Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.4

Across the board, our testers were thoroughly impressed by the amount of power they were wielding when swinging this Whiteout 305 XTD+. Despite having to make some adjustments in terms of swing speed, maneuverability and overall comfort, our team found ways to utilize this beast of a frame to the maximum of its abilities. For Chris, the racquet's inherent power proved quite satisfying to employ when hitting through his shots. He explained, "The Whiteout 305 XTD+ offered some excellent plow-through power on groundstrokes thanks to its extended length, which bumps up the swingweight. I found I could drive through the ball well and had better access to clean winners. I typically move the ball around to put my opponent into a defensive spot and then finish the point at net. However, with the Whiteout 305 XTD+, I was able to finish points with groundstroke winners. I also found fewer of my approach shots coming back. I was either hitting a winner or forcing an error when I moved inside the baseline to attack the net. I really enjoyed this racquet on my backhand slice."

Michelle hails from a background of extended racquets, so this playtest seemed right up her alley. She reveled in the power-emphasizing nature of this frame. She said, "At 28 inches long, this was promising to be a fairly unique playtest, but one I was stoked for! I played with a Prince Precision Equipe Longbody (also 28 inches) during my junior years and am a sucker for extended racquets! It is worth mentioning that transitioning into and out of 28 inches does come with a bit of an adjustment period both ways. When I started hitting with this racquet I was missing the sweetspot and hitting a little low in the stringbed, but once that was dialed in, the racquet swung fairly fluidly. I didn't have to force a fast swing; I was rewarded with power once the racquet collided with the ball, and I found good stability. I loved the extra length, especially off my backhand side, and I felt in command of the ball. Although the racquet is not super maneuverable, I felt like I could still hit angles with my backhand. On the forehand side, I was able to drill balls through the court, and even if they were not straight-out winners, they pushed my opponents back, encouraging shorter, offensive points." 

As one of our in-house extended-length racquet users, Troy was well equipped to assess the capabilities of this extra long frame. He said, "I hadn't played with a 28-inch length racquet in a long while, I think maybe since testing the Prince Phantom 100G LB or Wilson Blade SW102 Autograph. The first thing that stood out was how easy it was to keep my rally balls deep in the court. I was able to hit the ball deep and through the court much easier than with most racquets I playtest, especially on my two-handed backhand. I use the Yonex EZONE 98+, so I am accustomed to swinging an extended-length racquet, but this 28-inch Whiteout takes the plow through to the next level. I didn't have any struggles with maneuverability; even though it has a significant swingweight, the static weight is pretty manageable. I also enjoyed the open string spacing, which gave me easy net clearance and topspin. My main knock on this racquet was that after about a week I started to notice the stiffness to be a bit jarring on my arm and hand. I was somewhat surprised because this racquet doesn't have a high stiffness rating (64 RA, Babolat RDC). That said, maybe it has something to do with the extra length, but I just wasn't loving the comfort aspect of this Solinco Whiteout 305 XTD+." 

Oak also came to this playtest with a decent amount of experience with extended frames, having put in several hours with the 27.5-inch Whiteout. While the extra power took some getting used to, he found plenty to like about what this Whiteout 305 XTD+ offered. He described, "This 28-inch Whiteout from Solinco is certainly a beast to handle on the court, but it will definitely have noticeable effects on your game. In general, I'm a big fan of extended-length frames because they naturally complement a more defensive style of play. But this XTD+ takes it up a notch; the extra half-inch (compared to the 27.5-inch length of most extended frames) goes a long way in getting to balls you otherwise might not reach. Granted, this does change the maneuverability of the frame quite significantly, but it encouraged me to take the ball earlier and rewarded more intentional preparation. The relatively high swingweight in the mid-340s, combined with the extra inch of length, does make the racquet a little sluggish to whip around, so be forewarned if you prefer a speedy swinging experience. That being said, I found myself enjoying hitting a spin-based one-handed backhand more than my flatter two-hander with this frame. For those who enjoy taking big cuts with lots of precision, this 28-inch Whiteout does encourage a 'point-and-shoot' style of play. As opposed to shaping the ball with spin, the racquet seems to do better with spot selection and powering through to the desired targets. The extra-extended length offers free power more than anything else, but the Whiteout still exists primarily as a control-oriented line, resulting in a good 'best-of-both-worlds' approach. Ultimately, this racquet is a demanding experience that offers a tempting blend of length-based power and classic box-beam control. If you are already a fan of extended-length frames, the Whiteout 305 XTD+ is definitely worth checking out."

