Yonex VCORE PRO 97 330 vs Yonex EZONE 98 Tour vs Yonex EZONE 98+

[tennisblood]

Hello tennis players,
I've been a Babolat man for the last 30y. My current stick of the last 13y is Babolat Pure Storm Tour GT. I love that player's racket, but Babolat stopped that model back in 2009. Every other year I demo a bunch of rackets hoping to find a better one, thinking the technology marches forward and it's time to move forward and leave my favorite racket of the last 13y, behind.
I turned to Yonex, after demoing some Wilson, Babolat and TF.
3 rackets that caught my attention are: Yonex VCORE PRO 97 330, Yonex EZONE 98 Tour and Yonex EZONE 98+. I've demoed the first 2 and waiting for the 3d one...
As it stands Yonex 98 Tour doesn't quite cut for me on the SW, overall weight and Balance, I need at least 5-6pts HL. So, I'll need to customize it. Normally, 11.8oz-12oz is ideal weight for me. I like very much VCORE PRO 97 330, but am concerned with the mass that can make my arm fatigued in a long match...
Please submit your thoughts and recommendations between customized version of the EZ 98 Tour (weight=12oz and 6pts HL) and VCORE PRO 97 330. Also, any inputs about EZ 98+ will be greatly appreciated. BTW, I also like stiffness factor to be 64-65...

 

[AMGF]

Why don't you just install a leather grip to the Tour, you add 10g and a couple balance point. Win win. That's what I did to my Ezone98+. Leather grip and a few g of lead and my Ez98+ are now at 343g, 32,6cm and 346sw. Beast of a frame with good maneuverability. I play against the canadian equivalent of Div1 and 5.0 and up so I prefer a solid frame. Not for everyone as many see anything over 330sw as enormous, but perfect for my game (power/spin/all court).

The vcpro97 330g is great but I prefer the ez98+. But I wouldn't mind playing with that frame, as it's solid and has good control and over average spin. I'd just add a leather grip as well and maybe bump the SW to ~340.

 

[tennisblood]

Thanks AMGF. why do you prefer ez98+? i think it's spec right in my ally. However I've never played with 27.5 long stick....

 

[TagUrIt]

IMO the Ezone Tour is the best choice out of all those you listed. For me and my game it’s balanced very well at stock. I agree with AMGF, I would revisit the Tour with a leather grip and see how it plays for you.

 

[AMGF]

Thanks AMGF. why do you prefer ez98+? i think it's spec right in my ally. However I've never played with 27.5 long stick....

I hit with a lot of spin and I play against very good players so I need a powerful frame with good stability. Extended frame add power through length. Each .25in increases sw by 10points so for the same specs a 27.5in frame has roughly 20sw points more than the same frame at 27in. The extra lenght also increase spin a bit as the contact point is .5in further down. It also helps a lot on the serve as more power and spin is great when serving. All good stuff but it comes at a price.

These frames are harder to maneuver and will take some time to adjust. A longer lever and more sw requires better preparation and timing. Extended frames are also a bit harder on the elbow. Equal and opposite reaction and physics, there is nothing free.

I’ve been playing with extended frames for the last 6 years. It feels natural to me. But the first two weeks needed some adjustments. It’s worth trying.

The Ez98+ has great power and feels really comfortable. It is also very stable stock unlike the dr98+ and vc98+. Maybe not quite VcorePro 330g stable, but very good. The flex feels similar to the old DR with flex lower down the throat but the hoop doesn’t have the stiff feeling the vcore98+ has. It’s not a linear flex like the Mg Radical Mp, the hoop still feels a bit stiffer than the rest, but not too much. I added a leather grip as I like the feel but also because I wanted it more headlight (leather grip adds about 10g to the handle). I added 2g the head split at 2 and 10. On Yonex isometric head 2 and 10 bump both the sw and tw and I got the Sw up about 10 points and .1 tw (not sure exactly).

Final specs: 343g, 32.6cm(7hl), 346sw, 14.3 tw.

 

[Wheelz]

A longer lever and more sw requires better preparation and timing

Not to derail the subject, but how or what drill to improve that ? just keep on hitting with stronger players ? Maybe more in line with subject, I also have an ezone98 and possibility have it extended or more weight added.

 

[AMGF]

Not to derail the subject, but how or what drill to improve that ? just keep on hitting with stronger players ? Maybe more in line with subject, I also have an ezone98 and possibility have it extended or more weight added.

You can do a couple session with a decent coach that will help with your preparation. You can look on YouTube there are quite a few tennis coach that will help with this as well if you’re good to learn by yourself. But by playing with it for a while you should start adjusting by yourself. If you don’t, it’ll feel awkward, you’ll hit late and feel rushed. You can’t just arm these frames.

 

[tennisblood]

Thank you all; great suggestions and discussion. As far as early prep what has worked for me is to start the Unit turn before or right when the incoming ball is at the net. With the age and the eye sight deuteriation, I may miss that point in time sometimes and thus will feel rushed, but as a rule that's what I do.

