Prince adds a stealth carbon cosmetic to one of its most popular player's racquets
Introducing the ATS Textreme Tour 98 Carbon! Featuring the same spec as the standard cosmetic, this racquet is perfect for the intermediate player who wants controllable power and great feel. With its 98in² head, this racquet offers a tad more power than the Tour 95 but still delivers surgical targeting on full cuts. The signature technology is Prince's Anti-Torque System (ATS) which features Textreme and Twaron in both the shaft and upper hoop. The upshot is less frame torque through impact, resulting in a more stable hitting experience. On groundstrokes, the Tour 98 feels fast, spin-friendly and accurate. Although it errs on the side of control, there is definitely enough pop to get the ball moving through the court, and the buttery 62-RA stiffness delivers an arm-friendly ride with great feedback. As with the standard cosmetic, this stick is ideal for intermediate and advanced players looking for easy targeting and great feel. The awesome cosmetic is a very nice bonus.
Specifications
| Head Size: 98 in² / 632.26 cm² | ||||
| Length: 27in / 68.58cm | ||||
| Strung Weight: 11.4oz / 323g | ||||
| Balance: 12.79in / 32.49cm / 6 pts HL | ||||
| Swingweight: 325 | ||||
| Stiffness: 62 | ||||
| Beam Width: 23mm / 23mm / 20mm | ||||
| Composition: Textreme/Twaron/Graphite | ||||
| Power Level: Low-Medium | ||||
| Stroke Style: Medium-Full | ||||
| Swing Speed: Medium-Fast | ||||
| Racquet Colors: Carbon | ||||
| Grip Type: Prince Resi Pro | ||||
String Pattern:
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| String Tension: 48-58 pounds |
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Customer Reviews
Great All Around RacquetA great all around, versatile stick. It has the stability and plow-through to handle heavy ground strokes, the maneuverability and stability to needed for volleys, and the feel, touch, and feedback to let you know where your shot is going. The TW review is right on the money.
Tour 98 interesting racquetI strung my new Tour 98 with Wilson Revolve 17 at 58. Today I went out to hit with it and some demos: Tour 100P, Tour 95 and Ripstick 305. The Tour 98 was the best of them for my game. Second was interestingly the Ripstick. One thing I noticed is that the 98 is a completely different frame from the other Tour frames. The throat is wider and has four sets of grommet holes versus three on all of the other Tour frames. The 98 has nice pop and a good launch angle and good shot shaping ability. I like the more stiffness coming from playing the Phantom 97 for the past year.
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.]
Great racquet with only one drawbackI’ve had two of these sticks now. They are great at using the opponents speed to hit smoking returns/winners. Good at the net. Easy on the shoulder, although string always helps with this too. There’s only one drawback and it’s a pretty big one. Both of my racquets have cracked and easily without being abused. Luckily, the first one fell under warranty so they sent me replacement. Thankful for TW on that. However the second racquet cracked after about 15 months so it was not under warranty. Not to mention the crack is at a weird spot. At bottom of the racquet at 8:00 position and right into the grommet. So now it sounds a bit funny and the string makes a different sound. So just be prepared to re-order these racquets every other year. Looks like other user had same issue.
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.]
Great All Around RacquetLove this racquet; it truly does everything well. It is stable and solid, yet also maneuverable and easy to swing. It has a nice, connected feel at contact and provides the perfect amount of feedback for touch shots and overall accuracy. I am a 4.5 all-court player with a one-handed backhand and play both singles and doubles (preferring to serve-and-volley during doubles).
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.]
Cracked framing after 11 monthsNot sure what to think as my son loves this racquet but this is the only one that’s formed cracks on the bottom neck of the frame. We were told by the tennis pro shop that it could maybe withstand one more stringing. This is only the third stringing. It is not realistic for us to buy a new racquet every year. Now just pondering do I just buy this exact racquet or start the search over again. I was told that there is a one year warranty but will have to send the racquet in. I’m just not sure it’s worth the wait.
