Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.0

Most of our playtesters had an easy time transitioning to the Vostra V9 305g at the baseline, and the maneuverability of the racquet allowed each of them to use their preferred technique. For Chris, the V9 305g offered up good depth and precision from the get-go. He explained, "I found a solid blend of power and control from the Vostra V9 305g. I liked that I could take a good cut at the ball, find plenty of pace and not have to worry about overhitting. I found this racquet to be very spin-friendly with Volkl Cyclone installed in the stringbed. Both my topspin and slice shots were working well. I was able to get good net clearance and still bring the ball down well within the lines on my topspin shots. My slice had good drive, and I was able to skid the ball fast and low. My only knock was that I would have liked more feel from the racquet. The Vostra V9 305g felt very dampened, and I missed the connected feel of classic Volkl racquets such as the C10 Pro, Tour 10 and Power Bridge 10 Mid. With that said, my shots were finding their targets, and I played very consistently with the Vostra V9 305g."

Jason instantly clicked with the Vostra V9 305g. He said, "This racquet has specs that are right in my wheelhouse, so transitioning to it was not a problem. It's actually almost identical in spec to the old Power Bridge 9, which was my racquet of choice. I was able to swing it really easily and generate the spin and pace that I am used to with racquets of similar spec. Even when shots were landing right at my feet and I could only flick my wrist, I was able to do so easily and quickly. The racquet did feel a bit firm to me, though, which was the biggest negative."

Ana had some difficulty with the V9's overall feel. She described, "I struggled to figure out this racquet right from the beginning. Not only did I not have any feel for the ball, but I also struggled to keep the ball deep in the court. I had to step into the ball and do so much physically to be able to hit my shots deep enough. But when I did that, I found myself overhitting and struggling with control, so I could have benefited more from a higher swingweight. I did not think the racquet was stable enough to use the pace of my opponents when hitting, and it got pushed back too easily. Even though the V9 was maneuverable, it was pushed around too much and I was unable to control the ball. Another thing I wanted to point out is that for a 100-square-inch head size, this new Vostra 9 305g is not forgiving enough. This racquet had such a small sweetspot, and every time I missed it, I would find myself losing control. In a way, this racquet felt as if I were playing with a 98-square-inch head size, with its low-powered, precise response."

Although not as extreme as Ana's experience with the racquet, Zsofi also found herself having to be intentional with the V9 305g. She explained, "We just finished testing the new Volkl Vostra V8 300g, and I really enjoyed that playtest, so I was super excited to test the Vostra V9 305g! Now, while the Vostra V8 was a racquet that was just super easy to play with, I definitely needed some adjustment time to feel a bit more comfortable with the Vostra V9 305g. Even though the racquet has a 100-square-inch head size, it really almost feels like a 98. The sweetspot is just not that forgiving, and I also didn't find enough power or spin. The Vostra V9 305g is not really powerful, and my struggle was that it felt a bit unstable at times when I tried to lean into my shots and create my own power, so I had to dial my game back a bit to match this frame. To correct this issue, I would love to add some weight to the racquet head and maybe also lower the string tension."

Volleys: 8.3

Up at net, the Vostra V9 305g really started to shine. The maneuverability combined with the easy spin proved to be a winning combination for our team across the board. For Ana, the net game was easily the best part of the playtest. She said, "Honestly, volleys were probably the only shot I liked with this racquet. I tend not to rely so much on my wrist for volleys and prefer firmer, clean contact, which worked great with this racquet. The Vostra V9 305g was maneuverable enough for me to react quickly to the ball, and I was not afraid to step into those high volleys to put them away and finish the point aggressively."

Zsofi thoroughly enjoyed how the Vostra V9 305g handled at net. She explained, "One of my favorite shots with this racquet was the slice! I was able to keep my shots low to the ground and redirect the pace of my opponent. It was a similar situation at the net with volleys; I felt pretty stable at net when I was just kind of redirecting the pace coming at me."

