Solinco WhiteOut V2 XTD Racket Review
String and tension used for the test: 1. Mach 10 16L at 53 lbs. (approximately 9 hours), 2. Razor Soft 16 at 52 lbs. (approximately 5+ hours)
Tennis experience/background: Started playing tennis in the 80’s with college tennis experience. Currently playing at 4.5
Describe your playing style: Attacking baseliner who is trying to develop an all-court game. Trying to come up to the net more frequently to shorten up the points.
Current racquet/string setups: Recently switched to Ezone 98 2025. Previous rackets were: Auxetic Prestige Pro (Hyper G 18G between 48 - 50 lbs.) & Solinco WhiteOut 18x20 (Hyper G Round 16L at 50lbs).
How many hours did you play with the racquet? Around 14-15 hours total. Spent a lot of time rallying to get more familiarized with the racket. Played mostly doubles.
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: One thing that was immediately noticeable was effortless power. Hitting deep near the baseline didn’t take much effort. It actually took some time getting the balls in on the first few shots. The launch angle also took some time getting used to coming from Ezone 98 & Prestige Pro.
After the initial few hits, it was pretty easy to start hitting well. The spin potential was amazing, again, coming from Ezone 98 and Prestige Pro. Topspin was super heavy and the slices were biting hard. The only shot that I had problem with was hitting forehand flat drive shots. Unlike high topspin forehands with nice predictability, some of the flat drive shots flew off and sailed way long. I contribute to the issue with my forehand being the weaker side technically and not being fully familiarized with the added length. Long rallying sessions definitely helped (*working on the basics of my forehand repeatedly helped a lot) and switching out the string to the thicker gauge also helped with control better.
Overall, my feeling is that WhiteOut V2 XTD is a beast of a frame for intermediate/advanced baseline bashers. This is really a fun stick to hit with. I practiced hard to really gel with the frame because hitting with this racket was fun and rewarding. I wanted the racket to really work for me.
-Serves: This was my absolute favorite part of this playtest. It’s important for me that I get the high bounce/kick on my second serves. It’s probably the combination of having the added length, being very maneuverable and having lots of controllable power that led to my second serves being more effective than they have been. I do like the predictable control I get from Ezone 98 on serves, but this racket creates much heavier balls with more spin.
Also, all I had to concentrate was to not overly swing hard or fast on the flat or slice serves. As long as the balls were well struck, they came off fast and hard. Placing the balls where I wanted them was simple and predictable. One of the best serving rackets I’ve tried recently for sure.
-Volleys: When playing doubles, I usually don’t move up to the net unless both me and my partner are moving forward together. That usually creates less reaction volleys and more of us setting up to attack the incoming balls. I’m not much of a touch volleyer, but the angle volleys and attacking punch volleys were great. Controlling the depth or angle was predictable and felt solid. The extra length didn’t hinder the attacking movements, but I felt that the added length would be risky to try anything too cute.
-Serve returns: Absolutely a beast in serve returns. It felt stable against impact and maneuverability was never an issue. There is effortless power even with having to attack hard, and even the slice returns were turning into hard returns to handle. Playing doubles where almost all shots are struck really hard, this racket adds a little more oomph on the returns.
Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- Power was the most noticeable thing when I hit my first ball. Without even trying the ball landed near the baseline. It was not hard to control the balls but did take some time getting used to because of its high launch angle and power.
Top Spin/Slice- Coming from Ezone 98 (*also Auxetic Prestige Pro), it felt like I was getting spin like those spin friendly 100” tweeners. Though it takes more effort to create the same top spin as larger headed tweeners, those players with strong, whippy forehands could use this racket as a major weapon. WO V2 XTD just adds a little more power and spin than most rackets I’ve tried.
Slices were also fantastic. I usually like to hit topspin on my OHBH and mostly use the slices as defense. With this racket, my slices were hard and aggressive. My first few really aggressive slices were hit into the net, but it didn’t take long for the slices to become a major weapon once I got used to the feel. My hitting partners were commenting how spinny and it was difficult handling some of the slices.
