question for Andy, Chris, troy, jason, whoever?

B

Bobo96

Semi-Pro
I am looking for a new racquets. I am a high level 17 yr old player. I will be playing division 1 tennis in 2015. I like to rip aggressively from the baseline with heavy spin, but I can also move in when I need to. I had demoed a Wilson blade 18/20 a year ago and I played out of my mind with it. Unfortunately the racquets I bought weren't close to the one I demoed, after a year I switched back to my modified Boris Becker delta core londons and fell in love. The BB racquets offered me much more control, maneuverability, and spin than the blade. The only thing I preffer in the blade was more power on flat serves. The specs of my modified BB Londons unstrung are as follows

balance: inbetween 9 and 10 pts headlight unstrung
weight: 313 grams unstrung
swing weight: unknown, feels much easier to swing than the blade but has a higher static weight.

I love a racquet that feels like an extension of my hand, maneuverable, control oriented, spin friendly (16/18 16/19 or 16/20), but enough power to not feel at a disadvantage. I'd prefer to stay 12 0z or under in weight, but as long as it feels maneuverable I don't care. My reason for switching is 1. The racquets have been discontinued. 2. I feel the racquet is not good for the arm, I blew my elbow out after 3 months of using, it was partly due to muscle tightness, but I believe with a different racquet it wouldn't have happened. I know it was not a fluke because when I have had other people hit with it and they usually find their arm or wrist hurt after a little bit. I know the stiffness is listed as fairly low, but I don't think it is arm friendly. I don't care about stiffness as long as the racquet is arm friendly.

. so the things I would be open to adding to the characteristics of the Becker are slightly more power, a little more plow, and easier on the arm. I wou If I don't find a racquet I feel comfortable I will most likely get a racquet matched close to my specs. Here is a list of racquets I am considering demoing, please let me know if I should add or take any off.

1. Pure Control Tour
2. Modified Pure Control
3. Technifibre tfight 315 16 mains (requires too much customization???)
4. Technifibre tfight 320 ( not arm friendly enough?)
5. Any other tech?
6. Yonex ai 98 (clunky?)
7. Yonex xi 98 (too powerful? Not arm friendly?)
8. Any other yonex?
9. Any other racquets I should add or take off?

thanks so much for any help!
 
Bobo96 said:
I am looking for a new racquets. I am a high level 17 yr old player. I will be playing division 1 tennis in 2015. I like to rip aggressively from the baseline with heavy spin, but I can also move in when I need to. I had demoed a Wilson blade 18/20 a year ago and I played out of my mind with it. Unfortunately the racquets I bought weren't close to the one I demoed, after a year I switched back to my modified Boris Becker delta core londons and fell in love. The BB racquets offered me much more control, maneuverability, and spin than the blade. The only thing I preffer in the blade was more power on flat serves. The specs of my modified BB Londons unstrung are as follows

balance: inbetween 9 and 10 pts headlight unstrung
weight: 313 grams unstrung
swing weight: unknown, feels much easier to swing than the blade but has a higher static weight.

I love a racquet that feels like an extension of my hand, maneuverable, control oriented, spin friendly (16/18 16/19 or 16/20), but enough power to not feel at a disadvantage. I'd prefer to stay 12 0z or under in weight, but as long as it feels maneuverable I don't care. My reason for switching is 1. The racquets have been discontinued. 2. I feel the racquet is not good for the arm, I blew my elbow out after 3 months of using, it was partly due to muscle tightness, but I believe with a different racquet it wouldn't have happened. I know it was not a fluke because when I have had other people hit with it and they usually find their arm or wrist hurt after a little bit. I know the stiffness is listed as fairly low, but I don't think it is arm friendly. I don't care about stiffness as long as the racquet is arm friendly.

. so the things I would be open to adding to the characteristics of the Becker are slightly more power, a little more plow, and easier on the arm. I wou If I don't find a racquet I feel comfortable I will most likely get a racquet matched close to my specs. Here is a list of racquets I am considering demoing, please let me know if I should add or take any off.

1. Pure Control Tour
2. Modified Pure Control
3. Technifibre tfight 315 16 mains (requires too much customization???)
4. Technifibre tfight 320 ( not arm friendly enough?)
5. Any other tech?
6. Yonex ai 98 (clunky?)
7. Yonex xi 98 (too powerful? Not arm friendly?)
8. Any other yonex?
9. Any other racquets I should add or take off?

thanks so much for any help!
Click to expand...

The four racquets I'd recommend checking out would be the Babolat Pure Control Tour, Yonex EZONE Ai 98 (doesn't feel clunky at all), Wilson Six.One 95S and the Head Graphene Speed Pro. All of those sound like they'd be right up your alley and are well-reviewed by our playtest team.

