The Prince Phantom 93P is a gift to us from TW - My Review/AMA

JGads

JGads

G.O.A.T.
mad dog1 said:
Just pop into any Mickey Dee’s and use the restroom. You can grab an ice coffee for the road as well!
Click to expand...
scotus said:
One thing I don't like about that shop. They don't let customers use their restroom.

From Orange County, sometimes it takes a couple of hours to get there due to crazy LA traffic, and they won't let you use the bathroom.
Click to expand...

The restroom thing was in effect for awhile but I'm not sure it is anymore. Or at least the last time I went and asked they said I could - previously it had something to do with city code or something regarding the location of said restroom. Maybe depends on which doctor you ask.

Even in troubled times, a protesting bladder is still for me worth the trip to that little Narnia, where the prices are good, the people nice, and wristbands can be had for a couple of bucks. My move is usually a stop at the Starbucks on my way back to the freeway for any necessary bladder relief and then an iced coffee to refill it on the drive home, during which even if there's traffic, at least there are tennis toys now beside, keeping me company, holding the promise of future forehands, and grabbed at below MSRP.

A love story.
 
DustinW

DustinW

Professional
Power Player said:
Best way to search is go to google and type "talk tennis" and then the search terms you are looking for. That has always worked best for me.
Click to expand...

Better yet, type "site:tt.tennis-warehouse.com xxxxx". That forces google to only look at pages in that domain.
 
haqq777

haqq777

Legend
JGads said:
The restroom thing was in effect for awhile but I'm not sure it is anymore. Or at least the last time I went and asked they said I could - previously it had something to do with city code or something regarding the location of said restroom. Maybe depends on which doctor you ask.

Even in troubled times, a protesting bladder is still for me worth the trip to that little Narnia, where the prices are good, the people nice, and wristbands can be had for a couple of bucks. My move is usually a stop at the Starbucks on my way back to the freeway for any necessary bladder relief and then an iced coffee to refill it on the drive home, during which even if there's traffic, at least there are tennis toys now beside, keeping me company, holding the promise of future forehands, and grabbed at below MSRP.

A love story.
Click to expand...
Damn that's well written!
 
mad dog1

mad dog1

G.O.A.T.
scotus said:
Well, I usually order from TW, because I would waste 2-4 hours on a round trip to and from the place in Glendale. Need to factor in the gas as well.

Of course, I could make use of fast-food restaurants, but the fact that the business refuses to allow paying customers use of their restroom doesn't sit well with me.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I usually only make it out there a few times a year because I don’t want to deal with the traffic. But every trip has always been worth my while. I’ve never returned empty handed. :)
 
TennisHound

TennisHound

Legend
JGads said:
The restroom thing was in effect for awhile but I'm not sure it is anymore. Or at least the last time I went and asked they said I could - previously it had something to do with city code or something regarding the location of said restroom. Maybe depends on which doctor you ask.

Even in troubled times, a protesting bladder is still for me worth the trip to that little Narnia, where the prices are good, the people nice, and wristbands can be had for a couple of bucks. My move is usually a stop at the Starbucks on my way back to the freeway for any necessary bladder relief and then an iced coffee to refill it on the drive home, during which even if there's traffic, at least there are tennis toys now beside, keeping me company, holding the promise of future forehands, and grabbed at below MSRP.

A love story.
Click to expand...
Hahaha, good!
 
jmacdaununder2

jmacdaununder2

Legend
Tommy Haas said:
The closest McDonald's has a ridiculous parking structure that's almost always full and very creepy window displays with mannequins inside.
Click to expand...
Sorry re. temporary re-derail but are those window displays a negative or a positive? Back in the day my kids would've stayed a lot quieter in the back while I detoured them to 'another boring tennis shop' if a visit to the 'creepy McDonald's' was on the table! Pics pls. if anyone happens to be swinging by...
 
