DIADEM ELEVATE V3 REVIEW:
Wohoo! It's so rare to play with something that good. Especially within "control oriented range" of rackets. You guys already know I really liked V2 Elevate and this frame made me sell Head Prestige MP 360+. Now V3 Elevate is pushing out my TF40 315

Main reason - I can serve better with the Elevate.
Elevate is still an elevate -
performance:
Performance is closer to Prestige line with some hints of Blade.
"easier Prestige in performance" and "easier Blade in maneuverability" (copied from my v2 review)
this means it gives more spin than prestige and it's easier to move around than blade. Maybe it's a bit similar to Yonex Vcore 97 idea-wise but croseed with Vcore 95 precision and spin?
So it's always hard to create and sell well-performing control oriented frames with all those "gimmicks" around on the market (AND endorsements). I feel like the market for those type of frames is really getting smaller and smaller each year. If you don't add some kind of a
modern flare it will probably die among competition.
MODERN FLARES IN V3 Elevate:
1. First, the
string pattern:
16x20 for many is their perfect sweet spot. Wawrinka is probably my favourite player endorsing this string pattern. Although so far It was not my favourite pattern I might reconsider my approach. So from 16 mains you are getting the spin potential of usual 16x19 frames but from 20 crosses you get slightly less power, less movement of the mains (so less spin potential), more touch and control but decreased forgiveness. You should experience lower launch angle and less "springiness" compared to 16x19.
THE BIGGEST "WHY" for 16x20 over 16x19 is the slice. Slices are important part of my game and switching from 16x19 to 16x20 really made a difference. Slices are less floaty and more penetrating.
Now with A BIT more power from V3 Elevate I feel like this combination clicked and Diadem made something already good even better.
2. FOAM injected!
Most of my favourite frames have foam inside. I feel like it's the best way to increase feel, confidence and performance at the same time. You feel the racket as one and the flex style is really addicting and specific.
3. Added kraibon material:
Ok, im not really a tech-guy so I will copy text from Diadem Europe:
"The headliner innovation, Kraibon, manages to increase both the flexibility and stability of the frame without sacrificing power."
I can only confirm that indeed the feel improved, it is more solid and a bit more comfortable (for some it's called "muted") without making any sacrifices. Actually the power potential improved slightly and that alone IMO is also an improvement.
I made some digging around here and found out Kraibon was used by Head in their Graphene Touch line? - from famous Head users I think Sinner is using their "touch" version of Speed racquet.
ACTUAL CHANGES FROM V2 ELEVATE:
I feel like the weight distribution is a bit changed. In my hands and during a swing it feels a bit different. Also the dwell time increased which for me made the impact sensation even sweeter and probably unlocked more spin !
So
V3:
- more spin
- more comfort
- more solidness
- same/better control (due to better spin)
- a bit more power (easier to get out from difficult situations)
- better feel (it's really something special)
The only thing I am not sure about is the stability. Is it better/worse/same? In theory it should be better but the regular v3 was twisting in my hands sometimes on the returns. Not the case with V3 Tour.
Tour and the Regular Elevate - which one is better?
So I am playing with the Elevates as my main for almost a month now. Tweaking and testing it in match situations, altering with TF40 and ISO Tfight 305. Why it took me so long to write a review?
It's because I was not sure which one I like more and how I want to customize them (elevate tour or regular).
While regular 305 Elevate is a slight but noticeable improvement I feel like Tour version really climbed high up to my expectations.
It's softer than V2 and overall really really similar in feel compared to the regular version. At the same time the specs of the Tour are closer to my usual setups and as it's more stable in stock form than the regular Elevate I was considering picking the Tour as a preferred version. Also I was serving really good with the Tour and I needed that boost in confidence here coming from TF40. I already mentioned before - the racquet that will bring back my serves will push out TF40 from my bag. With clean hits I probably would not be able to distinguish one from the other by the feel of the stringbed. Maybe hitting outside the sweetspot is a bit different - Tour kinda stiffens up to take over the imperfection of your swing but overall the differences in feel are really small but have bigger impact on performance.
Although Tour is closer to my specs I also felt like the SW is quite similar between them. That lower than my usual SW made me feel a bit disconnected during my swing. It was clear I need to customize both of them to my liking.
My match situations showed that I am playing a bit better with the regular Elevate.
(a bit) longer dwell time of the regular elevate gives me more feel and spin potential as I have more time to finish my stroke. So I am actually a bit more aggresive with the frame that is made to be more control oriented resulting in a heavier ball.
Customizations:
First, I added Diadem's leather grip which to my surprise had same or very similar weight to stock grip. I can call it a happy accident as during my customization journey I found out Elevate doesn't need weight at the handle. It makes it less stable. I found out Elevate shines best when you keep the static weight as low as possible with all the mass added to the head at the specific locations depending on your needs. Leather grip improved my feel and connection without decreasing comfort from already a top frame. It also looks great ! Classsyyy
I added VT advantec strips at 3 & 9 which increased the comfort even more. it's 3.2 grams total so not much.
For Tour it was all it needed to push the plow through to my liking. For the regular Elevate it was not enough. I also tried the legendary 10 and 2 positions instead but it was not exactly what I wanted (but really effective).
regular version:
as I still wanted a bit more power I added around 2 grams at 12. Boom! It was really something !!! Still very fast, spin friendly with enough power to push back and enough control to keep the ball forever in play. It was the first moment I thought ok, I think I have it, regular elevate is my choice. But match situations showed me that I still need more stability...
I added 2 more grams at 12 and like 6 grams at the bottom of the handle. Power increased but the stability didnt change much. I took out 4 grams from the handle and it was better but still too powerful. So I removed some mass from 12" and moved it to 10 and 2.
My current setup (+2g at 12, +3g at 10 & 2 , +3g at 3&9 +2g handle +Diadem's Leather grip)
I played with it yesterday and it was amazing. It is a bit heavy and I still need to check out serves if it's ok. But the control/power/spin on groundstrokes is almost perfect. It's so close to my golden setup that I am scared to change anything. I still feel like my backhand could be better but I am pretty sure it's close enough for me to adapt.
I could try:
1. removing some mass from 10 and 2 and from the handle (2 grams)
2. removing some mass from 3 and 9 (not really sure about that) and from the handle (2 grams)
3. removing some mass from 12 and from the handle (2 grams)
basicly I am not sure about having any added mass (2 added grams atm) at the bottom of the handle. I want to keep the current stability.
If my serves remain good I will probably keep it for tournaments and see how I can handle the weight for longer matches.
current weight with everything:
340g , around 33 cm strung. Very serious setup as my usual balance with such static weight is around 32 cm. But I already tried to lower the balance and it didnt work. I customize by feel and performance , not the numbers.
I will be adding some videos and content on my IG so if you enjoyed this review please follow for more

Thank you !
say hello on IG !
@dandan.tennis
side-note - Diadem is probably the fastest growing tennis brand right now and I am happy to see
Diadem Europe division after so many years looking only at the US market xd If you are a coach or pro-player you should contact them before they are full

I've heard they will be releasing another line - something between Nova and Elevate. This can be huge and I am really excited!