Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Prince ATS Textreme Tour Family

[johnmccabe]

Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100P Review
NEGATIVE:
- Manuverability

I bought a new ATS 100P the first day it came out. Agree with your comments on the positives.

I also felt it's "harder" to swing compared to 2019 version. Since there were no other reviews out there reporting similar observations, I thought I got one off spec, maybe with higher swing weight. So I've Been modifying bumper guard area to make it swing similar to my 2019. Here is what I end up with so far where I can switch between these two racquets during a set without feeling much difference in manuverability.

https://imgur.com/f9crIvy

 

[georgeyew]

I bought a new ATS 100P the first day it came out. Agree with your comments on the positives.

I also felt it's "harder" to swing compared to 2019 version. Since there were no other reviews out there reporting similar observations, I thought I got one off spec, maybe with higher swing weight. So I've Been modifying bumper guard area to make it swing similar to my 2019. Here is what I end up with so far where I can switch between these two racquets during a set without feeling much difference in manuverability.

https://imgur.com/f9crIvy

How did you shave the bumper without cutting the frame? You mod looks really clean.

 

[johnmccabe]

How did you shave the bumper without cutting the frame? You mod looks really clean.

Took the bumper off of the frame, cut it and then reinstalled. It's pretty easy actually.

 

[georgeyew]

Took the bumper off of the frame, cut it and then reinstalled. It's pretty easy actually.

Gotcha. I noticed that once the racquet is strung and the tie off hole is stretched, it is hard to remove the bumper.

 

[johnmccabe]

Gotcha. I noticed that once the racquet is strung and the tie off hole is stretched, it is hard to remove the bumper.

I string myself and have been careful about knots. It's only been strung once before I decided to fiddle with the guard.

The racquet became very easy to swing but too low powered after removing that much plastic from the guard. Have to add back weights. Just FYI

 

[tennisreflectslife]

Not on the official playtest but couldn’t resist getting the tour 98 after the rave reviews. I used to play with the 1st gen textreme tour 95 and liked that one so I imagined I would like the feel of this too. It is a great racket but definitely different feel that that tour 95, more forgiving and easier power on this. Just a quick background on my playing style and current equipment: I use the blade pro 16x19 strung at 55 lbs usually with a round poly (yonex poly tour, 4g etc). Playing style wise I am aggressive baseliner, one handed backhand, usta 4.5.
Coming to this racket’s performance. Has a very comfortable feel when the ball hits middle. On flat shot ball kinda like sinks in and then shoots off. On the forehand I get heavy spin (I did string it lower than my typical tension at 52 lbs with hyper g). On one handed backhand I felt the even balance and slightly thick beam made it hard finding my natural swing in the beginning. I have a little wrist flick on my backhand at contact and it wasn’t happening smoothly with this racket. But with some hours on it I think I get it back. I kinda need to have better preparation and distance from the ball, lazy swing don’t work and the ball flies/launches. The biggest selling point of this racket IMO is how solid it is. At least for me, it just doesn’t back off against big shots and has a nice sound at contact. It’s more solid than blade pro (at least for me) which is saying something, and is on same level at RF97 (minus the 350+ gms weight). Slices are good too. Big on kick serves. Above average on flat serve.
I might try tail weighting it just a little bit for my one hand backhand. I don’t think it needs any lead in the hoop. Overall a solid offering from prince and something which people should try who like a modern mid plus racket.

 

[mpournaras]

Classic yellow strings are gorgeous. It helps that Grapplesnake Alpha is just an all around great string too

 

[ariwibowo]

I am currently using Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19 with 4grams of lead at 10 and 2. I also have a one handed backhand. Would ATS 98 be too light for me and suit my backhand style?

 

[10S-Junkie]

ATS 98 is only 3 grams lighter than the CX Tour 200 16x19.
I added 10 grams to mine with some bluetack in the trap door and it is great for my 1HBH.
I didn't need to add weight to 3 and 9 as my ATS 98 feels stable enough due to the ATS tech.
I tried the Dunlop Srixon CX 200 Tour 18x20 for 2 months but couldn't gel with it as I found it too unstable and would flutter, especially near 10 and 2.
ATS 98 has the stability, power and and comfort I was hoping for so demo it if you can.

 

[NiktheGr]

Which string would you choose among/between Prince Vortex, Solinco Confidential and Lynx Tour for the ATS98? Which one would you suggest for this specific racket (full bed set up)? Which one suits better? Any other string recommendations?

