still a very stable racquet. It has a near perfect weight distribution, something I noticed with old dark blue VCP 330g as well, so my motion through longest possible swings goes so naturally, on serves too. I'm 1.90 or 6'3 and I go as big as I can, flat or kick, I blast them with all I have, even on second serves. Great feel, could have more power though, but really great on serves. Volleys too, stable, great feel.
It's a kind of open pattern for 18x20, it bends the ball easily on all kind of shots, but with a long stroke, no short strokes with it. I played only with 1.25 strings, PT Rev mostly, and both 97 and 97D prefer lower tensions, and play great with lower tensions, not something I'd usually say. I string RF97A at 27 or 28kg with poly, minimum 26kg or I just lose control (60-62-57lb). But with these you can go veery low and after the string loosens after an hour I can still flatten the ball with full power, and it's very easily controlled, no need to adjust anything really, even before it breaks. In both frames strings last a lot - lighter weight, flex, denser patterns, and they are more for flattening the ball, all that helps, so 4h of hard hitting is no problem in both, a surprise for me, after restringing RF97As after 1.5h endless times.
That's an advantage to these new Vcore Pros, but a minus as well, because both 97 and 97D always need full long strokes, and with the 97D it takes a bit more time, and makes me late sometimes, in a points play situation. You have a mishit slice going to your ankles? - you need a full loong stroke or it doesn't do much if you just pick it up and bunt it, you lose the point. You're off balance and you just want to block the ball back? - nope, you need full long swing, and your feet must be in the perfect spot to transfer weight forward. You're stretched on your forehand and you'd like to wrist the ball back? - yeah, no. You need to wide swing at it, it'll go in, but you'll be grunting.
They are great for super hard hitting, ultra linear and predictable, 97D particularly, controlled, forgiving, great trajectory, feel, stability etc. but you always have to attack the ball correctly, no half-attempts. If you come to the court thinking "today, I'll hit the ball as fast as I can, where's the speed monitor", Del Potro or Stan style, you can hit like that with these non-stop. With 97D hitting on hard court through the middle, I feel like I can place a million hard hit balls at the same spot, easily on the opponent's base line, and keep hitting like that until there's no more "Dunlop ATP" visible on that one ball. But in match play opponents move you around and it's not always easy to have time for a full long swing with perfectly placed feet and weight transfer. So both these new Vcore Pros ask that you play focused, veery fast on your feet attacking tennis. They will actually make you a better player, without being too heavy or too stiff, so that's not half bad.
I'm definitely keeping both, will have to decide of which I'll get one or two more. I'd kind of like a 16x19 or 16x20 97D though, although this 18x20 isn't dead at all, it's open and totally bends the ball, but more power would be nice with these forgiving flexier frames.
And sorry for the long post, now that you're at the end, feel free to skip it
