Jangotango's VCore 98 Review
Playtest Racket: Yonex VCore 98
String and tension used for test: Wilson Natural Gut 16 mains w/ Yonex Poly Tour REV 16 Crosses @57x55lbs. Also tested with Yonex Poly Tour Air 16L @53x51lbs.
Tennis experience/background: High school senior, going onto my fifth year of "serious" tennis now. Stuck in limbo between UTR 5-7.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Transitioning all-courter. While I prefer to be at the baseline, exchanging groundies and moving the opponent around, I also enjoy stepping in for the cheeky mid-court volley and net game. My serves tend to be more neutral, and I focus more on "the next shot" rather than hitting an ace. My forehand stroke is decent, but not a weapon. My one-handed backhand on the other hand, is much better. I can really power through shots and open up the court with a nice cross court ball.
Current racquet/string setups: Wilson BLX Six.One Team 18x20 weighted up to 305g unstrung, strung with Ashaway Crossfire ZX @53x43lbs. 10% prestretch on the Zyex crosses.
How many hours did you play with the racquet?: Around 22 hours, 15 of that with the gut hybrid and remainder with Poly Tour Air.
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: Plays like a controlled tweener, however I had much more success on my forehand wing than my backhand. On my forehand side, I tend to come under-over the ball quite a bit, and don't flatten out as much. The VCore 98 definitely had me shift to a more linear, driving swingpath, while still giving me the same launch angle and definitely more spin. On my one-handed backhand (my favorite shot), I drive through very well and tend to flatten it out. This is where I had issues. When driving through the ball, it ended up dumping into the net. Brushing up on it gave me a short topspin ball. I really had to "lift" with my legs and come around the ball to get decent consistency. The weighting of this racquet really threw me for a loop the first session I hit with it. It feels beefy on the prep and static, but once the swing is initiated, it cuts through the air well. The sweetspot is pretty large, definitely more so than my Six.One 95 Team. The placement of the sweetspot was also closer towards the tip of the racquet, whereas my Six.One has is right at the PWS.
RATING: (7/10)
-Serves: Serving with the VCore 98 was a mixed bag. Again, due to the strange weight-placement, I had a difficult time finding my groove. While flat serves are definitely not my specialty, I didn't find the VCore 98 to offer anything more in the flat department compared to my Six.One. Where is really shined was with topspin, slice, and kick serve control. Fast swing, open string pattern, moderate beam, everything is set-up to give really good serve control. I definitely was more consistent with the serve once I realized this, although lost out on some speed. It makes sense that someone a la Nishioka would have good success with the 98.
RATING: (7.5/10 because of consistency boost).
-Volleys: Really pleasant net racquet. There's a good amount of weight in the head, and the large sweetspot is still pretty stable. Even off-center reaction volleys weren't an issue. The 98 was also easier to maneuver than my Six.One, and oddly enough was lower-powered at the net. This meant that control and placement were much more important than say blasting the volley at the baseline or the net person. I really liked how I ended up using my legs and center much more on the volleys with this racquet. It inadvertently made my volley form better! On overheads though, the same issues with the serve knock it down a bit. Instead of slamming it down or through the court, it was better suited to placing it away from the opponent to win the point. Definitely missed the power from my Six.One, but appreciated the control.
RATING: (8.5/10)
-Serve returns: One word: Mediocre. Again, the sluggish take-back really hindered this racquet, even with my short poor-Agassi imitation serve return form. While it felt good at contact (very stable, good ball feel, and forgiving sweetspot), the feeling from the racquet did not translate into the resulting serve-return. Overwhelming majority of serve-returns landed short with a lot of height and spin, especially on the forehand side. I guess a positive aspect would be that the stability and feel was actually pretty good for my backhand return (although bh groundies sucked), but is cancelled out by the forehand performance. Doing a little chip back was actually really nice, and was what I ended up doing with this racquet most of the time. I'll elaborate on the slices in below sections.
RATING: (5.5/10)
Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- Going back to prior sections, it has characteristics of something between a Blade and Pure Strike (controlled tweeners). I rarely had balls that would rocket long. To achieve depth with the VCore 98, I often times used net clearance and spin instead of driving, deep, flat strokes. The VCore 98 had more power than my Wilson Six.One Team, but not by much. Stretched out on the run, it was easier to get the ball back and reset the point. Out of position on the baseline, I didn't have many issues picking it up for a neutral ball. However, I was missing the precision of a 95in. 18x20 racquet with the VCore 98. Going for small targets isn't this sticks strength. It's much better suited for large targets and pushing the opponent back, rather than off court.
RATING: (8/10)
Top Spin/Slice- This is a VCORE, not the VCore Pro, and not the Ezone. The marketing spiel on spin is pretty justified. High and heavy topspin isn't an issue, at times actually a bit excessive. The weighting of this racquet allows for some serious head speed and thus RPMs, so if you're in the "big spin" category, this one is for you. I personally don't care much for topspin, but it was nice having some jumping topspin forehands and exploding kick serves. One of the most stellar aspects of this racquet was on the slice. Sooooooo nice, better than any other racquet I've used. Need a slice low and skidding? No problem. Playing defense with a high, dying slice? No problem.
RATING: (9/10)
Comfort- To preface, I've never had arm problems from tennis. The comfort of this racquet to me was very similar to the new Blade v7, although having more flex in the mid-lower hoop instead of the throat area. Although I didn't try this racquet with any stiff strings, I don't see setups like 4G or Max Power being an issue. There is little shock that travels to the grip area, even on off center hits. Although not as flexy as my Six.One Team, it is definitely more comfortable than a Pure Aero or Wilson Burn.
RATING: (8/10)
Feel- I likened the feel of this racquet to a refined Countervail Blade. Although muted and solid, you could still really feel where the balls were on the string bed, as well as the sinking-into-stringbed contact and repulsion. It's very consistent throughout the stringbed, and an overall unique feel. I prefer it to the new Ezones that have come out (which I thought felt clubby), but rank it below my Six.Ones, which are far crispier.
RATING: (7.5/10)
Maneuverability- Pretty run of the mill given its 305g tweener class. The weight-placement gave me issues at first, but I settled in alright. There seems to be quite a bit of polarization in this racquet, with lots of substance in the hoop and under the grip. Not a whip by any means, but not a thundering club either. Fits nicely into the Blade-Pure Strike category here.
RATING: (7/10)
Stability- Above average in its class. There is virtually no twisting on groundstrokes, at least in my experience. Volleys are easy to punch back as well, even against heavier driving groundstrokes or low slices. Near the corner of the racquet (where the isometric "ends"), however, exist some deadspots. Here, the racquet flutters quite a bit and the ball loses all speed and spin. Good thing is that you *should* rarely be hitting in this area. RATING:
(9/10)
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
The new VCore 98 is a definite step-up from its predecessor, attaining a more substantial, solid feel and upping the control while keeping really good spin and moderate power. It might feel heavy, but swings lightning fast, helping to generate some serious RPMs. Aim for big targets and be rewarded, I can see this stick being a winner for people who may need something less taxing than the Ezone 98 while being more controlled than the 100. Outside of Yonex, it fills a gap between the Wilson Blade and Babolat Pure Strike. The shape is noticeably more rounded than previous Yonex - I hope the Isometric shape isn't going away! One last thing to look for, if you care about the condition of your racquet, is knocking it on the court! The matte paint is fragile and super easy to chip, just like the last interation of the VCore.
A Texas-sized thank you to
@TW Staff and Yonex for providing this playtest. I hope to do more in the years to come.
