Which Racquet after Prince O3 Silver?

[wangy26]

I am a female player in the 50’s. I had been playing for several years at 3.0 level. My tennis game has been improved noticeably since last year and I am playing at 3.5 level now. I would like to upgrade my racquet from Prince O3 Silver to something that has more control. I also have mild tennis elbow from time to time. So I also would like to have a racquet that is arm friendly. I have restrung O3 Silver with multifilament string (NXT) 3 month ago and it helps for my tennis elbow. So I probably will stay with this type of string.
Basically I am not looking for any radically different racquet than my current Prince O3 Silver. I just want a step up in more control and less stiff racquet. I am looking at the following two possible replacements:
1. Prince O3 Blue
Blue is basically the same racquet as Sliver with smaller head (110 in2 vs. 118 in2) and less stiff (66 frame stiffness vs. 74). I assume that smaller head will have more control. Blue is 0.5 oz (10.1 vs. 9.6) heavier than Silver. Its power level is also little lower.
2. Prince EXO3 Tour Team 100
I saw a lot of positive reviews about EXO3 Tour racquets. My understanding is that EXO3 tour is a newer series of racquet than the O3 series although I don’t know what the major advantage is for the EXO3 series. The head size for Tour is much smaller (100 in2 vs. 118 in2). I don’t know if this would be too much change for me. The power level for the Tour is also much lower (low-medium vs. high). I don’t have much power myself and would like to have a racquet that has decent power level. Tour is also much heavier than Silver (10.6 oz vs. 9.6 oz).
Based on your experience which racquet will suit my needs better and/or if you have any other better racquet to suggest. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jrxl]

I am a female player in the 50’s. I had been playing for several years at 3.0 level. My tennis game has been improved noticeably since last year and I am playing at 3.5 level now. I would like to upgrade my racquet from Prince O3 Silver to something that has more control. I also have mild tennis elbow from time to time. So I also would like to have a racquet that is arm friendly. I have restrung O3 Silver with multifilament string (NXT) 3 month ago and it helps for my tennis elbow. So I probably will stay with this type of string.
Basically I am not looking for any radically different racquet than my current Prince O3 Silver. I just want a step up in more control and less stiff racquet. I am looking at the following two possible replacements:
1. Prince O3 Blue
Blue is basically the same racquet as Sliver with smaller head (110 in2 vs. 118 in2) and less stiff (66 frame stiffness vs. 74). I assume that smaller head will have more control. Blue is 0.5 oz (10.1 vs. 9.6) heavier than Silver. Its power level is also little lower.
2. Prince EXO3 Tour Team 100
I saw a lot of positive reviews about EXO3 Tour racquets. My understanding is that EXO3 tour is a newer series of racquet than the O3 series although I don’t know what the major advantage is for the EXO3 series. The head size for Tour is much smaller (100 in2 vs. 118 in2). I don’t know if this would be too much change for me. The power level for the Tour is also much lower (low-medium vs. high). I don’t have much power myself and would like to have a racquet that has decent power level. Tour is also much heavier than Silver (10.6 oz vs. 9.6 oz).
Based on your experience which racquet will suit my needs better and/or if you have any other better racquet to suggest. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

I would add the Prince Exo3 Red to your list as well. It will be less powerful than the blue, while more powerful than the Tour Team. Head size is 105". I have seen big and small hitters use it with success. But your list is solid, my father in law uses the Blue, my wife uses the Red, and I can say that they work great for their games.

Whatever you do, demo the rackets first. Get some game time in with all of them, and I am sure that you will pick out the one that feels best and works best with your game. TW makes it very easy to demo.

And if you are not a string breaker, consider stringing up some natural gut strings next time. They are the best for TE, and hold their tension longer than synthetics... meaning their long life can offset the high initial cost.

 

[chollyred]

I'd also recommend demoing the Red with mid to low tension.

I'm a senior doubles player I've moved to lighter racquets and like the little bit of extra power and forgiveness the 105" head give me. So far, I have not found any stability issues playing with bigger hitters.

 

[TennisCJC]

I would add the Prince Exo3 Red to your list as well. It will be less powerful than the blue, while more powerful than the Tour Team. Head size is 105". I have seen big and small hitters use it with success. But your list is solid, my father in law uses the Blue, my wife uses the Red, and I can say that they work great for their games.

Whatever you do, demo the rackets first. Get some game time in with all of them, and I am sure that you will pick out the one that feels best and works best with your game. TW makes it very easy to demo.

And if you are not a string breaker, consider stringing up some natural gut strings next time. They are the best for TE, and hold their tension longer than synthetics... meaning their long life can offset the high initial cost.

^^^^ good advice, either the exo3 or the older red model are worth a demo. Babolat Tonic BallFell gut if you don't break strings is also a great option.

 

[kimguroo]

Blue might be better in my opinion because of power level.
Silver has power level of 1500 and blue has 1400.
Blue power level is closed to silver but red has 1100 and tour version is out of question because it might be too low power racket for you.

Red is a good racket for 3.5 women but I feel that blue is better racket than Red.

Also natural gut option is a good idea. You don't need to buy expensive natural gut. Klip's natural gut ($26) will serve you better than multi. You can hybrid with soft poly, multi or even synthetic gut too.

 

[PBODY99]

Blue or Red with a video lesson............

As a user of the Sppedport Gold, which is a variant of the Blue, I think that the switch to the slightly shorter EXO or Speedport Blue will give you an increase in control, but get yourself a video lesson to see what swing correction you may need. Leading with the elbow on backhand is something I see far too often with players who use Head Heavy frames and complain about tennis elbow.
The Red model is even more low powered and a bit more maneuverable