Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Prince Phantom 2024

Got my Phantom 107, with strings, grip and dampener came in at 330 grams. Came strung and didn’t have much time but hit 30 min with a good 45s Gold Ball champion. It held up really nicely against those types of shots, more stable than I thought a thin frame would be, Hard to mishit it with the 107 size and thin beam. Really liked it so far, was pretty pleased even with a 1hbh the 107 was easy to swing, plan on using it this weekend extensively so I‘ll have a better idea and review.
 
Fed Kennedy said:
Just ball bashed for 90min. I can already tell I love it. On the edge of the ball like a mf. My cc fh is back! Tomorrow I’ll start serving and playing points.
Note: the PJ doesn’t really scream camo. Its just a green racquet. If anything, this is the real avocado.
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What’s the feel like? We have so few new frames with a pure feel anymore.
 
UPS has my 100P getting delivered today! Doubt it'll come in time for me to string it up for my 2 hour session, but I'm excited none the less.
I went ahead and picked up some gently used ATS 95s as well, as I used the 2015 Textreme Tour for several seasons and decided to get more Prince Comps for comparison for this review
 
100P First impression: A more 'stock playable' CX200.
Stats: 309g, 31.8cm, 295 unstrung SW, 13.1 unstrung SW.

The colorway honestly in pretty nice in person. It's not obnoxious or anything. Don't love it, don't hate it. Solid B for cosmetics
 
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Soundbyte said:
100P First impression: A more 'stock playable' CX200.
Stats: 309g, 31.8cm, 295 unstrung SW, 13.1 unstrung SW.

The colorway honestly in pretty nice in person. It's not obnoxious or anything. Don't love it, don't it. Solid B for cosmetics
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Agree. Its just a green racquet. My hitting partner thought it was a blade
 
ey039524 said:
Haha, that's coming from a solid A for the previous version.
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And a solid A+ for the previous (original version).

IMG20210104154655.jpg
 
I haven't gotten any shipping information yet so I'm probably still a few days out from receiving my racquet. I'm going to string it and my POG OS at the same time with the same string and at the same tension.

Shadow swinging the POG OS is kind of weird. I'm not used to a racquet that has this significant of a headlight balance, and not used to a standard length racquet. It feels like it almost pivots not far above the handle, so that the head comes through really quickly. I kind of rely on the swingweight of the racquet to help me generate the lag I use on my groundstrokes so it will be interesting to get the POG OS out on the court again.
 
Pretty impressed with the Phantom 107g, the forgiveness of an oversize but swings and plays like a midsize.

Tiebreaker


Groundstrokes


String and tension used for test: Prince Tour XP 50lbs (I would definitely go lower next time even for an oversize)
Tennis experience/background: Playing for 30 years off and on
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All Court, Serve and Volley for doubles
Current racquet/string setups: Solinco BlackOut XTD 45/40 lbs
How many hours did you play with the racquet? 6 hours so far, going to restring it lower and have better feedback.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):

-Groundstrokes: Pretty impressed with this racket from the ground, swings very fast/easy for an oversize racket, cuts through the air like a knife. I thought the power was on par with my Solinco BlackOut XTD if I strung it lower. Was surprisingly very good on the 1 hand backhand and I usually hate oversize rackets for the 1hander. Very stable for how thin it is. I know the recommended mid tension is 50 lbs and that makes sense for an oversize but shots were a little short so I'd go lower in tension next time.

-Serves: Thought this was great on serves. The thin beam cuts through the air and you can confidently swing it fast and brush it without worrying about hitting the frame. Got decent pace and it drops down very well. Again I’m usually not a fan of oversize for serving but this racket served well. I think when I go lower in tension it‘ll be that much better. Was good for overheads too.

