Best serving racquet (excluding stiff or extended frames)?

ej28405

New User
I’ve been using the new gen 3 Pure Strike 18x20 and its serving bombs, compared to many other frames I’ve used which are just average for me on serve.
 

4-string

Professional
PDT+ is cool, especially for hard flat first serves. Placement not so much.

For placement the smaller the headsize the better it seems, my PS90 and Phantom 93 P are both amazing serving racquets.

YMMV though.
 

Dartagnan64

G.O.A.T.
PDT+ is cool, especially for hard flat first serves. Placement not so much.

For placement the smaller the headsize the better it seems, my PS90 and Phantom 93 P are both amazing serving racquets.

YMMV though.

I was just writing the same thing when I noted your post lol.

PD+ for bombing flat serves to the middle of the box.

Phantom 93P for more finesse to your service game. Placement, pace and consistency are top notch with that frame. I played a couple sets yesterday with the 93P and I think i had to hit 4 second serves all match with 0 doubles faults.
 

golden chicken

Hall of Fame
Pro Staff Tour 90 and 6.0 85 are probably the most satisfying.

I get a little more pop with my new to me Pro Staff Tour 95.

But serving with my wife's Burn 100 CV is like cheating.
 

AMGF

Hall of Fame
My fastest serve ever is with the Prince Beasner. Second is Ezone98+ and Vcore98+ about equal.

So excluding extended, I think the RF97 is awesome, I always served huge with that one (though it’s a bit stiff). Meaning for me, the best non extended and soft serving frame would be the Tc95.
 

Hit 'em clean

Semi-Pro
My vote is for the Ezone 98 2020, if you like big SW in a 4pt HL package the Ezone 98 Tour 98 qualifies as well. Placement, velocity and spin are all there in both. Ezone 98 works a little better for me, but the Tour 98 version is pretty good as well if the static weight and SW are not an issue for you. Hands down the best Ezone 98 2020 is the best serving racquet I've ever tried.
 

Frankc

Professional
Best serving is...? Define?

Today? How fast and the sound... Did I mention how fast before? (true, some hs players on a court next to me were contesting for the loudest serve, true story...)

Old School? Placement within an inch or two of the line; varied spins and speeds; depth & variety of second serve the key... (Now, that's good serving)

Best frame - weighty and softer so you can hit upwards dynamically and the ball will still come in - and softer to vary those spins that befuddle a returner...
 

Wheelz

Hall of Fame
Ezone 98 is a beast in stock form for serving.
Yeah it looks like the regular 98 extended .5 inches, so a good 20sw added I think. Have only tried it briefly and it was solid, just have to get used to timing.
edit : read too quickly the title, i thought it was an extended only question.
 

AMGF

Hall of Fame
Best serving is...? Define?

Today? How fast and the sound... Did I mention how fast before? (true, some hs players on a court next to me were contesting for the loudest serve, true story...)

Old School? Placement within an inch or two of the line; varied spins and speeds; depth & variety of second serve the key... (Now, that's good serving)

Best frame - weighty and softer so you can hit upwards dynamically and the ball will still come in - and softer to vary those spins that befuddle a returner...
Tested the club pro’s frame last week. He plays a leaded pure aero+. Tested serves with it. The sound was incredibly loud. Strings certainly had a say in this, he plays with rpm blast in the mid 50s.

Anyway long story short, I was sure I was hitting bombs with it judging by the feel (stiff) and sound (so loud people on nearby courts were commenting on the sound) but I had a 3mph slower average than my Ezone98+.

The only way to know for sure if a frame is more powerful is hard data. Just look at TW reviews, how many times are they saying that the tested frame was more powerful or had more spin than their frame only to see the Playsight data tell a different story...
 

Wheelz

Hall of Fame
My vote is for the Ezone 98 2020, if you like big SW in a 4pt HL package the Ezone 98 Tour 98 qualifies as well. Placement, velocity and spin are all there in both. Ezone 98 works a little better for me, but the Tour 98 version is pretty good as well if the static weight and SW are not an issue for you. Hands down the best Ezone 98 2020 is the best serving racquet I've ever tried.
I wonder what makes the ezone a better serving racquet? Not arguing , I have one in the bag and it serves well. Curious what makes it serve well.
 

SinneGOAT

Hall of Fame
Yeah it looks like the regular 98 extended .5 inches, so a good 20sw added I think. Have only tried it briefly and it was solid, just have to get used to timing.
edit : read too quickly the title, i thought it was an extended only question.
Even the non extended version is great, it almost feels extended I think because of the isometric shape giving it extra reach. It’s hard to describe, but it has a similar feel to an extended racquet but not being extended.
 

Wheelz

Hall of Fame
I've hit at the top a few times feeling it wouldn't go further then the net and ended up being a solid serve. I agree, a few times that part surprised me.
 

SinneGOAT

Hall of Fame
Clash 98 is good Too, very flex but provide strange effects to the ball
It’s ok, the blade and clash for me were terrible on serves, very inconsistent response. It can launch the ball one time and then shoot right in the net off the same toss. Same goes for blade, it can launch and then randomly completely lose all power, the 18/20 had a more consistent response.
 

moon shot

Hall of Fame
Even the non extended version is great, it almost feels extended I think because of the isometric shape giving it extra reach. It’s hard to describe, but it has a similar feel to an extended racquet but not being extended.

The mains are as short as a mid from other brands so the sweet spot is relatively closer to the tip than other mp frames.

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Hit 'em clean

Semi-Pro
I wonder what makes the ezone a better serving racquet? Not arguing , I have one in the bag and it serves well. Curious what makes it serve well.
Tough and interesting question. I prefer HL racquets because of how I swing on ground strokes (7-9pts HL)... a bit more traditional swing I really hit the accelerator as the swing starts forward and generally like having a little room to 'catch up' or make an adjustment before contact. On serves I find that I can lose track of the head or simply get impatient and serve better if I can feel a bit more mass in the head. It can force me to be more patient. Ezone at 6-7pts has just enough weight and yet is light enough that I have feel and plenty of easy acceleration without feeling I have to force the issue. The result is a relaxed swing with tons of velocity and good targeting on flat and spin serves.

My preferences for a racquet on serves are a little different than on ground strokes so for me it's always a little challenging. Trying to find a racquet that gives me both is not easy and usually there are small comprimises.
 
J

joohan

Guest
For who? Personally, I prefer thin beam, smaller head frames with sub 330 SW for serving. BLX PS90, PS85, Volkl PB10 Mid, Vantage 90...too bad I play my best tennis with 98 sq.inch, tapered beams. At least the SW preference stays the same.
 
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Ryebread

Hall of Fame
I’ve been using the new gen 3 Pure Strike 18x20 and its serving bombs, compared to many other frames I’ve used which are just average for me on serve.

this was for me as well.
but I ultimately went with a pure aero vs for a few reasons.
Another strong racquet for serves!
Both of these have given me a lot more free points than any other sticks.
 

lelopez

Semi-Pro
Any racquet that cuts through air like a knife through hot butter, i.e., a Wilson 85 or 90. A Wilson 97 is not too shabby if you can get it moving.
 
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