Suggestion for stable and high spin potential raquet?

S

SLionheart

New User
Pretty much what the title says. Two parameters that seem to make the most important differences to my game (club player) - are spin potential and stability. Tertiary concern is stiffness - I prefer a medium to more flexible racquet - did have tennis elbow awhile back.

My usual raquet is a VCORE 98 (weighted up to 11.8ounces). Love most things about this racquet.

But I demo'd a Speed Pro 2025 for fun several times last week and I felt like I had traded a .38Auto for a .45ACP. (forgive the gun reference). I felt more comfortable, and was more succesful at the net, and I get a much stronger backhand on a heavy ball.

I'd easily move to the Speed Pro but I definately gave up some ability to carve short balls with lots of top, or even forehands from the baseline. If the Speed Pro came in a 16x19 - I'd be there. Would it make sense to just weight or a Speed MP - or are there other suggestions? It's so difficult to guess a racquet's stability from specs.

Thanks in advance.
 
My sleeper pick for something similar to the Speed Pro with more spin is the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 310g. It's a lot like the old Babolat Pure Aero Tour before it was replaced with the Pure Aero 98, but with a bit more flex and feel. the Textreme and ATS technologies add stability, but it has a more open string pattern and swings faster than the Speed Pro (especially the latest version with the high swingweight, which is what I assume you tried).
 
Last edited:
I've been looking for Similar thing from a racquet too. I just have managed to get my hands a couple of Graphene Touch Xtreme MP's.

Now hear me out, the review of this were mixed, but all said great spin, a higher swing weight, but a little brassy when hit near the top of the frame. So luckily the 1st one i got actually has a fairly loose set of fully poly (no idea what type). What i have found, and feedback from my hitting partners is that this is suiting me really well, and I'm getting a lot of spin & a heavy shot.

I've been using player style frames, like the Pro Tour 2.0 etc, that i absolutely love, but i cant run as well as i can hit the shot with them, lol, so I'm always a step behind. so i want something that i could up my spin and give myself more time to move.

I've found that these are working well and the looser string if giving me a lot of comfort and a tonne of ball pocketing. This was purely an experiment for me, but one I have been pleasantly surprised by. Don't be afraid to demo something that seems a bit left of center, like me, you just might find something unexpected.
 
If you want a Speed Pro in 16/19, try the Speed MP 2024 with a leather grip. It has great spin potential with a controlled launch.
If you want more launch similar to your Vcore but more plow, you should try the Whiteout 98 16/19.
But keep in mind, no racket has it all. You have to compromise or improve your technique, because stability and plow comes from higher SW, but then you will need good racket headspeed to carve short topspin shots.
 
A quick look at the OP's bio and history shows: 48-yo, recent TE, moved from p/p hybrid to full-bed gut (so, probably a bit of overuse of questionably-conditioned tissue, often by way of sub-optimal technique).

I'm inclined to agree with @dr. godmode and @AmericanTwist here, a new frame is probably not the answer here. Simple but smart customization along with technical cleanup probably is the answer. Chances are, like most unknowing rec players, if the OP is simply playing with a stock VC98, he's probably playing with far too low a recoil weight for optimal comfort and swing physics that match his body. Boost the recoil weight to an appropriate level and clean up the swing mechanics (which will be more easily brought about by a proper amount of recoil), and not only will the TE likely go away, but he'll probably be able to start playing at least a hybrid again, if not full-bed poly, and regain some much-desired spin and weight of shot.

@SLionheart - If you haven't already, try swapping the base grip on your VC98 for a leather grip, then add 1-2g of lead tape at 10 & 2 each, and I bet both stability and comfort will improve, while retaining easy-enough topspin and shot curvature. If that's the case, you might want to add 1-2 grams more, but not much more than that, for that should bring you up into the mid-upper 320's SW strung, which is plenty for most rec players. Then pair that with some technique cleanup (which is bound to avail of itself anyways) -- ie. wider spacing at contact, a more lose wrist coupling, proper unit turn and full follow-through -- and you should be in good shape.

As for other racquets, sure, there might be others out there that allow for slightly easier access to spin or a slightly bigger ball at lower racquet head speed and/or more lateral stability at slightly lower weight (Speed MP, Tour 100 310, etc.), but ultimately, they may very well not be the fix you're hoping for. That may have more to do with dialing in the weighting of your setup and your mechanics to go along with it, per the above guidance.

Hopefully you find some of that helpful. Any questions, feel free.
 
Last edited:
SLionheart said:
Pretty much what the title says. Two parameters that seem to make the most important differences to my game (club player) - are spin potential and stability. Tertiary concern is stiffness - I prefer a medium to more flexible racquet - did have tennis elbow awhile back.

My usual raquet is a VCORE 98 (weighted up to 11.8ounces). Love most things about this racquet.

But I demo'd a Speed Pro 2025 for fun several times last week and I felt like I had traded a .38Auto for a .45ACP. (forgive the gun reference). I felt more comfortable, and was more succesful at the net, and I get a much stronger backhand on a heavy ball.

I'd easily move to the Speed Pro but I definately gave up some ability to carve short balls with lots of top, or even forehands from the baseline. If the Speed Pro came in a 16x19 - I'd be there. Would it make sense to just weight or a Speed MP - or are there other suggestions? It's so difficult to guess a racquet's stability from specs.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Agree with our pals above - definitely try a little bit of tuning to dial in a little more of the stability you're wanting with your Yonex. Tailoring a better fit with that racquet could be easy enough to do yourself and it might save you the headache of a racquet search.

If you try adding weight to your hoop, you should also be ready to counterbalance by adding a little weight to your handle. If placing a few grams of lead tape (or whatever you choose for the job) on the hoop makes your racquet less head-light in balance, it could get to feeling a little more sluggish for you. When I've addressed this with my own frames, I've done fine with placing 1/2" lead tape on my handle and covering it with an overgrip.