Volleys: 8.1

Although it asks more of its users at the net in terms of maneuverability, this Whiteout 305 XTD+ certainly makes up for it when it comes to extra reach on stretch volleys and overheads. Despite being especially aware of the frame's firmness, Troy found plenty to like about the racquet's ability to put away balls. He said, "The extra inch of length (compared to a standard 27 inches) did stand out when at net. On the plus side (no pun intended), there were times when I felt like I could get more range or reach on my volleys. I also thought the extra length made for easy put-away power on my overheads; it was an overhead smash machine. That said, most of the time when I went to the net I found myself wanting to choke up on the handle for a more connected feel and maneuverability. Besides that, this racquet felt stable on contact, and I found enough precision to place my volleys effectively. The touch and feel aspect was decent, but I didn't feel as connected to the touch volleys as I did with the Solinco Whiteout 305 XTD 18x20. When it came to comfort, there were times when I was facing big hitters and I felt like the racquet was a bit firm on contact. It was never a problem while I was actually hitting the volleys, but it's something that I would notice after practicing a lot of volleys in a row. It caused a bit of sensitivity in my hand and wrist area."

Similarly, the Whiteout 305 XTD+'s length had a major impact on Oak's net game. He said, "Up at net, the 28-inch Whiteout was even more demanding than it was at the baseline. Although the additional reach offered on stretch volleys proved highly practical, the frame's length and swingweight made it somewhat challenging to get consistent results. The racquet did seem to encourage going for more put-away volleys, though, which made finishing points at the net satisfying. Overheads were a delight, as expected, and the extra reach was beyond helpful for getting up to high balls and deeper lobs." 

Chris is typically quite sensitive to how a racquet performs at net since that's where he often looks to finish a point. He said, "I had a lot of fun serve and volleying with the Whiteout 305 XTD+. The racquet felt rock-solid at net. Low volleys felt much easier to hit thanks to the added length, resulting in me feeling like I barely had to bend down for them. I also surprised myself with how well I was hitting half-volleys. My touch and angle volleys were working well. I was able to control my volleys, and I liked the overall response of the racquet. When given a little bit of time, I could step in and hit volleys with lots of pace thanks to the plow-through power of the Whiteout 305 XTD+.” 

The Whiteout 305 XTD+ was a marvel at net for Michelle, adding lots of versatility to an already intimidating net presence. She explained, "The extra inch of this racquet was much appreciated at net. The reach was awesome! This racquet was also super stable against big hitters. It was a tad tough to maneuver at times, but that was never detrimental, and I could block balls back just fine. I don't think this racquet had the most touch or feel, but swinging volleys were amazing, and lefty volleys were easy to execute." 

Serves: 9.1

As expected, our playtesters were thrilled with this Whiteout 305 XTD+ when serving. They loved the crazy pop and angles afforded to them, and they still found enough control to effectively target spots and mix in a variety of serves. Drawn to the extra pace and angle available to him, Chris found lots to love about this racquet on serve. He said, "Another favorite shot to hit with the Whiteout 305 XTD+ was my serve. I loved the plow-through power this racquet offered. The added length gave me a better angle down into the box, and I found I could be more aggressive without sacrificing consistency with the Whiteout 305 XTD+ in my hand. I loved the response on slice serves, as I was able to find excellent pace and spin."

Michelle was thrilled by the power she got from the Whiteout 305 XTD+ on serve, which added new depth to her imposing game. She described, "Serves were really fun to hit — big first serves, loads of power. It was fun to hit T serves and serves into the body. The Whiteout 305 XTD+ was fairly easy to play quick-strike tennis with; I could set up with a big serve and then hopefully attack the next ball. This was one of those racquets where I kept my foot on the gas 90 percent of the time — go big or go home! So I tended to be more aggressive rather than safe, even on second serves.”