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.]
Prince Pro RacquetI received my Prince Pro racquet quickly and it was strung as I had ordered.
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Prince ATS 98 RacquetI was disappointed when I received this racquet. It was two-tenths of an ounce lighter than the specifications and it had a serious vibration problem. I tried customizing it and after three attempts, found that most of the vibration disappeared after I stuffed cotton inside the butt cap. It still vibrates a little more than my Prince Textreme 100P, but it is acceptable. It plays well enough to continue using it, but I doubt that I will buy Prince racquets in the future.
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Awesome racquet from underrated brandI used to play the Pro Staff pro versions but given the weight and stiffness it started to give me elbow issues. I’ve demoed racquets and this one came out on top. I’ve played with the Prince ATS 98 for one year now and I have to say it is a perfect blend of flexibility, weight and power. Love it!
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High swingweight, good feelBought this new from TW, used for about a year, but sold it due to high swingweight that made it not ideal for fast-paced doubles. It has that good comfortable Prince Tour feel with a well-defined sweetspot. More control than the Tour 100. I’m guessing it’s a completely different racquet if it’s on spec with the swingweight.
Controllable Power & SpinThe Tour 98 is one of my favorite racquets to hit with, and it sells for a rather reasonable price. I love that the racquet flex is primarily felt in the racquet's gradually tapered shaft/throat region, and less so in the racquet head. The racquet head's constant 23mm beam (not thin, not thick), starting from positions 9 & 3 on the head and continuing up through the racquet tip, together with "stabilization tech" at positions 10 & 2, plus the moderately high swing weight (325g), all assist with controllable shot power, racquet stability, and nice plough on shots. The 16x19 string pattern is, I feel, just open enough to nicely assist with putting decent shape on rally balls, yet tight enough to still retain the ability to confidently attack with harder hit, flatter shots. I play aggressive baseline or counter punching, depending on the situation, and this racquet suits my game very well.
Swingweight is much higher than the specs.Very good racquet, but the swing weight is much higher than advertised. Another thing is that I found it much harder than they say, at more than 47 pounds it puts stress on the arm.
Way off specI’m a major Prince fanboy… have been since the late 80's and sold many of their products over the years. I have 35+ Prince frames and am generally impressed with the quality control. I often praise their products here. This one was a total dud, due to terrible QC. It's strung swingweight came in at 337. That’s super high… way beyond published specs. While Sampras may have tolerated it with old tech, modern ATP players at peak fitness don’t even go to this territory. Lesson learned. If you have the means, either measure the frame specs before stringing or pay TW to sort through the batch. Anything this off is unusable for match play.
Like a Prince should...Crisp, dampened, amazing!
Prince Textreme Tour 98My setup: Gamma Moto 17 in the mains, Isospeed Cream 17 in the crosses at 50lbs. I've had this racquet for about a year now and really can't play with anything else. This is an absolutely fantastic all around racquet.
The feel is plush but not at all mushy, especially with my string setup. It's very arm-friendly, and with a dampener it's definitely more on the muted side. The 16x19 pattern is quite tight and offers great control. The sweet spot is not massive but normal for a 98. Yet despite the tight pattern and the plush feel, the racquet has good power and when you hit the sweet spot the ball really pops.
It also has the rare quality of being on the light and maneuverable side, but still very stable upon contact in the stock form. I changed it to a leather grip and added four grams to three and nine o'clock which makes it overall more headlight and whippy while still adding some stability. The low stock weight means it's great for customizing.
The serves are also excellent. The kick serves bite and jump off the court. The flat serves pop off the racquet and have great pace. My slice serves are terrible so I can't comment on those but I'm sure it's fine.
The stability and maneuverability coupled with the tight pattern make it excellent for controlled volleys. Overall I'd recommend this racquet for intermediate to advanced players who want an all around, arm-friendly racquet that skews towards control.
age necessitates a move to a modern racquetPlayed the 93 square inch Diablo. Then the 95 square inch Tour. Started playing senior open tournaments again and needed more power and spin and less weight to compete. When strung with polys below 50 very arm friendly. I don't care for the sound with Cyclone 19 and started using a dampener. Can no longer blame my equipment for poor results!