And I don't go for specific numbers when tuning my own frames. I dial them in according to how they feel when I use them. At least once or twice I've done my own tuning while hitting against a backboard and serving out of a bucket of balls. That avoids testing the patience of a hitting pal with stopping and starting while I make adjustments.

Lead tape is easy to work with and if it doesn't help you, it's easy enough to peel it off and go back to your stock setup. When placing it on your hoop, the more narrow 1/4" type fits better up there. Small steps are smart - only a couple extra grams on the hoop can go a long way to affect feel and performance.
 
Thanks all for your kind, helpful and thoughtful comments! I do happen to have two Vcore's - time to go so what I can achieve with customization.Definately going to try the leather grip and more weight.

I did figure out most of my tennis elbow problem was due to using too much muscle to achieve high racket speed. Much looser now - and no TE problems. As you guys said - cleanup the technique.

Will also demo the recommendations as a burgeoning racketaholic!
 
Seth said:
POG OS, unironically.
Click to expand...
Ironically, I own many of the Prince CTS racquets from the late 80's and 90's. Mostly because I was a kid and wanted all of these and never got one. Then I found they sell for $20 on ****.
I bought a Triple Threat bandit OS in the 2000's and hated it. Next racquet I bought was Yonex from last year. So I have a 20 year gap :)

I don't own a POG though :(
 
Speed MP would have been my suggestion too, but the high swingweight of 330 makes it hard to whip topspin on the ball - problematic since the racquet essentially forces you to hit topspin with how open the string pattern is and how thick the beam is.

You could realistically add lead in the hoop to any frame to increase the stability, but off the top of my head the ezone and pure aero may suit you well
 
SLionheart said:
Ironically, I own many of the Prince CTS racquets from the late 80's and 90's. Mostly because I was a kid and wanted all of these and never got one. Then I found they sell for $20 on ****.
I bought a Triple Threat bandit OS in the 2000's and hated it. Next racquet I bought was Yonex from last year. So I have a 20 year gap :)

I don't own a POG though :(
Click to expand...
I recently got a POG O/S for my expanding vintage collection (lets just say very cheap).

I had one in the mid 90's, to this day one of those i still think why did id sell it. Back then it was Kevlar mains with Syngut cross and 60lbs tension. Hell NO this time. Once the current string breaks, which will likely be on the first couple of rallies tonight, I'll go PTP mains with Rip Control crosses. Probable mid 50s or so.

Looking forward to a bit of fun with it though
 
Tfight ISO 305 is exactly that - tank-like stability, surprisingly high spin potential, and very comfortabe thanks to medium stiffness and foam. Good aerodynamics. Beware of hefty SW though, typically in high 330-s.

It's not best when you want to quickly whip a short low ball over the net or dip a wristy sharp cross-court forehand pass. But it is great in generating heavy rally ball from the baseline.
 
Tranqville said:
Tfight ISO 305 is exactly that - tank-like stability, surprisingly high spin potential, and very comfortabe thanks to medium stiffness and foam. Good aerodynamics. Beware of hefty SW though, typically in high 330-s.

It's not best when you want to quickly whip a short low ball over the net or dip a wristy sharp cross-court forehand pass. But it is great in generating heavy rally ball from the baseline.
Click to expand...
The launch angle is slightly lower than the PA23 for an example. Same setup.
 
I'm also wondering about the Shift/Shift Pro. It's hard to assess the stability of a racquet just from the specs. It's going to be stiff in one dimension but maybe not in the lateral - I think the RA is probably confusing here. Who knows what the wrist would think of it.


Added 2 grams to 3 and 9 on the VCORE 98, leather grip coming tonight. Anxious to try this out.

Thanks again guys.
 
I believe this has all been mentioned above but I will put my two cents in as well. If you are dead set on a new racket I would look at the Babolat Pure Aero 98. This is one of the best frames I have ever hit with in stock form. It has controllable power, great access to both topspin and slice, plenty maneuverable, and great stability for it's weight. However, I don't think a new frame/frame switch is necessary as it doesn't seem like you have any complaints that are directly correlated to your VCORE 98 that can't be fixed with some lead tape.

Now as someone who plays with an older Yonex VCORE SV 98 and also likes to put an emphasis on spin and stability with their racket I can recommend the 2 customizations/mods I've been using that has been working well for me...
  1. 3g of lead at the 10 and 2 and the same total amount under the trapdoor for counter balancing (you can use more or less depending on your preference and comfort level) - this will give you a nice mix of power, plough through, and stability on your shots all while adding some topspin due to the weight being placed higher. This will also help keep your static weight down if that is an issue.
  2. 0.5g of lead at 12 and 3g of lead at 3 and 9 and the same total weight under the trapdoor for counter balancing (again you can use more or less depending on your preference and comfort level) - this is my current set up as I noticed that I wanted more stability than the first set up so I moved the lead down from 10 and 2 to 3 and 9 and added just a half a gram at 12 to give me that little bump in SW and feel of the head moving faster through the air. In addition, the VCORE 98 inherently generates a lot of topspin on it's own and I personally think it's one of the best frames when you add more stability, the little bit of lead at 12 is more for feel than anything else.
Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
best raquet for me
Replies
18
Views
1K
KuanMaster
KuanMaster
B
Spin potential from TF40?
Replies
5
Views
826
t_pac
t_pac
V
High or low SW for optimum spin potential
Replies
7
Views
1K
Veninga
V
W
Raquet Suggestion
Replies
7
Views
597
WhiteSox05CA
W
O
Need some help about buying a new raquet (speed, Radical)
Replies
10
Views
806
OMeR
O
Back
Top