Zlatni

Zlatni

Rookie
I played with it today, and I must say I really enjoyed it.
The feel was sublime. Very satisfying to hit the ball “square.” It is one of the best serving racquets. Both first and second serves were great. I was able to put the ball on a dime.
Forehands were really good. I could really swing for the fences and hit all my targets. Squash shots were easy to hit.
Backhand slices were laser like. And when I had time to set up, drive backhands were great.
It felt great to play with...

BUT

I lost the set 6-2.
I just had problems on the backhand side when the ball was short, or I didn’t have time to set up. I just couldn’t attack short balls below the knee height. At first I was dumping them in the net, and when I opened the racquet face a bit I was sailing them long. Just bunting them back in play left me vulnerable.
Also when I did not have time to set up on the backhand side, and I did not catch the ball in the sweet spot, I could feel the hoop twisting and I was spraying the ball.
I switched to my modded pb10 mid (2.5g at 10&2 and 4g on top of the handle) and it felt like I just pressed the easy button. I won next two sets 6-2, 7-6.
pb10 does not feel as sweet as 93p, but it just makes the ground strokes so much easier. It just does not get pushed around.
I was thinking about putting in a shaped poly in 93p to see whether I can raise the launch angle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
J

jacob22

Professional
Zlatni said:
I played with it today, and I must say I really enjoyed it.
The feel was sublime. Very satisfying to hit the ball “square.” It is one of the best serving racquets. Both first and second serves were great. I was able to put the ball on a dime.
Forehands were really good. I could really swing for the fences and hit all my targets. Squash shots were easy to hit.
Backhand slices were laser like. And when I had time to set up, drive backhands were great.
It felt great to play with...

BUT

I lost the set 6-2.
I just had problems on the backhand side when the ball was short, or I didn’t have time to set up. I just couldn’t attack short balls below the knee height. At first I was dumping them in the net, and when I opened the racquet face a bit I was sailing them long. Just bunting them back in play left me vulnerable.
Also when I did not have time to set up on the backhand side, and I did not catch the ball in the sweet spot, I could feel the hoop twisting and I was spraying the ball.
I switched to my modded pb10 mid (2.5g at 10&2 and 4g on top of the handle) and it felt like I just pressed the easy button. I won next two sets 6-2, 7-6.
pb10 does not feel as sweet as 93p, but it just makes the ground strokes so much easier. It just does not get pushed around.
I was thinking about putting in a shaped poly in 93p to see whether I can raise the launch angle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I just practiced again with my 93P. Launch angle is very good, higher than I'm used to. Strung it with Cyclone 19ga at 46lbs. Rotated it with the VCore Pro 97 330g and '18 PD Tour+. Felt more connected and in control with the 93P.
 
Anton

Anton

Legend
Anton said:
So just to revisit this question - popped Cyclone 19g in the middle-upper part of the center main within about 7 hours, which is faster than usual. Upside is it was playable throughout (it's 30 min before popping in my video).


I think I'll string up 17g natural gut - 18g poly hybrid next.
Click to expand...


So gut-poly is on and vs. 19g Cyclone it is a mixed bag so far.

Pros - more comfort once broken in, better slice/voley and placement.
Cons - feels noticibly thicker, spin is more work. Not sure if it is the string itself or the fact that those extra few grams in the strings is screwing the delicate balance I had going - some of the magic is gone on forehands. I felt forced into hitting more flat than I'd like to because I just couldn't catch the spin wave.

Overall I still competed well enough to beat an opponent I lose to most of the time, but I'll have to make some adjustments with the lead to get that magic back again.
 
Last edited:
Zlatni

Zlatni

Rookie
jacob22 said:
I just practiced again with my 93P. Launch angle is very good, higher than I'm used to. Strung it with Cyclone 19ga at 46lbs. Rotated it with the VCore Pro 97 330g and '18 PD Tour+. Felt more connected and in control with the 93P.
Click to expand...