-Volleys: Can’t really miss the volleys with a racket this big, just catch out in front, very stable, good feel, good balance. I did like it a lot for volleys in warmups I just can’t get to the net that much for the singles I played but it had the usually softer feel of prince rackets

-Serve returns: Oversize head helped on the serve returns, could block it or swing, I liked the thin throat cross section for a 1 hander.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)

Power/Control- Impressed with the power for such a thin beam, no hot spots on the string bed so things didn’t fly, I think if you play with lower tension you could get a pretty powerful racket with good control, Control was good, I thought it played with a nice trajectory, not too high so it’d be good for a doubles? racket.

Top Spin/Slice- Thin bean really shines here, you can really brush the ball for topspin or knife it. Very good topspin on my 1 hander. I don’t slice a lot but I could tell this is a good racket for slices.

Comfort- Usual Prince comfort and from a 60? RA racket, I’ve always felt prince rackets were really comfortable. The resi tex tour is bit firmer than my usual grips Head Hydrosorb tour and wilson perforated cushion. I think I might switch it to a softer replacement grip

Feel- I think it’s more on the muted side, Ball seems to stay on the racket longer than others, maybe because of the soft RA. Hit some decent drop shots with it

Maneuverability- Easy to swing. The thin beam helps it cut through the air. Mine was 330gram with strings, dampener and overgrip. Fairly headlight

Stability- Thought this a really stable racket, maybe the zylon, oversize, POG type crossbar. Didn’t have any flutter, didn’t feel I needed to add lead tape, perfectly fine played as stock

General reaction/comments on overall performance: Pretty impressed with this racket, it felt stiffer more powerful than my blue Michael Chang POG, swings easy with good stability, was very maneuverable for an oversize. If you are into thin beam rackets give this a try, For those on the demo the midpoint 50lbs poly is tight imo I hit way more into the net than I usually do I think you could go 46/43 for a poly setup and be fine even on an oversize.
 
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dgoran said:
Forgot how good 12pts head light plays for a one handed bh.
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Hyped to have you on this playtest dgoran. Over the years, we’ve had very similar taste. I am asking myself why I haven’t tried this model years ago…it ticks off a lot of boxes for me.
I’m gonna let the poly tour strike ride for a few more days and then go to the mark boone thin edged poly setup.
I played points for the first time today and I will say they fixed that flat serve serve thing that the old exo3 tours had. I was popping my serve in there as good or better than with my trusty redhead GPMP.
I raced out to a big lead and started serve/volleying, trying to hit bh winners early in points, etc. It was working!
What are you maining these days @dgoran @Gee?
 
Last few months I played with Head Prestige Pro. Great sensational feeling racquet but lately I switched back to my Phantom 100x 18x20 that is a little easier to play with.
Hitting volleys during doubles feels like cheating with the huge sweetspot of the PP100x :)
 
Frame came in today strung with poly tour strike. The frame feels really nice in hand. Very light and maneuverable for the 305 and will be taking it out for a first hit after dinner On the ball machine .
 
dgoran said:
I played with 97p for a long while. Looking forward to trying 100x 18x20 to compare against blade pro, blade v9 and gravity pro all 18x20.
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This racquet (phantom 18x20) looks like a close cousin to the gravity pro. I like it much better than the blade 18x20. Its similar but it has more gears and way more topspin
 
My 100p just came today, unstrung w a pack of tour xp 16 and a pack of premier control. It was 308 g unstrung. I want to put a leather grip on it (the green synthetic grip is fugly), but we were asked to hit w it w/o mods first (it'll probably be way too head heavy for my liking). I'll try it w a soft poly in the mains (tour xp might be a little too stiff for my elbow) crossed w ZX.

Then I'll add a leather grip and possibly some putty in the butt until it gets to 350 g and very head light. I'll restrung one of my old phantom pro 100s w the same strings and compare.
 
ey039524 said:
My 100p just came today, unstrung w a pack of tour xp 16 and a pack of premier control. It was 308 g unstrung. I want to put a leather grip on it (the green synthetic grip is fugly), but we were asked to hit w it w/o mods first (it'll probably be way too head heavy for my liking). I'll try it w a soft poly in the mains (tour xp might be a little too stiff for my elbow) crossed w ZX.

