Tecnifibre TFight RS 300 Playtest
I’d like to start off by thanking
@TW Staff and
@Tecnifibre Official for this opportunity.
Racquet Received: Tecnifibre TFight RS 300
String and tension used for test: RPM Blast 15L at 50lbs. and Tecnifibre Ice Code 17 at 53lbs. Not much to comment on the differences besides getting slightly more power with Ice Code, and slightly more spin with RPM Blast. I think I am actually playing a bit better with Ice Code since the racquet is very spin friendly and the added power was welcome.
Tennis experience/background: 4.0 NTRP level.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All court player with 2-handed backhand. I typically aim to serve and volley on at least 50% of my service points.
Current racquet/string setups: Babolat Pure Strike 100 3rd Gen with RPM Blast or Tier One Firewire at 55lbs.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 12 hours. Roughly 8 hours with RPM Blast and 3-4 hours with Ice Code. Majority of time with the racquet was in singles match play.
Comments on racquet performance:
-Groundstrokes: It did not take long for me to get dialed in on groundstrokes and it was very good. Hitting forehands with this racquet almost felt like an anomaly due to the fact that on paper, it had a moderately high stiffness rating with a relatively low static weight but I was still hitting solid shots with great spin and decent power. Control for me was the standout feature of this racquet, and the overall feel of my groundstrokes felt like I was almost playing with an 18x20 players’ racquet that did not sacrifice the spin potential and whippiness of a tweener frame. From the baseline, I could hit with a lot of confidence due to the control.
The racquet I received had an estimated swingweight of 317 which is fairly close to my Pure Strike 100, which measured in the low 320’s. Surprisingly, this racquet still hits a solid ball, and two of my hitting partners noted that my racquet head speed looked faster with the TFight 300 compared to my usual Pure Strike 100. So it seems that the racquet’s ability to let me to swing the racquet more efficiently made up for the lower swingweight.
On the topic of stability, the racquet’s stability was adequate and “good enough” when playing with harder/flat hitters, although I would not necessarily call it rock solid. This is probably the trade-off for the racquet’s strength in maneuverability and whippiness, but it strikes a very good balance. The only caveat to this would be that against hard hit balls, I really had to be intentional about trading blows or to neutralize it by slicing or blocking them back, which the racquet did fantastically. But anything hit with half effort or hesitation, those would be the moments where the racquet would flail a bit and the ball would end up really short or way off my intended target. And this is something I felt especially towards the mid/end of a second set and my movement wasn’t as sharp and I could not set up properly on a consistent basis. I think for me this is when a heavier racquet can help a little bit more. Or maybe if I was more fit, I would not be blaming my equipment.
-Serves: Serves and volleys were my favorite shots to hit with the TFight 300. But the serves kind of told two different stories. First serves were much easier to dial in and direct it to any part of the service box. First serves with this racquet was about good placement with some power, rather than aggressive speed. It was just really fun when my first serves were dialed in a match because it set up so many good things for the point. But I had some trouble with my second serves. I think my serve tecnhique is not as efficient as it should be, so even though I could make it kick pretty decently, there wasn’t enough pace behind it to give my opponent any trouble. And when I tried to add a bit more power on the second serve, I would end up faulting. But well-hit serves felt the most rewarding of any shot from this racquet due to the fact that it allowed me to execute my game plan exactly how I drew it up.
-Volleys: Volleys were great with the TFight 300. It was light and maneuverable enough to hit any kind of volley I wanted, and it was stable enough. My serve and volley game was really popping because I could hit a more aggressive type of kick serve as my first serve to set up the volley. Nothing else feels quite as satisfying to me as stringing together a streak of well-executed serve and volley points to win a game. I would say directional control over my volleys was the biggest strength of this racquet and I could really work the sides in singles when I was at net, especially on the first volley after a serve or approach. Touch volleys were slightly more difficult to execute, probably because I hadn’t spent enough time hitting volleys with the racquet so I would say this is more of a user issue.
-Serve returns: Much like groundstrokes, returns felt solid as long as I was intentional about how I wanted to hit it. Anything hit with half effort, or if I got caught with bad timing, it would end up being a really awkward error or a short ball. Most of my aggressive returns tended to be deep topspin shots to the middle, which I’m happy with any day. But the best return shot for me with this racquet was the slice return on the backhand side. Again, the kind of slice returns I hit with this racquet were decently close of the 18x20 players frames I’ve used in the past. If serves and volleys were my most “enjoyable” shots to hit with this racquet, I would say that returns were the “most improved” part of my game that this racquet produced during this playtest.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: As someone who was playing with a very similarly specced racquet, it wasn’t a surprise that I really enjoyed playing with the TFight 300 and did not experience too many adjustment issues. The marketplace certainly has an abundant supply of 98 square inch 16x19 racquets, and I think Tecnifibre’s attempt to bring something relatively unique to the table with the RS line is an admirable one. In my opinion, the TFight 300 RS is a fantastic racquet that seems to bridge the gap between the tweener type frames and players frames, where the racquet strikes the ball like a stiff, open pattern racquet, yet the comfortable feel on contact and control feels close enough to a denser, flexier racquet. Players who tend to lean heavily toward one side or the other in the stiff-flexy racquet spectrum may not necessarily like this. But I know there are people out there playing with control racquets wishing they had that slight help in power and spin from their frames, as well as those playing with Babolat type tweeners wishing there was some way to get an improvement in feel and comfort without sacrificing the robust playability and performance. I think this is where the TFight 300, or perhaps the entire RS line, can fit that niche and end up being the surprise racquet of this year if it can pick up enough buzz in the tennis communities. There will certainly be a part of the player base that will be automatically turned off by the flex RA rating, and that is a genuine shame, and I hope at some point we will stop judging a racquet’s comfort level solely by that silly number.
My only major critique for this racquet is the lack of the trap door at the buttcap. If the trap door existed, I would deem this racquet a worthy challenger to the Wilson Ultra Tour for the best retail platform racquet because the specs are so amazing for customization. But the lack of the trap door at the buttcap can severely hinder the customization potential because there is no easy access to tail weight via tungsten putty. If one’s customization process only consists of a leather grip and some lead at the hoop, then that is not a problem. But at the end of the day, I’m sure the missing trap door will not be an issue for 99% of the tennis community since the ones who customize their frames take up an very small portion of the player base. Just a lost opportunity for some of us internet tennis nerds is all.
Bonus Contact Pro Overgrip Review: My overgrip of choice has been the Yonex Supergrap for as long as I could remember. The Tecnifibre Pro Contact overgrip felt tackier than the Supergrap, bordering on sticky. Both overgrips say it measures at 0.6mm thickness, but when holding the racquet handle, the Pro Contact felt slightly thinner. Overall, the grip felt nice to hold, but unfortunately, I was unable to use it for more than 45 minutes on a moderately humid day because my hand started to slip pretty significantly. I was actually worried this beautiful playtest racquet would slip out of my hand and cause a cosmetic blemish. Interestingly, the grip seems to retain the tackiness after it dries, so drying it off with a towel between every few points was adequate, but kind of a pain. Ultimately, overgrip choice seem like such a personal preference, so I think this could be a good one for people who put a high priority on tackiness and thinness. I definitely felt more connected to the handle with this.
Thank you again to
@TW Staff and
@Tecnifibre Official for this tremendous opportunity! It was a privilege for me to participate in this playtest, and this type of outreach certainly speaks to your generosity, class, and commitment to the tennis community during these difficult and unprecedented times. I wish Tecnifibre all the success with this lineup, and I look forward to playing with this racquet further into the fall flex league season and beyond.