I actually have a reel of cyclone 19. I might try it. YPTP was very comfortable, but did not give me much spin. Pb10 is strung with BHB7, so it makes it easy to attack those low short balls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
S

stephenclown

Professional
Zlatni said:
I actually have a reel of cyclone 19. I might try it. YPTP was very comfortable, but did not give me much spin. Pb10 is strung with BHB7, so it makes it easy to attack those low short balls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Whats current tension? Launch angle should increase a bit if you string crosses a little lower. Could try 3-4# differential until you find something that suits.
 
S

scotus

G.O.A.T.
Zlatni said:
I played with it today, and I must say I really enjoyed it.
The feel was sublime. Very satisfying to hit the ball “square.” It is one of the best serving racquets. Both first and second serves were great. I was able to put the ball on a dime.
Forehands were really good. I could really swing for the fences and hit all my targets. Squash shots were easy to hit.
Backhand slices were laser like. And when I had time to set up, drive backhands were great.
It felt great to play with...

BUT

I lost the set 6-2.
I just had problems on the backhand side when the ball was short, or I didn’t have time to set up. I just couldn’t attack short balls below the knee height. At first I was dumping them in the net, and when I opened the racquet face a bit I was sailing them long. Just bunting them back in play left me vulnerable.
Also when I did not have time to set up on the backhand side, and I did not catch the ball in the sweet spot, I could feel the hoop twisting and I was spraying the ball.
I switched to my modded pb10 mid (2.5g at 10&2 and 4g on top of the handle) and it felt like I just pressed the easy button. I won next two sets 6-2, 7-6.
pb10 does not feel as sweet as 93p, but it just makes the ground strokes so much easier. It just does not get pushed around.
I was thinking about putting in a shaped poly in 93p to see whether I can raise the launch angle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thank you for the great review.

A few comments:

1. It seems most of you agree that 93P is a great serving stick. I haven't heard that about a Prince frame in a long time, so that's quite an accomplishment by Prince.

2. Hoop twists on hits outside sweet spot? That's disconcerting, to say the least.

3. Size-wise, is 93p significantly wider than PB10 Mid?

Thanks!
 
S

stephenclown

Professional
So got around to measuring my grip sizes on my angells and the 4 3/8 with leather oehm grip was actually 1/16 of an inch small on both pallets I have and the 4 1/4 was dead on. I think I prefer to half size more than the 4 1/4 a tiny bit more, but there is little difference. Honestly they both feel grear and I am playing with the size 2 again, good levels of stability with either one.

On this info I guess the 4 1/4 would be the go on these 93Ps? Is someone able to measure the size to confirm its just a bigger buttcap? Has anyone replaced the calfskin prince grip and notice if it was thick or thin?

Just waiting for someone to buy my tour 90.. 4 people watching just buy it dammit...
 
Power Player

Power Player

Bionic Poster
If you use a 1/4 grip, buy the Prince 1/4 grip. I honestly have no problem with the grip size, and I did have to switch out the grips on the 1/4 Pure Aeros to skin feel, so I am aware of how annoying a bigger feeling grip is.
 
Anton

Anton

Legend
Zlatni said:
I played with it today, and I must say I really enjoyed it.
The feel was sublime. Very satisfying to hit the ball “square.” It is one of the best serving racquets. Both first and second serves were great. I was able to put the ball on a dime.
Forehands were really good. I could really swing for the fences and hit all my targets. Squash shots were easy to hit.
Backhand slices were laser like. And when I had time to set up, drive backhands were great.
It felt great to play with...

BUT

I lost the set 6-2.
I just had problems on the backhand side when the ball was short, or I didn’t have time to set up. I just couldn’t attack short balls below the knee height. At first I was dumping them in the net, and when I opened the racquet face a bit I was sailing them long. Just bunting them back in play left me vulnerable.
Also when I did not have time to set up on the backhand side, and I did not catch the ball in the sweet spot, I could feel the hoop twisting and I was spraying the ball.
I switched to my modded pb10 mid (2.5g at 10&2 and 4g on top of the handle) and it felt like I just pressed the easy button. I won next two sets 6-2, 7-6.
pb10 does not feel as sweet as 93p, but it just makes the ground strokes so much easier. It just does not get pushed around.
I was thinking about putting in a shaped poly in 93p to see whether I can raise the launch angle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Good news is that all the downsides you talk about can be fixed.

