Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.2

Due to its sub-320 swing weight, the Phantom 100X 290g offered a lot of maneuverability, which allowed the playtesters to swing freely into their targets with tons of racquet head speed. The open string pattern shone through on groundstrokes, and most of the playtesters complimented the racquet's spin potential. Tiffani was interested to see what this unique racquet could do on court. She said, "This Phantom 100X 290g has a different looking set of specs compared to other racquets at this weight. It has a thinner and more flexible beam, which makes it feel more control oriented than other racquets in this weight class. I liked the feel and found it comfortable even when I missed the sweetspot. I did miss some free power and plow through, especially when hitting off center. Because the racquet felt light, it wobbled a bit on off center shots, and I was leaving the ball short or in the net. However, on full, confident swings that were struck well, I liked the easy topspin that I could generate. I could move the ball around as well, which allowed me to play my usual tactic of simply trying to tire out my opponent by getting them to move."

Brittany had a harder time getting used to the Phantom 100X 290g's feel. However, once she started to settle in with the racquet she enjoyed the easy targeting it provided.  She said, "This last month I have been playtesting several models in the Phantom line. I did have a small adjustment period with them on all shots, but specifically on groundstrokes. It took an hour or so to get used to the feel. I had the most success picking a target and really swinging through, which surprised me since it’s such a lightweight racquet. It is on the lower powered side, so my shots didn't fly. While I found myself picking more forgiving targets, I was still able to be aggressive and step into my shots. I have to mention slice, because even with the racquet being under 300 grams (unstrung), I felt confident hitting my slice backhand, which is one of my weakest shots."

Due to the lightweight nature of this racquet, Mark found it harder to control the ball as the pace increased during play. He explained, "The Prince Phantom 100X 290g was predictably light, comfortable and a little livelier than expected from the baseline. Leaning toward maneuverability mixed with a decent level of stability, this racquet was great until the pace of the ball became excessive. At that point, absorbing pace and maintaining directional control without the frame fluttering felt challenging. Access to topspin was very easy with the wide open 16x18 pattern, but that spacing made me adjust my swing to keep my slice backhands from popping up."

Chris loved how easy it was for him to add pace to the ball thanks to the light, whippy nature of the Phantom 100X 290g. He said, "I was very happy with the level of my play with the Phantom 100X 290g. I loved the easy access to racquet head speed. I was able to whip the racquet through contact for plenty of pace and spin. I also found it easy to crank up additional pace and spin to give my opponent something different to look at and throw off their timing. My backhand slice was working well, and I found a ton of control and feel for the ball with this racquet. While I like the drive I can get from heavier racquets on my slice, this Phantom 100X 290g was very spin-friendly and accurate."

Volleys: 8.1

With easy maneuverability, along with good feel and ball pocketing, the Phantom 100X 290g impressed a lot of our playtesters. Tiffani again highlighted the maneuverability of this racquet, this time at net. She said, "The Phantom 100X 290g easily fulfills my number-one requirement at net, which is to be quick to get into position. I could mix in some drop volleys now and then because I enjoyed the feel of this Phantom 100X 290g, but I found my best results when I was really punching at my volleys to get better pace. When I was a little indecisive with my volleys, I noticed my shots sitting up."

While he mostly uses heavier frames, Chris felt that the Phantom 100X 290g was quite stable for its weight class. He too complimented the feel and maneuverability of the racquet, saying, "The Phantom 100X 290g offers tons of feel for the ball on volleys. The racquet felt very light and easy to maneuver, and I was able to cut under the ball to add spin and get my drop volleys well away from my opponent's reach. The Phantom 100X 290g felt impressively stable for its weight. I was also impressed by the comfortable feel this racquet offered at impact."

While he appreciated what this racquet provided on his volleys, Mark continued to have trouble keeping a handle on higher paced balls. He said, "Like from the baseline, I felt the Phantom 100X 290g was an incredible racquet at net, but it was sensitive to lots of ball pace and spin. I was confident and crafty with my volleys, but under the pressure of Michelle's high-velocity passing attempts, the ball was beating the racquet, causing it to wobble."

