Power Player
Bionic Poster
Got access to a new unstrung one and was able to string it up, so I went with the same as in my Blade - Tourna Silver 7 at 48#s. Brought them both out to the court. The situation - beautiful courts but zero shade. On court temps were hovering at 100 degrees. No shade at all. Zero. Great way to test a frame and my fitness, especially since I hit with my coach who pushes me hard in drills.
Ive just hit with the Blade for the past 8-9 months so when using the Prestige I have to admit I missed the super soft feel of the blade and how solid it is. I also missed the connected feel I get with the 18x20 pattern. I am so used to that feel of the frame and personally think the Blade truly feels like what you would picture a pro stock racquet to feel like - solid, super comfortable and has a lot of plow.
The Prestige does not have that level of plow. At first I was thinking “damn you jolly“, but I started to see what he meant when he said that the prestige has easy power. It really does. It’s not bludgeoning plow like the Blade, and honestly I know I need to add some weight (like 2 grams I think) to the tip, because at times I was not able to control the frame as easily as with the Blade due to the lower Swing weight. That said, it was very easy to drop the frame under the ball and hit deep with very heavy spin and more net clearance. I don't want to make this frame as clubby as the Blade, thats not what it does well, but it could use a little more plow In my case.
Drills we did - I had to hit 50 balls that landed in the alley. For Accuracy, both of these frames are fantatsic. I got to 50 in about the same time with both. The Prestige gets the nod though because the depth is better. I am able to hit deep and not long as often as I sometimes do with the Blade.
We did volley drills. I suck at volleying, but I was able to hit cleaner volleys easier. This is not a huge surprise to me. Overheads were also extremely easy. Automatic, really.
Then we did drills where I hit to the ad side of the court and get the alley. So basically I have to hit winners i/o or with my bh. This is when I really stated dialing in the frame. My heart rate was lifted - 160 BPM or higher a decent amount of this time. The heat was crushing. This is basically when you say “F It, I’m done”, but I was able to hit some of my biggest shots in this moment. A lot of that has to do with my fitness - I have been putting in serious work, doing HIIT almost every day. But the other smaller part was that it took a little less effort to hit big shots, so I was able to really tee off on shots that we either clean winners or shots he could not handle and framed. He said the spin was crazy on some and laughed at how high the ball was getting up in the air off the bounce on a few.
At that point I had hit the 90 minute mark and 900 calories later I was done. I’m going to try and do it again tomorrow so I can get some serves in, weather permitting.
Thoughts - this racquet is really not that hard to use. I think the Blade is more advanced - yes really. The prestige comes through so fast that I can hit running forehand winners when pulled wide. Some were so nice that I was shocking myself, to be quite honest. My 2h backhand is weaker than my FH, and I had literally lost my backhand last year. This coach fixed that for me, and I was able to hit my backhand with the prestige without thinking about. It was flowing and I was even able to hit some really nice angled winners with it. Also overheads are effortless and super easy. I feel like that should translate to serve so I am excited to try that.
The main thing I need to dial in with the Prestige is that it may be a bit whippy for me. So just a little lead up top could fix that. I still need to spend time with it and see. Also I dont think silver 7 is the best fit for the feel of this frame. This prestige is crisper than I am used to with the Blade, so I think Max Power rough will be a better option to make it a little more plush. I also have to factor in that the frame had not been strung up, so the first string job always feels a little brassy.
Comfort and feel I still have to give to the blade. The solidity and plushness of the Blade is fantastic. I never feel like I played tennis after. The Prestige has great feel too, but its still something I need to dial in.
Anyway, really impressed with it so far, not sure which one I would choose. I love the Blade so I’d stay with that if you put a gun to my head right now. That said, I have months of tennis to figure it out.
The #1 takeaway that I would say - this is the easiest mid to use possibly ever. It honestly to me is a less advanced frame than the Blade. If you ever wanted to try a mid but didn’t want your level of play to go down, now is your chance. Just be honest with yourself and asses your fitness level and desire to move on the court and set up (but this wins tennis matches anyway!!) I honestly think my level of play went up a little bit today due to this frame being easier to use. Ill post more thoughts after more time with it.