 

[NguyenieThePoo]

Which string would you choose among/between Prince Vortex, Solinco Confidential and Lynx Tour for the ATS98? Which one would you suggest for this specific racket (full bed set up)? Which one suits better? Any other string recommendations?

Haven’t tried the ones you listed, but very happy with Black Knight 17g @ 45x42. Still experimenting for funsies but very happy with this setup.

 

[JonathanRF]

Jonas (TennisNerd) has an updated take on the Tours, now including the 95, 100-290 and 100P.

Key takeaways:
- His overall preference: 98 > 100P > 100-290 > 100-310 = 95
- 95, 98 and 100 (310) have slightly high swing weights; 100 (290) and 100P (surprisingly) lower, so a bit more user-friendly and customizable
- 95 was OK overall, but the 98 equaled it at everything, and then some
- 100P the winner for most (intermediate and up), including club players, better balance and weight distribution than the 100-310
- For the 100 this time around, the 290 is actually a better fit for most players than the 310; better platform racquet as well

TL;DR - As I knew everyone and their brother would be clamoring for the 98, I was initially most interested in the 100P (indicated in the poll), although I requested a 100-290, thinking I'd like to get the opinion of some of my more intermediate-level friends I play with weekly (unfortunately not accepted for this playtest, though). Anyways, seems like nice update, albeit the more universal of the bunch seem to be the 98, 100-290 and 100P. Interesting stuff.

I just playtested the 100 290. I would agree with the above if it were on spec.

Mine was 294g unstrung, 316.5 strung and swing weight of 327 kgcm2 (including overgrip). Used Prince Diablo 1.25mm.

So if you bought it on the basis of wanting a sub 320 swing weight racket you'd be disappointed to get this one as the specs were off.

It played nicely though and was very stable, good connected feel and nice acoustics on impact. I imagine quite a few people would customise the 290 to the sort of spec I received out of the box.

 

[tata]

I just playtested the 100 290. I would agree with the above if it were on spec.

Mine was 294g unstrung, 316.5 strung and swing weight of 327 kgcm2 (including overgrip). Used Prince Diablo 1.25mm.

So if you bought it on the basis of wanting a sub 320 swing weight racket you'd be disappointed to get this one as the specs were off.

It played nicely though and was very stable, good connected feel and nice acoustics on impact. I imagine quite a few people would customise the 290 to the sort of spec I received out of the box.

This is why I wish TW publish the actual specs of the racquets used in the reviews for us to make better informed decisions to demo or buy. It's confusing when 3 say a racquet is fast and easy to swing and one says it was cumbersome.

 

[jonestim]

I just playtested the 100 290. I would agree with the above if it were on spec.

Mine was 294g unstrung, 316.5 strung and swing weight of 327 kgcm2 (including overgrip). Used Prince Diablo 1.25mm.

So if you bought it on the basis of wanting a sub 320 swing weight racket you'd be disappointed to get this one as the specs were off.

It played nicely though and was very stable, good connected feel and nice acoustics on impact. I imagine quite a few people would customise the 290 to the sort of spec I received out of the box.

That spec sounds perfect for me. Replace the grip with leather and you would be exactly where I like my specs.

 

[johnmccabe]

This is why I wish TW publish the actual specs of the racquets used in the reviews for us to make better informed decisions to demo or buy. It's confusing when 3 say a racquet is fast and easy to swing and one says it was cumbersome.

These things are hard to figure out. I used matching service when buying the 2019 version and the variance among 5 racquets were pretty small. That's why I ordered the ATS without a blink.

 

[JonathanRF]

This is why I wish TW publish the actual specs of the racquets used in the reviews for us to make better-informed decisions to demo or buy. It's confusing when 3 say a racquet is fast and easy to swing and one says it was cumbersome.

They publish them on the product page based on a sample of X rackets then take an average right?

Would be good if they added the specs of the test racket on the review page /Youtube description. Or maybe they use the racket that is closest to the average from their spec sample for the review?

That spec sounds perfect for me. Replace the grip with leather and you would be exactly where I like my specs.

Yeah, it played quite nice but just shows quality is going to be variable. A 327 swing weight is quite a way off the expected 318.