Son loves it!After doing a couple rounds of demos across several brands and styles, my son settled on the Prince Tour 98. He liked the flex, the weight, and really liked the feel of the grip/handle. He plays high school tennis and JTT. Thanks to TW for making the process to demo and select easy!
Power, comfort, precision, high swingweightI've been playing a Prince Rebel 98 for 10 years. Has, obviously, worked great for me with a good balance of characteristics and great comfort using stiff poly strings (which I love, but my arm increasingly did not). I've been looking for something to replace them, and wanted to gain a little more precision (EXO ports give a notoriously vague feel on the Rebel 98), equal or better power, and similarly flexibility and dampening.
Enter the ATS Textreme Tour 98. It checks all the boxes, and has a stellar TW review go go with it. So that's what I got. Strung it with Isospeed Cream, a softer poly with good tension maintenance that I like a lot. Strung it at 52-lb, I believe.
As others have reported, the swingweight for this racquet feels noticeably higher than the specs. Maybe it is a production batch-to-batch thing? I added weight to the handle to make it more head light, but there is no fixing the overall weight, which seems a bit high.
The additional mass gives more drive through the ball, but the racquet is noticeably more work to swing than the Rebel 98. I'm a big guy and big server, and the Tour 98 is better than the Rebel 98 here. Great gas yet more precise on flat serves, nice spin on kicks or sliders.
Groundstrokes have better feel, depth and power. If I want I can generate big spinning kickers on the forehand that are hard to handle, which were more difficult to create with the Rebel 98. I've noticed zero launch angle issues. It seems very similar to the Rebel 98, which has a 16x20 pattern.
Feel was a bit muted at first, but that is becoming a non issue the more I play it and become accustomed. It's a tradeoff with all flexible, damped frames that I need to save my arm. Anyway, very nice and I'm buying a second one. Wish the swingweight was what the specs say, but I've worked around that.
Solid racquet swing weight seems higher thanI moved from Prince Tour 98 ESP EXO3 which unfortunately cannot be bought anymore and the grommets cannot be found either.
This new one has a less open string pattern, it has a high control feel, need to drop the head lower for the spin I am used to and prevent balls from going too long. But it feels good; still need to get used to it.
Swing weight seems significantly higher than what’s reported.
Also need to get used to the end of the grip which is more bulgy - for those who hold racquet at the end of the grip it may feel weird.
Comfortable RacquetComfortable racquet, easy on the arm, easy to play with, feels light and maneuverable. Not the most stable or powerful, but you can't have it all, right?
TerrificLong time Duel G 330 user who had to make a change as age caught up with me. Bought this based on the TW reviews. In stock form it was too big a change, but once I added a leather grip and 4 inches of tape (4 total) at 10 and 2 this stick came alive for me. Does everything the Duel G did for me but a bit easier to swing and much easier to hit sharp angles. Lost some pace on the serve but worth the trade as I get more in and don't work as hard. Massive power when flattening the ball out. Just a great stick that I can lighten as I get older over the next 4-6 years. Very pleased - great job by Prince. Strung with Hawk 17 at 55, although 53 may work too. I am 56, 4.0-ish.
Nice but...I use the RF 97. I love that racquet but keep being told it’s too heavy for me. I do find myself late and there’s no wrist-ing that racquet repeatedly. Hence the search for an alternative. I checked out many racquets most of which lacked something. I liked the Blade but seemed weird to switch from pro staff. This Prince racket plays well. Nice on serves and for somebody used to heavy racquets it doesn’t feel whimpy but I started having wrist pain. Went back to RF 97 and three weeks later much better almost gone. Must be something about my technique with this racquet. If you get it pair it with a crisp shaped poly.
