ME!
My background:
i hit a decent ball and i am still good enough at times to compete in open-level regional tournaments even with my old age (33!), lotsa beer and all the junkfood!
My serve is the best part of my game. Play single hand off both sides. I can play all court but i am really lazy now coming to the net hahaha Actually, i should not laugh because my friends say i look like a grandma jogging to the net hahahahaha Sorry, i cannot still help laughing at my predicament!!!
Previous volkl racquets in chronology = tour 9 gen 1 followed by tour 10 V-engine MP. I have played these in stock and with extensive modifications to swingweight, weight, balance and strings!
Now, the criteria for my next racquet is:
SW = 300-310
stiffness > 62
weight = 310-330 grams = 11 - 11.5 oz
balance point = 5-8 pts
beamwidth < 24 mm
string pattern = 16x19
grip-size > or = 4 1/2
special features = V-engine (yes i want juice!) and volkl sensation
price < US$120 cheaper = more the merrier!
life-style:
i do not want to go to the gym and pump iron everyday! I prefer the grass is greener on the other side life-style now = booze, women, junkfood and some good tennis in between!
Overall: i want a bat which is something in between the two volkls above. for these reasons, i figured the volkl tour 9 V-engine 16x19 would be the likely successor!
volkl tour 9 V-engine 16x19 2nd ever review i think!
Grip size = 4 5/8 or L5 with original grip
String = Gosen OG-sheep micro 17. I normally use kirschbaum P2 17L but the string in my new reel has popped 3 times during stringing. Maybe a bad batch! Anyway…..
Frame 1 = 55 lbs
Frame 2 = 52 lbs
Racquet specs:
both racquets weigh in at 326 grams!
Racquet cosmetics:
Ugly frame design but what matters the most is function! Basic frame colour could have been more thought out along the lines of their tour bags (yellow and black). Sure the T10s should be represented by these colours but maybe some subtle use of patterns in these colours could discern it from the T10s! Anyway, the fractured volkl and tour 9 decals look great!
Test conditions:
Outdoor matches on synthetic grass, carpet and US open style courts.
Groundstrokes:
Both racquets were very slow through the air. In fact, they do not feel like 308 SW! I swung my volkl tour 10 VE MPs and they felt faster through the air. I also swung my tour 9 gen 1s for a comparison and they were faster than the T10 VE MP! It beats me why that is but that is the reality of the situation. Maybe it is the aerodynamics of the racquet. Fat beam + crossbar = More resistance through the air! Also, it could be the balance point. Anyway, there was good power on shots but I found that I could not apply enough topspin to keep the hard hit balls in. On neutral exchanges, a slower relaxed swing resulted in better topspin for a heavy and deeper ball. The slice worked very nicely. I was able to generate the same amount of slice with these new bats as my old volkls. Comfort-wise, the racquet really felt tinny and not as comfortable as the T9 gen 1 which is stiffer or the T10 VE MP. Moreover, there was a strong jarring sensation when I missed the centre of the sweetspot. The T9 VE really feels like the head LM radical MP bats I tested a while back. The LM in the Head racquets may just be fiberglass with a fancy name as in the volkls. The other alternative is there is no fiberglass in the T9 VE and no LM at all in the Heads hahahaha Anyway, enough of my hypotheses! Overall, I found the T9 VE 16x19 to be below average in the groundies department.
Volleys:
Defensive volleys were good but attacking volleys seemed to either end up as sitters or miss their target badly. The bottomline: this bat is below average for volleys.
Smash:
The forehand side smashes were much better than the backhand side where I missed heaps and I do not normally miss them! Again, the slowness if the racquet through the air caused balls to fly out. Generally speaking, smashing is below average for this racquet.
Service:
This is where the racquet is extremely disappointing. For 2 and ½ sets, I really struggled. It got to the point where I changed my service motion which is an absolute no-no normally! The racquet was so slow during the service motion that I was left wondering if I should have just used a cricket bat! There is power but that is useless if the ball ends up 1 ft out of the service box. It was harder to generate slice and kick serves in comparison to the other 2 volkls. My opponent was just licking his chops and teeing off which just should not happen on my service. After 2 and ½ sets where I could not serve the 1st set out twice, losing the 2nd set 6-0 and trailing 3-0 in the 3rd, I decided to pull out my tour 9 gen 1 and proceeded to turn the match around quickly! By the way, my opponent was still fresh! So, it definitely makes sense that the new bats were crap on service! The service as I said above was improved somewhat by a change in service motion. A fluid all out swing on first and second serves resulted in a slightly more powerful serves. The caveat here is my shoulder is about to falloff! Overall, I rate the T9 VE 16x19 to be very poor in the service department. Moreover, it is probably one of the worst racquets that I have ever served with in stock form and I have used princes, heads, wilsons, fischers , dunlops and of course volkls!
Returns:
The T9 VE bats were better in this department but not by much. Slice returns on the backhand side were great and consistent! Some powerful forehand returns were there but again the sluggishness of the racquet affected how much spin I could apply to bring those balls down into the court! Overall, I give this bat an above average rating on returns.
Touchshots:
I only tried 2 dropshots and they failed oh so miserably. In fact, one ended up half way into the net and the other just floated to midcourt on my opponent’s side where he promptly punished it! End of message on this department
Conclusion:
In stock form, the volkl T9 VE 16x19 is a poor racquet in my hands! The Volkl T9 gen 1 in stock form is far superior to this effort from volkl. I feel that the slowness of the T9 VE in the air really punished it in the various stroke departments particularly the serve which is the best part of my game. That being said, another review should be made on a modified form of the racquet to change the balance and stability before I can write it off! Stay tuned…….
