Yonex RDS 003 Review from Paris ;-)

[jace112]

not from Paris Hilton, sorry guys

Yonex RDS 003 review

My profile: 30 years old / ~ 5.0 / All Court Game / Classic Strokes with full swing (1HBH)

My racquet history: played with Pro Staff, Prestige and then RDX500, Radical OS (and many more and much more demoed)... and lastly an AeroPro Drive

Why a RDS 003?

I really enjoyed serving bombs, hitting crisp volleys and fast and spinny forehands with the Babolat, but I struggled a bit to control the power (backhand) when came the pressure. Too much uncontrolable power for me when I was under stress. I can't do heavy topspin on the backhand side. Anyway, it was a very good frame after all. Forgiving, very stable. I didn't liked it one year ago, coming from a Pro Staff, and I thought I would never be able to play with this kind of stick. I was wrong.

I found the RDX500MP being one of the best racquet I've ever owned, but underpowered (specially on serve, even with some lead). I really wanted to give another Yonex a try. I was also considering getting a Pure Storm (very good all court stick, BTW).

=> RDS 003 strung with BB Alu @ 26 kg (57 lbs) (weight and balance are identical to the official specs)

Groundstrokes

The first impression is that it is tricky to find the sweetspot. The extra length and the much higher sweetspot compared to the APD required so time to get used to it. I would say that the SW is almost identical to my Babolat (I know TW says 315 vs 330, but it doesn't feel like that). Not even as maneuvrable as my APD (which had a leather grip) I don't have to put to much spin to keep the ball in. I can use my full swing on both side without bothering that much. Less powered, better control and very precise. Nice deep slices, good spin potential. Well balanced. For me the tension is too high or the BB Alu is too hard. I don't find the frame really comfortable with this setup. Like this, it doesn't play any bigger than the 100 in² isometric headsize stated. I remember the RDX500MP to be more forgiving with it's amazing feel and comfort. I'll try with a softer poly at a lower tension next week.

Serves

The APD was the best serving stick I've ever tried. Pace, spin... I win much more points with it. The RDX500 was the least powered serving frame ever. Good kick, but no pace at all. The RDS003 is not that far from the Babolat. Good surprise! The extra length helps a bit. Good control, nice SW => flat, slice and kick are fine. Didn't need too much adjustment. As good as a Pure Storm.

Serve Returns

Not the best mobility. With lower tension, I think I'll improve this part when increasing comfort and forgiveness.

Volleys

Nice balance of feel and power. Drop shots and half volleys are easier to control. Good depth after all.

Overall

Maybe the best compromise for my game. I also had a Völkl DNX9 which doesn't feel as solid. It was really good at net, but didn't find it awesome overall. The stated SW is the same, but as I said, the 003 feels like having a higher inertia (which I prefer). It also feels less flexible than the 65 RA suggests. I'm planning to get another one and begining to find my perfect string setup. Maybe I'll add a leather grip too. Yonex have always impressed me with their quality. I think they are very well designed and they have something very particular. Maybe I'll try a RDS 002 some day (UL Tour or standard)

jace

 

[El Diablo]

I recently started using the 003 and may make a switch to it; not certain yet. A nice soft poly is Klip K-Boom, and I love the 18 guage in it. I find the 18s make the racquet noticeably more headlight (AluPower particularly seems to add weight, perhaps because it stretches less). I also felt the 001MP had some fine qualities but left me feeling exposed on serve.

 

[a guy]

I think this is a good racket but its very unstable on fast balls if you don't hit the ball cleanly.

 

[Duzza]

30 years old / ~ 4.0 / All Court Game / Classic Strokes with full swing (1HBH)

More than 4.0 IMO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj1MHn1mf4I

 

[jace112]

You haven't forgotten that one, Duzza! Because of the music? lol mate

I play much better right now, no more freezing temperatures in Paris. Just watch Roland Garros! It's about 3 miles from where I'm living.

 

[backcourt]

Gotta agree with you on swingweight. I thought the 003 swung at least in the low 320's. Which was a little high for me so had to give it up. Otherwise a great frame if you can swing it fast enough.

 

[netman]

Great review. Similiar to what I found and why I switched to it. Have recently gone to an all Topspin CyberFlash 17 string bed and this has really tamed the power and dramatically improved control. Added 4 grams of lead split between 9:30 and 2:30 and 5 grams at 12 and this added a lot of stability. I face hard hitters all the time and the RDS 003 stands up them no problem.

Great frame that tiptoes the line between tweener and powerful player's frame.

-k-

 

[sharapovafreak]

I found the Rds 003 similar to the o3 white but with more feel, stiffer, swingweight same as the o3 white but the extra .25 inch was hard to get used to on groundstrokes. Overtime the extra length helped on reach. I found it so much easier to slice for a racquet that has low-medium power and slices stayed down very well and low maybe cause of the yonex head shape as i liked the rdx500 for slicing as well. I loved it for serving its as great as serving with the pure drive plus. Only weakness on this stick was that it wasnt really stable on heavy or big serves but a little lead tape should do the trick. Overall its a great stick and volleys were decent and had more feel than my o3 white but i just hate how its harsh when hit off center.

 

[pondus]

I think this is a good racket but its very unstable on fast balls if you don't hit the ball cleanly.

Should be an easy fix with some lead tape. Keep one racquet standard, and then another with some lead for playing against heavy hitters.

Double up each setup if you are a string breaker.

I just purchased 4 RDS 003's for exactly this reason [ 65% off the original price - another benefit of "volume" purchasing ]