2023 VCore 98 arm pain?

[notthatgood]

Coming back from a summer of TE. Not 100% sure that it was induced by my EZone 98 2022, but I've heard people have had issues from EZones, so looking to be safe. Thinking that a 62 RA frame, strung with a gut/Element IR hybrid (and eventually gut/Tour M8) at ~46 lbs, AND VT Advantec strips should be good ... right? I've read that some people have had 2023 VCore issues, but I wonder how common that is?

Also open to other 98 sq in x 305 g frames (except the Extreme Tour) if people have thoughts.

 

[esgee48]

Don’t string NG at 46#.

Your post did not say if you had TE due to FB poly or if it was due to technique such as late hitting.

Why even hybrid? Go FB multi to assure that your arm is recovered. Or cheaper yet, use a soft SG like Forten.

 

[Trip]

Echoing @esgee48 here -- specifically what do you think the source of your TE is -- and be fair/objective; if it's potentially technique-related, so be it. I would also say, don't even leave it up to chance that it's the string bed; dump the poly completely and go full synthetic/gut. Since you're playing a Yonex with VDM, you want the most crisp strings possible to transmit max feel -- Luxilon natural gut, crisp but soft multi (Signum Pro Micronite, TF NRG2, etc.) or a soft-but-crisp syn-gut like Kirschbaum.

 

[notthatgood]

Not sure exactly where TE came from. I was out a lot this summer with ankle injuries so wasn't even hitting a lot when it happened. Two ideas: hitting 3x in a week with a Blade 98 v8 with old Lynx Tour / Element in it ... or kettlebell swings at the gym... or my Ezone 98 '22 setup (Grapplesnake Tour M8 at 46#). Hard to pinpoint. I would say I have generally clean technique / decent timing so not sure it was that.

Perhaps you're both right that I should go FB gut / SG / Multi...

 

[FLW]

Hey @notthatgood, I’m a TE sufferer. My issue was poor technique and pro gear. Too late for me (extensive damage to the tendon so I don’t feel it is the same after healing for 3 years) but safe yourself. I was a decent 3.5-4 so I wanted to use what the pro used but without the technique. So thanks to Rafa Nadal racquet and string configuration, I developed a bad TE and refused to stop playing. Anyhow, I recommend that you ditch the FB of poly and get a low RA racquet for now. Back to your question, VCore 98 2023 + multi @ 46lb = no TE or little TE. I had my doubts but I pulled the trigger and got me a Vcore 98 (2023) with a FB of head velocity @ 45lbs. In the range of 48 lbs and higher, I started feeling that the TE was flaring again. so be smart and protect yourself. Take it easy until full recovery, use a low RA racquet and multi strings, work on your technique. Try to find what caused it and avoid or correct it. My was caused by one hand BH. I tried to top spin too many low to the ground balls and unless you are Roger or Stan, you will most likely end up heating outside the sweet spot or frame it. Go to a good club and pay for a season’s lesson for your particular issue. It is a well spent money. AND I KNOW, MULTI SUCKS. NO SPIN. so you are going to have to try hard to generate more. Good luck.

 

[tennisandtennis]

What other exercises were you doing at the gym?

 

[leojramirez]

After 20 years playing and having played with the 2 prior versions, the vcore 98 2023 wrecked my elbow. Its soft but its the vibration frequency. Blade v8 is a good choice. I played with the vcp 97 while recovering, ultra soft. Then boom pro but I still feel sore after playing more than an hour even though its been like 4 months since I acquired them. Blade v8 98, comfortable but a bit too hard to play with if not 100%.
Got a Blade v8 100 2 weeks ago, seems to be the one that allows me to play my tennis and not feel too sore after.

 

[miki]

I used vcore 98 with nat gut full bed when I feel I need to be cautious about my arm and it works well for me

 

[FLW]

After 20 years playing and having played with the 2 prior versions, the vcore 98 2023 wrecked my elbow. Its soft but its the vibration frequency. Blade v8 is a good choice. I played with the vcp 97 while recovering, ultra soft. Then boom pro but I still feel sore after playing more than an hour even though its been like 4 months since I acquired them. Blade v8 98, comfortable but a bit too hard to play with if not 100%.
Got a Blade v8 100 2 weeks ago, seems to be the one that allows me to play my tennis and not feel too sore after.

Both, Blade v8 100 and VCP 97, are excellent choices for TE. I will add the VCP 100 if you need a little free power and more spin. People complained about being muffled but it did wonder for my game before I switched to vcore 98.

 

[PMF]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but the '23 VCore 98 didn't work for me either. The one I bought felt very different than the demo I tried, and I developed mild golfers elbow after only 3 hours of play. I tried changing from full poly at 47 to a multi-main & poly-cross hybrid, but still no luck. It does have a nice blend of power, spin, and control, but just not as comfortable as the RA suggests. Big no for me unfortunately.

 

[Boxbeams4ever]

Reading these posts makes me sooo glad I don't have a bad case of TE even when I still have a one-handed backhand. I have a mostly under control, passive case of tennis elbow but it was never from the backhand side. It seems to mostly come up now from the serve if anything.

Feel no pain, only occasional 'numb irritation' if I'm careless, and I can use a full bed of a softer poly or hybrid. But I need some form of dampening. Whether built-in or added by myself. For context, low stiffness and the ATS Textreme with Twaron seems to work for me, but I can get by with the VDM from Yonex if I modify with a bit more dampening and a not too stiff or uncomfortable poly.

I would strongly suggest some people here experiment with adding some type of foam into one side of the chambers in a racquet handle, the some type of foam packing tape into the other to even out the weight but not dampen feel too much, maybe power pads, and electrical tape instead of lead tape for adding weight. Luckily I don't seem to be sensitive to strict static weight limits.

Stick to multis with some poly inside for the mains if possible, Prince Premier Control, Head Velocity, Tecnifibre Triax are good ones. I've wondered about adding D3O foam tape under or into a handle before but I never got there since I didn't need to anymore.

Recommend looking up scraping or whatever it's called, or other massage techniques for recovering from the damage already caused, time away will very likely never be enough. The tendons have already sustained structural damage and denaturing.

 

[notthatgood]

Updates from me:

First is that I gave the VCore 98 a shot. VS Touch mains (50#), Tour M8 crosses (47#) and actually zero TE worsening (it's definitely still there, but playing hasn't made it any worse at all) but unfortunately I hate the frame. I've always struggled with VCore 98s and every generation I think I'm going to finally like it, but nah. Since the '23 is so soft, I feel like I have to absolutely murder the ball to death to get anything out of it, and it is even less powered off-center. Similar to how I feel about an Extreme Tour. On top of that, the '23 Vcores have an insanely high launch angle which make them unpredictable asf. I confirmed that I still play my best tennis with the EZone 98 '22, but it still hurts the arm — even with LXN gut. Not a match, unfortunately. I may do a last ditch VS touch at an even lower tension just to see, but not optimistic.

Aside from that, I played with the Blade 98 v8 16x19 for 7 months last year actually and would go all in on it if it had a little more free power and spin potential. I tried MANY setups (strings, balance/weight distributions etc) but could never get it to perform with my game style. I do love how it feels though. Maybe the v9 will be the one!

And @tennisandtennis, lots of things, but specific potential culprits would be KB swings, Arnold presses, skull crushers, too heavy rows... I'm by no means a gym animal, but I do work with a trainer 2x/week.