Flying under the radar? Yonex Ezone DR100

beepee1972

beepee1972

Semi-Pro
I have been demoing quite some rackets lately. I am a 44 year old male, trained in the eighties, restarted playing some 7 years ago, ranked between 4 and 5 in Netherlands. Currently playing with Volkl PB10 (98 head, 18x20). While this is a racket that ca do anything when you are "on", I feel I am struggling too much when I am off. And it takes me a lot of effort to keep up the level and mostly, I sometimes feel I am lacking winner power to finish off balls.

So am on the lookout for some free power, while keeping the same comfort level and (preferably) control of my current racket. Strikes, Blades, Warrior, Revolution, Q Tour, Tour G, Tour P, Tour T.... I have tried them all... and returned them to the shop.

Until last Friday when the owner gave me the DR100 to try, strung with Yonex Poly Tour Pro at 23.5 x 22.5k, but not a fresh string job. From the first ball, I was amazed at the ease with which I could strike balls, without errors, with added speed and not unimportantly... confidence!
Every hit was way easier than with my Volkl, while still having the feeling to know exactly what I was doing. This racket keeps amazing me. I have done mainly singles in my testing, so am really looking forward to try this racket in doubles too.... but.... I keep getting surprised by this racket! That is why I am amazed that I don't find too many comments on this board about this racket. Would be good to hear your thoughts.
 
You won't find a more control oriented tweener racket than dr100 with way more feel and touch that those babolat rocket launchers. Best overall yonex for me. Super easy and solid on serve returns against big hitters, easy access to slice, decent drop, powerful serve as most of yonexes and enough power as most tweener sticks. More crisp and responsive than the ai100 with less flex. Still retains some flex and soft/plush touch on contact unlike the firm touch of sticks like pd15 or pure aero. Poly your pro plays decent but cyclone tour that provides a little more easy spin is better suited if you can afford to string it regularly. I have tried ai's,tourf97,dr98,dr98lite,si100,duelg100 but dr100 overall gives me more confidence on all surfaces. Be careful and if you are going to purchase it choose matchmaking in order to buy the one with the lowest SW. The only wrong decision yonex did with the dr's compared to ai's was the increased SW....for example the forehand motion on dr98 lags a lot...very difficult to create racket speed but still an amazing weapon of precision. To me ideal kg's to string dr100 is 24/23 :)
 
The DR100 would be my "go-to" stick if I wasn't still trying to reconcile with my IG Prestige MP's. I moved away from the Prestige for a bit to try the Head Extreme XT Pro. Loved everything about the Extreme except volleys. I tried the DR98 but didn't like the flex.

The DR100 was a perfect compromise. Amazing at the net. Little stiff but certainly not like the Pure Drive.
 
RollTrackTake said:
The DR 100 is way underrated and doesn't get enough love. Out of the 100" head, 300g unstrung weight club its in my top two along with the new Prince Warrior.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the textreme warrior too but dr100 offers a lot more control (warrior has a higher launch angle and swings faster...don't like it's thick beam) without sacrificing power and to my liking it has better feel. But i will still prefer any day the textreme warrior 100 compared to babolat launchers.
 
It is a nice all court franchise stick (+the 98). For me, I get a little more overall balance of play w/DR 98.
Plus Head Sizes mean squat to me.
Width/Girth matters.
Doing a compare in there
Spin Window Measurements
EZone DR 100
Spin Window (in)
5.57

Ezone DR98
5.6

Difference
-0.03

Naturally a diff in the other specs...but
go figure....
 
Accidentally broke my DR98 last night while serving and I'm thinking about switching to the DR100 for an extra bit of power. How would you guys say the comfort level is compared to the DR98? The DR98 bothered my shoulder a little bit if I strung too high(above 55# with poly).
 
MRJONG said:
Accidentally broke my DR98 last night while serving and I'm thinking about switching to the DR100 for an extra bit of power. How would you guys say the comfort level is compared to the DR98? The DR98 bothered my shoulder a little bit if I strung too high(above 55# with poly).
Click to expand...

Personally i found dr98 more harsh on the shoulder and dr100 more harsh for the elbow. Both of them a lot more friendly than babolats. This period i play with poly tour pro yellow which is stiff. With a soft poly like cyclone tour no worries.
 
RollTrackTake said:
The DR 100 is way underrated and doesn't get enough love. Out of the 100" head, 300g unstrung weight club its in my top two along with the new Prince Warrior.
Click to expand...

