2 questions for you guys. First, is this racket a girls racket (like the Wilson BLX Blade Lite Pink)? I know that they are pushing that Ivanovic and Kirilenko are using the stick, and while yes any man or woman can play with any racket; I guess my question is are there are pro men on tour using the racket? Also, is this a midsize racket or an oversize racket? Mid, right?
Yonex Ezone Ai 98 Questions (2)
- Thread starter Glab311
- Start date
But the pink one is the Ai Lite, different specs from the Ai 98. So the two rackets are different
Jack Romeo
Professional
Australia's Nick Kyrgios was endorsing one of the Ezone Xi's so it is possible he will also be endorsing one of the new Ai's - possibly even this Ai 98. The other Yonex guys are using sticks from the VCore lines.
Bartelby
Bionic Poster
No, you're wrong, they have an AI lite and an AI lite pink, and both are 100 inches.
Check the latest new gear blog and the web site.
Check the latest new gear blog and the web site.
Brian11785
Hall of Fame
Umm....the only Ai 98 (11.5, 322 SW--the one being asked about by the OP) is the lime green one.
Play with what you want to play with. I play with Ivanovic's old racquet....which, as far as I know, no male pros ever endorsed. But to call it a girly stick is laughable (even if it is blue-ish purple and lime green.) You should see my friends who use Pure Drives and the like trying to play with it. It is considerably more demanding than their rocket launchers. They are stifled by the need to actually swing the racquet.
I demoed the Ai 98 last week, as I normally do with new Yonex frames. I thought it was an improvement on the Xi 98. The headshape was pretty similar to my RQIS, and it wasn't as clunky-feeling as the Xi 98. Better weight distribution, in my opinion. Not quite impressive enough to switch, but the best Yonex I've demoed since my stick.
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MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
Hi, can you comment on how the head shape of these two models compares with the vcore xi 98? Is it as rectangular or square than that one, or more rounded? Also, do either of these have a wider hitting face than the vcore? Also curious about comfort. Thanks very much.
Brian11785
Hall of Fame
I demoed VCORE Xi 98 a while back, so I didn't do a comparison. But the Ai98 and RQIS XL headshapes were very similar. I will say that the Ai 98 headshape will be more in line with a "normal" long Yonex headshape than the very wide, EZONE Xi98 head shape. Something tells me that the Ai98 might be a little wider than the VCORE 98, but as I said, I am going by after-the-fact recollection, not a side-by-side comparison.
For me, the Ai 98 (and the EZONE Xi 98 ) are notably more comfortable than the VCORE 98.
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MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
Ok thanks. I demoed the vcore a whole ago, and I absolutely loved the response on ground strokes. However, I wished that the head was a bit wider so it was more of a square than a long rectangle. Serve was the only part of my game that I needed more time to adjust. Also, when I didn't hit In the sweetspot the vcore was quite jarring. I added lead to the hoop though which helped.
Do you know what I mean about the head shape?
Brian11785
Hall of Fame
Yeah. Know exactly what you mean. These racquets all have pretty wide beams, no? For that reason, the head shape (wide/square EZONE Xi 98 vs. long/rectangular VCORE XI 98 ) really does effect whether or not you shank a bunch.
I just realized that I may have been muddling the EZONE Xi and the VCORE Xi 98. I am going to edit my post above.
The EZONE Xi 98 had the squarest (I would say TOO square) headshape.
The EZONE Ai 98 is less square than the EZONE Xi 98, but still on the square side. Probably what you are looking for.
The RQIS XL (my current stick) is a little less square.
The VCORE 98 has the least wide/square, most ovally/longest head.
Make sense?
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Bartelby
Bionic Poster
I misread his original comment and I must confess I'm glad I did. I thought his concern was that the racquet was pink like the Wilson but there is a green lite.
I simply can't understand why this gender issue could be a concern with the heavier 98.
I simply can't understand why this gender issue could be a concern with the heavier 98.
MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
Excellent clarification and comparison! Thanks a lot!
The ezone frames sound exactly like something I'd like... I was shanking too much with the vcore because of the low swing weight, beam width, and hoop shape. Thus, comfort was the straw that broke the camels back on this one.
Brian11785
Hall of Fame
It isn't so much the roundness/squareness of the corners of the frame that is his issue (correct me if I'm wrong, Mike), it is the fact that the VCORE racquetface is pretty narrow. Think of it as squareness (EZONE Xi) vs. rectangularity (VCORE).
But for what it's worth he EZONE Ai 98 corners didn't seem any less rounded than the RQIS 1 XL. But the RQIS line was generally pretty atypical, as far as Yonex shape goes.
MikeHitsHard93
Hall of Fame
This is spot on. I think I could get used to the box-shaped head, but it's gotta be wide enough and have a big enough spin window.
Jack, I definitely would like a more regular shape from yonex! The Ai looks sweet.