 

[Oldstorm]

I’m coming from the same situation my main stick is the pure storm tour the xtreme carbon one. I personally found the vcp 330 of the ones you listed the best.
Other sticks I found quite easy to switch to were the Wilson ultra tour and pro, head pro tour 2.0, and prestige pro.
They might also release the pure strike vs late next year which may be very similar.
My old coach who showed me the pure storm tour and used it himself is now switching to the solinco racquets, he did an early trial and decided to switch after release in Jan.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

Vcore 98 and Vcore Pro 97 HD, the first one is powerful yet stable, the second is nice and head light and has about 20% more plow through than the swingweight would suggest, it's like a butery smooth maneuverable Pro 330. It's also a bit better at net than the Vcore 98+ while coming pretty darn close to the plow through.

 

[tennisblood]

This will be tough. Yesterday hit and play points with a 4.5 player using Yonex VCORE PRO 97 330. The backhand both slice and top spin felt really nice and were solid. Off the baseline the racket was excellent. Less impressive at the net and serving (I could generate fair power and spin with it, but nothing extraordinary). After almost 1.5h of playing, the arm wasn't tired at all. Today hit lightly again with Tour, the maneuverability is awesome, so easy to swing and the racket is so lively. Such a joy to play with that stick. Higher SW=>333-334 vs 330, stiffness of 64-65 vs 62 and weight of 12oz vs 11.7oz would have made it perfect for my game. Waiting for the EZONE 98+ to add to the confusion.
Also, what strings do you play with?
Another aspect is the grip size. I've heard that Yonex grip is larger than the stated size. But the demo rackets showed the opposite. I customarily add overgrip that adds 1/16 to the size. should I go with my usual grip for Yonex or one up?

 

[tennisblood]

Finally, got to demo the EZ 98+ and Babolat Pure Aero Plus 2019. First impression is very positive from both...For my game EZ 98+ is better than EZ 98 Tour, easy power, yet good flexible frame...Everything clicked with EZ 98+, my serve, one-handed backhand top-spin and slice and forehand all looked and felt extremely good; the power and accuracy were all there. Real contender. The only concern is the length 27.5, as I've never played with 27.5, only with 27...

 

[blackfrido]

Why don't you just install a leather grip to the Tour, you add 10g and a couple balance point. Win win. That's what I did to my Ezone98+. Leather grip and a few g of lead and my Ez98+ are now at 343g, 32,6cm and 346sw. Beast of a frame with good maneuverability. I play against the canadian equivalent of Div1 and 5.0 and up so I prefer a solid frame. Not for everyone as many see anything over 330sw as enormous, but perfect for my game (power/spin/all court).

The vcpro97 330g is great but I prefer the ez98+. But I wouldn't mind playing with that frame, as it's solid and has good control and over average spin. I'd just add a leather grip as well and maybe bump the SW to ~340.

if you still using the 98+, did you find any preference in poly strings? brand, tension, gauge, etc. Thanks in advance!

 

[petetennis54]

Hello tennis players,
I've been a Babolat man for the last 30y. My current stick of the last 13y is Babolat Pure Storm Tour GT. I love that player's racket, but Babolat stopped that model back in 2009. Every other year I demo a bunch of rackets hoping to find a better one, thinking the technology marches forward and it's time to move forward and leave my favorite racket of the last 13y, behind.
I turned to Yonex, after demoing some Wilson, Babolat and TF.
3 rackets that caught my attention are: Yonex VCORE PRO 97 330, Yonex EZONE 98 Tour and Yonex EZONE 98+. I've demoed the first 2 and waiting for the 3d one...
As it stands Yonex 98 Tour doesn't quite cut for me on the SW, overall weight and Balance, I need at least 5-6pts HL. So, I'll need to customize it. Normally, 11.8oz-12oz is ideal weight for me. I like very much VCORE PRO 97 330, but am concerned with the mass that can make my arm fatigued in a long match...
Please submit your thoughts and recommendations between customized version of the EZ 98 Tour (weight=12oz and 6pts HL) and VCORE PRO 97 330. Also, any inputs about EZ 98+ will be greatly appreciated. BTW, I also like stiffness factor to be 64-65...

The VCP 330 weighs 12.3 oz strung. Get the 310 and add weight. One tungsten fishing weight in silicone in the butt will give you 340 g and 8 pts HL. I did that to my Ezone 98 but am now demoing the VCP97. The Ezone has a tendency to fly on shots you would think are perfectly hit. The VCP97 has much more control w/o losing much power.

 

[AMGF]

if you still using the 98+, did you find any preference in poly strings? brand, tension, gauge, etc. Thanks in advance!

I’m on gut/poly during winter. Full poly I like ptp 17g or volk cyclone 18g usually in the low 40s.