Solinco Blackout 300 XTD Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

From the baseline, the Solinco Blackout 300 XTD has massive power and plow through that benefits strong players, though all that power can be tough to reign in at times. Chris began our review by explaining, "I found my best results with the Blackout 300 XTD when using a very abbreviated backswing, hitting the ball on the rise and crowding the baseline. I usually hit a few feet back from the baseline and take a full swing, but that had me overhitting too much with this racquet. With a more compact backswing, I had full control of my depth again. Other advantages of taking the ball earlier were better access to angles and taking some time away from my opponents. I'm not usually a fan of changing my game to get the best out of a racquet, but with the Blackout 300 XTD, it worked out in my favor and I played very well. The access to spin was great, and my backhand slice was working better than with the standard-length version. I was getting more drive on my slices, and I felt like I could hold where I was going until the last instant."

After seeing the Bryan brothers using the racquet, Brittany couldn't wait to test it herself. She said, "After an extensive playtest of the standard-length Blackout 300, then seeing Bob and Mike use the extended version, I was very excited for this playtest. Once I hit the court, I had a one to two hour adjustment period to get used to the length and to dial in my backhand, which is pretty standard for me on any extended-length frame. The first thing I noticed, and was very happy about, was that the flighty response I experienced with the standard-length Blackout disappeared with the extended version. Now don't get me wrong, the racquet is still extremely powerful, but I had a little bit better idea of where the ball was going. I will touch base more on returns, but I did end up adjusting my strokes slightly to a more compact swing. I found that less was more, and I just let the racquet do the work. Spin potential on groundstrokes was just OK; I was having a hard time really getting my wrist around. On the other hand, I thought the plow through was excellent. The racquet felt so stable on aggressive shots, and slices were staying low and penetrating."

According to Jason, the heavy pace generation from the Blackout 300 XTD resulted in easy winners, but it could be hard to control. He said, "This extended Blackout really brings the power! I thought the standard-length version was fairly powerful already, but this racquet kicks it up a notch. I was definitely hitting more winners and forcing more errors from my opponents, but at the same time, I was also hitting more errors. I felt like I eventually had to just dial back my swing speed in order to raise my consistency."

Tiffani noticed that her slices with this racquet had better penetration when compared to the standard-length Blackout. She described, "I found the standard Blackout 300 to be pretty powerful, so I expected even more power from an extended version, and I definitely found it. The Blackout 300 XTD delivers plenty of free power and some additional plow through over the standard version. I didn't find it as spin friendly as the regular-length racquet, but I attributed that to the higher swingweight. I could feel it lag a bit in my swing and couldn't whip it through with the racquet head speed needed to get easy topspin. Because of this, extreme angles were not easy to come by. As a plus, my slice shots were more effective with this Blackout 300 XTD. Overall the standard version of the Blackout fits my swing style better, but with the XTD, there's certainly more power and plow through on hand."

Volleys - Score: 82

As expected, if the Solinco Blackout 300 XTD is good enough for the Bryan brothers, it must perform incredibly well at net. Although the net can be a weakness in her game, Tiffani thought the Blackout 300 XTD elevated her play. She said, "The net is one of the weaker areas of my game, so I prefer a racquet that's a bit more nimble. However, the Blackout 300 XTD offered good put-away power. I like to try to get the job done with one volley, so I would aim deep and away from my opponent because I felt slow to the ball with this racquet. I also thought the torsional stability was good on off-center contact."

Brittany found great results when she let the racquet do the work. She explained, "Heading up to net was a very similar story as from the baseline. I kept my hands in front and just kept it simple. I mostly enjoyed punching volleys back deep. The extra length was also helpful for reaching volleys, and I was getting the racquet on a couple extra shots. As I expected, this racquet isn't the most maneuverable, but for the most part that didn't slow me down. It was most noticeable on quick volley exchanges."

Chris was impressed by how well the extended Blackout performed when playing doubles. He said, "I found the Blackout 300 XTD to be a great doubles stick, and part of that was how much I enjoyed volleying with it. The racquet felt fast in my hand and packed ample power to help punch volleys away. I also enjoyed the power level on stretch and low volleys; I was able to hit with depth even when I wasn't getting a lot behind my shots. When I cut under the ball, I was able to get plenty of spin to carve angles and drop volleys."

As with his groundstrokes, Jason noticed the stability at net. He said, "The high 320s swingweight really helped make this racquet feel stable up at net. I thought I had nice touch and feel with this racquet, like I did with the standard Blackout. The tradeoff for the stability was that it wasn't as whippy and maneuverable as I would've liked."

Serves - Score: 89

For those who rely heavily on big serves, the Solinco Blackout 300 XTD is a must-try. According to our team, the serve was the standout aspect of this playtest. Brittany described, "The extra length was most apparent on serves. This is where the power potential was super fun. With a little bit of extra effort getting the racquet up and over my head, I could see the MPHs on my serve go up a couple notches and I was winning some free points. My first serves were also landing deep in the service box. I had to really exaggerate my wrist snap on my second serves because it was easy to hit long if I wasn't careful. This racquet was great for doubles, but I definitely would experience some arm fatigue over the course of a singles match and see some double faults creep in."

Jason added, "This was the one area where I really liked the extended length and the power it brings with it. I felt like I was getting so much more power on my serves without losing much control or consistency."

The Blackout 300 XTD allowed Tiffani to add more offense to her game. She said, "I loved the power boost I got on my serves from the Blackout 300 XTD. I felt more offensive on my serve than usual and even got to play some one-two punch tennis! That's definitely not my usual playing style, so I liked that I could get a few easier points when serving. I was able to generate moderate spin but relied more on hitting flat serves to start off points."

Chris found serves to be his favorite shot to hit with the Blackout 300 XTD. He explained, "I served very well with this racquet, and this was definitely my favorite shot. I found easy pace and very good access to spin. I was serving very aggressively with it on both first and second serves. My slice serve wide was working especially well. I was getting a little more action on my spin serves than I did with the standard-length version. I was also more willing to go for bigger flat serves. I struggled to control those with the standard version, but the added length here gave me more margin for error."

Returns - Score: 81

Returns are an area where the Solinco Blackout 300 XTD requires the right playstyle to truly unlock the racquet's potential. While the plow-through is incredible against heavy serves, it takes strength to maneuver it quickly. With a strong return game, Brittany said, "As I briefly mentioned in groundstrokes, short, compact strokes were a key on returns, especially on first serve returns. This allowed me to get the racquet into position without being late. While my returns were landing deep in the court, I didn't feel 100 percent confident with my accuracy so I aimed for large targets, and a lot of times down the middle was my best option. On second serve returns, I could swing a little freer to start the point off on the offensive."

While Jason thought the Blackout XTD 300 felt powerful on returns, he would have liked more control. He described, "When I tried to be offensive and attack the serve, I felt like I was losing some depth and directional control. I appreciated the power level when I was blocking or chipping a return back because I was able to get good depth."

Tiffani focused on shortening her backswing to maneuver the racquet in front of the ball. She noted, "To be successful on my returns, I had to shorten my swing. When I tried to use a fuller swing, I could feel the racquet not coming around quickly enough. Like with groundstrokes, I could hit with good power, but at the same time I didn't feel super accurate. I liked to aim down the middle of the court and build the point from there."

Like Tiffani, Chris utilized a compact swing for successful serve returns. He said, "I continued to use the compact backswing technique on returns and put it to good use. Getting power was super easy, and I had no issues redirecting incoming pace. Again, I was enjoying my backhand slice more, and I think the higher swingweight was helping me knife the ball, whereas I tended to float it with the standard Blackout 300."

Overall - Score: 81