TT 100p too powerful, TT95?

[DutchTennisFan]

I was hoping if you guys can give a comment on my racquet search. I know that I should just get one to try out, but it is not so easy to find in my area so I will maybe just buy one.

From Dutch to USA rating, I should be a 3.0/3.5 player and am playing for 4 years now. Most of the time I played with the APD (2010 version). However I like hitting with it in practice, when I "dare" to hit my full swings, causing the ball nicely to dive, giving me the control. However, in matches I struggle to hit the full swing, causing my balls to fly long because they don't have enough topspin.

Only when using stiff poly strings which give me "easy" spin I feel comfortable enough hitting the balls, but then I have the new problem: It hurts my elbow. Overall I just find it to be too powerful.

I now started looking for a new racquet and trying the Prince Textreme Tour 100P (which has a stiff poly string in it as well now). I need to hit the ball hard to get it deep which I like, and really like the heavy weight compared to the APD as well (nice stable on volleys). However, again I have a little bit of elbow issues. I am afraid that the racquet will become too powerful when putting elbow friendly strings in it.

So now my theory is as followed: I've read that the Prince TT Tour 95 is low powered, but: If the TT Tour 100P is good for me with a very low powered poly in it, could that mean that I generate enough own power to be able to play with the TT 95 with soft, powerful strings in it? Because I assume that I would like the properties of that racquet as well, being a more heavy stable racquet just like the 100p but still easy to swing.

I was also able to generate lots of spin on the 100p btw

Hope you can give me some comments on my search adventure As I said, am aware that testing the racquet itself would be best solution, but hope to get more insight via this way already. Really like the weight and stability of the 100p, so based on specs of tt 95, I think I will like that one aswell.

Thank you in advance!

 

[pLaRiCn]

General consensus on here seems to be Phantoms are better than TTs. Never hit a TT100p, so can't compare the 2 TTs, but I really enjoy my TT95; for its weight, it swings really light in stock form, but that just leaves plenty of room for customization. I did get to try out a few Phantom 100s when a friend was demoing; in stock form, Pro100 felt better to me, and if it came out a little earlier, then that might've been my racquet of choice. I really wanted to like the Pro100p, but came away disappointed...
In short... to add more to your dilemma... Phantoms are worth considering as well.

 

[DutchTennisFan]

General consensus on here seems to be Phantoms are better than TTs. Never hit a TT100p, so can't compare the 2 TTs, but I really enjoy my TT95; for its weight, it swings really light in stock form, but that just leaves plenty of room for customization. I did get to try out a few Phantom 100s when a friend was demoing; in stock form, Pro100 felt better to me, and if it came out a little earlier, then that might've been my racquet of choice. I really wanted to like the Pro100p, but came away disappointed...
In short... to add more to your dilemma... Phantoms are worth considering as well.

Thanks a lot for your reply! The phantoms all do have a significant higher swingweight right? I am not the strongest guy, so that was why TT 95 got my interest. More weight, but still manoeuvrable

 

[mhkeuns]

TT95 with natural gut mains at 58 & poly crosses at 55 felt super nice and powerful. It alao felt great with full bed of poly. Definitely worth a try.

 

[DutchTennisFan]

Thanks a lot for your reply! The phantoms all do have a significant higher swingweight right? I am not the strongest guy, so that was why TT 95 got my interest. More weight, but still manoeuvrable

And what string do you use btw ? You get some power out of it ?

 

[DutchTennisFan]

TT95 with natural gut mains at 58 & poly crosses at 55 felt super nice and powerful. It alao felt great with full bed of poly. Definitely worth a try.

Nice! Thanks for your reply. I am not a string breaker, so natural gut can be an option for me? Or do the properties change a lot over time when you don't break it? Think I will need a bit of extra power.

 

[SJSA]

I totally agree with pLaRiCn.
You should try Phantom lines for low powered racquets.

 

[mhkeuns]

Nice! Thanks for your reply. I am not a string breaker, so natural gut can be an option for me? Or do the properties change a lot over time when you don't break it? Think I will need a bit of extra power.

I believe that the natural gut strings retain their playability the longest. It sure feels fantastic, however, I've heard that it might not be the best option for.clay court tennis.

 

[pLaRiCn]

Thanks a lot for your reply! The phantoms all do have a significant higher swingweight right? I am not the strongest guy, so that was why TT 95 got my interest. More weight, but still manoeuvrable

I believe Pro100 has similar swing weight as TT95, Pro100p has the higher swing weight

 

[ONgame]

However, in matches I struggle to hit the full swing, causing my balls to fly long because they don't have enough topspin.

Face it, it is NOT the racquet. You will only reinforce what you don't want by switching.

 

[Nick777]

If you are start having elbow pain beware, check your strokes and avoid stiff polys, exersise to strengthen your hand and shoulder, phantoms are very fast because of the thin frame especially with the ports, i sugest try phantom pro 100 and phantom 100

 

[pLaRiCn]

Face it, it is NOT the racquet. You will only reinforce what you don't want by switching.

Pffft... It's ALWAYS the racquet...
As long as it's not your meal ticket, then do whatever is fun, OP.
Otherwise... it's NEVER the racquet, OP!

