Opinions on Yonex DR98 review/article...?

[RichVentura]

I read this article today with much interest:

http://www.tennis.com/gear/yonex/racquets/yonex-ezone-dr-98-3055/

Opinions on that point of view of DR98 anyone?

 

[junk]

I read this article today with much interest:

http://www.tennis.com/gear/yonex/racquets/yonex-ezone-dr-98-3055/

Opinions on that point of view of DR98 anyone?

why don't you take the first crack at it?

 

[Anton]

I read this article today with much interest:

http://www.tennis.com/gear/yonex/racquets/yonex-ezone-dr-98-3055/

Opinions on that point of view of DR98 anyone?

Iz gud.

 

[nadalito92]

My opinion is that it made me interested in this frame again

 

[DanF1961]

I just sold my DR 98 to my brother. It's a good all around frame for an all court game. I agree with the article that it falls between a player's and tweener stick. I sold mine because I thought it lacked stability at the net and on my 1hbh. I added some weight at 3&9 and in the handle and that helped but it made it harder to swing as well. I liked the frame, I just didn't like it well enough to keep it. I'm older (55) so I'm thinking about demoing the DR 100. The other frames I'm thinking about are the Angell 97 & 100 so I can get the HL balance I want for my backhand and for volleys. Currently hitting a Volkl Super G 10 325 which has nice stability but not quite as headlight as I would like and I don't want to add any weight to it. I think I would have like the DR 98 more if I had a 2hbh and If I was younger and more athletic. It's a good choice for a younger player who wants to save their arms, being a comfortable good all around frame.

 

[PhxRacket]

I just sold my DR 98 to my brother. It's a good all around frame for an all court game. I agree with the article that it falls between a player's and tweener stick. I sold mine because I thought it lacked stability at the net and on my 1hbh. I added some weight at 3&9 and in the handle and that helped but it made it harder to swing as well. I liked the frame, I just didn't like it well enough to keep it. I'm older (55) so I'm thinking about demoing the DR 100. The other frames I'm thinking about are the Angell 97 & 100 so I can get the HL balance I want for my backhand and for volleys. Currently hitting a Volkl Super G 10 325 which has nice stability but not quite as headlight as I would like and I don't want to add any weight to it. I think I would have like the DR 98 more if I had a 2hbh and If I was younger and more athletic. It's a good choice for a younger player who wants to save their arms, being a comfortable good all around frame.

Totally agree. I was stuck between the DR98 and 100. I plauyed collegiately and wanted to stay with something like a "player's stick." However, as I demoed both numerous times, I found that I played my best tennis with the 100. It made me sad that I my skill, or lack thereof, moved me into the 100 category. But, time marches on. I am nearly 50, not in the same physical shape as when I was in late teens, and am not really that fast. So i bought two 100s weighted to 11.8 with a 9 pts HL balance and 324 SW. Wow!! All I did was take them to a local tournament and clean house in LOD mixed doubles. Everything about the stick was on point. The best part, my TE didn't rear its ugly head after 5 hours of tennis one night and 2.5 hours the next night. Give it a go, you may like it?

 

[BigHitta]

I agree that the DR98 lacks stability without adding weight to hoop and handle. The downside of adding weight is the decrease in maneuverability. I loved my weighted up DR98 for singles and precise placement from the backcourt but found it to be a liability at the net against hard hitters -- with 8 grams in the butt cap and 2 grams total at 10 and 2 my reaction overheads and volleys suffered. I was very surprised that I didn't enjoy the DR98 at the net because of the rave reviews it received for volleys by the TW play testers. I thoroughly enjoyed playing my DR98s but ultimately sold them and went on to several other frames in a short period of time. I also played the Angell TC97 320gram 10 points headlight and loved it on serve and flat returns but something was missing for me --- I will say that the paint job was very nice. I have moved onto what is perhaps the most maligned racquet on Talk Tennis and am thoroughly enjoying it, the Head Graphene XT Radical Pro. Very stable, great from the back court, solid on serve -- no arm issues but I play with 2 overgrips. I am starting to realize that I can't place too much credence on reviews and need to test racquets for myself as on too many occasions I have run out and purchased the latest and greatest (i.e. Babolat Pure Aero, Pure Drive Tour, Prince Extreme 95, Angell TC97,...), I end up selling them shortly after and cursing myself for making dumb purchases. I am an NTRP 4.5 lefty hitter nearing 5.0 in singles playing open tournaments and USTA 4.5 league.

