New Racquet... Which One To Choose

Best Racquet Choice

  • Total voters
    77
T

tennisfanatic6060

Rookie
Hey, I posted this thread a couple of weeks ago, and here's the link: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=176826

Well, despite everybody's efforts, I've come to a conclusion that I've now narrowed it down to 3 racquets... the Microgel Prestige MP, the KBlade 98, and the new Yonex RDS 00l 2008 MP.

I just ordered the Yonex to demo, and have tried out the Microgel Prestige and the KBlade. I liked the Microgel Prestige's small amount of power, which allowed me to take big cuts at the ball to generate my power. I found the KBlade harder to play with, maybe because of the different weight balance and lighter weight.

If you guys could help me out by stating what you think would be the best new racquet for me according to the above thread, it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
B

BOZO

Rookie
I hit with the blade for a couple hours, the raquet set up with 18 gauge string (it think it's Timo at 60/58, which my friend told me thi is the best set up for the blade. I think it's very good stick ... powerful, crisp, serve so well, and very solid. One thing I don't like it's too light, I can't adjust it to my swing. My friend (the owner) switch from Flexpoint 4 to the Blade, I thought his ball heavier & directional & lower but still lacking of spin.
 
Fedace

Fedace

Banned
K-blade has been a rave all over the world. i am hearing things like the Best racket ever made by Wilson period.
 
T

tennisfanatic6060

Rookie
Wow, it looks like a lot of you are favoring the KBlade. I guess I'll have to give it another shot. Perhaps it's just one of those racquets that you have to get used to. That was the case with my FXP Radical MP, and maybe the same thing will happen with the KBlade. Thank you very much for all the responses, hope they continue. Remember, the more opinions, the better:).
 
T

tennisfanatic6060

Rookie
Well, today I hit with the KBlade again for an hour and a half. My backhand felt solid, but my forehand and putaway shots felt very flimsy. Even when I connected for a strong shot, I just wasn't feeling it. So for now, I've ruled it out, as my groundstrokes would be the most important shots to have when switching racquets. I notice that the Yonex and Head are currently equal in votes. If you guys could vote between the two and leave the KBlade to be, I'd really appreciate it. As I've said before, the more votes, the better...:) Thanks.
 
T

tennisfanatic6060

Rookie
Wow. Since my last reply 6 people have voted for the Head, and only 1 person has voted for the Yonex. If anybody wants to tell me why they're favoring the Head, I'd appreciate it. Happy voting!
 
JZImmer123

JZImmer123

Rookie
Ever consider the KBlade Tour? Seems a little like the Microgel Prestige and heavier that the regular KBlade and smaller head.
 
D

djokster

Professional
Yeah, try the k blade tour. I use the prestige mid and found it to be a lot more maneuverable and more versatile on all-around court performance. You should give it a try.
 
T

tennisfanatic6060

Rookie
First Day With Yonex Demo

Well, my Yonex demo arrived today, and I was able to hit with it for an hour. However, our clinic did mostly drills, so I wasn't able to experiment with it too much. However, I came to these conclusions...

1. My backhand felt only decent while using this racquet. My control wasn't there, and I had to really swing hard to generate my power. I think this was a result of the racquet's high stiffness. This stiffness really irritated my shoulder as well.

2. My forehand felt worse with this racquet than my backhand did. My control wasn't really there, and I also had to swing hard to keep the ball deep with power. I also think the racquet's stiffness contributed to this. My shoulder was more irritated when hitting a forehand than it was with hitting a backhand. I finished hitting at 6:00, but my left shoulder continues to hurt 3 hours later. And today I didn't even hit any serves...:(

3. I wasn't able to test out my volleys, as our group never practiced those. I have a court for an hour tomorrow, so I can try those then.

4. My service returns felt alright with my Yonex demo. When I made a good connection with the ball, there was a good response. I can try this again tomorrow.

5. I wasn't able to test out my slice much with this racquet. However, for the amount I did it, it felt pretty good. I can try it some more tomorrow.