Then I'll add a leather grip and possibly some putty in the butt until it gets to 350 g and very head light. I'll restrung one of my old phantom pro 100s w the same strings and compare.
Click to expand...
Yo, the stock grip actually is a leather grip. Its kind of like those old wilson pro hybrid grips
 
ey039524 said:
What?! It's rubbery and light as a feather. The backing is a weird cloth type material.
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I think it’s leather coated in PU. I also think its pretty heavy. Maybe @Gee knows the truth.
I’m not taking mine off because my 18x20 is feeling pretty goldilocks right now.
I’m going to need a Prince bag.
I’ve hit with this racquet 4 times now and each time it’s given me a few WOW moments.
I’m gonna ditch the poly tour strike tomorrow and restring with hyper g 1.20 at 48
 
Fed Kennedy said:
I think it’s leather coated in PU. I also think its pretty heavy. Maybe @Gee knows the truth.
I’m not taking mine off because my 18x20 is feeling pretty goldilocks right now.
I’m going to need a Prince bag.
I’ve hit with this racquet 4 times now and each time it’s given me a few WOW moments.
I’m gonna ditch the poly tour strike tomorrow and restring with hyper g 1.20 at 48
Click to expand...
Yes it is.
The Prince ResiTex Tour grip combines a firm leather base with a soft and tacky PU upper.
I also discovered it is as heavy as a regular leather grip and a little thicker as well.
 
aussie said:
Not sure about the grip color though, probably need to see that in the flesh.
Click to expand...
That's the base/replacement grip. I always play with an overgrip. The main point for whoever has played the previous and this version is to see if Prince has stiffen-it-up a bit. If I was Prince I would promote it like Head does for the Gravity line.
 
ey039524 said:
My 100p just came today, unstrung w a pack of tour xp 16 and a pack of premier control. It was 308 g unstrung. I want to put a leather grip on it (the green synthetic grip is fugly), but we were asked to hit w it w/o mods first (it'll probably be way too head heavy for my liking). I'll try it w a soft poly in the mains (tour xp might be a little too stiff for my elbow) crossed w ZX.

Then I'll add a leather grip and possibly some putty in the butt until it gets to 350 g and very head light. I'll restrung one of my old phantom pro 100s w the same strings and compare.
Click to expand...
Ive been enjoying mine, but i do think the 100p needs some extra weight (hoop and handle). I have my unmodded review all ready to go. But need more time with some slight tweaks to see if i can optimize this frame to my game.

This thin soft frames remind me of frames from 20 years ago...where you need some extra heft, especially compared to the stiffer thicker beam frames that are commonplace
 
<---- 100P play tester checking in! :cool:
ey039524 said:
My 100p just came today, unstrung w a pack of tour xp 16 and a pack of premier control. It was 308 g unstrung. I want to put a leather grip on it (the green synthetic grip is fugly), but we were asked to hit w it w/o mods first (it'll probably be way too head heavy for my liking). I'll try it w a soft poly in the mains (tour xp might be a little too stiff for my elbow) crossed w ZX.

Then I'll add a leather grip and possibly some putty in the butt until it gets to 350 g and very head light. I'll restrung one of my old phantom pro 100s w the same strings and compare.
Click to expand...

Minus the "putty in the butt", we have similar customization preferences. Sheesh, that sounds dirty... lol
I agree with you about the grip. If it was a uniform-colored green grip without the black grooves and Dijon mustard colored prince logo, then maybe it would be less fugly. The grip reminds me of an underripe avocado with bruise lines.
Gee said:
Yes it is.
The Prince ResiTex Tour grip combines a firm leather base with a soft and tacky PU upper.
I also discovered it is as heavy as a regular leather grip and a little thicker as well.
Click to expand...