Troy found himself delighted by what the Whiteout 305 XTD+'s specs offered his serve. He explained, "This is where I would say the Whiteout 305 XTD+ excelled, and I think that's a feeling most of the playtesters shared. I felt like I was able to contact the ball slightly higher up (which made me feel a bit taller, haha), and I felt like I could get easier net clearance. I know an inch isn't much, but it really seemed to make a difference on my flat serves. When it came to my spin serves, it took a bit of adjustment for me to dial in the depth and get the right amount of spin to get the ball down. Once I dialed it in, I could generate some big spin and arc on my second serves. I loved hitting my slice serve out wide from the ad side, and while playing doubles, I liked hitting my kick serve out wide on the deuce side. I felt like I could create extra sharp angles with that higher contact point on both of these serves."

Oak's serving experience was right in line with the rest of the team. He said, "One of the many known upsides to extended frames is, of course, the serve. If John Isner can make good use of an extended-length racquet, then so can you! But seriously, this 28-inch beast was a delight to serve with. There was great angle accessibility for hitting down into the court more, and the control of the racquet made choosing any target feel natural. Flat serves proved to be more satisfying than slice and kick serves. Serving was probably my favorite aspect of the racquet due to its overall performance. However, I would've appreciated a slightly lower RA rating for the frame to maybe offset some of the harsher vibrations the additional length incurs. I would probably look for a very soft string setup if I were to use this racquet more often in my daily rotation."

Returns: 8.7

Returns are another area where the Whiteout 300 XTD+'s unique design really stood out for our playtesters. Our team appreciated the easy power and the ability to redirect the ball when under fire from a big serve. Troy upped the ante on his returns with the additional power and angles available to him. He explained, "When it came to returns, I loved the added reach and the leverage I could get on the ball. Specifically, I was able to lean into my two-handed backhand return and direct the ball back deep with ease. Sometimes my two-handed backhand return can lack depth and power, but with this Solinco Whiteout 305 XTD+, my backhand return was consistently landing deep and started to feel like a weapon. It gave me a much-appreciated boost on the backhand side, and I was getting a lot of power on the forehand side as well. I don't usually need as much help on my forehand returns since that is my strength. The power was almost a bit much on my forehand returns, and I had to dial it in, but once I did, I found a big weapon. My slice backhand returns were landing nice and deep, and I felt like I had good control of that shot. Overall, it's just a really good racquet for me on returns." 

Oak also enjoyed how easy it was to return with the Whiteout 300 XTD+. He said, "The Whiteout 305 XTD+ shines on return, with more than enough pop to blast balls back to their original location. Here, once again, the reach goes a long way (literally), giving me more time to prep on either side for redirecting pace off the serve. When I was pulled off the court from a particularly good serve, the length helped to get me back into the point. The racquet also seemed to encourage a slightly more aggressive style of return. It has great defensive fallback capabilities, but the style of play tends to lean more aggressive." 

Despite some concerns about his returns going into the playtest, Chris was able to hit a variety of returns with the Whiteout 300 XTD+. He described, "Going into this test, I had some concerns about how the added length would affect my return game. In the past, I've had some issues hitting a drive topspin backhand with longer racquets, but I found decent success with the Whiteout 305 XTD+. I did find myself hitting more slice backhand returns, though, since that shot was working so well. I was able to drive a slice deep and push the server back off the baseline, or chop my return short, forcing the server to dig out a tough shot and sacrifice pace on their shot." 

Michelle also enjoyed returning with the Whiteout 305 XTD+. She said, "I loved returning with this racquet. I was good if I could maneuver it in the right place, and the extra reach was helpful. Again, I was more offensive than anything. I kept my backswing short and picked targets to attack hoping to start the point strong and finish it in two or three balls. I was pretty happy returning with this racquet; the short backswing was essential!"

Breakdown Summary