Overall, my first day with the Yonex demo was not something to cheer about. I would not consider my strokes to be a success. Maybe I just need to get used to the high stiffness and square-shaped head. I've read that it takes a little while to adjust to the previous model, which is very similar to this 2008 model. I just don't understand why Yonex would make a player's racquet so stiff. I still have 6 more days to test it out, so I'll be back here telling you all about how it goes. By the way, is there any way to decrease the stiffness of this racquet? Also, any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
T

tennisfanatic6060

Rookie
Well, today I got to hit with my Yonex demo for another hour, and it felt like a whole different racquet. I was hitting my spots much better, and the power was there too. It just felt much more comfortable than it did in my hands yesterday. Who knows, maybe tomorrow it will bring me even more success...

I also decided to bring the Microgel Prestige MP down to the court to hit with. It feels softer and lighter than the Yonex, even though TW shows it to weigh more than the Yonex. I'm guesing it's a result of its high stiffness.

Right now, my shoulder continues to bother me. I think that I just need to adjust to the Yonex, as I've heard some reviewers of the previous model say. I would rather have the Yonex, as I like its paintjob more than the Prestige's.

Also, I have a few more questions. First of all, would this racquet be hard to string compared to other brands of racquets? Also, is it true that Yonex frames tend to break, meaning that they aren't built as strong as their competitors? I've heard these things being said, but I'd be great if I could get some confirmations. Thanks guys, and happy voting!
 
hewittfan3

hewittfan3

Rookie
Hey, I have a RDS 003 and I feel that it is a very strong racquet. I have had it for a year now and i'm a pretty big hitter and my racquet is still intact. My tennis coach strings my racquets but he said its just as easy as any other racquet to string except u want to use double string instead of single or something like that. I think that you would be very happy with your Yonex racquet. I know that I am
 
Anton

Anton

Legend
To me, if you have enough strength to play with Prestige MP whole day long - it is the best racket here by far.
 
Anton

Anton

Legend
tennisfanatic6060 said:
Also, I have a few more questions. First of all, would this racquet be hard to string compared to other brands of racquets? Also, is it true that Yonex frames tend to break, meaning that they aren't built as strong as their competitors? I've heard these things being said, but I'd be great if I could get some confirmations. Thanks guys, and happy voting!
Click to expand...

No, it is a very standard racket to string.

Never heard of or had yonex frame break on me.
 
T

tennisfanatic6060

Rookie
Well, I hit again with the Yonex today for another hour and a half. It didn't feel as good as it did last night. The control wasn't too bad, but the power just wasn't there. I have to swing very hard to generate as much power as I currently am. This forces me to aim higher over the net, which is not what I would like to adjust my game to. The Yonex continues to be rough on my shoulder, which begins to hurt after short periods of time. I'm hitting again with it Saturday though. Something tells me I'll be getting the Prestige, which is also a great racquet.

However, I came across something on this forum that got me thinking. People are talking about the new Aero Storms. One of them is going to be lighter, which is exactly what I need in that racquet. I think it comes out in March or April. If anyone knows its weight, I'd really appreciate an answer.

Happy voting! By the way, I'd rather you not vote for the KBlade, which I officially ruled out last Sunday. Also, I'm intent on getting a 98 in. frame. A few of you have been suggesting smaller frame sizes, which I appreciate, but I know for a fact that my accuracy is not ready for a frame size smaller than a 98. Thanks anyways.
 
T

tennisfanatic6060

Rookie
This morning, I was able to hit with the Yonex for another hour and a half. It felt much better than it did on Wednesday. Nice spin, feel, and power. My shoulder is a little bit sore, but not as bad as it was earlier in the week. I put a Wilson Pro Overgrip on it the other day, so I think a larger handle had something to do with this. Also, today I used a different dampener than I used earlier in the week. I had been using Head's Logo Dampener 2, but today I used Head's original Logo Dampener ( http://www2.head.com/tennis/accessories.php?region=us&tag=accessories ). I'm thinking this could have made a difference. Do dampeners differ in their ability to prevent strings from vibrating? If so, which dampeners are best at blocking out vibrations? Also, how good does a rubber band work compared to a plastic dampener from a big name brand? I'm hitting with the Yonex again tonight for another hour, so I'll be back here shortly. Keep up the good voting!
 
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