Andy, TW
 
TW Staff said:
The four racquets I'd recommend checking out would be the Babolat Pure Control Tour, Yonex EZONE Ai 98 (doesn't feel clunky at all), Wilson Six.One 95S and the Head Graphene Speed Pro. All of those sound like they'd be right up your alley and are well-reviewed by our playtest team.

Andy, TW
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy! I've used the speed pro and didn't like it too much because of the overly dense pattern. Will the six one 95s be a problem with string breakage? I go through full poly in about 4-8 hours in a 16/19. Also have you tried the tfight 320? Again, thanks for the suggestions!
 
Bobo96 said:
Thanks Andy! I've used the speed pro and didn't like it too much because of the overly dense pattern. Will the six one 95s be a problem with string breakage? I go through full poly in about 4-8 hours in a 16/19. Also have you tried the tfight 320? Again, thanks for the suggestions!
Click to expand...

Strings will break faster in the Spin Effect string pattern.

I have not hit the TFight 320, so I can't offer much of an opinion there. The 315 is a nice frame but I do think it would take some customizing to get it to the weight and balance that you want.

Andy, TW
 
Bobo96 said:
Thanks Andy! I've used the speed pro and didn't like it too much because of the overly dense pattern. Will the six one 95s be a problem with string breakage? I go through full poly in about 4-8 hours in a 16/19. Also have you tried the tfight 320? Again, thanks for the suggestions!
Click to expand...

I'm also a collegiate player and am looking for new frames. I'm more of a dense string pattern player and I've played the Speed Pro for the past 2 years. The Blade was great when I demoed it recently but it just felt a bit too clunky and head heavy for me, which limited my ability to hit through the contact smoothly and quickly. Btw, I'm assuming you tried the 16 main Blade not the 18?

I am giving the regular Six One a try and hope it gives me good feedback. If you're not big on the S versions, maybe try the 16/18 version? I'll be hitting the 18/20 this week. I also have the Pure Strike Tour and Yonex EZone on my demo list. (both frames Andy mentioned)

I've tried the Control Tour and can definitely let you know that it lacks in the power department. It gives you fantastic feel and ball pocketing but when it comes down to it, you just simply don't get any put away power.
 
EasternRocks said:
I'm also a collegiate player and am looking for new frames. I'm more of a dense string pattern player and I've played the Speed Pro for the past 2 years. The Blade was great when I demoed it recently but it just felt a bit too clunky and head heavy for me, which limited my ability to hit through the contact smoothly and quickly. Btw, I'm assuming you tried the 16 main Blade not the 18?

I am giving the regular Six One a try and hope it gives me good feedback. If you're not big on the S versions, maybe try the 16/18 version? I'll be hitting the 18/20 this week. I also have the Pure Strike Tour and Yonex EZone on my demo list. (both frames Andy mentioned)

I've tried the Control Tour and can definitely let you know that it lacks in the power department. It gives you fantastic feel and ball pocketing but when it comes down to it, you just simply don't get any put away power.
Click to expand...

thanks for the input man! Let me know how you like the racquets! I actually used the 18 mains blade for a frustrating year. The racquet really lacks spin potential! I always felt not in control. Too much flat power for me. I really like to swing out on the ball and rip, the blade was bad for two reasons. 1. Not very hl balance made it feel awkward and hard to swing. 2. Lack of spin and powerful response did not give much reason to increase racquet head speed. Its okay if a racquet is a little powerful as long as you can generate spin. When I miss with the blade I feel like it is the racquets fault. When I miss with my current racquet I know it is my fault!

. I hit for about an hour with the pure control tour. Its not enough time to really tell and it may have been off spec, but it seemed to have a little more plow through than my current racquet, but idk. I will update once in healthy and hitting!
 
Yeah you're welcome. I agree with #1, but in terms of the "flat power", I think you might be referring to the lack of spin potential because its a dense and closed string pattern. To me, that isn't an issue only because I hit a very linear ball and I don't hit with massive spin... I'm more of a guy who plays better against a guy with pace and will only really dictate with my forehand. I agree though that I make uncharacteristic errors with the Blade not because the feel is off, but because the head of the racquet just won't get through the point of contact swift enough thus timing is an issue.

Keep hitting the PCT and you'll see what I'm saying. Unless you're a big guy and can bring the power to the fight, it might be tough for you to take any sort of offensive position.

Are there any other sticks that you're trying to playtest? I know we're probably going down 2 different avenues here, you preferring the open string pattern and me preferring the denser ones, but I figure we can at least throw ideas at each other.

