Are you playing the 98 now?
Prince Official - Racquets
- Thread starter Prince Tennis Official
- Start date
tele
Hall of Fame
It is on the way. I am currently using an exo3 tour 98.
stephenclown
Professional
What didn't you like about the 97?
I'm loving it with BBO / Alu at around 38lbs and about 6 grams of lead at 12. Feel and control is so nice with a heap of spin. Ohbh is sublime.
Now if only I didn't just do a calf injury after my wrist is finally healing...
I'm not a fan of adding lead, so I evaluate rackets in stock form. I"m sure it is good leaded up (like they say with every racket) but for me it is incomplete. Was kinda like a weighted handle attached to an empty hoop.
stephenclown
Professional
Yes I can see your argument, in stock form 97P is quite low in sw so it's really not that great for me either. I also felt 93P was a bit light on swingweight as is nearly every other frame on the market for me. I usually play around 340-345sw.
I feel that manufacturers have been adding weight at 3&9 to mask the low swingweight on modern hollow feeling frames. Unfortunately for me, I feel that higher twistweight frames swing poorly and often end up aggravating my wrist. Some of the prestige frames over the last couple years look interesting though...
stephenclown
Professional
100x staying around
Amazing that you can hold the new Phantoms in your hand, they're rumored to be released within 2 months, and there isn't a shred of marketing material available for them. Since TW is the sole distributor, you'd think Chris is allowed to take a snapshot of the hoops to at least get the specs off them.
jbdbackfan
Semi-Pro
Prince website will have them on there in 2026 or so lol.
Aside from their terrible marketing and brand awareness I’m wondering what models if any they will cut out. I’d love the 100G or 107G to go back to constant beam. There was very little difference between the 100P and 100G without it.
mixtape
Professional
Seeing it on video, the olive drab camo is still nice. It looks like a semi-gloss finish.
They only have the two frames that Chris shows in the vlog.
I snapped a couple pics of the 305 g one, including the specs. Felt light to me, but I use the phantoms weighted up to 350 g.
First impression, is that they are just as dull and fugly as I had feared.
If I were to buy one, I'd first add a leather grip, then maybe 20 g up the butt. Then maybe 5 g at 3 and 9, each.
Purple pearlescent black was so much cooler. Camo?!
Disappointing, even more so when you consider that there will be no 93 or 97 update.
I'm going to stick w my beautiful 93s, 97s, 100s, and my powerflex 90s.
I'll upload the pics when I get back to my room.
That's what Albert big island Hawaii stringer said. Might have read it on here, too. If they're going to axe the 97, they probably wouldn't update the smaller 93.
Gee
Hall of Fame
Agree 100%.
The Camo paintjob is so fugly.
Glad I grabbed two 100x 18x20s last year
BTW Why don´t you play with the heavier 100x 18x20 version if you used to weight up yours to 350g?
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
I just wonder who advised Prince that releasing the Phantom’s that we have seen so far in camo green was a good idea ? What were they trying to achieve and which customers are they trying to market to ?
To me the Phantoms should be a premium product, and come in various shades and iridescent forms of deep velvet purple, like silk boxer shorts or a high class suit.
I wait to see it in person and see what others make of it.
Usually purple done the right way can send an image of royalty and exclusiveness, a bit like Wimbledon with their colours. Also using the purple would differentiate the product from other brands as not many others are doing it. Even electric purple on some models would be attractively unique.
To me the Phantoms should be a premium product, and come in various shades and iridescent forms of deep velvet purple, like silk boxer shorts or a high class suit.
I wait to see it in person and see what others make of it.
Usually purple done the right way can send an image of royalty and exclusiveness, a bit like Wimbledon with their colours. Also using the purple would differentiate the product from other brands as not many others are doing it. Even electric purple on some models would be attractively unique.
Last edited:
konstantinos kalfountzos
Hall of Fame
Interestingly, all those 2022 jap Phantoms have parallel drilling.
This one doesn't...
Only new feature seems to be "Zylon" in the throat.
Westworld Prince somehow added Zylon on the previous gen of Phantoms, but not parallel drilling???
This one doesn't...
Only new feature seems to be "Zylon" in the throat.
Westworld Prince somehow added Zylon on the previous gen of Phantoms, but not parallel drilling???
tele
Hall of Fame
especially for those seeking a more classic feel, parallel drilling is not necessarily an improvement.
WYK
Legend
Also looks like they are experimenting with the beam design a bit as well at 1.22.
When I switched over to the phantom line, I started w the 100, and am making my way down in head size for more control (97 > 93). I just received two new old stock powerflex 90s to go w my used one. They're fun to use bc I can swing out and the ball still wants to drop in. I also prefer the open string patterns bc I like the spin, which also helps to keep the ball in.
tele
Hall of Fame
Hold off on any excitement about an increased RA on the ATS 98. I think there may have been an error.
mixtape
Professional
Thanks for the pictures @ey039524
Did you stop by the racquet demo area? I thought I saw a box beam phantom as well. 100P perhaps.