Great racquet for two handersGreat Racquet! Felt stable, good mass behind the ball. Enough put away power and ability to add spin. Launch angle is high considering the string spacing. Serve and volleys were amazing. This racquet does not get pushed around. I bought three of these since I was convinced I would play it, but it had one major flaw, which was the one handed backhand. It just didn't work out in the long run. Felt clunky through the air. Hitting two-handers felt so stable though. The new ATS technology made the racquet feel string sensitive. I prefer the flex in the hoop from the 2019 version. If they made a 98 of that version (!). I also had the impression that these Prince Tour frames were too head heavy compared to specs on paper. Without strings the racquets had almost an even balance holding in my hand. That's at least some things to consider before purchasing.
Prince Textreme Tour 98My recent frames were the Wilson RF ProStaff and Yonex 310 vcore pro-97. In my search, I also tested the new Vcore and Areo frames. Good hitting powerful frames, but I was looking for more feel. More like a ProStaff but with a bit more power. The Head Radical was close, but the best for me was the Prince Textreme Tour 98. Great balance of spin & control on ground strokes with a bit more power. Plus, the volleys are solid.
Since buying my frames a number of my tennis friends have tried my new frames. Everyone likes how the Princes hit. I have, so far, sold another 4 frames for TW. A possible downside to this is that your tennis friends may start to hit better. But, all in all, competition is good.
Finally, I'd like to say that the TW “Tennis only Proto P6” is a really great polyester string… It is what they use on the demos. I ordered a couple extra sets for when it is time to restring my Prince Tour Textreme 98's.
Best modern player's stickI've used a Prestige MP since the IG iteration and transitioned to the 360+ 2 years ago. But, despite the G360+'s many outstanding qualities, I struggled with it's extremely low launch angle. I also, at 52, decided I needed a frame that's a little more forgiving. I tried the Extreme Tour, Wilson PS100 V13, Phantom 100P and Clash 98V2, but none of them really felt like anything special.
Then I tried the ATS Tour 98. Upon first hit, I was pleasantly surprised by how solid it felt and sounded(!!) at impact. It swings through the air nicely, albeit not as whippy as the specs would suggest, and was extremely stable. It provided me with the much sought after higher launch angle that I was looking for on groundies and serves and I could hit some really nice touch angle drops and drop volleys. And overheads sound like the ball broke the sound barrier (indoors). The one area where I struggled oddly is just normal, run of the mill volleys. I dumped the first few in the net and realized I really had to make a concerted effort to punch through them. This isn't a bad thing. I'd probably gotten lazy in my technique over the years. I also need more time with it to get my OHBH really cranking like it does with the Prestige. But slices were great when I couldn't really drive/unload one.
Lastly, it provided me with something I wasn't even looking for: a crisp, modern feel. It's hard to describe since the racquet is so comfortable and plush like a traditional players frame but also has some pop and crispness of a stiffer (tendon killing) modern stick. I hit cross court forehands and backhands with a 5.0 level player for an hour and then played a league doubles match 2 days later. I experienced no pain or even any evidence of discomfort afterwards.
I strung one on a constant pull machine with Monogut ZXP at 57 lbs and another at 52. I preferred the former in match play to help me with the extra pop.
Good stick all around. Another quality offering from Prince.
Does everything well (if you do too)Excellent control-oriented racquet with just the right amount of pop. Like the older version of the Textreme Tour 100 but with more maneuverability and control. The maneuverability helps a lot with serve power. I can do anything with this racquet if I'm playing aggressive and on my toes groundstrokes, volleys, returns, serves, touch, slice. I've tried other control oriented comfortable frames (Wilson Clash 98, Prince Textreme 100, Yonex Vcore HD), but this one has the best combination of control, power, maneuverability, and heft.
Comfortable, stable but slow through the airOff the shelf, it's an excellent racquet. It's got great comfort and excellent topspin with a nice launch angle.
Strangely, it feels a little slow through the air so it's not overly 'whippy.' A little underpowered compared to the specs, so I've added a small bit of lead tape.