 

[brooksgbanks]

I just got both a Tour 98 and a Tour 100 310, and the weight was incredibly on spec for both (305.4g on the 98 and 310.8g on the 100). The SW was a bit high on both (compared to th prince listed unstrung SW (296,45 for the 98 and 295.05 for the 310). Fortunately my preference is around 325 SW strung, so these should both be really close (also trying out Vortex Triad string, which is 17g main with 18g cross, so I'm expecting about 28.5 additional points os SW strung). So far, pretty impressed.

 

[basil J]

Will also be very interested to hear your thoughts. Typing my review up tomorrow.

I ran mine through it's paces, tried some mods and ended up selling it. It was okay everywhere except on my BH side where the wide beam did not click with me and It did not come through my strike zone as I would have liked it to. it's a nice frame, I just did not click with it. I'm waiting on feedback on the new c10 pro evo. Using a blade v6 & v8 for now.

 

[c-had]

I just got both a Tour 98 and a Tour 100 310, and the weight was incredibly on spec for both (305.4g on the 98 and 310.8g on the 100). The SW was a bit high on both (compared to th prince listed unstrung SW (296,45 for the 98 and 295.05 for the 310). Fortunately my preference is around 325 SW strung, so these should both be really close (also trying out Vortex Triad string, which is 17g main with 18g cross, so I'm expecting about 28.5 additional points os SW strung). So far, pretty impressed.

My playtest ATS 98 had a higher swing weight too (maybe even higher). Strung up with Confidential 17, measuring with SwingTool, it was 327. I loved it. I just ordered a matched pair (to give me a total of 3 of them), and they came in right on spec, measuring 321 strung (290 unstrung). I gave them a short try at that weight, but did not like how anemic it felt (I knew I wouldn't). So, they've now got two grams of lead and feel much better.

 

[calmrottweiler]

Classic yellow strings are gorgeous. It helps that Grapplesnake Alpha is just an all around great string too

Looking Great... (Original Post edited, I saw your review on an earlier page...)

 

[jmacdaununder2]

I found it really interesting that the ATS 98 is no wider in the head than the ATS 95, meaning that there is virtually no increase in spin window whatsoever; the extra three inches are all down in the throat of the 98, resulting in an increase in trampoline effect. As the ATS 95 already has virtually the same length mains as, for example, a Yonex Vcore 98 I didn't see any real benefit of the 98 over the 95 and I didn't enjoy the relative lack of control resulting from the 98's abnormally long mains. The ATS 95 is the perfect update to the Gen.1 95; the ATS at 10 and 2 o'clock has fixed the hoop flutter of the original and has added stability and power with virtually none of the harshness which plagued Gen. 2.

 

[Trip]

@jmacdaununder2 - Interesting assessment of the 95 vs the 98. I find that, more often than not, when moving up head size, especially across the same model series, the primary difference in face area occurs in a "crescent" shape, from 3 and 9 down to 6 o'clock. While it does result in a bit more trampoline in certain models, other 98's and 100's with more mains/crosses and/or a more full-coverage drill pattern can actually keep trampoline effect similar, while giving you that added area in towards your body to help when you get jammed, etc. Case in point: the Tour 100P, which does all of that while also offering more consistent feel across more of the string bed, including a larger sweet spot. But it all comes down to taste; the 95 with its more concentrated sweet spot will let you know exactly where/how you've hit the ball, whereas even the 100P may feel a bit more vague in comparison. Still, both are excellent frames.

 

[tata]

I found it really interesting that the ATS 98 is no wider in the head than the ATS 95, meaning that there is virtually no increase in spin window whatsoever; the extra three inches are all down in the throat of the 98, resulting in an increase in trampoline effect. As the ATS 95 already has virtually the same length mains as, for example, a Yonex Vcore 98 I didn't see any real benefit of the 98 over the 95 and I didn't enjoy the relative lack of control resulting from the 98's abnormally long mains. The ATS 95 is the perfect update to the Gen.1 95; the ATS at 10 and 2 o'clock has fixed the hoop flutter of the original and has added stability and power with virtually none of the harshness which plagued Gen. 2.

This is exactly why I don't get along with oval shaped heads. Effectively makes the frame play smaller than the headsize would suggest. I have an angell TC97 18x20 and the main spacing are exactly the same as the 93p 18x20. The crosses are very similar in the middle but obviously spaces out more as you go further out because of the more oval shape. In the end, the extra 4sqin was down the bottom area like Trip had mentioned above.