 

[DutchTennisFan]

Face it, it is NOT the racquet. You will only reinforce what you don't want by switching.

I understand what you mean. Ofcourse in the end the technique is the very biggest factor. But if it can help me a bit mentally by knowing that I HAVE to hit hard because else it will land in the bottom on the hand, then I'll sign for it There is a reason that is so many different racquets out there.
Plus in the 4 years I only played APD. Quite curious what else is there and want to safe the elbow too

 

[ONgame]

I understand what you mean. Ofcourse in the end the technique is the very biggest factor. But if it can help me a bit mentally by knowing that I HAVE to hit hard because else it will land in the bottom on the hand, then I'll sign for it There is a reason that is so many different racquets out there.
Plus in the 4 years I only played APD. Quite curious what else is there and want to safe the elbow too

Start with something that helps with your elbow first.
Yonex Ezone 98 is a good place to start.

 

[sredna42]

TT100p is the most arm friendly frame I've played with. The sweet spot was huge, and even off centre hits were not jarring whatsoever.

I used it with gut/poly, and didn't find it too powerful at all. It was actually the perfect racquet aside from the grip shape. Far more friendly than the AI98 and DR98 I had. And easily more friendly than my tec315ltd, which jars outside the sweetspot, which is kinda on the small side.

 

[Nick777]

TT100p is the most arm friendly frame I've played with. The sweet spot was huge, and even off centre hits were not jarring whatsoever.

I used it with gut/poly, and didn't find it too powerful at all. It was actually the perfect racquet aside from the grip shape. Far more friendly than the AI98 and DR98 I had. And easily more friendly than my tec315ltd, which jars outside the sweetspot, which is kinda on the small side.

Can you please compare t100p - dr98?

 

[sredna42]

Can you please compare t100p - dr98?

DR98 just had a weird sound and feel when you hit the ball. It hit a decent ball, but it is like I wasn't connected to it at all.
It felt firmer than the 100p, but without being harsh. 100p was softer on the arm, and had a thousand times more touch and feel.
Power, I'd say they were about the same.
Slice was way better with the 100p, kick serves the 100p by far. The 100p did everything better than the DR98 actually.

To me, the DR98 just felt like this weird frying pan. Not harsh, but just mute. Or dead.

But that's just me. Everyone's different, their game is different, etc, so what sucked for me might be the holy grail for you.

 

[Nick777]

DR98 just had a weird sound and feel when you hit the ball. It hit a decent ball, but it is like I wasn't connected to it at all.
It felt firmer than the 100p, but without being harsh. 100p was softer on the arm, and had a thousand times more touch and feel.
Power, I'd say they were about the same.
Slice was way better with the 100p, kick serves the 100p by far. The 100p did everything better than the DR98 actually.

To me, the DR98 just felt like this weird frying pan. Not harsh, but just mute. Or dead.

But that's just me. Everyone's different, their game is different, etc, so what sucked for me might be the holy grail for you.

Thanks a lot! Currently play with the dr but i will demo the 100p,looking for better feel and little bit fadter through the air, dont like much the dr on my forehand there is something missing

 

[sredna42]

Thanks a lot! Currently play with the dr but i will demo the 100p,looking for better feel and little bit fadter through the air, dont like much the dr on my forehand there is something missing

The 100p had great racquet head speed I felt, you could really whip it through the air, it didn't feellike a 100" frame to me.
My only issue with it was the grip shape. I simply couldn't find my forehand grip when under the pump with that prince grip shape, and my forehand became inconsistent because of it. If it had a head TK82 grip shape I'd still be using it.

And even though it is an 18x20, when I held it over my tec315ltd 16x19, the eight (IIRC) central main string spacings were the same, so it was really kinda like a 16x19, which is why I think that TW playtesters found surprisingly easy spin from it.

But again, that is just my impression of it. I let others hit with it at the tennis club, and they hated it.
I put a leather grip on mine, and strung it with gut/poly, 55/53 iirc. I never had the chance to try it with full poly. Just get a demo if you can.

 

[neverstopplaying]

I Agree that you should be fine with the TT100P. I won't be too powerful with a hybrid string setup, or a softer poly, that you are looking for.

I would not recommend the TT95 unless you are at 4.5 and up, and under 40. The 100P offers plenty of control, and and easier game.

 

[Nick777]

The 100p had great racquet head speed I felt, you could really whip it through the air, it didn't feellike a 100" frame to me.
My only issue with it was the grip shape. I simply couldn't find my forehand grip when under the pump with that prince grip shape, and my forehand became inconsistent because of it. If it had a head TK82 grip shape I'd still be using it.

And even though it is an 18x20, when I held it over my tec315ltd 16x19, the eight (IIRC) central main string spacings were the same, so it was really kinda like a 16x19, which is why I think that TW playtesters found surprisingly easy spin from it.

But again, that is just my impression of it. I let others hit with it at the tennis club, and they hated it.
I put a leather grip on mine, and strung it with gut/poly, 55/53 iirc. I never had the chance to try it with full poly. Just get a demo if you can.