Crisp on volleys and serves are great.
Best Prince racquet since the GraphiteAs a junior I used to play with the Prince Graphite and Prince Ceramic racquets. Both felt like extensions of my arm with the perfect amounts of power, control, feel, and spin. Since then racquets became bigger and more powerful, some more “spin friendly” and whatever, but none were modern versions of the Prince racquets from my youth. Finally! Decades later the Prince ATS Tour is here and it is perfection. If you know how to play, this is the best racquet out there. My “money” shots (forehand and first serve) are still weapons, my volleys are crisp and accurate, my 2nd serve and backhand both have a tad more power so I can focus on spinning them in. All of this and arm friendly! *chef's kiss* Perfection!
Surpassed expectations & elevated my gameI am a high 4.0/mid 4.5 recreationally competitive player with an aggressive approach to the game. I am trying to build my game based on ending points as quickly as possible. This required a balance between a controlled fairly (torsionally) stable racquet with good feel, and the ability to generate enough spin to take big cuts at the ball when needed. The Prince ATS Tour 98 has been a revelation in this regard, and I sometimes find it hard to believe how such as formula can be developed in real life. My first racquet was a Prince Tour 95 (2016 model), and I always loved the feel Prince racquets provide on contact with the ball. This racquet thankfully retains that lovely feel, and gives a nice sensation of ball pocketing. This greatly helps with having full confidence in hitting drop shots and volleys.
I played in USTA League Nationals and local tournaments (Open and NTRP 4.5), and could clearly see how much confidence I am able to carry from the practice court to the match court. This has been the singular biggest validation of the quality of this amazing racquet - higher % fidelity of translating my practice game to the match game.
My setup: stock ATS 98 with Solinco Confidential 17g at 45lbs (Seattle winter), and 48lbs (Seattle summer)
Here are some observations on what I could do with this racquet based on match play:
> Groundstrokes: Take big swinging shots at the ball from any part of the court without fear of overhitting. Amazing control and precision with a fairly manageable swing weight of 325 grams.
> General Balance: The racquet is perfectly balanced in the middle point and is not biased towards being head-heavy or head-light - opens up possibilities for significant amount of customization, if needed.
> Volleys: Unexpectedly high levels of torsional stability given the relatively low static strung weight of 323gms. It helped me in ending points sooner by coming to the net.
> Spin: on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high) this racquet is probably a 3, which is more than enough to hit a heavy ball with good shape.
> Serves: This is a precision racquet with enough pop to make your serves sing. The racquet's amazing even balance and manageable swing weight helps with generating a lot of racquet head speed.
> Overall: this is one of those unicorn racquets that can help a NTRP3.0 player to improve their game, and also help NTRP5.0+ players to develop a more aggressive game style mixed with great touch.
Recreational PlayerStarted playing more seriously this past year. Was looking for a quality racquet. I am very happy with the weight of the head and the mix of balance and power it creates. 10/10 would recommend.
NY proGreat racquet. Good spin, feel, easy on the arm. Holds up against pace. Price is better than the top brands. Will be up there for racquet of the year.
Surpassed expectationsFormer D1 player using strictly players racquets such as Prestige Pro, Yonex VCORE Pro 97HD, and now this Prince. I've been searching for a bit more power and have this strung @48 with Dunlop Explosive. 0 adjustment period. I feel absolutely connected to the ball resulting in great confidence. Power and heavy spin are easily obtained, yet when I accelerate at impact for extra effect, the ball finds itself inside the baseline. My volleys are crisp, yet can easily create a soft touch.
Tennis warehouse review is spot onI bought this racquet based on Tennis Warehouse reviews particularly Michelle as she played with Wilson RF97 as I did for years. As a Federer fan I have played with heavy rackets since 2008. For years I played with Wilson Pro Staff 90, Ncode, Black, K-factor and then RF97. I could never get on with lighter racquets as they were not stable and my shots seemed static with them.