 

[A_Instead]

My ATS 290 swing weight also feels higher than listed specs... but is a good thing imo with the lighter racket.. swings easy but packs a punch... just got to get use to the higher launch angle...

 

[tele]

I found it really interesting that the ATS 98 is no wider in the head than the ATS 95, meaning that there is virtually no increase in spin window whatsoever; the extra three inches are all down in the throat of the 98, resulting in an increase in trampoline effect. As the ATS 95 already has virtually the same length mains as, for example, a Yonex Vcore 98 I didn't see any real benefit of the 98 over the 95 and I didn't enjoy the relative lack of control resulting from the 98's abnormally long mains. The ATS 95 is the perfect update to the Gen.1 95; the ATS at 10 and 2 o'clock has fixed the hoop flutter of the original and has added stability and power with virtually none of the harshness which plagued Gen. 2.

I recently got an ATS 95 and agree that it is certainly not wanting in spin, power, or sweet spot size when properly weighted (mine had a 290 SW unstrung and felt a little too fast and underpowered when I got it, so I added a couple of grams at 12). My other racquet is a cx 200 tour, and I was not initially a fan of the way the ATS's 22mm beam felt through the air, but after an adjustment period, that is no longer an issue. Comfort is excellent to boot!

 

[Zibenator]

Any news on Prince ATS Textreme 98 Tour performance? Any comparison to DR98 or the new Ezone 98 2022? Hype on ATS 98 Tour is not so big as it was. Waiting for some new Youtube reviews but nobody does it exept TW, Tennisnerd and Tennis euphoria.
How about tennis grip on the new ATS series. I have heard that it runs bigger than before. What is Your experience guys?

 

[tele]

Any news on Prince ATS Textreme 98 Tour performance? Any comparison to DR98 or the new Ezone 98 2022? Hype on ATS 98 Tour is not so big as it was. Waiting for some new Youtube reviews but nobody does it exept TW, Tennisnerd and Tennis euphoria.
How about tennis grip on the new ATS series. I have heard that it runs bigger than before. What is Your experience guys?

I have had a few princes and did not notice a significant change in size. A TT Warrior 100 I briefly used had a more pronounced butt cap flare IIRC, but the G3 on the ATS 95 I have did not feel "big".

I don't have an ATS 98, but I did play with a DR98 for a few years. Compared to my ATS 95, I feel like the DR 98's throat flex was a bit more noticeable on contact even though it had a higher RA on paper. DR98 wins for me on serves and punching volleys deep, but I prefer the 95 overall. DR98 has a more of a "hollow" feel on contact.

 

[abhi_trip]

Waiting for some new Youtube reviews but nobody does it exept TW, Tennisnerd and Tennis euphoria.

 

[Zibenator]

Thank You for the feedback guys. I had been using DR98 a lot. Sweet racquet. A lot of people complain on constant reminding and comparing latests racquet to the DR98, but it was so good that it deserves it. For me it was well balanced but sometimes, especially during very hot summers it tended to become so plush and soft that lacked finishing power for me. I decided to try some other racquets and finally landed on Ezone 100 2020. I weighted it with 5 grams of fishing putty in the handle and that was enough. It seemed to play as lighter DR98 on steroids in a positive way. Not so plush but not harsh at all. Definitely more finishing power, little less control, higher launch angle, very stable. Needs quite fast stroke motion to maintain control and to replace DR98 dwelling time kind of control from 62RA.

But recently I miss the plusheness and dwelling time and decided to give a try to some softer racquets. From my personal experience softer racquets give more opportunities to play all court game and not only to intimidate opponents with raw power and spin.

That is why I hunt for Prince Textreme ATS 98, but for now it is not available in Europe where I live. Have to wait for some new batch coming in.

Recently I tried Prince ATS 100 310g. It is very nice, but not what I was looking for. Definitely very high launch angle from 16x18. Very stable overall without any lead. Very plush and comfortable. With some off center hits near 3 and 9 it lost some power and felt like hitting with some empty plastic pipe (like are used to connect heaters or radiators), but it was not so often. The biggest con for me was playing with it in preasure / stretch points when my head tended to heat up and I oversprayed with it - too much power with trampoline effect plus open string pattern and balls fly on me sometimes [I know You use this sentence often on this forum to this specific situation when somebody overhit to the fence, but dont understand it - is is some kind of phrasal verb? ]

That is why I wait for ATS 98 Tour to hit with in next few months. Smaller head, a little denser string pattern, same plushness as DR98, decent 325 SW.
I love Yonexes for its unique feel and I am torn between Ezone 98 2022 (I tried - very good but needs some lead on 12 especially with 2HBH) and Prince ATS 98 which I did not try yet.