Yes, that makes sense, because the 1st gen 100P had stock Resi-Pro and that felt lighter in stock form compared to the ResiTex in the 2nd gen and current one.
 
konstantinos kalfountzos said:
Whoever got into the playtest, please upload some photos of the rackets under the sunlight, on the court, on a bench etc. I think I was dead-wrong about the camo-paintjob.
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https://imgur.com/a/mOhTxqG
[

MEDIA=imgur]a/mOhTxqG[/MEDIA]

Here are a couple pictures of the 305! I really like the paint job and feels very smooth in hand. Let me know if anyone wants any more and I can do a whole new outfit for the frame (different grips and dampeners lol)
 
Phantom 100X 290 arrived this afternoon. Thanks @TW Staff! I took some unstrung specs before taking it to the stringer. Weight (in grams) is measured on a kitchen scale, swingweight on a freshly calibrated SW1, and balance (in cm) on a BP1.

Unstrung with plastic:
Weight: 293.4
SW: 294
Balance: 32.1

Unstrung without plastic:
Weight: 290.5
SW: 294
Balance: 32.3

So the plastic is ~3 grams.

Strung with HyperG 17, it should be around 309 grams / 326 swingweight / 33.5 cm. Definitely a few extra grams of weight in the head compared to the TW average, but I typically play around 330 swingweight, so that isn’t a problem. And I’ll still be able to get it to my preferred spec (335 / 330 / 32.5) after the stock playtest (although all the added weight will have to go above the grip).

UPDATE: Turns out I significantly overestimated what strings would add. Final stock specs, strung with HyperG 17 mains / HyperG Round 17 crosses: 306 grams / 321 swingweight / 33.3 cm balance.
 