With Cyclone 19 at 45-48 lbs ball pick up easy peasy - touch the ball at any pace and you get a bite and lift on it. And with some lead you can consistent solid response no matter where you land the ball and with extra power you can brush the ball and still get easy depth.
 
Last edited:
Zlatni

Zlatni

Rookie
stephenclown said:
Whats current tension? Launch angle should increase a bit if you string crosses a little lower. Could try 3-4# differential until you find something that suits.
Click to expand...

Strung it at 40#. I was hoping that low tension would be enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Zlatni

Zlatni

Rookie
scotus said:
Thank you for the great review.

A few comments:

1. It seems most of you agree that 93P is a great serving stick. I haven't heard that about a Prince frame in a long time, so that's quite an accomplishment by Prince.

2. Hoop twists on hits outside sweet spot? That's disconcerting, to say the least.

3. Size-wise, is 93p significantly wider than PB10 Mid?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I will put some lead at 10 and 2 to see whether I can make it more solid on the shots outside the sweet spot.

And yes, it is significantly wider, but I have no problems hitting with narrow hoops.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Zlatni

Zlatni

Rookie
Now that I think about it, it is the balls that are hit low in the stringbed that give this response that is less than sweet. It is probably due to the fact that I hit the ball fairly low in the stringbed, and this frame’s sweetspot is pretty high.
I thought that textreme was supposed to firm up this area. I am confused...

Maybe some lead at 5 and 7???

EDIT: probably just continue playing with the racquet until i get used to it. Pb 10 has a much lower sweet spot and I am just so used to it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Liam Grennon

Liam Grennon

Professional
Hello all,
This thread alone has to lead me to purchase one of these frames, and after today, I believe it'll be my daily tournament frame.
First of a little about me,
I am 15 (Though my birthday is in May), and Play Tournaments at the u18 L5 level (I would prefer to play u16's but they're not readily available to me in NH.). I have a strong forehand and passable backhand, with my serve being my biggest weapon. As a result, I love to play aggressive tennis, and I play a Serve and Volley as well as Transition game. I will be making a video review soon!
Today was the first time I took it out on the court and I played a challenge match with it. It was vs the #3 on the team (I am #2 but hopefully #1 soon), and right out of the start I loved the volleys. The frame is point and shoot, in the purest sense of the phrase. I adored the solid yet flexy feel I got, and even with a blazing passing shot being hit I could get too it given it's superb maneuverability. It was effortless where ever the contact was.
Serve's: I didn't notice this until I ramped up my serve intensity, but holy sh*t (Excuse my french but dear lord), this frame gave me better power and spin then any other frame I have tried. That includes Pure Drive's, RF 97's etc... I don't think he got one return back...
Ground Stokes - I loved this frame here as well, it bombed forehands, but only when swung hard. When lazy footwork and a lazy swing are used, it is not as friendly as lets say a Babolat. You just need to have the confidence to use this frame from the groundies...

I will use it in our next matches coming up! Let me know any questions!
 
JOSHL

JOSHL

Hall of Fame
Liam Grennon said:
Hello all,
This thread alone has to lead me to purchase one of these frames, and after today, I believe it'll be my daily tournament frame.
First of a little about me,
I am 15 (Though my birthday is in May), and Play Tournaments at the u18 L5 level (I would prefer to play u16's but they're not readily available to me in NH.). I have a strong forehand and passable backhand, with my serve being my biggest weapon. As a result, I love to play aggressive tennis, and I play a Serve and Volley as well as Transition game. I will be making a video review soon!
Today was the first time I took it out on the court and I played a challenge match with it. It was vs the #3 on the team (I am #2 but hopefully #1 soon), and right out of the start I loved the volleys. The frame is point and shoot, in the purest sense of the phrase. I adored the solid yet flexy feel I got, and even with a blazing passing shot being hit I could get too it given it's superb maneuverability. It was effortless where ever the contact was.
Serve's: I didn't notice this until I ramped up my serve intensity, but holy sh*t (Excuse my french but dear lord), this frame gave me better power and spin then any other frame I have tried. That includes Pure Drive's, RF 97's etc... I don't think he got one return back...
Ground Stokes - I loved this frame here as well, it bombed forehands, but only when swung hard. When lazy footwork and a lazy swing are used, it is not as friendly as lets say a Babolat. You just need to have the confidence to use this frame from the groundies...