I use Yonexes with L2 (4 1/4) grip despite quite big hand to have some good whippiness but from playing with Prince ATS 100 310 with L3 (4 3/8) I think that the grip on this new ATS was to big. I know that shape is also different - Yonex more rectangular and Prince more round, but it felt bigger anyway.

So to sum up I hesitate between new Yonex Ezone 98 L2 and new Prince Textreme ATS 98 L2/L3.
Definitely Ezone 98 2022 is quick through the air, has quite low launch angle, ball comes off quick from the stringbed. Comfort is not an issue for me with it. Prince will probably be nicer due to low AR and allows to play more complex and fun balls overall...

Does anyone have the same feelings / dilemmas? Reply if You are willing to share some point of view

 

[Zibenator]

Great review from ACTennis. I did not see it before - thank You for sharing it abhi_trip. It definitely looks like He knows what he is talking about. Lots of effort to prepare it in such a detailed manner.

 

[Zibenator]

I have had a few princes and did not notice a significant change in size. A TT Warrior 100 I briefly used had a more pronounced butt cap flare IIRC, but the G3 on the ATS 95 I have did not feel "big".

I don't have an ATS 98, but I did play with a DR98 for a few years. Compared to my ATS 95, I feel like the DR 98's throat flex was a bit more noticeable on contact even though it had a higher RA on paper. DR98 wins for me on serves and punching volleys deep, but I prefer the 95 overall. DR98 has a more of a "hollow" feel on contact.

Thank You Tele for Your thoughts. I did not try ATS 95, but I know that 320 g of static weight would be too much for me. I played great tennis for couple of years before DR98 with the Wilson Pro Staff 97 315 g (red/black with some silver pearl kind of smudges). Great racquet, but found it too much of a racquet some day - the same day when I fell in love with DR98 Static played points from the baseline would be ok with ATS95, but not so with the wide/stretchy defence ones probably.

 

[tele]

Thank You Tele for Your thoughts. I did not try ATS 95, but I know that 320 g of static weight would be too much for me. I played great tennis for couple of years before DR98 with the Wilson Pro Staff 97 315 g (red/black with some silver pearl kind of smudges). Great racquet, but found it too much of a racquet some day - the same day when I fell in love with DR98 Static played points from the baseline would be ok with ATS95, but not so with the wide/stretchy defence ones probably.

Swingweight makes a big difference, but you do feel the 320g (mine is around 345 with overgrip/added weight), especially on serve.

When I was looking at buying the DR98 in 2017, I remember seeing a lot of comparisons between it and the old (2015) 100p. I couldn't demo at the time, so I ended up just buying the DR 98 based on reviews and didn't look back once I played with it. The new 100p is apparently similar to the old one and only weighs 305 grams I think. My guess would be more control and dwell time vs an EZONE 100. Happy hunting!

 

[Zibenator]

My guess would be more control and dwell time vs an EZONE 100. Happy hunting!

That is what I long for. Hope this one will be the bullseye

 

[3.75]

Demoed Prince ATS 98. I currently play with a slightly underweight (~ 310g unstrung) Gravity Pro. The prince was a HUGE letdown. I have used various Prince rackets before so I was positively biased. The thing felt clunky and with a very high launch angle. My shots lacked weight, the serve was underpowered, and the slice was Meh. Couldn't flatten the shots, and the high arching shots did not have much spin. This might be due to the fact that the gravity is mighty stable and has SW~335. But still, this racket was just bad. It might have been the multi strings, but the gravity also has multi. If I have to buy an arm-frindly 16x19, the blade seems better.

 

[johnmccabe]

Demoed Prince ATS 98. I currently play with a slightly underweight (~ 310g unstrung) Gravity Pro. The prince was a HUGE letdown. I have used various Prince rackets before so I was positively biased. The thing felt clunky and with a very high launch angle. My shots lacked weight, the serve was underpowered, and the slice was Meh. Couldn't flatten the shots, and the high arching shots did not have much spin. This might be due to the fact that the gravity is mighty stable and has SW~335. But still, this racket was just bad. It might have been the multi strings, but the gravity also has multi. If I have to buy an arm-frindly 16x19, the blade seems better.