Brittany loved the ball pocketing the Phantom 100X 290g provided, but she also pointed out that the sweetspot may be a tad small, which caused the racquet to be a little unstable on certain shots. She said, "The feel had the most impact for me up at net. I felt like the Phantom 100X 290g really pocketed the ball well, and I was receiving some direct feedback from the stringbed (both good and bad). The sweetspot was on the smaller side, and I could definitely feel a little instability if I missed the sweetspot. However, I do want to mention that I made one of my best half volleys with this racquet and won a couple more points at net than normal."

Serves: 8.2

The "whippability" of this Phantom 100X 290g paired well with the open string pattern, making it an absolute breeze for our testers to get spin on their serves. Brittany was able to take advantage of both of these aspects, and more, during her matches. She said, "The Phantom 100X 290g was easy to get up and over my head throughout the course of a match. I was able to generate racquet head speed and flick my wrist to create some nice spin and arc on the ball. Generating spin was a nice bonus that I not only utilized on serves, but on other strokes as well. However, I was missing a little weight behind my serves at times and felt like the ball was sitting up a little in my opponent's strike zone."

Sharing that sentiment, Tiffani added, "It's rare that I like to serve more than return with a racquet, especially when it's lower powered like this Prince Phantom 100X 290g. However, I did like to serve with this racquet because of how easily it swung over my head. I wasn't getting tired out, so I could serve effectively throughout long games. I wasn't hitting super powerful serves, and I did want more power, but I just liked the rhythm of serving with this racquet and the easy access to my slice serve."

Mark thoroughly enjoyed serving with this racquet. He said, "This was one of the shots I could hit the most effectively with the new Prince Phantom 100X 290g. The thin beam, open string pattern and lighter weight made it easy to accelerate, create a decent arc and get pace on the ball."

One of the biggest highlights for Chris when serving was the power level a lighter racquet like the Phantom 100X 290g provided. He explained, "I found the Phantom 100X 290g an easy racquet to whip through contact on serves. Getting decent pace and spin was possible thanks to the racquet head speed I could generate. I usually like the plow-through power I get from heavier racquets, but I was very happy with how effectively I served with this lightweight Phantom. For such a controlled racquet, the access to power was better than expected."

Returns: 8.1

Our playtesters noted the controlled nature of the Phantom 100X 290g when returning serves, which allowed them to return the ball with pace and direction. That said, some of the testers felt that the racquet's weight made it a little harder to handle certain serves. Tiffani found herself taking bigger swings at the ball to compensate for the lighter weight. She said, "This Phantom 100X 290g does come around pretty quickly, so I could take a good swing at most serves. I preferred to take bigger, fuller swings because I thought this was the shot where the lighter weight was most noticeable, and I was seeking more stability from the racquet."

Brittany also picked up on some instability when returning bigger serves. She thought a bit more mass might have helped, saying, "Similar to serves, the Phantom 100X 290g was easy to maneuver on returns. I never felt like I was swinging late or was behind the ball. However, I definitely noticed that the racquet was fluttering in my hand when I was returning some big first serves, and I was missing a little mass. Nonetheless, I was still able to step in and be aggressive, specifically on second serve returns."

What impressed Mark on serves also applied to his returns. The open string pattern and thinner beam of the Phantom 100X 290g allowed him to return the ball back deep with tons of spin, though ultra-fast serves were another story. He said, "If the ball was traveling at freeway speeds, I could easily change direction and aim the ball deep, but heavy serves coming in at autobahn speeds were hard to deal with." 

By stepping in and taking the ball early, Chris was able to take full advantage of the Phantom 100X 290g's speed and maneuverability. He said, "I felt confident taking the ball early and being a little more aggressive with my returns thanks to how fast and easy to swing this racquet was. I was also getting ample spin to roll some nice angle returns."

Breakdown Summary