To my surprise, I started liking this racquet only due to its stability. Of course you need to find the right recipe for string and tension of your choice. But I recommend a demo of this racquet. Other than quality control, I really like this racquet. I wished they were still being made in USA with higher level quality.
Specs wiseI couldn't get a hold of anyone from TW staff to get the matching service for this racquet. I was understanding since they are probably understaffed, so I emailed. After couple of days, I just saw the TW box outside my house. Since I have the racquet in hand, I checked the specs. 309g, 10pts HL with handle wrap, and 296 sw. Bravo Prince! Bravo TW!
Solid PerformerVery good all around racquet. I'm a solid 4.0 currently playing with the Head Speed Pro Graphene 360 (2018), customized at 340 grams and 7 points HL. It's been a solid performer but as I'm getting older, I'm searching for something a little lighter with a 16x19 string pattern for some extra spin/higher launch angle and a little more power. The Prince Tour 98 is decent in stock form but it definitely played better after adding 2 grams to 10 and 2 (4 grams total) and 4 grams to the handle. The result is a racquet that weighs 327 grams and is 6 pts. HL. Understanding that there is no perfect racquet and that we all have to make compromises, I can say that this racquet has definitely made me more consistent, which as improved my game. My serve is more consistent and has some extra pop, groundstrokes have more depth and higher net clearance and volleys have great feel and ball pocketing. The racquet is very maneuverable and comfortable. Current string set-up is Hyper-G 16L Soft in the mains at 51# and Head Velocity MLT 16 g in the crosses at 49#. Overall, I'm very pleased with the racquet.
Not As Good As Expected From Other ReviewsI had played the original Yonex Ezone DR 98 for years and was ready to try something else. Hit a few demos of various frames and then read the review on this Prince. Based upon the review I bought it without a test run. It's not bad, and I'm trying to make it work. Serves have good pop and I like it on volleys. Up to this point my groundstrokes are not where they were with the DR 98s. Hopefully I'll get it dialed in by changing string tension and finding what works. I've had some solid workouts with it, but also have had some bad days. Trying to stick with it and see if I can adjust, but I would not have bought it if I would have hit it as a demo first. Just don't have the control on groundstrokes I had before with the Yonex.
Excellent and powerful racquetThis is an excellent racquet for power and control. It feels so good to strike, stroke, slice, overhead, and serve the balls. It can penetrate the short ball.
Super great!Control, feel, speed and spin at your command with this racquet. It is very comfortable to hit with this racquet. Every shot you want to make is easier with this. Amazing really. Like the Babolat Pure Strike only much more comfort without sacrificing anything.
One of the best racquets I've triedStrung with Prince Tour XP (Green string) @ 52 lbs, consistent, good power, good spin, arm friendly.
This racquet feels so darn good, I'm so happy. It really suits my aggressive play style (counterpunchers, I would recommend the Pure Aero or something like that). Serves, volleys and groundstrokes all feel good.
Thank you Prince for helping me enjoy the game of tennis a little bit more :)
Prince Tour - Precision and PowerI play with a Prince 93P and 97P. The head shape, technology, thin beam, buttery feel and control from those racquets is superb. A winning combination. Literally! Notice I did not mention power. After two hours of play I wasn't as sharp with my shots and my play not as crisp and why were lesser players getting more power from their shots than I? This racquet gives me all of what I ask for from my 93 and 97Ps, with a slightly bigger head size, less weight and more power. It has just as much control (on all strokes) and just a bit more power, but not too much.
I don't want a racquet I have to think about when I'm playing. I want a racquet that does what I'm thinking. This is my “Excalibur”.
- Brad (55+ league player)
UnderwhelmingI agree with the other reviewers this a stable frame with great access to spin but I thought it was slow to swing through the air and a bit clunky feeling compared to the Blade or Prestige. I didn't find great precision and actually thought it played a bit launchy. The balance felt off to me, too much in the throat and lower hoop, adding weight at 12 helped with that but made the frame tough to maneuver quickly. There are many other frames I prefer to this one.