Being no stranger to net play himself, Chris found himself enjoying this racquet's performance on volleys. He said, "It did not take long for me to feel at home when volleying with the Vostra V9 305g since it feels just a bit faster than the Tecnifibre TF40 305 16x19 and Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98, both of which I also really enjoy at net. Pace, spin and control are good with all three, but the Tecnifibre and Prince both offer a more connected feel. I was able to punch my volleys aggressively and still find my targets most of the time. I also found lots of control on touch shots, but again, I was missing the silky smooth feel of Volkls of old."

Although he was not immediately dazzled, Jason was able to make the Vostra V9 305g work for him on volleys. He said, "The sweetspot felt a little smaller than normal for me up at net. When I did make solid contact in the center, the Vostra V9 305g provided me with nice pop and plenty of spin when I wanted it. But the feel was not as pleasant on off-center shots. I noticed some buzzing and harshness when I wasn't making clean contact."

Serves: 8.1

Serving seemed to split the playtest group down the middle, with our West Coast team enjoying the Vostra V9 305g on serves and our East Coast team not liking it as much. For Chris, serving with the Vostra V9 305g was a standout experience. He said, “The serve was probably my favorite shot to hit with the Vostra V9 305g. I liked the way the racquet came through contact, and I was getting enough mass-based help from the racquet to hit a heavy serve. I also found the racquet fast and easy to snap through contact for spin and pace. I felt confident being aggressive on both first and second serves. I have zero complaints with the Vostra V9 305g here."

Zsofi struggled a bit on serve despite the easy handling. She said, "I was definitely missing some spin on my serves, especially on second serves, where I like to rely on spin and slice a bit more. Overall, the racquet head was easy to maneuver, though."

For Ana, the only way to find success with the Vostra V9 305g here was to ratchet up the racquet head speed. She said, "On serves, I liked how quick this racquet was to get into position, but I did not like how much power and acceleration I needed to get a fast first serve in. On the other hand, it was helpful because I knew I didn’t need to hold back on my power to make the serve. That gave me that extra confidence to hit riskier and faster serves." 

Jason also liked what the Vostra V9 305g added to his serving game. He described, "I felt like the racquet provided me with pretty decent pop on my serves, but what really helped out was the access to spin. I was able to easily accelerate the racquet through contact to generate tons of spin."

Returns: 7.7

Our team felt that the Vostra V9 305g was lacking a bit of stability for their returns. Despite that, the easy maneuvering once again proved to be quite practical here. For Jason, the Vostra V9 305g worked best for hitting heavier returns rather than hitting defensive returns. He said, "I felt like this racquet did better when I was being aggressive and taking full swings rather than blocking returns back. It was agile enough to quickly move into position to hit a return, and I could get lots of topspin on my shots. However, when I was chipping or blocking a return, my shots were landing a little shorter than I am used to."

Zsofi also noticed instability on her returns, so she pivoted to a more defensive approach. She described, "When it comes to returns, I thought the Vostra V9 305g was a bit too unstable for my liking. I like to step in to take control of the rallies right off the bat, and because of the lack of stability in this racquet, I felt like I had to adjust my game a bit and play more to a defensive style."

On the other hand, Chris felt like the Vostra V9 305g could just about do it all for his return game. He said, "The return was another shot where I felt confident with the Vostra V9 305g in my hands. I found myself trying to take a bite out of any serve that looked even remotely tasty. Both my rolled and driven topspin returns were working well. Likewise, my floated and knifed slices seemed to have equal success. I felt like I had a lot of options when returning, and that definitely helped my confidence during point play."

Ana found herself having to make adjustments on defensive returns, but offensive returns proved much more successful. She explained, “I struggled more on first serves when I tried to use my opponent's power because I felt like the racquet was getting pushed back, and my returns would land too short even when I was well positioned. I liked it a little more on second serves because I could step into the ball and hit it harder to take the lead in the point."

Breakdown Summary