 

[DanF1961]

Totally agree. I was stuck between the DR98 and 100. I plauyed collegiately and wanted to stay with something like a "player's stick." However, as I demoed both numerous times, I found that I played my best tennis with the 100. It made me sad that I my skill, or lack thereof, moved me into the 100 category. But, time marches on. I am nearly 50, not in the same physical shape as when I was in late teens, and am not really that fast. So i bought two 100s weighted to 11.8 with a 9 pts HL balance and 324 SW. Wow!! All I did was take them to a local tournament and clean house in LOD mixed doubles. Everything about the stick was on point. The best part, my TE didn't rear its ugly head after 5 hours of tennis one night and 2.5 hours the next night. Give it a go, you may like it?

I'm thinking a DR100 with a leather grip to tail weight it. I think that would give it a good HL balance along with some extra forgiveness that I need at my age.

 

[sma1001]

For me that's one of the better reviews i've read recently. That's perhaps because the DR98 has been out for some time, whereas most reviews come out shortly after the racquet enters the market, and there tends to be an element of "hype". There is very frequently a claim that the racquet is an improvement on an earlier model, when fairly often that doesn't stack up in real play.

For me the DR98 was very similar to the Ai98. And in both cases I found I couldn't get as much out of the frame as I expected to get. With a full poly around 50-52 I found it lacking in power, and launch angle was a little low, especially on my flatter 2HBH. So i never quite gelled with either. BUT what i did conclude was that, with a different string set-up, it could have worked, and the article highlights this aspect. It's pretty rare you see reviewers in sticks with this beam thickness advocating a gut hybrid, but that makes sense to me. My instinct is that with the right set-up it could be very very good.

 

[Anton]

I setup my DR98 with 5 grams of lead spread around the top half of the loop and 2g on the V throat.

Plays VERY stable with plenty of spin/power with Wilson Revolve @ 50lbs

 

[RichVentura]

This article made sense to me. I used to use a powerful tweener where the ball just sailed on groundstrokes too often, and I hate hate hate giving away free points. Placement is usually more than important than power in tennis. I know the "modern game" is all about power and spin and "grip it and rip it," but I play mostly doubles and finesse and accuracy are more important than huge ground strokes.

But then I moved to a Pure Control Tour, and I had that accuracy. But it just lacked a bit of pop and I felt like I had to come out of my shoes to really rip it.

DR98 has more pop than the PCT, but it still has that all-important control. DR98 still mostly a control racquet, I think. Control, control, control. A great mix of pop and control, although tending towards the control, in my opinion.

I have my three DR98s leaded up to 12.2 ounces and wouldn't think about going any lower. A friend has a DR98 and plays it stock and it feels very different and worse than mine (in my opinion). But at 12.2 ounces there is stability, plow -- solid. But I don't want to go any heavier, either. Got to be able to use finesse and get racquet head speed, in addition to the stability and plow through.

I play with gut and poly hybrid. 4.5 player at 49 years old.

DR98 = best of both worlds.

Unusually insightful and nuanced article, in my opinion.

 

[Chingoo1255]

"I play with gutand poly hybrid. 4.5 player at 49 years old."

How is your string life? I know it's not the same but I just scored one of the last new AI98 and thinking about doing a gut poly hybrid. Not a string breaker but here but wanted to know due to how expensive gut is.

 

[DanF1961]

This article made sense to me. I used to use a powerful tweener where the ball just sailed on groundstrokes too often, and I hate hate hate giving away free points. Placement is usually more than important than power in tennis. I know the "modern game" is all about power and spin and "grip it and rip it," but I play mostly doubles and finesse and accuracy are more important than huge ground strokes.

But then I moved to a Pure Control Tour, and I had that accuracy. But it just lacked a bit of pop and I felt like I had to come out of my shoes to really rip it.

DR98 has more pop than the PCT, but it still has that all-important control. DR98 still mostly a control racquet, I think. Control, control, control. A great mix of pop and control, although tending towards the control, in my opinion.

I have my three DR98s leaded up to 12.2 ounces and wouldn't think about going any lower. A friend has a DR98 and plays it stock and it feels very different and worse than mine (in my opinion). But at 12.2 ounces there is stability, plow -- solid. But I don't want to go any heavier, either. Got to be able to use finesse and get racquet head speed, in addition to the stability and plow through.