Comfort- This frame is super comfortable. The dampening system works really well. Even when poly is strung above 50 lbs, it didn’t feel boardy or harsh at all. My arm also didn’t feel any stress from hitting with poly strings even after a long rally and a couple sets of matches. Even on (*many) mishits, the jarring effect was minimized.
Feel- I’m probably going against the grain, but I preferred the dampened feel of the V2 better than the V1 (*I also tried my buddy’s V1 XTD). It may not feel as connected as the V1 in feel, but I like that I can still feel where the ball is struck. With Ezone 98, it feels like I struck the ball well but the feel is very muted. To me WO V2 XTD feels dampened but not full out muted in feel like Ezone 98. Some say Ezone 98’s entire face is the sweetspot and the disconnected feel comes from having a large sweetspot. I think WO V2 XTD has a very generous sweetspot and still offers a more connected feel when struck well.
Maneuverability- This was my biggest concern with the XTD version. I like the extra power and reach, but often extended versions hinder my OHBH, limiting me to just hit slices, or lose control on my forehand from being late on my shots. WO V2 XTD is one of the most (*if not the most) maneuverable (*APD+ 2013 comes to mind as something closer in maneuverability) extended frame I’ve used. Of course it did take a few minutes to adjust, but the adjustment came easily and swinging it freely without any hindrance was a big, big plus. I recently switched from Prestige Pro to Ezone 98 seeking some free power without losing too much control. The fact that I don’t have to put any more effort into swinging the extended racket and getting more out of my shots makes WO V2 XTD an appealing racket.
Stability- During hard exchanges, or returning powerful serves, this racket never felt unstable. I didn’t notice any twisting in my hands. Very stable and comfortable.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
Comparing it to the V1 XTD, the feel was definitely soft and dampened. It just feels like an update of the V1 with its feel and what feels like added spin and power. I love the paint job, as well. The camo paint immediately got noticed by the people around me. It does stand out from loud yellow, blue and red paint jobs.
Within my hitting group one is using the Black Out (*demoed various Solinco frames after trying my WO 18x20) and another hitting buddy just switched to WO V1 XTD. Other than Babolat, Wilson, Head and Yonex, there are more Solinco rackets than other brands right now.
Mach 10: Lovely feeling string. Even strung at 53 lbs, it did not feel boardy or harsh. The control is ok for being a poly string, but for those that like to hybrid or come from using non-poly strings, Mach 10 would be a good poly string to try as their introductory poly string.
Overgrip: My go to tacky grip is Tourna Tac XL. The provided over grip felt soft, tacky and perfect for cold weather days for my tennis. I sweat too much to use on hot days, but since Solinco products are high quality, I’m going to try their dry versions of the overgrips.
Vibration damper: I really liked the vibration dampeners that were provided. It felt like they provided a little more feedback than Tourna O dampeners while still reducing the vibration. I also liked that (*though it was hard to put it in place) it stays in place.
That said, I wish it came in different colors. That silicone green color stands out too much. Same goes for Solinco Hyper G. As popular as the string is with the players, why does it only come in green? Couldn’t there be Hyper G Black? Something to consider, perhaps?
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This was a super fun playtest. I was looking for a new racket to move away from the traditional players’ rackets, and I think I’ve found it. I still need to play around with different strings (perhaps more deader feeling poly strings) and maybe replace the grip with leather for a more solid, connected feel, but I’m completely happy with the racket’s performance and feel. It feels so fun and rewarding to hit with the racket.
Thank you, TW!!!! Thank you, Solinco!!!! Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in this playtest.
I have no issues with feel, in fact I kinda love it.. I guess after the EZ98 more preferences have changed into two categories with regard to feel... WORKS and DOESN'T WORK. This is squarely in the WORKS category. Nice Launch angle, love it on the slices.