I am ok with the prince grip, play also with the tour 100 16/18 which is more easy on the arm, with leather grip and no lead must be very HL, i ll try soon!

 

[WYK]

You can easily control a racquet's power by playing with the strings. Go with something more control oriented, and maybe thicker gauged. If you string a PD with BigBangerO at 40#, it saps much of the power out of it and adds control.

 

[Dartagnan64]

Dude just Dutch the poly. Put in a spin friendly multi like Velocity at 54 lbs in the TT 100p and then dial it up or down from there based on your power needs.

Then work on your technique. You should be able to hit topspin with any frame and keep the ball in. I can get topspin with my phantom 93p 18x20 with Origin 16g strings. And I’m a 3.5 level player with crappy technique.

 

[Praetorian]

Pffft... It's ALWAYS the racquet...
As long as it's not your meal ticket, then do whatever is fun, OP.
Otherwise... it's NEVER the racquet, OP!

Wilson, Prince, Babolat, Yonex, etc... APPROVES THIS MESSAGE
LOL

 

[WestboroChe]

Dude just Dutch the poly. Put in a spin friendly multi like Velocity at 54 lbs in the TT 100p and then dial it up or down from there based on your power needs.

Then work on your technique. You should be able to hit topspin with any frame and keep the ball in. I can get topspin with my phantom 93p 18x20 with Origin 16g strings. And I’m a 3.5 level player with crappy technique.

I agree with you. But the strings matter. I just started playing with poly in my 100P a few weeks ago and the difference is real. The ball just spins off the strings like no multi i ever used.

I also like how I can take a full cut on my backhand and know the ball isn’t going to fly to the fence.

So far at 45lbs I have not had any elbow pain. But I’ll check back in a few months.

 

[DanS]

I agree with you. But the strings matter. I just started playing with poly in my 100P a few weeks ago and the difference is real. The ball just spins off the strings like no multi i ever used.

I also like how I can take a full cut on my backhand and know the ball isn’t going to fly to the fence.

So far at 45lbs I have not had any elbow pain. But I’ll check back in a few months.

What poly did you go with?

 

[WestboroChe]

What poly did you go with?

I strung with Prince XR 17. I'm also going to give Prince XP 17 a try too as my other frame is ready to be restrung now.

 

[Stretchy Man]

If you are getting pain from such a soft racquet I really think you need to ditch the poly.

 

[Deleted member 54265]

DR98 just had a weird sound and feel when you hit the ball. It hit a decent ball, but it is like I wasn't connected to it at all.
It felt firmer than the 100p, but without being harsh. 100p was softer on the arm, and had a thousand times more touch and feel.
Power, I'd say they were about the same.
Slice was way better with the 100p, kick serves the 100p by far. The 100p did everything better than the DR98 actually.

To me, the DR98 just felt like this weird frying pan. Not harsh, but just mute. Or dead.

But that's just me. Everyone's different, their game is different, etc, so what sucked for me might be the holy grail for you.

I have both the TT100P and the DR98 and sometimes play them side by side with same string setup.

I agree with everything you said.

Cheers, Toby

 

[Dartagnan64]

I agree with you. But the strings matter. I just started playing with poly in my 100P a few weeks ago and the difference is real. The ball just spins off the strings like no multi i ever used.

I also like how I can take a full cut on my backhand and know the ball isn’t going to fly to the fence.

So far at 45lbs I have not had any elbow pain. But I’ll check back in a few months.

Hopefully you'll be ok. The seduction of poly is real just like the seduction of Babolat PD/PA free power. But since none of us make a living at tennis and presumably we don't want to prematurely end our recreation of choice, comfort is always the most important concern for a recreational player.

If 45 lbs is all it takes, then great. But if not, it's time to try to learn to hit with multis.

 

[swinter07]

For strings I guess

1 try Isospeed cream, a unique copoly string. use a bit higher tension to tune down power

2 try Yonex poly tour spin G (stiff, spinny, but much more comfortable)

3 try multi or NG mains (X-one/Velocity/NG, thick, high tension), round poly crosses

 

[FoldingChair]

Lower powered Prince the OP asks? The Phantoms, Mr. FoldingChair presents

 

[Voytek Bunia]

I dont think the 100P is powerful at all. Quite the opposite, at least with full poly.

That's the way I like it though, game might be a little slower but the accuracy is so much higher negating all power downfalls.

And best of all, it's very very arm friendly. It's very muted but still retains that pop so you can feel the ball.

 

[Nick777]

I have both the TT100P and the DR98 and sometimes play them side by side with same string setup.

I agree with everything you said.

Cheers, Toby

I play the dr 98 and i am about to hit with the 100P, you sugest the same string tension i use with dr or power? I Play with yptp

 

[Nick777]

I play the dr 98 and i am about to hit with the 100P, you sugest the same string tension i use with dr or power? I Play with yptp

*lower

 

[Deleted member 54265]

I play the dr 98 and i am about to hit with the 100P, you sugest the same string tension i use with dr or power? I Play with yptp

Just do the same, less variations when you compare. Ideal both freshly strung.

 

[Deleted member 54265]

double post

 

[Deleted member 54265]

double post