If you do like open string patterns and aren't phased by some power in one, maybe try the Radical Pro. For me, it was a good racquet, but the two issues I had with it were the 1) the odd grip shape and 2) just a bit too much power... some balls would just fly on me when I'm normally accustomed for balls to just stay within the lines. I think this is due to the lack of spin I place on the ball... the 18 main frames I've used have definitely conditioned me to hit a flatter ball without enough spin for an open string pattern. Another 16/19 I've hit is the Blade and compared to the 18/20 it has so much more pop, obviously again too much for me, but it does swing a little easier than the 18/20 and I would say that its a tiny bit more maneuverable.

As for my situation, I'm in a rough spot. I know there's no "perfect frame", but I am trying to find a racquet that can swing easier than the Blade, but also have that solid response/plow through. There are a ton of racquets that are whippier than the Blade, but they unfortunately aren't solid enough. It's a trade off that I'm struggling to accept right now. The racquet I have decent hopes for the Six One 95 18/20 will assuredly be solid and have even more plow than the Blade, however, the only thing I'm hoping will create that more maneuverable frame is the more HL balance. Will the 12.3 ounces and 332 swingweight with a 7 pts HL balance be easier to swing than the Blade that is 11.4 ounces and 330 swingweight with a 2-4 pts HL balance? That's what I'm trying to figure out.
 
Last edited:
EasternRocks said:
Yeah you're welcome. I agree with #1, but in terms of the "flat power", I think you might be referring to the lack of spin potential because its a dense and closed string pattern. To me, that isn't an issue only because I hit a very linear ball and I don't hit with massive spin... I'm more of a guy who plays better against a guy with pace and will only really dictate with my forehand. I agree though that I make uncharacteristic errors with the Blade not because the feel is off, but because the head of the racquet just won't get through the point of contact swift enough thus timing is an issue.

Keep hitting the PCT and you'll see what I'm saying. Unless you're a big guy and can bring the power to the fight, it might be tough for you to take any sort of offensive position.

Are there any other sticks that you're trying to playtest? I know we're probably going down 2 different avenues here, you preferring the open string pattern and me preferring the denser ones, but I figure we can at least throw ideas at each other.

If you do like open string patterns and aren't phased by some power in one, maybe try the Radical Pro. For me, it was a good racquet, but the two issues I had with it were the 1) the odd grip shape and 2) just a bit too much power... some balls would just fly on me when I'm normally accustomed for balls to just stay within the lines. I think this is due to the lack of spin I place on the ball... the 18 main frames I've used have definitely conditioned me to hit a flatter ball without enough spin for an open string pattern. Another 16/19 I've hit is the Blade and compared to the 18/20 it has so much more pop, obviously again too much for me, but it does swing a little easier than the 18/20 and I would say that its a tiny bit more maneuverable.

As for my situation, I'm in a rough spot. I know there's no "perfect frame", but I am trying to find a racquet that can swing easier than the Blade, but also have that solid response/plow through. There are a ton of racquets that are whippier than the Blade, but they unfortunately aren't solid enough. It's a trade off that I'm struggling to accept right now. The racquet I have decent hopes for the Six One 95 18/20 will assuredly be solid and have even more plow than the Blade, however, the only thing I'm hoping will create that more maneuverable frame is the more HL balance. Will the 12.3 ounces and 332 swingweight with a 7 pts HL balance be easier to swing than the Blade that is 11.4 ounces and 330 swingweight with a 2-4 pts HL balance? That's what I'm trying to figure out.
Click to expand...

two racquets I've been eyeing lately, that look amazing and have great reviews are the technifibre tfight, and the yonex vcore tour 310 (non g version). The only thing making me hesitant is the arm friendliness, I'm not really sure what caused my elbow issue so its hard to know if it would be soft enough for me. If I were you I'd give them a try. I'd love to hear your feedback on them. If you really want a closed pattern you could go for the tfight 325 it has an 18/19. The yonex is already fairly closed. I read in another thread that you only like the main brands. In my opinion the brands like tech, volkl, and yonex, often have better quality! Wilson can hardly get two racquets within an ounce of each other.
 
Would like to bump this, did you ever find a frame @Bobo96 ?.. I am a D3 ncaa player looking into a similar type frame. For now I am with the Pro Staff 97 frame, and it is working well, much less stiff than the 66 RA would indicate. I feel like I need more plow through, and that is the main thing I am looking for aside from flexibility. Wanted to see what you settled with, how the elbow feels. I had golfer's elbow in high school, and thanks to a good training staff I have been mostly clean in college with my elbow. I use a Nike compression sleeve in 98% of my time on court

@EasternRocks what frames are you hitting now ?? Did you ever settle on a frame?

