I'm getting close to purchasing the Prince Speedport Black.
A quick recap on how I got to this point:
I had been using a Hybrid Shark OS and wanted to get something with a little more weight and a smaller head...more control. I'm about a 4.0-4.5 player. I'm primarily a baseliner with a decent first serve. I have been using ALU Power Spin in the mains and NXT Tour in the crosses.
I demoed the Speedport Red, Speedport Black, and the Speedport Tour. I've always been a Prince guy.
The Red was similar to the Shark. I might as well have gotten a MP Hybrid Shark.
The Black I really liked. I felt like I was able to really swing out and place the ball where I wanted. Maybe there was something to this more control, generate your own power thing after all.
The Tour felt a little heavy to me, wasn't that easy to generate good racquet head speed.
I hit with the Black for about 3-4 hours this weekend. It had the string hole inserts and a full ALU Power Fluoro string job. After hitting for a little while, my arm felt tired/sore. Not sure if it was because I was using a heavier racquet or the full Fluoro string job or the string holes or I was just tired or all of the above. I added a vibration dampener and I liked it much better though.
My pro shop did not have the Black with the port inserts. They will be getting it back this week and I will demo both versions next weekend. Hopefully that will help me decide...having both racquet versions to compare against each other.
My buddy at the pro shop thinks I will like the string holes better. He knows I like to pound the ball from the baseline and hit crisp volleys when I'm at the net. I've read a number of threads on here (I know how to use search ), people with differing opinions. I saw the thread with a poll and people seem split evenly between string holes and ports. It sounds like I will get more control and feel from the string holes while getting a more comfortable experience with the ports.
Any feedback will be appreciated. Please share your setup and your experiences. String holes or ports and why?
A quick recap on how I got to this point:
I had been using a Hybrid Shark OS and wanted to get something with a little more weight and a smaller head...more control. I'm about a 4.0-4.5 player. I'm primarily a baseliner with a decent first serve. I have been using ALU Power Spin in the mains and NXT Tour in the crosses.
I demoed the Speedport Red, Speedport Black, and the Speedport Tour. I've always been a Prince guy.
The Red was similar to the Shark. I might as well have gotten a MP Hybrid Shark.
The Black I really liked. I felt like I was able to really swing out and place the ball where I wanted. Maybe there was something to this more control, generate your own power thing after all.
The Tour felt a little heavy to me, wasn't that easy to generate good racquet head speed.
I hit with the Black for about 3-4 hours this weekend. It had the string hole inserts and a full ALU Power Fluoro string job. After hitting for a little while, my arm felt tired/sore. Not sure if it was because I was using a heavier racquet or the full Fluoro string job or the string holes or I was just tired or all of the above. I added a vibration dampener and I liked it much better though.
My pro shop did not have the Black with the port inserts. They will be getting it back this week and I will demo both versions next weekend. Hopefully that will help me decide...having both racquet versions to compare against each other.
My buddy at the pro shop thinks I will like the string holes better. He knows I like to pound the ball from the baseline and hit crisp volleys when I'm at the net. I've read a number of threads on here (I know how to use search
), people with differing opinions. I saw the thread with a poll and people seem split evenly between string holes and ports. It sounds like I will get more control and feel from the string holes while getting a more comfortable experience with the ports. Any feedback will be appreciated. Please share your setup and your experiences. String holes or ports and why?
