TheOneHander
Professional
I think this is why in theory, a smaller headed racket is ideal. There is more leverage on a larger head for the racket to have directional change when the ball strikes off centre. The larger the head size, the more directional force is available for the ball to twist the racket in your hand (thus directional changes on the ball). This is why someone like Federer can get away with a 95sq racket like the Rebel. His footwork is very good, so he tends to centre the ball better than most. But not all of us is like Federer.
From what i've read, it seems as if one of the largest drawbacks of the exo tour 100 is the volleys. Its a flexible racket with a largish head...so i can imagine one could lose control on volleys. My second concern (from what ive read) would be serving first serves with this racket.
Very interesting points you made, I wanted to comment on the head shape of these frames in more detail. I actually prefer the rounder head of the Tour because it gives me a better spin window and I find it to cooperate more in defensive shots, as the sweetspot is that much bigger. The Rebel, I think, has more control because of the tighter head size and string pattern, but the Tour offers me so much margin for error. I also compared my Rebel's head to that on my Aero Storms', and the shape is very similar. One of my complaints about the Storms is that the head was too thin and too long for me, resulting in more shanks. This problem was remedies with the Tour's much more forgiving headsize.
That being said, the Tour volleys extremely well. It's just so solid while still being fast, and touch shots are a breeze. I can really "knife" my volleys, too, so it really does a splendid job at net. The Rebel is more of the same, except that I get even more stick and control on my volleys. The only area that the Tour bests it in is on low volleys, where the 52RA really gives me a lot of feel for scooping up tough balls.
I have yet to serve with my Rebel, but the Tour did take some time to get used to on serve. At first, there were loads of spin, but no power, leaving my kickers to be eaten alive by my opponents. After reigning in my swing and relaxing, though, I was really able to mix my serves up, and now that I've had my Tour for a good three months, I'm serving just as well as I have with any stick aside from the serve monster that is the KPS88.
In other news, though, I'm getting another Rebel in soon-my conversion to Prince is nearly complete!
EDIT: the Rebel I used had port grommets, which I think are great in the Tour because they enhance the soft, flexy feel. However, I lost the ball in the Rebel with the ports, so after tomorrow I'm going to use string inserts. Hopefully they'll make the string bed a little more distinct.
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