This is really comparing apple to orange. Gravity pro is more like a weighted up version of phantom 100x 18x20, a whole different category.

 

[Slicehand]

Demoed Prince ATS 98. I currently play with a slightly underweight (~ 310g unstrung) Gravity Pro. The prince was a HUGE letdown. I have used various Prince rackets before so I was positively biased. The thing felt clunky and with a very high launch angle. My shots lacked weight, the serve was underpowered, and the slice was Meh. Couldn't flatten the shots, and the high arching shots did not have much spin. This might be due to the fact that the gravity is mighty stable and has SW~335. But still, this racket was just bad. It might have been the multi strings, but the gravity also has multi. If I have to buy an arm-frindly 16x19, the blade seems better.

The blade is more underpowered than the prince, not being able to flaten the shots is not about the racquet, besides the gravity is more underpowered, thats why it might benefit from multi unlike the prince, also diferent pattern, i dont think its a bad racquet, but you must play some time with it to get used to it, spin and flat shots are about technique, if you change raquets you must adjust your swing

 

[3.75]

This is really comparing apple to orange. Gravity pro is more like a weighted up version of phantom 100x 18x20, a whole different category.

Agreed. I guess I like oranges. But here is the deal: I did play with the Prince Phantom 100 18x20 for a year. That thing had laser flat shots and slices but is very underpowered and demanding. The gravity pro is not that demanding and not that under-powered so it is roughly comparable to the Prince Tours. To be specific, and to compare apples to apples, both the Gravity Pro and ATS 98 have a score of 81 on power in the TW reviews. Then again, the ATS 98 had an out-of-this world review, and it is quite pedestrian IMHO.

 

[Slicehand]

Agreed. I guess I like oranges. But here is the deal: I did play with the Prince Phantom 100 18x20 for a year. That thing had laser flat shots and slices but is very underpowered and demanding. The gravity pro is not that demanding and not that under-powered so it is roughly comparable to the Prince Tours. To be specific, and to compare apples to apples, both the Gravity Pro and ATS 98 have a score of 81 on power in the TW reviews. Then again, the ATS 98 had an out-of-this world review, and it is quite pedestrian IMHO.

Still, a play test might be decieving, you have to play a match or a tournament with it to see if it makes you play better, if youre used to a very different frame, its not gonna feel great at first, besides i would never put multi on this frame

 

[3.75]

The blade is more underpowered than the prince, not being able to flaten the shots is not about the racquet, besides the gravity is more underpowered, thats why it might benefit from multi unlike the prince, also diferent pattern, i dont think its a bad racquet, but you must play some time with it to get used to it, spin and flat shots are about technique, if you change raquets you must adjust your swing

I agree that flat and spin is mostly technique. And you can always improve your technique (which is the magic of tennis). And I did not give the 98 a fair trial as I dismissed it after 20 minutes and 100 hits.

I am writing my (unfair) review so that people thinking of demoing it or buying sight unseen have one more data point. If you want a stable, control-oriented, solid plow-through racket that does not have a very high launch angle, the ATS 98 is probably not your choice.

 

[calmrottweiler]

Demoed Prince ATS 98. I currently play with a slightly underweight (~ 310g unstrung) Gravity Pro. The prince was a HUGE letdown. I have used various Prince rackets before so I was positively biased. The thing felt clunky and with a very high launch angle. My shots lacked weight, the serve was underpowered, and the slice was Meh. Couldn't flatten the shots, and the high arching shots did not have much spin. This might be due to the fact that the gravity is mighty stable and has SW~335. But still, this racket was just bad. It might have been the multi strings, but the gravity also has multi. If I have to buy an arm-frindly 16x19, the blade seems better.

You'll need to tweak the frame. Add a Leather grip (about 10 grams Plus) and Split 2-3 grams between 2 and 10. Use a shaped Poly probably Hyper G 17G.
That racquet will have the stability of the Gravity Pro and much better feel.

 

[Slicehand]

I agree that flat and spin is mostly technique. And you can always improve your technique (which is the magic of tennis). And I did not give the 98 a fair trial as I dismissed it after 20 minutes and 100 hits.