I play with gut and poly hybrid. 4.5 player at 49 years old.

DR98 = best of both worlds.

Unusually insightful and nuanced article, in my opinion.

I can see it being an excellent stick with the added lead to give it the stability it lacks in stock form. Add the gut/poly hybrid to give this control oriented frame some extra power, and I can see it working great. Good article and good thread.

 

[Amp1]

I play at 4.0 level with this stick without any mods and don't feel the need to add any weight. It feels pretty stable to me in stock weight

 

[RichVentura]

"I play with gutand poly hybrid. 4.5 player at 49 years old."

How is your string life? I know it's not the same but I just scored one of the last new AI98 and thinking about doing a gut poly hybrid. Not a string breaker but here but wanted to know due to how expensive gut is.

I use Paxific Tough Gut in the mains at 52 pounds and Head Hawk poly in crosses at 48 pounds. I play four times a week and string job lasts me about two months. That equals a lot of playing! The poly loses tension, but the gut mains remain great until the end and the racquet gets 70% of its feel from the mains. I am not a string breaker.

 

[mikeeeee]

Solinco Revolution 16L @ 52/50 is an absolute dream. Switching to it permanently in this frame.

 

[fps]

Having come from a BLX six one 95, one thing I'd add is that this frame, to me, is a lot more FUN to hit with. It is manoeuvrable, it works well with my two-hander, and I agree it has control and touch while providing some free pop. I basically forget about the racquet when I'm playing now, having had one for a couple of months - I feel comfortable hitting angles or flattening out.

 

[Power Player]

Yonex kills it in the world of 97s and 98s. Honestly, besides the boutique options, I can't think of a major frame maker who delivers like YY. The StanWand feels more like a ProStaff than an Rf97, the DR98 is what the Blade, Radical and Pure Strike want to be, and the Vcore 98 is a slept on modern baseline frame that becomes an absolute monster with some lead.

 

[mark1]

I really enjoyed this frame on a test hit. I've always played with "players rackets", currently the 2013 technifibre 315 ltd since that's what I grew up with. I have never been able to jive with stuff like apd, don't like the more even balance and thick beam.

I thought the yonex had a nice grip shape and was extremely solid. The two biggest things I noticed were the muted, but plush feel and the huge sweet spot for a 98.

The racket is definitely not overly powerful and I found an excellent balance of power and control. It also was a monster on serve, easily picked up some spin and mph. It also felt quick and solid at net.

I am considering a switch, just complimented my baseline game and allowed me to really rip some forehands which is the key to my game. Nice on backhand slice too.

Mid 30s 4.5 usta baseliner playing singles and doubles. *brag alert* I am in very good physical condition so if you are not a stronger player I could see how it may be a little bit of an issue to get the racket head speed needed to get the most out of this one.

Overall very impressive. Never tried yonex before this, now they are well within my radar screen.

 

[QuadCam]

I've never played with the Dr 98, but own 3 Ai98s and a DR98+.

I don't play with the Ai98s anymore. I found they didn't take well to customizing. They played best at stock weight and balance. I prefer heavier, higher SW, and more headlight. When customizing to my usual specs, around 12Oz, 335-340 SW and 7-8 Pts HL balance, I ended up with a racquet that was great at hitting framers! it was weird.... they felt heavier than 12 Ozs, they would swing heavier too....and then they'd snap through the swingpath really quickly. If your timing was off slightly, it was frame city. it was such a narrow window between crushing the ball and shanking it.

Is the DR98 like that, too?

I haven't played with the DR98+ enough yet, but it seems pretty damn good right off the shelf.

 

[Anton]

I've never played with the Dr 98, but own 3 Ai98s and a DR98+.

I don't play with the Ai98s anymore. I found they didn't take well to customizing. They played best at stock weight and balance. I prefer heavier, higher SW, and more headlight. When customizing to my usual specs, around 12Oz, 335-340 SW and 7-8 Pts HL balance, I ended up with a racquet that was great at hitting framers! it was weird.... they felt heavier than 12 Ozs, they would swing heavier too....and then they'd snap through the swingpath really quickly. If your timing was off slightly, it was frame city. it was such a narrow window between crushing the ball and shanking it.

Is the DR98 like that, too?

I haven't played with the DR98+ enough yet, but it seems pretty damn good right off the shelf.

DR98 Light is great for those that want to add weight.

It's just like the regular one minus that slab of lead cooked into the top of the handle.