Ive just hit with the Blade for the past 8-9 months so when using the Prestige I have to admit I missed the super soft feel of the blade and how solid it is. I also missed the connected feel I get with the 18x20 pattern. I am so used to that feel of the frame and personally think the Blade truly feels like what you would picture a pro stock racquet to feel like - solid, super comfortable and has a lot of plow.
The Prestige does not have that level of plow. At first I was thinking “damn you jolly“, but I started to see what he meant when he said that the prestige has easy power. It really does. It’s not bludgeoning plow like the Blade, and honestly I know I need to add some weight (like 2 grams I think) to the tip, because at times I was not able to control the frame as easily as with the Blade due to the lower Swing weight. That said, it was very easy to drop the frame under the ball and hit deep with very heavy spin and more net clearance. I don't want to make this frame as clubby as the Blade, thats not what it does well, but it could use a little more plow In my case.
Drills we did - I had to hit 50 balls that landed in the alley. For Accuracy, both of these frames are fantatsic. I got to 50 in about the same time with both. The Prestige gets the nod though because the depth is better. I am able to hit deep and not long as often as I sometimes do with the Blade.
We did volley drills. I suck at volleying, but I was able to hit cleaner volleys easier. This is not a huge surprise to me. Overheads were also extremely easy. Automatic, really.
Then we did drills where I hit to the ad side of the court and get the alley. So basically I have to hit winners i/o or with my bh. This is when I really stated dialing in the frame. My heart rate was lifted - 160 BPM or higher a decent amount of this time. The heat was crushing. This is basically when you say “F It, I’m done”, but I was able to hit some of my biggest shots in this moment. A lot of that has to do with my fitness - I have been putting in serious work, doing HIIT almost every day. But the other smaller part was that it took a little less effort to hit big shots, so I was able to really tee off on shots that we either clean winners or shots he could not handle and framed. He said the spin was crazy on some and laughed at how high the ball was getting up in the air off the bounce on a few.
At that point I had hit the 90 minute mark and 900 calories later I was done. I’m going to try and do it again tomorrow so I can get some serves in, weather permitting.
Thoughts - this racquet is really not that hard to use. I think the Blade is more advanced - yes really. The prestige comes through so fast that I can hit running forehand winners when pulled wide. Some were so nice that I was shocking myself, to be quite honest. My 2h backhand is weaker than my FH, and I had literally lost my backhand last year. This coach fixed that for me, and I was able to hit my backhand with the prestige without thinking about. It was flowing and I was even able to hit some really nice angled winners with it. Also overheads are effortless and super easy. I feel like that should translate to serve so I am excited to try that.
The main thing I need to dial in with the Prestige is that it may be a bit whippy for me. So just a little lead up top could fix that. I still need to spend time with it and see. Also I dont think silver 7 is the best fit for the feel of this frame. This prestige is crisper than I am used to with the Blade, so I think Max Power rough will be a better option to make it a little more plush. I also have to factor in that the frame had not been strung up, so the first string job always feels a little brassy.
Comfort and feel I still have to give to the blade. The solidity and plushness of the Blade is fantastic. I never feel like I played tennis after. The Prestige has great feel too, but its still something I need to dial in.
Anyway, really impressed with it so far, not sure which one I would choose. I love the Blade so I’d stay with that if you put a gun to my head right now. That said, I have months of tennis to figure it out.
The #1 takeaway that I would say - this is the easiest mid to use possibly ever. It honestly to me is a less advanced frame than the Blade. If you ever wanted to try a mid but didn’t want your level of play to go down, now is your chance. Just be honest with yourself and asses your fitness level and desire to move on the court and set up (but this wins tennis matches anyway!!) I honestly think my level of play went up a little bit today due to this frame being easier to use. Ill post more thoughts after more time with it.