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Phantom 100P

First and foremost, thank you TW for the opportunity. Coming up on my 18th year anniversary of being on TalkTennis. This is my 2nd playtest and it's been fun.
String and tension used for test: TruPro Black Knight 17g @ 44lbs
Tennis experience/background: Been playing for 24 years, former D1 Club Tennis Player/President. Been almost a decade since I played USTA but I was a computer rated 4.5 who also hit regularly with 5.0s. If I had to guess I'm a probably a mid-to-high 4.5. Don't have a UTR as UTR still hasn't taken off in my circles, and I don't play touraments. Just my local town ladder where's I've traded the #1 spot back and worth with another former collegiate athlete.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Lefty, all court player. I like to set up my points and go for winners, but more often than not I'll be attacking your backhand until I get the opportunity to hit a short angle or open up the court down the line. Not afraid to come to net. Semi-western forehand, 2 handed backhand.
I learned tennis predominantly by playing doubles, before transitioning into singles in my younger years.
Current racquet/string setups: Variable. I am a racketholic, but I prefer "older classic" frames. Most recently, been using the Head Prestige Classic 2.0, and Volkl PB10 Mid as my mains. But I've dabbled into far too many frames than I care to admit.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? Around 8 hours without modifications so far. This is my "stock" review. I plan to tweak the frame a bit here and there and continue playing with it to see if I can further optimize it for my game. Updates will be forthcoming.
Unstrung specs (measured by calibrated Briffidi with new Twist Weight Adapter. Stats: 309g, 31.8cm, 295 unstrung SW, 13.1 unstrung TW.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: Plush feeling racket. Good spin generation for a 16x18, as it's been quite awhile since I've seen that string pattern. This racket is definitely a low-powered frame. It rewards full swings and higher trajectories. I could probably drop tension another 6-8 lbs. Natural gut would probably open this frame up nicely. Sweetspot feels large. I don't feel like there is a significant drop off in power anywhere, but the entire frame is low powered. Racket has very nice flex, but you feel it most in the throat. Fantastic for shaping the ball. Swings quick, as expected for the the thin box beam. Biggest downside is against heavier balls. When facing heavy powerful shots, the racket does get pushed around more so than I would like. Good touch and feel. Definitely feels like a classic frame. Its not as solid feeling as the PC2.0 or PT2.0, nor would I describe it as a "crisp" frame. Its soft, comfortable, with uniform flex but is greatest in the throat. For comparison, the Blade Pro felt flexier in the throat, but that frame is more polarized. This feels like a playable stock version of what the Dunlop CX200 or Wilson Ultra Pro should have been. Both those frames are great, but require significant lead tape modifications. The 100P is playable stock for anyone USTA 4.0 and under. Higher levels or heavier hitters would likely want to add some weight (which I plan to do).
-Serves: Serves are average. Spin generation is fine, swings easy. But no free power here, and not enough mass to get enough pop compared to my heavier frames (PS85, PB10 Mid, C10 Pro, PC2.0, etc). I often wonder what a 27.5" version of this frame would play like. I imagine it would add extra leverage on both groundies and the serve. I expect a few grams between 10 and 2 to really open this puppy up on serves.
-Volleys: 100P is manueverable, soft with great touch. One of my favorite frames to volley with. Biggest downside is that it could use a bit more mass to counteract the low RA. Directional control is excellent, touch shots are top notch, and the racket isn't clunky at all. Probably my favorite stroke to hit with this frame.
-Serve returns: Love/hate relationship with this frame on serve returns. Its manueverability makes it excel as ease of getting to big serves. And for its racket, it's remarkably (albeit relatively) stable on the slice backhand. But the biggest downside again is the low power, low flex, and lack of depth on serve returns. You have to take full cuts, or increase your height over the net to get a neutral or agressive return back. Otherwise there's a good chance I'd be landing it shorter than I like. It takes some adjustment. Compared to other frames like the Blade V9 98/100, Boom Pro, or even my modded CX200, it just lacks free power and oomph and the return of serve is where that is most evident.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- Low power, low power, low power. But excellent control. Abbreviated swings need not apply.
Top Spin/Slice- Very good spin with the 16x18 pattern. No, its not a spin machine like the Aero Line, SX line, or even frames like the Solinco Blackout. But its spinnier than any 18x20 I've used recently. Slice is surprisingly good for its weight. Slice never felt unstable, always got good depth on the slice. But the downside was I found myself slicing too much with this frame due to lack of depth on my 2HBH.
Comfort- Perfectly comfortable. I've only has "comfort" issues with two rackets in my career - The Babolat Pure Aero Tour and the Babolat Pure Strike 3rd gen. No issues here.
Feel- Honestly, one of the better feeling frames I've used in quite some time. As mentioned earlier, feel is great. It's not as soft AND stable feeling as the PS85, PC2.0, or PB10 Mid. But it's up there with the 2024 CX200, Wilson Ultra Pro, and Angell React / Lime lines in terms of feel. The Pure Strike VS is up there as well, but this is softers and more consistent than the PSVS in overall feel. This is a decidedly "classic" feeling frame. If you like "modern" or muted (like modern Babolat, Yonex, Wilson, Head, etc), this one may not be to your liking. Out of current gen readily available rackets, only the Ultra Pro or CX200 really compares. The other offerings are muted in comparison (Blade, Boom, Speed, Blackout/whiteout, Percept, Ezone, Shift; Babolats don't come close)
Maneuverability- Excellent. Again, I think most of us expected this for a thin beam lighter frame.
Stability- Stability is good, surprisingly so for its weight even. But at higher level this is were the racket breaks down. I've felt rackets this low powered and soft require extra mass to really generate power and add stability. I don't think this frame is any different. I think adding another 10-20 SW points and probably another 6-10g is what this racket needs. Will probably start with 4g in the head and counter balance from there. But I suspect it'll be more to liking then.
In full disclosure, 330-340 is my usual preferred swingweight.

General reaction/comments on overall performance: A welcome addition by Prince. I haven't hit with a Phantom since the 93P, and I also thought that racket was low powered. I never spent enough time with the 93p to mod it or give it a chance to grow on me. I think the 100P is more user friendly out of the box though. If the CX200 intrigues you, but all the reports of crazy low stock swingweight gets to you, give the Phantom 100P a try. My favorite Prince frame since the 2015 Textreme Tour. I suspect adding some lead will really make me like this frame. But thats TBD.
 
Gee said:
Yes it is.
The Prince ResiTex Tour grip combines a firm leather base with a soft and tacky PU upper.
I also discovered it is as heavy as a regular leather grip and a little thicker as well.
Click to expand...
Same thoughts, it's firmer than most grips, but softer than leather. I think I'll try a hydrosorb grip. I think it's about 28 grams?
 