Yeah the Yonex 100 frames are great sleepers. I have an older xi98, and its a fantastic frame. Is the 100 a more open pattern with a higher trajectory? The only thing about the Xi98 is that the trajectory is a little lower than I prefer.
 
DJTaurus said:
Personally i found dr98 more harsh on the shoulder and dr100 more harsh for the elbow. Both of them a lot more friendly than babolats. This period i play with poly tour pro yellow which is stiff. With a soft poly like cyclone tour no worries.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. The only racket that has hurt my elbow so far is a Pure Strike 18x20 with poly in it, I'm sure this will be way more comfortable than that. Currently I'm using Tier 1 Firewire but I'm planning on trying YPTP and Cyclone/Cyclone Tour in the future. Have you ever tried Kevlar/ZX combo in the DR100?
 
MRJONG said:
Thanks for the info. The only racket that has hurt my elbow so far is a Pure Strike 18x20 with poly in it, I'm sure this will be way more comfortable than that. Currently I'm using Tier 1 Firewire but I'm planning on trying YPTP and Cyclone/Cyclone Tour in the future. Have you ever tried Kevlar/ZX combo in the DR100?
Click to expand...

Tier is another excellent string that flies under the radar...to me it's on the stiff side like cyclone and yptp. Just only try cyclone tour. Kevlar no.
 
How is DR 100 compared to AI 98 from feel perspective? I know it's a subjective topic but I need a bit more harsh feeling without the harm.
 
Ok, I am coming off a demo of DR 100 strung with Wilson Sensation and I'll tell you what, it was awesome. I was playing dubs with a drop in group. There was nothing I didn't like and a few things I loved. Everything that has been said is accurate. I am recovering from TE so I was worried about the 100. No unusual pain, but my serves created a haus of pain for my opponents. Flat, slice, kick, out wide, down the T, at the body...the 100 hit them all and well. Pretty good maneuverability. Effortless groundies. Great punch volleys. Had the touch of a stick in its class. This weekend, the DR98!
 
Power Player said:
Yeah the Yonex 100 frames are great sleepers. I have an older xi98, and its a fantastic frame. Is the 100 a more open pattern with a higher trajectory? The only thing about the Xi98 is that the trajectory is a little lower than I prefer.
Click to expand...
speaking in terms of the Ais, the 100 does not seem to have as low a launch angle as the 98. it also has some meat in the SW for being a 300g rac. real solid racquet, but maybe not as much as your Xpro two point oh. it seems to have more useable stringbed than the X, to me at least. build quality is top notch.
 
MRJONG said:
Accidentally broke my DR98 last night while serving and I'm thinking about switching to the DR100 for an extra bit of power. How would you guys say the comfort level is compared to the DR98? The DR98 bothered my shoulder a little bit if I strung too high(above 55# with poly).
Click to expand...

I've got the DR strung at 53/51 with poly (WC Silverstring), it's very comfortable, and I've been hitting 5 times a week recently.
 
n8dawg6 said:
speaking in terms of the Ais, the 100 does not seem to have as low a launch angle as the 98. it also has some meat in the SW for being a 300g rac. real solid racquet, but maybe not as much as your Xpro two point oh. it seems to have more useable stringbed than the X, to me at least. build quality is top notch.
Click to expand...

Yeah the ai98 launch angle was very low and why I sold mine. I really loved the frame outside of that. The xi98 seems to generate more spin. Not sure if the pattern is as tight but it's still the classic yonex 16x20 pattern. It's not the same frame as the AI.

I need to spend more time with it again, but I have always liked it. Had it for a couple of years now.
 
Power Player said:
Yeah the ai98 launch angle was very low and why I sold mine. I really loved the frame outside of that. The xi98 seems to generate more spin. Not sure if the pattern is as tight but it's still the classic yonex 16x20 pattern. It's not the same frame as the AI.

I need to spend more time with it again, but I have always liked it. Had it for a couple of years now.
Click to expand...
I like the Ai98 a lot, but if I'm honest with myself I play better with a more foriving frame. Not that it isn't forgiving, it's just made for someone who makes very consistent contact. I keep going back to 100 sq in rax ...
 
It's interesting how 2 square inches can make all the difference to some. I thought about switching to the Ai/DR100 from my Ai/DR 98 but I realized that I can mimic most of the benefits of that slightly larger head just tweaking string attributes. The thing I can't get from my 98s is the added stiffness which results in added pop off the strings. For that reason, I've ordered a Tec Tfight 315 Dynacore for customizing. Still, the Ai/DR 100 are definite sleepers. I'd recommend them to anyone looking for a racquet that does everything well.
 