I am writing my (unfair) review so that people thinking of demoing it or buying sight unseen have one more data point. If you want a stable, control-oriented, solid plow-through racket that does not have a very high launch angle, the ATS 98 is probably not your choice.

Launch angle is just adjustable, think about it, you just have to close the racquet face more than you are used to, after that you can get the same trajectory than with any other racquet, if ypu are playing with ab 18x20 pattern, there was always gonna be a launch adjustment, its very difficult that you are playing a lot of time with a racquet amd you pick up a different one and you feel inmediatlyat home, for me, its after the adjustment period that i can value if i play better with that racquet, because thats what matters to me, our muscle memory is used to a certain weight or certain sw and balance, thats why its difficult at first, but looking at the specs you shoulve known that it was a very different racquet to yours, reviews are just orientative, the stats are quite ridiculous and you shouldnt trust that, every player is used to different things and are gonna give a different conclusion, in fact its super orientative and not precise, just because a racquet has a high review you shokldnt think its the racquet for you, ypu have to look at the spes and understand how they work, to know if its gonna suit your game
Sorry for the typos, very difficulttowrite from this phone

 

[Happi]

I agree that flat and spin is mostly technique. And you can always improve your technique (which is the magic of tennis). And I did not give the 98 a fair trial as I dismissed it after 20 minutes and 100 hits.

I am writing my (unfair) review so that people thinking of demoing it or buying sight unseen have one more data point. If you want a stable, control-oriented, solid plow-through racket that does not have a very high launch angle, the ATS 98 is probably not your choice.

The ATS 98 is rock solid and stable frame with good all round specs. Perhaps it is not for you, but no need to dish it after 20min. I would question a players technique if he cant get it to work, its a great all round frame.

 

[time_fly]

I'm seriously considering switching to the ATS 98. It has better feel and more control than the Dunlop SX 300 Tours (gen 2, 98") that I have been using for the past season, and doesn't give up that much power and spin. It seems a lot like the 2nd gen Pure Strike 98 16x19 that I really liked, minus the elbow-murdering shock that forced me to dump the Babolat.

 

[chizzle]

I bought one (98) bc a demo isn't really a demo if you hit with a string and a grip size that doesn't fit your personal specs. I found it very stable, very solid in ALL areas. I can't decide my favorite shot with this - it volleys SO well too. Serves were fantastic. It does feel like a plusher/more solid version of the PO7 (2nd gen pure strike?) - which I loved and played with for a couple years.

My first string setup was 4G at 45lbs. Good feel, plush. Looking for string recs from other's experiences. For me, I'll next try ALU 1.25 (solid ref point). Have Tour Bite 16 and Hyper G 16 lined up after.

 

[tele]

Anyone else experimented with weight on the new tour 95? Something was a little awkward about how it came around. I experimented a little and 5g at the top of the throat really did the trick for me. Feels super smooth now.

 

[rrepp]

Has anyone 4.0-4.5 tried M8 in their ATS 98?

 

[FrankyRelax]

Has anyone 4.0-4.5 tried M8 in their ATS 98?

Yes. I found it too stiff and dead for my liking

 

[Srik]

I got ATS 98 with 299 unstrung SW, now strung with head lynx 16, total SW now could be close to 330, however the racquet has high launch angle, maneuverability is not good, is this due to high SW or is the string so heavy ? Advices are much appreciated to make this racquet work. Thanks !

 

[tele]

I got ATS 98 with 299 unstrung SW, now strung with head lynx 16, total SW now could be close to 330, however the racquet has high launch angle, maneuverability is not good, is this due to high SW or is the string so heavy ? Advices are much appreciated to make this racquet work. Thanks !

going to a lighter gauge string will reduce swingweight. have not used lynx, but i think there should be a sw difference significant enough to notice between 16g and 18g. probably will not do much about the high launch angle, but a more maneuverable racquet will be easier to add spin with

 

[Happi]

I got ATS 98 with 299 unstrung SW, now strung with head lynx 16, total SW now could be close to 330, however the racquet has high launch angle, maneuverability is not good, is this due to high SW or is the string so heavy ? Advices are much appreciated to make this racquet work. Thanks !

I lowered my SW on ATS 98 almost 10 points going from 16 Poly to 17 Isospeed Prof Classic (one of the lightest string)