Shapovalov using the new ezone (paint job)

elsk

New User
Shapovalov? I cant imagine any reason why he would use an EZone with a VCore pj.
Then perhaps you lack imagination? He's the male face of the vcore line, it would be understandable if Yonex wanted him to rep it on court.

This is just one theory, he could well be back to his old 95 or even something else from the vcore family.
 

Tangi

Rookie
Then perhaps you lack imagination? He's the male face of the vcore line, it would be understandable if Yonex wanted him to rep it on court.

This is just one theory, he could well be back to his old 95 or even something else from the vcore family.
I think that's what Nate7-5 meant, i.e. that if he is hitting with a "vcore paint job" then it might well be a real vcore, as there would be no reason to paint the vcore as an Ezone (Yonex has enough players on Ezone line).
 

innoVAShaun

G.O.A.T.
mallorca-championships-2022-atp-250.jpg
 
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McLovin

Legend
Gotta give him credit: he tried something new (Ezone), had early success with it, and gave it a go. I’m sure he messed with different weights & string tensions along the way, but after a slew of early losses, decided it was best to return to his old frame.

It will be interesting to see if he tries out other frames (VCORE 98?) in the off season. His first step towards racquetaholism has been taken…
 

DariaGT

Professional
Watching Shapo from his old 6.1 95 willy days then swapping to the the SV95 he always seemed to have way too much pop for his massive swings often just missing his targets.

Lesser talented Giron seems to have more success with cleaner swings having a disciplined fixated head and shoulder turn (solid body shape leaves Marcos no choice!)

Shapo on the other had is a loser lanky wild style of player needing more spin and control from his stick and the 6.1 95 had that in droves. Even the older D95 has a better 16 x 20 more evenly space pattern.

Eventhe specs point to the SV95 as less forgiving when going for broke versus the lesser powered 2022 VC95. The SV95 really needs more of a PS97 open pattern to help dip balls in with a little more ease. He should really hire Federer as his racquet technician to get the match up he is missing for so long. Would love to see Federer lend him a hand and even draw him back to Wilson again if Yonex is not interested in listening to Roger's input.
 

bobeeto

Hall of Fame
Watching Shapo from his old 6.1 95 willy days then swapping to the the SV95 he always seemed to have way too much pop for his massive swings often just missing his targets.

Lesser talented Giron seems to have more success with cleaner swings having a disciplined fixated head and shoulder turn (solid body shape leaves Marcos no choice!)

Shapo on the other had is a loser lanky wild style of player needing more spin and control from his stick and the 6.1 95 had that in droves. Even the older D95 has a better 16 x 20 more evenly space pattern.

Eventhe specs point to the SV95 as less forgiving when going for broke versus the lesser powered 2022 VC95. The SV95 really needs more of a PS97 open pattern to help dip balls in with a little more ease. He should really hire Federer as his racquet technician to get the match up he is missing for so long. Would love to see Federer lend him a hand and even draw him back to Wilson again if Yonex is not interested in listening to Roger's input.
i think he could also just end up playing a little safer, the ezone has more spin than pro staff and Sv95 he just couldn’t pick the right shot
 

DariaGT

Professional
i think he could also just end up playing a little safer, the ezone has more spin than pro staff and Sv95 he just couldn’t pick the right shot
His character has always been brash, aggressive and high risk with big takes really needs less power than Ezone and SV95
The Ezone sure has more spin to help its pop but the SV is just a rocket launcher with low spin to keep balls in.

If you look at the TW playtests for the SV95 and Tour F93 Andy hit harder than his Ezone 98 as did funny guy Chris who was ripping it like crazy for once
Even Karly hit more mph spin than her txt 95 but apart from Andy they all complained of not enough spin to feel safe on both playtests.
The Tour F 93 redrilled to 16 x 19 would be closer to Cilic's TGT 312.2 but with more pop for less weight, well that would be my dream racquet anyway :)
 
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Tennisnerd is suggesting that Shapo is now using a 2021 VCore 95.

I still think he should try a tighter pattern. Perhaps he can do an Andre and paint a Wilson Six One 95 to look like a VCore racquet ;)
 

heavyD

Professional
I don't know why he doesn't try other brands. He clearly wants to move from the Vcore but if the Ezone was the racquet for him he wouldn't be flip flopping.
 

ichaseballs

Hall of Fame
I don't know why he doesn't try other brands. He clearly wants to move from the Vcore but if the Ezone was the racquet for him he wouldn't be flip flopping.

I don't think brands are calling denis up right now offering him money to leave yonex.


I don’t know why he keeps going back to the Ezone, he should request to try the Vcore SV 98. I believe there are pros on tour like Machac who use it so we know Yonex still have the mold and make it for pros. It’s the natural progression to something more familiar/similar and more forgiving than his SV 95.

he probably has tried a bunch of different yonex sticks including a 98vc.
 

dkmura

Professional
Maybe Denis found some qualities with the EZone 98 that he liked, but switched to the SV and found he had lost them. Racquets are such individual tools that it's hard to know what he's looking for. I doubt Shapo will give any interviews offering any insight into his insights.
 
He’s got plenty of natural firepower with a fairly linear swing that generates tons of spin and results in errors, spraying balls wide or short rally balls. I would imagine control and consistency should be his main focus.

The percept has a lower launch angle like his SV 95 and is slightly bigger head size for more forgiveness while still giving him the maneuverability he’s used to.

The vcore 98 has plenty of pop and a higher launch angle that would fix his short rally ball and increase consistency.

The ezone 98 is a fantastic frame and drives an incredibly linear and powerful ball but I find it awkward with the thick throat and clubby on a OHBH. It has tons of power and if you don’t hit the sweet spot it can be launchy which is last thing I would give to Shapo’s game right now.

