My review of the new Vcore 98.
String and tension used for test: I initially strung this at 52 lbs. with the 16G Yonex Poly Tour Rev that was provided. I later strung it with Tourna BHB17 and a synthetic 17G cross at 53 lbs. I liked the YPTR and plan to try it in a thinner gauge.
Tennis experience/background: Former college player, now in my mid-50’s. I play several times a week when healthy.
Describe your playing style: In my singles days I would consider myself an aggressive baseliner, but now I play mostly doubles so I have an all-court game and prefer to volley.
Current racquet/string setups: I have been playing with the Babolat Pure Aero strung at 51 lbs with Hyper-G 17 soft but am moving on due to some discomfort. The ability to test the new Vcore 98 comes at a perfect time for me.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? 10+
Overview: I played a lot with the previous Yonex Vcore 98 and it was my racquet exclusively for part of 2019/20 so I can compare the new to the old. I liked the previous VC98 but it was missing something for me and I ultimately wanted something super easy to play with and a stick that had a higher power ceiling. I like the performance of the Aero but I’ve struggled with comfort issues and have subsequently put it down. My son plays in college and uses the previous VC98 (albeit with a total of 3-4 grams of lead at 3+9) and he hit briefly with the new one also. I will try to sprinkle in his impressions as well.
Just looking at the specs of the racquet (shape, beam, swingweight) I was expecting the new VC98 to have a bigger sweet spot and incrementally more power – and it did. I found it to be a better racquet than the previous version in every single category but not in any monumental way. It was more of an incremental improvement across the board and that was a good thing in my opinion. If you liked the previous version, I think you will really like this one. If you found the previous version to be a spin machine but slightly lacking in some area like weight of shot or stability, I think you’ll love the improvements here.
-Groundstrokes: 9/10. I was really impressed with the racquet’s performance from the first hit. The racquet is really comfortable, super stable, and the sweet spot was quite big. I liked that it retained the great spin capability of the previous version but the new one seemed to produce depth and weight of shot a little easier. I found groundstrokes to be 9/10 in terms of comfort, stability, depth and my overall trust factor was really high when hitting competitively. The added swingweight was great and I thought in stock form it was nearly perfect for me. I liked that there were no surprisingly errant shots (like the Aero can produce from time to time) and I was super impressed with its dependability. A couple of the TW play testers indicated the racquet didn’t have finishing power from time to time. I would agree it’s not uber powerful but I never felt particularly hindered. My son really liked the new one as well but felt like he did not get the same power off the ground that he gets from his modified Vcore 98.
-Serves: 8.7/10. The previous racquet was a really dependable serving racquet and this new version did everything well and perhaps a bit better. I felt really confident serving and found weight of the serve or heaviness to be improved. I don’t hit a big flat serve that often and mostly rely on spin and location so the racquet’s capabilities suited me well. Despite the added swingweight I didn’t have any issues overhead or getting the racquet moving. My son quite liked serving with it and found it to serve as well or better than his modified Vcore 98
-Volleys 8.5/10: The racquet was solid and stable on volleys and I thought maneuverability was great. It had just enough weight to withstand heavy balls and is just mobile enough to get it into position consistently. The racquet seemed to handle mishits well and I didn’t feel any flutter if I was in a bad position. Pace was good and I didn’t ever feel disadvantaged, but it wasn’t necessarily adding a bunch of oomph for me. The change in feel due to the dampening mesh didn't really impact my volleys, certainly not negatively. Interestingly, my son thought the racquet performed its best in this category.
-Serve returns 9/10: This is my best shot so it’s reasonable that I would give it high marks here. The same traits on groundstrokes were evident on returns. Maneuverability was good, but stability and predictability were the standout features. I got good results even when hitting up near the tip of the frame. Power was good, better than the previous version. I felt confident hitting a variety of returns and can’t identify any shortcomings in this area.
Comments on racquet performance
Power/Control- The new Vcore 98 strikes a good balance of power/control. Power was good but not overwhelming. I thought it did have modestly more power than the previous version for sure. For my swing speed and game, the new VC98 generated power similar to a Pure Strike but offered a bigger sweet spot, and just plain felt better in my hand and at contact.
Top Spin/Slice- This retains the same excellent spin capabilities as the previous version and I think the spin would be fairly equal if tested side-by-side. Kick serves and slice shots had great bite and I could see a good bounce produced on high heavy balls. I would give the new VC98 higher spin marks than nearly all racquets I have tested in this same category including the Blade 16x19 V7 and TF300RS.
Comfort- Coming from the Aero I was hoping for a lot more comfort and this didn’t disappoint. I had no discomfort no matter what shot I hit and mishits didn’t wake my arm up either. No complaints on comfort at all. The feel, however, has changed due to the dampening mesh which was totally helpful in terms of providing overall comfort - but it did change the feel in ways that weren’t just subtle.
Feel- Feel is subjective of course, but I thought the feel of the previous version was really great. The new VC98 has a different feel that is more muted and I got the sensation that the racquet felt softer even though it’s not (on paper). So, thumbs up that they created a comfortable, soft feeling/impression but (like Jason) I prefer the more direct feel of the previous version. The previous VC98 has a bit more feedback to me. But the feel wasn’t bad per se’ and it’s something that I could easily adjust to. If a previous VC98 married a BladeV7 16x19 this is the offspring feel-wise to me.
Maneuverability- They added a little swingweight to this version and I found it to feel just perfect to me in the hand. There’s nothing more for me to add than that. It struck the perfect balance of mass and maneuverability. Loved it.
Stability- This was the stand-out feature for me. Super stable and predictable in the hand from anywhere on the court. A definite improvement over the previous version and one of the most stable racquets I have hit in this category. Racquets in this weight class (305 grams etc.) usually have to have 330+ SW to offer this stability.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: At the risk of being repetitious this is an improvement over the previous version in incremental but meaningful ways, and in every category I believe. Stability, power, predictability, weight of shot, and balance. Maybe its mental, but I do like the more rounded shape of this new frame and I think it contributed to me playing more confidently with it compared to the previous one. Lastly, I would add that in person the racquet looks great. In some images the blue accents looked a little wonky but in person I really do like it. This is a great performer and I think this is a racquet I can play with happily.
Yonex Poly Tour Rev 16G: Overall I found it to be reasonably soft and comfortable and it played with good predictability and consistency. I cut it out before it really needed to be in order to test the stick with another string set up. I can’t comment on string life but can say my experience was positive and I plan to try it in a 17G which I prefer.
Thanks to TW and Yonex for giving me the opportunity to playtest the new Vcore 98!