I will use it in our next matches coming up! Let me know any questions!
Click to expand...
Told you so
 
T

tomato123

Professional
What tensions would be recommended for gut/poly on this frame? I'm interested in trying out the Klip 18 gauge (1.20mm) with something like Genesis Black Magic 18 (1.14mm)
 
Tommy Haas

Tommy Haas

Hall of Fame
mad dog1 said:
Where in SoCal are you located?
Click to expand...

Down in OC like @scotus . I wonder how many other members are from the Orange Curtain. I now regret not buying the 93P while I was there and should have picked it up while I was there since it was so cheap. What stopped me was that when I spec'd a bunch of the frames, the weight was inconsistent.
 
Classic-TXP-IG MID

Classic-TXP-IG MID

Hall of Fame
Zlatni said:
Now that I think about it, it is the balls that are hit low in the stringbed that give this response that is less than sweet. It is probably due to the fact that I hit the ball fairly low in the stringbed, and this frame’s sweetspot is pretty high.
I thought that textreme was supposed to firm up this area. I am confused...

Maybe some lead at 5 and 7???

EDIT: probably just continue playing with the racquet until i get used to it. Pb 10 has a much lower sweet spot and I am just so used to it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hi @Zlatni ... do you use a dampener? If so, try placing it (I use a rubber band woven through the stringbed worm dampener style) closer to the throat of the racquet (Chung style).

Alternatively, try placing 1g at 2,5,7, and 10... that will stretch the sweet spot in both directions (ala Liquidmetal Radical MP). Of course, I always balance with weight in the handle. Just a thought.

I had to add weight to the top (2, 10, and 12) of the head of the PB10 Mid to compensate for the lower sweet spot.
 
Anton

Anton

Legend
Zlatni said:
Now that I think about it, it is the balls that are hit low in the stringbed that give this response that is less than sweet. It is probably due to the fact that I hit the ball fairly low in the stringbed, and this frame’s sweetspot is pretty high.
I thought that textreme was supposed to firm up this area. I am confused...

Maybe some lead at 5 and 7???

EDIT: probably just continue playing with the racquet until i get used to it. Pb 10 has a much lower sweet spot and I am just so used to it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Everything you talk about I already covered including instability in lower half of the stringbed.

Lead on V throat and slightly bellow 3+9 fix that.
 
dgoran

dgoran

Hall of Fame
ae1222 said:
Odd that is about what I used to string my PT57As at...
Click to expand...
iu
 
Anton

Anton

Legend
tomato123 said:
What tensions would be recommended for gut/poly on this frame? I'm interested in trying out the Klip 18 gauge (1.20mm) with something like Genesis Black Magic 18 (1.14mm)
Click to expand...

I’d recommend 50/47 (constant pull machine) - will be a bit stiff at first but should settle into a good range
 
Tommy Haas

Tommy Haas

Hall of Fame
@Zlatni do you have the original Volkl PB10 with 59RA or the current one with 61RA? Is your 93P or PB10 easier to generate spin with? On paper it would seem the PB10 has easier access to spin having both a lighter static weight and swing weight in addition to being a 16x19.
 
Zlatni

Zlatni

Rookie
Tommy Haas said:
@Zlatni do you have the original Volkl PB10 with 59RA or the current one with 61RA? Is your 93P or PB10 easier to generate spin with? On paper it would seem the PB10 has easier access to spin having both a lighter static weight and swing weight in addition to being a 16x19.
Click to expand...