My background:
i hit a decent ball and i am still good enough at times to compete in open-level regional tournaments even with my old age (33!), lotsa beer and all the junkfood!
My serve is the best part of my game. Play single hand off both sides. I can play all court but i am really lazy now coming to the net hahaha Actually, i should not laugh because my friends say i look like a grandma jogging to the net hahahahaha Sorry, i cannot still help laughing at my predicament!!!
Previous volkl racquets in chronology = tour 9 gen 1 followed by tour 10 V-engine MP. I have played these in stock and with extensive modifications to swingweight, weight, balance and strings!
Now, the criteria for my next racquet is:
SW = 300-310
stiffness > 62
weight = 310-330 grams = 11 - 11.5 oz
balance point = 5-8 pts
beamwidth < 24 mm
string pattern = 16x19
grip-size > or = 4 1/2
special features = V-engine (yes i want juice!) and volkl sensation
price < US$120 cheaper = more the merrier!
life-style:
i do not want to go to the gym and pump iron everyday! I prefer the grass is greener on the other side life-style now = booze, women, junkfood and some good tennis in between!
Overall: i want a bat which is something in between the two volkls above. for these reasons, i figured the volkl tour 9 V-engine 16x19 would be the likely successor!
volkl tour 9 V-engine 16x19 2nd ever review i think!
Grip size = 4 5/8 or L5 with original grip
String = Gosen OG-sheep micro 17. I normally use kirschbaum P2 17L but the string in my new reel has popped 3 times during stringing. Maybe a bad batch! Anyway…..
Frame 1 = 55 lbs
Frame 2 = 52 lbs
Racquet specs:
both racquets weigh in at 326 grams!
Racquet cosmetics:
Ugly frame design but what matters the most is function! Basic frame colour could have been more thought out along the lines of their tour bags (yellow and black). Sure the T10s should be represented by these colours but maybe some subtle use of patterns in these colours could discern it from the T10s! Anyway, the fractured volkl and tour 9 decals look great!
Test conditions:
Outdoor matches on synthetic grass, carpet and US open style courts.
Groundstrokes:
Both racquets were very slow through the air. In fact, they do not feel like 308 SW! I swung my volkl tour 10 VE MPs and they felt faster through the air. I also swung my tour 9 gen 1s for a comparison and they were faster than the T10 VE MP! It beats me why that is but that is the reality of the situation. Maybe it is the aerodynamics of the racquet. Fat beam + crossbar = More resistance through the air! Also, it could be the balance point. Anyway, there was good power on shots but I found that I could not apply enough topspin to keep the hard hit balls in. On neutral exchanges, a slower relaxed swing resulted in better topspin for a heavy and deeper ball. The slice worked very nicely. I was able to generate the same amount of slice with these new bats as my old volkls. Comfort-wise, the racquet really felt tinny and not as comfortable as the T9 gen 1 which is stiffer or the T10 VE MP. Moreover, there was a strong jarring sensation when I missed the centre of the sweetspot. The T9 VE really feels like the head LM radical MP bats I tested a while back. The LM in the Head racquets may just be fiberglass with a fancy name as in the volkls. The other alternative is there is no fiberglass in the T9 VE and no LM at all in the Heads hahahaha Anyway, enough of my hypotheses! Overall, I found the T9 VE 16x19 to be below average in the groundies department.
Volleys:
Defensive volleys were good but attacking volleys seemed to either end up as sitters or miss their target badly. The bottomline: this bat is below average for volleys.
Smash:
The forehand side smashes were much better than the backhand side where I missed heaps and I do not normally miss them! Again, the slowness if the racquet through the air caused balls to fly out. Generally speaking, smashing is below average for this racquet.
Service:
This is where the racquet is extremely disappointing. For 2 and ½ sets, I really struggled. It got to the point where I changed my service motion which is an absolute no-no normally! The racquet was so slow during the service motion that I was left wondering if I should have just used a cricket bat! There is power but that is useless if the ball ends up 1 ft out of the service box. It was harder to generate slice and kick serves in comparison to the other 2 volkls. My opponent was just licking his chops and teeing off which just should not happen on my service. After 2 and ½ sets where I could not serve the 1st set out twice, losing the 2nd set 6-0 and trailing 3-0 in the 3rd, I decided to pull out my tour 9 gen 1 and proceeded to turn the match around quickly! By the way, my opponent was still fresh! So, it definitely makes sense that the new bats were crap on service! The service as I said above was improved somewhat by a change in service motion. A fluid all out swing on first and second serves resulted in a slightly more powerful serves. The caveat here is my shoulder is about to falloff! Overall, I rate the T9 VE 16x19 to be very poor in the service department. Moreover, it is probably one of the worst racquets that I have ever served with in stock form and I have used princes, heads, wilsons, fischers , dunlops and of course volkls!
Returns:
The T9 VE bats were better in this department but not by much. Slice returns on the backhand side were great and consistent! Some powerful forehand returns were there but again the sluggishness of the racquet affected how much spin I could apply to bring those balls down into the court! Overall, I give this bat an above average rating on returns.
Touchshots:
I only tried 2 dropshots and they failed oh so miserably. In fact, one ended up half way into the net and the other just floated to midcourt on my opponent’s side where he promptly punished it! End of message on this department
Conclusion:
In stock form, the volkl T9 VE 16x19 is a poor racquet in my hands! The Volkl T9 gen 1 in stock form is far superior to this effort from volkl. I feel that the slowness of the T9 VE in the air really punished it in the various stroke departments particularly the serve which is the best part of my game. That being said, another review should be made on a modified form of the racquet to change the balance and stability before I can write it off! Stay tuned…….
