Thoughts on my demo racquets

[xtremerunnerars]

I demoed a yonex rdx500, a volkl DNX 10, and a babolat vs nct drive.

I got them today, but was able to hit with them for four hours straight. I hit roughly the same of every stroke with all three racquets, and wasn't terribly excited about any of them.

I guess first i should give you a background on how i play. I'm a 3.5, and i'm on the verge of being a 4.0. I play mostly from the baseline, but i am starting to like the serve and volley game as my serve improves.


I played first with the volkl, and found it to be the best of the three for my game. My groundstrokes felt more solid than with my old racquet (a babolat vs nct control), but i didn't feel like i was absolutely crushing the ball. Volleys were this racquet's strong point, as it was really manuvreable. Serves were okay, not a whole lot of power but i'm switching to a different serve style. Control was pretty good though, for my developing ability to finally control my serve.

Second was the babolat, which i found to be too large (even though my old racquet was a babolat) and overly powered. I really didn't like anything about it.

Third was the yonex, which was head heavy, and i also didn't like anything about this as well.

I don't think i'll be buying any of these racquets. I'm going to try demoing the babolat aeropro drive, and another racquet.


what do you guys think i should get? I have a week to decide, obviously.

 

[LowProfile]

The Yonex was head heavy? Are you out of your mind? The only reason that I see why a baseliner wouldn't enjoy that stick is if you either hit extremely flat or if you couldn't handle the weight (unlikely, since you enjoyed the DNX 10).

What an odd choice of demo racquets. Two solid midplus player's frames (I'll assume the RDX 500 was a midplus) and an oversized rocket launcher.

Give us some more info about your game. Power or placement? Flat or topspin groundstrokes? If you like topspin, give the NXGraphite OS a try. For flatter strokes, maybe try the Head Liquidmetal Instinct or Prestige. If you want to develop an all-court game and want a racquet to match, try out the Wilson nBlade.

 

[xtremerunnerars]

Yes, the rdx500 was a midplus.


As for more about my game, i originally thought i wanted to be a power player, but now i've gotten over the "consistency wins highschool tennis matches" feeling i had. My coaches just kept saying "get it back, get it back". For some reason i equated this with "pushing" tactics in my mind, but I think i've grown up and decided that i won't play that way.

I'm going for consistency, but not the type where i just wait for the other guy to miss. I want to be able to make players miss BECAUSE of shots i hit, whether it's a deep topspin forehand near the baseline, or my serve (which gets faster daily, i can feel it). I'm definitely a topspin player, with decent topspin and a really consistent one-handed bh slice. My topspin bh (one handed as well) is starting to get better.

I demoed the racquets because of their differences, to partially decide on what type of racquet i would like. I included the babolat partly because my dad found it, and wanted me to try it. Being unsure if i still wanted to stay oversized babolat, and not to be condescending to my dad (who really understands how serious i am about my tennis now), i decided to go with his choice.

I'm confused about what you say about me enjoying the weight of the dnx 10 as opposed to the yonex. I feel like the yonex is wayyyy heavier than the volkl. While it didn't feel as light as the babolat, i certainly feel it's considerably lighter than the yonex. Possibly it's because of the grip size? Both are 4 3/8, but volkl grips are smaller i hear. The yonex had tournagrip on it...maybe that's why i didn't like the feel.

My friend has two racquets to demo, and i was thinking about demoing the aeropro drive. Is that a good choice for me?

 

[Deleted member 6835]

Third was the yonex, which was head heavy, and i also didn't like anything about this as well.

Head Size:
98 sq. in. / 632 sq. cm.
Length: 27 inches / 69 cm
Strung Weight: 11.7oz / 332g
Balance: 8pts Head Light
Swingweight: 315
Stiffness: 62
...

i think that you were too tired after 4 hours of playing to evaluate the rdx or the babolat. if i were you, i'd rest up and go tomorrow and play with one of them at a time, with rest in between

just a heads up

 

[Deleted member 6835]

My friend has two racquets to demo, and i was thinking about demoing the aeropro drive. Is that a good choice for me?

i'd say you should give the aeropro drive a try, esp if you want spin.

good luck

 

[xtremerunnerars]

I used them at practice, and since there were only 3 people there, my coach let me change out racquets for all the strokes.

I didn't really feel tired, as the drills weren't hard today, but i still intend to really try and get the most out of these racquets before i make a decision.


thanks for your posts!

 

[LowProfile]

Ah that may have been it. The RDX 500 is definitely a two-handed backhand stick. Still, the RDX 500 is lighter and more head light AND has a lower swingweight than the DNX 10. I have no idea why you found the DNX 10 to feel so much lighter. You must have tried the RDX last.

And I still can't get over how on earth you felt the RDX 500 was head heavy. That thing is a whole inch head light. If you want topspin, you may want to go for a more open string pattern than the DNX's. If you liked the Volkl feel, how about trying the C10 Pro or the Tour 10 MP Generation II?

Also the nSix-One 95 is a nice topspin stick and works well for one-handers. Aeropro Drive from Babolat and the Triple Threat Warrior from Prince are both very suitable to your game.

 

[xtremerunnerars]

alright, thanks for the input!


maybe i'm just crazy haha

 

[AndrewD]

xtremerunnerars,

Going on what you've said about your game and where you'd like it to go it might be a good idea to look at something similar to but a step back from the DNX10. So, a similar type of balance and swingweight but with a bit more power.

If it's still available in your area then the Vokl t10 MP v-engine could be a good choice. It has enough power so you can 'crush' the ball, good flex (which will help your net game) and a swingweight that is more than manageable (it can be reduced slightly). The Babolat AeroPro Drive is a good racquet and you will get more than enough spin and power from it, however, the down-side is that, due to its stiffness, it lacks touch/feel (not helpful for someone developing their net game as volleys require you to develop good touch). A comparable racquet, in terms of flex, weight and balance but which is good for net play is the TT Warrior Midplus. It isn't quite as 'whippy' as the APD but it has much better feel/touch while still providing excellent spin and more than enough power.

 

[300Gkid]

well i'd try racquets inbetween the Volkl and the Babolat (NCT). Racquets like the Prince 03 white, Babolat pure storm, Babolat aeropro drive, Head Flexpoint instinct, Yonex RDS 003, Volkl DNX 8 or 9 (when it comes out)

 

[alb1]

Head Instinct, Prince Shark, Wilson nPro, etc. There are many frames in the 100 sq in/ 11.0-11.5 oz range that you can try. Most high schoolers i saw this past season were using frames in this range. A lot of the advice you get on this forum is from older guys who use heavier smaller headed rackets. The new wave of players are using slightly larger and slightly lighter frames.