Keeping your opponent back on the baseline with shots that land deep in the court is such an important part of winning a tennis match. The Yonex VCORE 100+ 2023 brought ample power with an ease that impressed our playtest team. Once she got used to hitting with it, Tiffani said, "There is no lack of power from this VCORE 100+. It did take me an hour or two to get used to swinging an extended-length racquet again. I also gave myself time by standing a little farther back off the baseline. After that, I really enjoyed the easy power and depth. I could really open up the court with this racquet, using the power to draw my opponent out wide, then hitting to the open court with good pace. I could often hit a winner or induce a sitter that I could put away. The issue for me was consistency. It's easy for me to get caught late with this racquet due to the length and higher swingweight, and it was harder to impart topspin off my flatter strokes. On the flip side, this racquet worked well with my slice backhand. The VCORE 100+ was fun to play with but made it difficult to be consistent.”

Once Mark dialed in his shots, he appreciated the extra length this racquet offered. He described, "There was easy power and a solid feel no matter where the ball landed on the stringbed. Easy shot depth, check. Unwavering stability, check. Incredible comfort, check! And accessing enough spin on the ball to help manage all of those power categories was what made me prefer this racquet over its slightly shorter equivalent (VCORE 100). At the onset of this playtest I was challenged during baseline exchanges. By the third hour of testing, I felt like I could finesse or plow my way through most any groundstroke attack."

Jason valued the extra power of the VCORE 100+ 2023 the most on his defensive shots. He said, "This racquet really allowed me to bring the power. I already found the standard version to be plenty powerful, but with an extra half inch of length, this racquet is practically a rocket launcher. The open string pattern not only gave great access to spin, but also a higher launch angle. I did feel like I couldn't swing out 100 percent because when I did, I was hitting balls long. But I appreciated the ease with which I could get depth on my shots when I was on the run or blocking a shot back."

The power of this racquet surprised Brittany. She said, "The VCORE 100+ takes no time to make an impression. Right away, I noticed how powerful this racquet was and how easy it was to get my shots to land deep in the court. Now sometimes the ball was landing well past the baseline, and I had to either hold back or try to add some extra spin to get my shots to drop in. It was also a little tricky to create spin (not like the standard-length VCORE 100, which was one of my favorite racquets of 2023). Nonetheless, there was plenty of plow through, so my slice shots really knifed through the court well. I found myself mostly playing offensively. I wanted to go after the ball, which was fun, but my consistency was a little lower percentage-wise than I’m used to."

The extra length and weight of the Yonex VCORE 100+ 2023 provide power, stability and reach, all attributes that make for successful volleys. Our playtesters liked how stable the VCORE 100+ felt during quick exchanges at the net, but they would have appreciated a little more maneuverability. Mark adjusted his grip and was pleased with his net play. He described, "I was effective and dialed in to hitting most any volley inside the service line with the VCORE 100+ 2023. I also found myself choking up on the handle a bit, as opposed to hanging off the end of the butt cap, which afforded me the best results at the net."

Brittany thought the VCORE 100+ had some qualities that made it a joy to volley with, along with others that made certain situations more difficult. She said, "When I approached the net, I noticed that the VCORE 100+ offered some pretty interesting tradeoffs. On one side, it felt solid in my hands, and I was really able to punch my volleys deep in the court. Just like with the standard length, I would describe the feel as connected and responsive. Lastly, I appreciated the additional length because I was able to reach and make multiple shots that normally would have passed me. On the other side, the racquet was a little difficult for me to maneuver effectively. This was most noticeable on quick volley exchanges when I found myself a tad late or jammed."

"I thought the VCORE 100+ felt a little sluggish at net," Jason added. "It wasn't as whippy as I would've liked for reflex volleys, but it felt stable and forgiving on off-center volleys."

Maneuverability was also an issue for Tiffani. She noted, "I don't consider myself the strongest volleyer, and I had some issues with maneuvering the VCORE 100+ when the ball was coming at my body. Getting out of the way and getting the racquet out front was hard. I often felt stuck and would mis-hit the ball. However, the racquet did give me extra reach and felt more stable when I was lunging for the ball, allowing me to get more stretch volleys back into play."

It was unanimous. Serves were at the top of the list of favorite shots our team hit with the Yonex VCORE 100+ 2023. It was a close call, but serving edged out all of the other great things about this racquet for Mark. He said, "Coins only have two sides, and I have to say that I love the all-court versatility and easy power for groundstrokes, volleys and serves. By a narrow margin, and without flipping a coin, I will name the serve as my favorite shot to hit with this update to the VCORE 100+."

Tiffani especially enjoyed how powerful the VCORE 100+ 2023 felt here. She said, "I loved the power level on serves. I could step up and hit flat serves with good power and plow through. I did struggle with consistency and hitting spin. When I missed serves, I usually was missing them long."

Free points on serve were a plus for Jason. He explained, "Hitting serves was one of my favorite things to do with this racquet. I was hitting harder and heavier with the VCORE 100+ than I can with my own racquet, and as a result, I was getting more cheap points out of it. Did I feel like my serving percentage went down? Yes. I found that when I was missing, I was missing long, which tells me I wasn’t getting the head and tip speed I’m accustomed to."

First serves were also the highlight of the playtest for Brittany. She said, "My favorite shot to hit with this racquet was my first serve (I don't often say that about a racquet). I was happy to take a couple of extra free points on serve when I could. However, I also found myself struggling on second serves because they were often landing long, and as a result, I collected a couple of extra double faults. While this evened out my unreturnable serves at the beginning, I was able to adjust and make an effort to consciously rotate my wrist more to get my second serves to dip. Personally, I would not be able to maintain my serve percentage over the course of a singles match because my arm would fatigue, but I found myself really enjoying playing doubles with the VCORE 100+."

Our playtesters all agreed that when they dialed in their return of serve with shorter, more compact backswings, they were rewarded with good power and depth from the Yonex VCORE 100+ 2023. The defensive nature of Jason's return game made this racquet a good fit for him. He said, "For me, serve returns are usually a defensive shot. I tend to hit a lot of chips and slice returns, and because of that, this racquet was pretty solid in this department. It was easy to get depth on those shots because of the power and launch angle. I was also getting great spin on my slice shots, which made them a bit more effective and offensive. When I had chances to take a cut at the ball, I just had to remind myself to not swing all out and to really add topspin."

Tiffani found more success with her returns after she adjusted her backswing. She explained, "With the longer length of the racquet and the shorter reaction time on returns, I could feel the racquet tip lag if I took too big of a swing. Good mechanics and a short backswing were keys to getting the VCORE 100+ around on time. I liked the comfort, stability and easy depth of this racquet on returns."

Brittany had a similar experience, adding, "I had to harness the power of the VCORE 100+ and keep my returns simple. On both first and second serve returns, I found the most success by taking short, compact backswings and really letting the racquet do the work. While it was easy to overhit my returns, I did find myself starting off the point on the offensive because my shots were landing deep and heavy in the court."

Timing was key for Mark, who noted, "I didn’t struggle to produce decent service returns with the VCORE 100+, but it was the shot that lagged behind the rest of my game, which benefited immediately. When I was timely with the return, the reward was obvious, but when I was a little off, my opponent was rewarded."