DJTaurus said:
You won't find a more control oriented tweener racket than dr100 with way more feel and touch that those babolat rocket launchers. Best overall yonex for me. Super easy and solid on serve returns against big hitters, easy access to slice, decent drop, powerful serve as most of yonexes and enough power as most tweener sticks. More crisp and responsive than the ai100 with less flex. Still retains some flex and soft/plush touch on contact unlike the firm touch of sticks like pd15 or pure aero. Poly your pro plays decent but cyclone tour that provides a little more easy spin is better suited if you can afford to string it regularly. I have tried ai's,tourf97,dr98,dr98lite,si100,duelg100 but dr100 overall gives me more confidence on all surfaces. Be careful and if you are going to purchase it choose matchmaking in order to buy the one with the lowest SW. The only wrong decision yonex did with the dr's compared to ai's was the increased SW....for example the forehand motion on dr98 lags a lot...very difficult to create racket speed but still an amazing weapon of precision. To me ideal kg's to string dr100 is 24/23 :)
Click to expand...
If I were to buy a pair, what string(s) might you suggest for someone in the recovery phase of TE. I demoed this with what I believe was Wilson Sensation 55# and loved it. No more pain and stiffness than usual. Natural gut? Some sort of hybrid?
 
I finally hit with the DR100 last night, strung with T1 Firewire @ 53#. Noticeable decrease in spin compared to the 98 but my shots were landing deep in the court pretty easily and consistently. I also loved it for my first serves but I felt like I had a harder time getting my second serve in because it had less spin. Also easier to flatten out strokes with the 100. Unfortunately at the end of my session in the 3rd set my wrist started hurting. I think adding some weight to the hoop might help but I'm scared of injuring my wrist too badly so I might need to try to swap for a DR98.
 
MRJONG said:
I finally hit with the DR100 last night, strung with T1 Firewire @ 53#. Noticeable decrease in spin compared to the 98 but my shots were landing deep in the court pretty easily and consistently. I also loved it for my first serves but I felt like I had a harder time getting my second serve in because it had less spin. Also easier to flatten out strokes with the 100. Unfortunately at the end of my session in the 3rd set my wrist started hurting. I think adding some weight to the hoop might help but I'm scared of injuring my wrist too badly so I might need to try to swap for a DR98.
Click to expand...

May be the string setup as well, it seems most folks reported more spin with DR100 which I haven't tried and I have found Dr98 has less spin for my game.

Softer string would probably help.Have you tried Yonex Ploy Tour pro/Solinco Hyper G/Wilson Revolve are more on the softer side of the polys.
 
I have done some extensive testing, training and some friendly matches... and I think I must conclude that this racket is a bit too much for me. Some moments I think I have found the holy grail, while a few points later I cannot control my shots and for reasons unknown to me the balls are long. Overall.... I do not feel confident that I know what I am doing, how much I hate admitting this to myself, because I really liked this racket. Will try some further testing with the DR98, but the DR 100 is NOT going to be my new racket.
 
bkr said:
May be the string setup as well, it seems most folks reported more spin with DR100 which I haven't tried and I have found Dr98 has less spin for my game.

Softer string would probably help.Have you tried Yonex Ploy Tour pro/Solinco Hyper G/Wilson Revolve are more on the softer side of the polys.
Click to expand...

It was my first time playing tennis in about 2 weeks so its possible I just need to get back in the groove to get the same spin on my groundstrokes back. I do have a set of YPTP(Black) that I was going to try eventually, the reason I went with the Firewire is because I wanted to be able to compare the DR100 to my DR/AI98 accurately with the same string setup. I'm going to hold onto it for a little bit longer and mess with some lead tape as well as softer strings to see if that helps. Now that I think about it I had some wrist pain with DR98 before I added lead tape so I think I just need some more mass to not get pushed back so much... and I need to not shank so many balls haha
 
Makes sense as we all play and swing different and some racquets suit our game styles.Also lot of time our muscle memory is set to a particular racquet after years of playing with it and things won't work out as well when we change the racquet to next popular one well liked by many.This is one of the main point gets lost as we see with lot of pros that they never change the racquet they have started playing Tennis as kids.
 
PhxRacket said:
Love my matched, modded DR 100s strung with 18g X1 Biphase at 55#.
Click to expand...

Your earlier post reminded me of my experience, although with the 98 instead of the 100. Restrung with x-one and it feels pretty amazing on serves. Gonna try some other polys though cause I'm kinda lacking topspin on bh in particular.
 
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