So, the Zylon is basically a synthetic polymer added to Textreme to enhance the stability. Got it. I'm curious how much of a difference that would make it feel compared to the previous generation.
Did you stop by the racquet demo area? I thought I saw a box beam phantom as well. 100P perhaps.
So, the Zylon is basically a synthetic polymer added to Textreme to enhance the stability. Got it. I'm curious how much of a difference that would make it feel compared to the previous generation.
The demo court was in the practice court section this year. I walked by it, but I didn't look. I would've liked to have seen the new 100p, bummer. The 100x didn't appeal to me.
jimdontcare
Professional
Was thinking today how strange it is Prince discontinued the Beast line. Everyone has a power racquet. Both Beasts were really well reviewed. It had a pro endorsement. The 98 seemed to hit a niche. Weird that the Twistpower and Ripstick stayed but the Beast didn’t.
10S-Junkie
Semi-Pro
Prince didn't discontinue the Beast line. It is available in Europe and Japan. TW North America (Prince's partner in North America) chose not to offer the Beast series.
Prince Beast Rackets - Tennis Warehouse Europe
Wide selection of Prince Beast Rackets. Shop the models O3, 98, 100, 104. Choice of John Isner.
www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com
BEAST Series - Prince プリンステニス公式サイト
princetennis.jp
Last edited:
jimdontcare
Professional
jbdbackfan
Semi-Pro
I just hound them anytime they make a cringe post on facebook or other social media.
See my post above for the 305 g 100x.
weelie
Professional
I think RA and frame width are the two measures that would be interesting, I would assume the rest are pretty much the same?
jbdbackfan
Semi-Pro
From what I've seen/read on other previews they will all be this green camo color.
What changes could Prince make to the Phantom without stepping into Tour territory?
As long as the beam remains thinner than the Tour, it will always feel different. But, I agree that there shouldn't be much to modify, especially given the number of Phantom variations they've carried in the past that change just about every stat that could be changed. I play with a Phantom Pro 100P, so I'm mainly interested in keeping the throat flexible while making the hoop more stable. That doesn't necessarily show up in an RA number. I suspect they did this with the ATS in 2021, but I've held off buying that one since I can't demo it anymore and the new version should be available shortly.
Using the outgoing P series as the basis of any further development, I'd say improvements might only be incremental, if that. Trying to get much more out of the Phantoms would be like trying to squeeze more internet speed from a copper telephone wire... there's only so much it will give before the design paradigm is more or less tapped out.
jbdbackfan
Semi-Pro
Would like to see the 100G and 107G maybe have a constant beam. Go back to 19 or 19.5mm constant like the graphites did. There is no real difference between the 100G and 100P otherwise.
bigbadboaz
Professional
Serve?!? The 93P is incredible in that regard.
Gee
Hall of Fame
Agree. That's why I added lead at the upper hoop.
It's better than the rest of the range but it's lacking on flats.
Isn't there the 100X 18x20 for higher swing weight? There are so many options in the Phantom line I am not sure what more they could do. Maybe make them a little more powerful. Love it or hate it the camo will stand out on the court.
Haven't tried the Xs (aside from an Oport one that swung too fast), but the ball seems to come off slow from the top of the hoop on the others.
Last edited:
Gee
Hall of Fame
The 100x 18x20 has a average swingweight of 324 that is not particular high especially with a low balance of 9pts HL.
In stock form it played a litte too whippy to me but that could be fixed easily with some lead.
I used 100x for a decent period of time. It was anemic and weirdly vibrating/stiff at the tip to the point where it compromised serve and defensive shots on the stretch. Everything else was great
jbdbackfan
Semi-Pro
You are right given the balance and beam thickness. For my 100G I have added 3-4 g at 10 and 2 and counter it back with leather grip. The added sw makes a difference with plow for the thinner beam.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
Well I hope it looks better on the court in real life and I also wonder what the thinking was behind the idea to go camo green.
While I understand that Prince’s logo colours are black and green, just interested in finding out why the camo paint job got picked and whether they were trying to do something with it.
aussie
Professional
Actually the more I look at the photos of the new Phantom the more I'm kind of accepting of the colorway. Not saying it looks great, but it's certainly different and not particularly offensive. Best colorway was the black and green of the original Phantom range. The designers nailed the classic Prince look with that range.
jbdbackfan
Semi-Pro
After the recent Tour racquets I gave up hoping they could keep paint conservative. The new legacy racquets look way better being two colors only not sure why they didn't stick with purple or black or even a neon green in comparison to what they decided.
PBODY99
Legend
Why they didn't, I don't understand. Design is part of the brand, and I don't think the current design is a selling point for the Tours
Since the Legacy is aimed at a market segment that is a little older on average, the 2024 design remained "classic.".
The Tours should be classic Black with Neon Prince Green.