Overall I would agree it’s definitely not the racket as he got to number 10 in the world with his SV95 but if he was to switch rackets I would give him the SV98, then the Percept, and then the current Vcore 98 before giving him an Ezone.
 
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I don't know why he doesn't try other brands. He clearly wants to move from the Vcore but if the Ezone was the racquet for him he wouldn't be flip flopping.
I thought there was a chance he would return to Wilson and becomes the new face of the Pro Staff line and either pick up a PS97 or go back to the 6.1 95 like he used as a junior before signing with Yonex but I doubt it.
 

ChrisJR3264

Hall of Fame
I thought there was a chance he would return to Wilson and becomes the new face of the Pro Staff line and either pick up a PS97 or go back to the 6.1 95 like he used as a junior before signing with Yonex but I doubt it.
New face of the pro staff line? Shouldn’t they invest in a potential GS favorite to win a title and not a guy who’s just making it to R1 or 2 of GS?

I’d keep an eye on Draper maybe for pro staff down the road. I don’t mean to be negative towards Dunlop - but can they keep 2 of their top 30 players right now if they continue to ascend into the top 15-then 10?
 

Nate7-5

Hall of Fame
As someone that really likes the 2021 VC95, and has never really gotten along with any EZONE - he should demo the most recent VCore98.
 

aus89

Hall of Fame
New face of the pro staff line? Shouldn’t they invest in a potential GS favorite to win a title and not a guy who’s just making it to R1 or 2 of GS?

I’d keep an eye on Draper maybe for pro staff down the road. I don’t mean to be negative towards Dunlop - but can they keep 2 of their top 30 players right now if they continue to ascend into the top 15-then 10?
Idk, his base frame is not even ProStaff adjacent - obv customised but still...

Technical Specifications
Length27 in69 cm
Head Size100 sq in645 sq cm
Weight11.2 oz318 gm
Balance Point13 in 33 cm4pts Head Light
Construction23 mm / 26mm / 23mm
CompositionSonic Core / Graphite
String Pattern16 Mains / 19 Crosses
Babolat RDC Ratings
ScoreGrade
Flex Rating68Range: 0-100
Swing Weight318Range: 200-400
 

lidoazndiabloboi

Hall of Fame
New face of the pro staff line? Shouldn’t they invest in a potential GS favorite to win a title and not a guy who’s just making it to R1 or 2 of GS?

I’d keep an eye on Draper maybe for pro staff down the road. I don’t mean to be negative towards Dunlop - but can they keep 2 of their top 30 players right now if they continue to ascend into the top 15-then 10?
His current racket is essentially a Pure Drive. So if he went to Wilson, i'm pretty sure they would put him in the Ultra line.
 

MikhailT

Rookie
Isnt ezone 98 already one of the densest stringbeds and lowest launch angles? 100D would make sense tho. Moving the standard ez98 to 18x20 also could make some sense, if they retain the density, but improve the consistency somehow.
Interesting that he is just using the current PJ and not a blacked out frame. For me its more a sign of it being a special frame just made for him, that never will be sold in retail
 
New face of the pro staff line? Shouldn’t they invest in a potential GS favorite to win a title and not a guy who’s just making it to R1 or 2 of GS?

I’d keep an eye on Draper maybe for pro staff down the road. I don’t mean to be negative towards Dunlop - but can they keep 2 of their top 30 players right now if they continue to ascend into the top 15-then 10?
Yes, considering he used a Six.One 95 in the past before moving to Yonex and the VC SV95 it could make sense. He obviously plays with loads of power and spin and wants a bigger frame for more consistency and forgiveness. The Pro Staff 97 has both plenty of power and spin on tap and is still a slightly bigger headsize than his SV95. It is also an incredibly polarized frame that can easily be modified to his polarized set up of 9-10pts HL/340ish sw or something like that. In addition, the Pro Staff being a box beam may reduce his incredible number of miss hits and shanks by lowering his RHS slightly. As I said before I don't think the switch is likely, but don't you think Wilson or the general public would like to see a an exciting, all court, shot making OHBH player with the Pro Staff line again? His head and mental game are currently in the gutter and have been for a while, but when he's on his game it's incredibly exciting to watch. Finally, players are more likely to switch when they AREN'T playing well and I think bigger companies are likely to throw smaller contracts at them with incentives as a low risk investment with a big payout for them if it works out but that's just speculation.

Draper to the Pro Staff just sounds like recency bias. I'll admit he looked great but for the most part he wasn't really challenged in the draw until he played Sinner in the SF. His current Dunlop is basically a Pure Drive which makes sense since he played with one in the past as a junior and if he WAS to switch I would imagine he'd go back to Babolat or to Yonex like a lot of pros right now and play the Ezone 100. Shapovalov also had a Wimbledon SF in 2021 as well and look where he is now so I wouldn't put too much stock in Slam results. Sometimes players get lucky and get a good draw with upsets and sometimes they get very very unlucky and draw a tough quarter.

As far as Dunlop being able to keep 2 of their top 30 players right now if they were to continue to ascend into the top 15 or 10... I think they'll be fine. Popyrin at the moment is ranked 24 and is largely due to winning Montreal and without those 1000 ranking points he'd be ranked 63. However, it has to be said that he played very well BUT the draw was much weaker as a lot of top players were absent preparing for the Olympics. I'm happy for him and it is probably a career defining moment and high for him but I doubt he will defend his title next year. On the other hand, Draper is an excellent talent and I could see him as a future top 10. Probably around 6-10 but personally think he will a consistent top 20 player probably in the 12-14 range for most of his career but I hope he proves me wrong. Given his age and talent he should be able to go on a few more slam runs in his career but we will have to wait and see.
 
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