Goldilocks Racquet?Been hitting for a solid 4 weeks. Just a fantastic all around racquet. Strung it way too low and it was overly powerful, so controllable power from the play testers is contingent upon racquet set up. I have adjusted, however the high launch angle is something you have to get used to. I am now missing long rather than short which was the opposite issue I was having with the Pro Staff Six One 100. The frame hoop in the Pro Staff wasn't as stable and it was harder to get depth when playing defense. The Prince ATS 98 is super stable and it's easy to hit a deep ball both offensively and defensively. Love the racquet. Likely better for intermediate to advanced players.
Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98I am a lifetime Prince user (4.5 level player). I was very exited about this racquet. I have been however a little disappointed with it. Compared with my current racquet, (Textreme Beast 98), its much more head heavy and does not move through the air as easily. The power is very good and spin is ok. I get more power on serve. Control is very good overall except for the volley. I found I just have to change my swing timing with this racquet and I have not been able to be as aggressive from the baseline. I have it strung with Solinco Revolution which I don't really like. I am going to re-string it with Hyper G which I like much better. Hope it will play better. I think that the Beast plays better personally.
Solid solid solidFrom the first ball you just feel how solid this racket is. It feels more like a 100 than a 98 and even with the relatively thin beam this racquet crushes the ball.
It also has the classic Prince feel and is arm friendly, couple this with the ease of use and weight of ball and you have a winner.
Spin is easy to produce and although the ball might not move as quickly through the court as it did with some other 98's it is definitely a heavy heavy ball. No issues flattening it out either. Overall a great frame from Prince and the flowing ratings from the play test team are accurate.
Solid as they come.This racquet feels as solid as the Prince Graphite 107. It took me some time to get accustomed to the racquet which was a surprise as I did not expect this based on the TW reviews. The changes made were to get the static weight up to 320+ (unstrung) and make the racquet further headlight. Serves are solid, ground strokes have sufficient depth and I did not face the "launch angle issue" that the testers faced. Was able to switch between flat stroke and topspin with confidence. Volleys are really the standout for me as my volleying skills are poor, yet I was able to consistently place balls back in the opponents side. That's a first for me. On hard hits it has the "Thwack" that you get from the Head Prestiges. It really is amazing value for the price point.
Wanted to love this racquet!I am a huge Prince fan! I used the OG throughout high school and am always a sucker for new Prince frames. This is not a racquet for beginners or intermediate players. This racquet also has more power than your traditional players frame. It is overly boasted as controllable power. It is controllable if you are extremely solid with your groundies. There are a multitude of other frames if you are looking for ‘controllable power.' The sweet spot is absurdly small so again, if you aren't more advanced, you will not enjoy the feel of this racquet. Unfortunately, this along with the 3rd generation of the Pure Strikes have been the most disappointing misses in recent history.
great feel - needs weight and a leather gripI bought this racquet based on the outstanding TW reviews and because I'm a big Prince fan. I've played with Prince Graphite racquets my whole life and was looking for an alternative with that same Prince feel that's easy on the arm. The racquet certainly has great feel but felt light in stock form -- so I added 2 grams of lead at 9 and 3 along with a leather grip. That seems to have done the trick and now it has incredible plow through and controlled power. Just wish I didn't have to modify it for it to suit my game. It's also quite string sensitive, needing a fairly stiff poly to offset the low 62 flex rating. I strung it at 53 main and 51 cross with prince tour xp 17. I'm a 4.5 tournament player and HS coach.
Comfortable players frameI once used the RF90 and 97...then the Blade v7. I realized after a while I needed something a bit lighter with a bit more power. I moved to the TF40 305 16x19 which I found was more comfortable than the Blade, but had less spin due to a rather tight string pattern. This Prince, gives me the spin and slight increase in power I was looking for in the TF40 but with the comfort. That combined with the control of a players frame. Just a great stick more people should use than will. Take it for a spin, you won't regret it.