Got my 107G today. It was unstrung and came with two packs of string.

20240529-174835.jpg


The Prince website says unstrung weight of 305 grams and 10 points HL. Tennis Warehouse says strung weight is 323 grams, 7 points HL and 320 swingweight. Unstrung, my 107G was 307.8 grams and 10 points HL. Strung with 1.20 Confidential and with a Prince worm dampener, it was 325.7 grams, 7 points HL, with 320 swingweight according to Swingtool. This is within 1% of the stated specs so quality control on my particular racquet is excellent.

20240529-190441.jpg


I played with a POG OS in the middle 80's and still have that racquet. I had previously strung it with a generic poly but restrung it tonight with the same Confidential 1.20 at the same tension, 49/46, as in the Phantom. I've been told I have a POG OS version 3, and though it's listed as a "series 110", the head size and shape are almost identical.

What's not identical is string spacing. The Phantom 107G has much wider main spacing. The outer crosses are about 2 cm wider apart than in either the POG OS or in my current racquet, a Babolat Aero 112. All three racquets are 16x19 so the separation of the mains in the center of the racquet are wider in the Phantom than the other two by a noticeable margin. The upper and lower crosses are also closer to the edge of the frame, but by a smaller amount.

20240529-200009.jpg


The POG OS, with a leather grip and overgrip, and strung is 382.8 grams, 11 points HL, with a swingweight of 350. Evolution has lengthened the pallet in the Phantom to accommodate two handed backhands. This makes the throat shorter and so the cross bridge is closer to the hoop. I couldn't find my caliper but the POG OS feels very slightly thicker. Bending them against my hip, the POG OS is slightly more flexible.

I have a ball machine in the morning and will hit these two racquets, along with my wife's Precision Graphite that has the plastic throat bridge and 40 year old Leoina 66 strings. I'm kind of reluctant to restring it as I'm not sure if the throat bridge has become brittle over time. There are also some very small radius bends that the throat bridge forces the center mains to make and I'm not sure a poly string would like that either.

Thanks again to Tennis Warehouse for allowing me to participate in this test!
 
Fed Kennedy said:
I think it’s leather coated in PU. I also think its pretty heavy. Maybe @Gee knows the truth.
I’m not taking mine off because my 18x20 is feeling pretty goldilocks right now.
I’m going to need a Prince bag.
I’ve hit with this racquet 4 times now and each time it’s given me a few WOW moments.
I’m gonna ditch the poly tour strike tomorrow and restring with hyper g 1.20 at 48
Click to expand...
Gee said:
Yes it is.
The Prince ResiTex Tour grip combines a firm leather base with a soft and tacky PU upper.
I also discovered it is as heavy as a regular leather grip and a little thicker as well.
Click to expand...
2ndServe said:
Same thoughts, it's firmer than most grips, but softer than leather. I think I'll try a hydrosorb grip. I think it's about 28 grams?
Click to expand...
I weighed the ResiTex grip: 17 g. Weighed the leather grip from my 97p: 26 g.

I had my first hit w the 100p this evening. Will post a review after a few more sessions. First impression: easy transition from 97p and 93p, w more power, as expected. Played a couple of sets of doubles and had returns fly long by a small margin. Probably would've landed in w the 93p.
 
ey039524 said:
I weighed the ResiTex grip: 17 g. Weighed the leather grip from my 97p: 26 g.

I had my first hit w the 100p this evening. Will post a review after a few more sessions. First impression: easy transition from 97p and 93p, w more power, as expected. Played a couple of sets of doubles and had returns fly long by a small margin. Probably would've landed in w the 93p.
Click to expand...
I think you weighed the Resitex Pro that is a PU grip.

The Resitex Tour is definitely heavier.
When I tried to replace it with Prince Leather grip (24 grams trimmed) I discovered that my Phantom 100x 18x20 weighed the same as with the original ResiTex Tour grip.
 
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