I have the black and yellow (inside hoop) version that I got recently at TW. I believe that current batch that is sold by TW is actually new old stock, as opposed to new production. I believe that this is the case due to the grip flaking off - kind of like you would have with a racquet that was sitting in storage for a long time. I believe the difference in RA is due to production variances. Don’t quote me on any of this as I don’t know for sure.

And pb10 definitely has easier access to spin. But I have added enough weight at 10 and 2 to bring the sw to 340.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
S

scotus

G.O.A.T.
Zlatni said:
Now that I think about it, it is the balls that are hit low in the stringbed that give this response that is less than sweet. It is probably due to the fact that I hit the ball fairly low in the stringbed, and this frame’s sweetspot is pretty high.
I thought that textreme was supposed to firm up this area. I am confused...

Maybe some lead at 5 and 7???

EDIT: probably just continue playing with the racquet until i get used to it. Pb 10 has a much lower sweet spot and I am just so used to it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

A higher location of the sweet spot is a good thing in my book.
 
M

Mitch_1979

Rookie
Short update (my 1st post @ #632).

I've been dealing w a non-tennis injury to my knee which kept me off court for a week. Got impatient and went out to practice serving w the 93P yesterday.

I effectively can't push off w my back leg when serving, and have to land delicately. Nevertheless it seemed I was serving as-big as I normally do w my prev. Bab Pure Strike 18x20 (2014) when healthy. Couple of further observations (might be a little redundant to my prev. post)...
  • the sense/awareness of contact point on the string bed I get is the most notable feature. The feedback I feel from this frame when I miss the sweet spot gives me a clear sense of where I missed, allowing me to easily adjust; with a 'dead' leg my timing was off but I was able to calibrate pretty quickly. Also worth repeating what other's have commented - that the 'thud' you get from clean contact has such a rewarding sound and feel.
  • accuracy is up a notch. I surprised myself a number of times with how tightly I was able to hit my target. E.g. the flat-wide-deuce serve (I'm a lefty) is normally a low % target for me to reach, but I was hitting this spot really well. Maybe the thin frame moves through the air more easily (w the Pure Strike I tended to 'muscle' the pronation more to get the face out toward the target and would often miss down the middle of the service box).
  • 2nd (kick) serve seems to have more spin. My knee injury affected consistency of this serve the most, but I hit a few that really surprised me w a bounce height I'm not used to seeing. I thought I would have trouble getting enough RHS given the higher static weight of this frame.
  • definitely more tiring on the shoulder... if I don't get stronger/used to it, I might consider a lighter synth. grip to replace the leather once it's worn out... maybe
  • (trying to avoid posting only positive things...) the thin beam makes picking up and balancing a full racket face of tennis balls a little more difficult ;)
 
galain

galain

Hall of Fame
haqq777 said:
It's in a parallel thread for Phantom 93P

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/prince-phantom-93p.607726/page-6#post-12109446

Also, I played with Tour Diablo Mid and it is nothing like 93P. The Diablo feels much firmer with its 16x20 pattern and mid to high sixties feeling stiffness. Very different feel on ball contact. Different beam size as well. Like the guy in above link says, different mold altogether. I will say though that it can hit a mean ball.
Click to expand...

Thank you and to everyone else who replied to my question. It's taken me a little while to get back to this thread.
 
E

Eastman

New User
Could anybody who has hit with both 93P and PCG100 compare them feel wise? I love the feeling of the PCG100, but prefer smaller heads and denser patterns.
Thanks.
 
Tommy Haas

Tommy Haas

Hall of Fame
I think that I'm going to head up to Narnia in LA tomorrow to pick up a 93P. I'm getting tired of reading all the praise. I regretted not buying it the last time I was there. My only concern is that it's off spec and I noticed the frames on the peg had varying weights. What should the good unstrung weight and balance be? Does everyone's frame specs unstrung closely match the printed specs inside the throat?
 
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