Here are some sticks I'm considering now:

Babolat Pure Control 95/98 Tour (58RA/62RA)
Wilson Blade 98 16x19 (65RA)
Wilson 2014 Pro Staff 95 (62 RA)
Wilson 2014 Six.One 95 16x18 (66RA)
Babolat Pure Strike Tour (65RA)
 
gino said:
Would like to bump this, did you ever find a frame @Bobo96 ?.. I am a D3 ncaa player looking into a similar type frame. For now I am with the Pro Staff 97 frame, and it is working well, much less stiff than the 66 RA would indicate. I feel like I need more plow through, and that is the main thing I am looking for aside from flexibility. Wanted to see what you settled with, how the elbow feels. I had golfer's elbow in high school, and thanks to a good training staff I have been mostly clean in college with my elbow. I use a Nike compression sleeve in 98% of my time on court

@EasternRocks what frames are you hitting now ?? Did you ever settle on a frame?

Here are some sticks I'm considering now:

Babolat Pure Control 95/98 Tour (58RA/62RA)
Wilson Blade 98 16x19 (65RA)
Wilson 2014 Pro Staff 95 (62 RA)
Wilson 2014 Six.One 95 16x18 (66RA)
Babolat Pure Strike Tour (65RA)
Click to expand...

Used the Babolat pure control tour, and it was good, but just not quite enough. I used the blade 18/20 for about a year and cant say im a fan. between the quality control and unforgiving yet over powered feel it wasn't working for me, never used the 16x19, but I can tell you the performance of the blades largely depend on which batch you get unfortunately. I was going to use yonex ezone ai 98, but then I started having shoulder issuses. It is a very good racquet. Recently due to wanting to be easy on my arm I picked up an 16X18 prince tour 100. I have to say so far it is really good. Great HL balance. Great spin. Awesome comfort, yet still very low powered. Other awesome thing is average poly at #40 feels controlled. It feels most similar to my beloved BB London yet super arm friendly unlike the becker. I would reccomend giving it a try. It's not just a arm saver but a seemingly AWESOME racquet. It may take some time to get used to ports, but not much if you are adaptable.
 
Bobo96 said:
Used the Babolat pure control tour, and it was good, but just not quite enough. I used the blade 18/20 for about a year and cant say im a fan. between the quality control and unforgiving yet over powered feel it wasn't working for me, never used the 16x19, but I can tell you the performance of the blades largely depend on which batch you get unfortunately. I was going to use yonex ezone ai 98, but then I started having shoulder issuses. It is a very good racquet. Recently due to wanting to be easy on my arm I picked up an 16X18 prince tour 100. I have to say so far it is really good. Great HL balance. Great spin. Awesome comfort, yet still very low powered. Other awesome thing is average poly at #40 feels controlled. It feels most similar to my beloved BB London yet super arm friendly unlike the becker. I would reccomend giving it a try. It's not just a arm saver but a seemingly AWESOME racquet. It may take some time to get used to ports, but not much if you are adaptable.
Click to expand...


What do you think of the Tour 100? I probably wont make the switch to a Prince stick, because I've never liked the feel of the ports.

How's the comparison of a ai98 vs. the Babolat Pure Control Tour?

What about the Pure Control Tour didn't do it for you? Lack of power? What's your playing style like? I want a stick that gives me additional plow through on tougher high balls and my slice backhand. Let me know what you think @Bobo96
 
gino said:
What do you think of the Tour 100? I probably wont make the switch to a Prince stick, because I've never liked the feel of the ports.

How's the comparison of a ai98 vs. the Babolat Pure Control Tour?

What about the Pure Control Tour didn't do it for you? Lack of power? What's your playing style like? I want a stick that gives me additional plow through on tougher high balls and my slice backhand. Let me know what you think @Bobo96
Click to expand...
Ai98 has more spin and power. PCT has the edge on control, but they were close, and I did not miss anymore shots with the AI98. Both have good Plow.

PCT just not quite enough pop and spin, a little unforgiving.

I am an aggressive player, mostly baseline player. good topspin. try to rip. Forehand is strength.
 
Bobo96 said:
Ai98 has more spin and power. PCT has the edge on control, but they were close, and I did not miss anymore shots with the AI98. Both have good Plow.

PCT just not quite enough pop and spin, a little unforgiving.

I am an aggressive player, mostly baseline player. good topspin. try to rip. Forehand is strength.
Click to expand...


Legit man, thanks for the thoughts and analysis. I've been thinking about checking into the Pure Storm line. Have you used those?

What are your teammates playing with that isn't a Babolat? Always curious to see what other teams prefer to use. @Bobo96
 
gino said:
Any mods/customization to it @EasternRocks ?????

What string are you using with it? Ive hear so much good feedback about this frame. I gotta try it, despite the fact I dislike the Yonex square shape
Click to expand...

Add lead at 3/9. Swapped out replacement grip

Don't have one favorite setup. Like Lux Feel, Poly Tour Pro 1.25 black and PTP 1.20 yellow
 
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