Power, spin and precision were the name of the game with the VCORE 98 Tour at the baseline. Chris has playtested many of the VCORE racquets this year and began this review on a positive note, saying, "The specs of the VCORE 98 Tour are pretty much bang in the middle of what I look for in a racquet. It’s no surprise that I immediately found the groove with the VCORE 98 Tour, or that it’s my favorite current Yonex racquet. I loved the way the racquet went through contact. The response was very solid, with excellent stability and a nice, crisp, clean feel. My shots had good pace, and I also felt very accurate with the racquet. I had solid net clearance on topspin shots and ample spin to get the ball to dip to my targets. All of my shots were working well, and I felt very confident with this VCORE 98 Tour during point play. I especially enjoyed knifing slice backhands with this racquet because I was able to generate ample pace, depth came easily and I was getting some biting spin."

On the other hand, Troy came into this playtest having not played much with the standard 305-gram version of the VCORE 98 2023. He said, "When it came to this 2023 VCORE line, I have hit the most with the VCORE 95 with some added weight. I was excited to try a heavier version, something with added mass and plow through. I really like the weight and solid feel that this racquet provided. It is not quite as hefty as the racquets I usually play with, but I think it struck a really nice balance between feeling stable and plush and having the plow through I crave. It also felt fast and maneuverable enough for me to crank up the racquet head speed. I could generate heavy topspin and hit some big shots on my forehand, and there was enough mass to drive through my backhand and plow through on my slice. I liked it on my slice backhand, but the ball didn't skid quite as low, or wasn't as 'dirty,' as it is with a racquet like the Yonex Percept 97D, although that was somewhat expected."

"After having tested the VCOREs and hearing a bunch of feedback from the rest of the playtesters, I felt like I was one of the few who just didn't jell with the frames due to the open string pattern (see: launch angle) and my linear stroke style, as well as the softer, muted feel," said Michelle. "However, I found much more success with this heavier version. The swingweight was noticeably higher and packed a bigger punch, plus the racquet felt more stable. I could penetrate the court better without having to change my swing. The pocketing from the stringbed on this racquet was great and similar to the standard VCORE 98, and I had plenty of access to spin. This was a fun racquet to play quick-strike tennis with! I could load up a big groundie and then attack to the open court, behind my opponent, or even through the middle."

Within 20 minutes of exchanging groundstrokes, Mark felt like he had been playing with this racquet for a couple of seasons. He described, "The average 4-points head-light balance combined with the swingweight, the frame stiffness and the rest of the specs made me feel like a machine from the backcourt! The launch angle and string pattern made for easy shot depth, whether the shot was developed with topspin or slice."

With an ideal blend of power and feel, all four of our testers found the VCORE 98 Tour to be relatively easy to volley with. Troy explained, "The sweetspot was rather forgiving, the feel was nice and plush, and there was enough mass built in for stability. I found the maneuverability to be good at the net, but with the 4-points head-light balance, I would likely add some weight to the handle to help make for easier handling. The VCORE 98 Tour had decent enough touch for hitting angles and drop shots; it was a well-rounded racquet at the net. There wasn’t quite as much touch and feel as the Yonex Percept 97D or 97H, but it was still pretty good. This racquet didn't have the put-away power of a Yonex EZONE 98+, but there was still good punch behind the ball. I was also pleased with the increase in comfort and flex compared to some of the older versions of the VCORE racquets."

"Similar to the standard-weight VCORE 98, this racquet worked well at the net," said Michelle. "Because I was coming forward a lot, I did hit more volleys and found I could stick them or swing big. The VCORE 98 Tour was stable and maneuverable."

The VCORE 98 Tour offered Mark everything he needed at the net. He said, "Overall, my confidence and execution at net were better than good because the response on volleys and half volleys off the stringbed was predictable and reliable."

Chris found that rare combination of maneuverability and stability when volleying with the VCORE 98 Tour. He said, "The racquet felt fast in my hands thanks to its head-light balance. At contact, the racquet had enough mass to not get pushed around, which made my shots feel comfortable and solid. I had plenty of feel on my touch shots. I liked the response from the stringbed, and the stability allowed me to have a soft grip on the handle for maximum touch."

Power and spin were two standout traits the VCORE 98 Tour offered our team when serving. Michelle thoroughly enjoyed starting points with this racquet in her hands. She said, "I found lots of free power. After watching some of the big servers at the US Open, I was trying to serve bigger and get my serves jumping more, and this racquet was perfect for that! I made lots of flat first serves and kicks that jumped."

"My serves were working well with the VCORE 98 Tour," added Chris. "I hit with spin on most serves, and the VCORE 98 Tour is a very spin-friendly racquet. I liked the shape I was getting on the ball on my slice serves. I was able to give the net plenty of clearance and still get the ball to drop nicely inside the box."

Mark found the VCORE 98 Tour to be a great all-court racquet, but serves were his favorite shot to hit with it. He described, "Spinning the ball in to play was easy and effective. And when trying to produce more service pace, the racquet delivered more than I expected with zero fuss."

Troy found that flat first serves came with easy power. He explained, "The blend of mass and plow through, combined with the easy racquet speed I could generate, allowed me to crank up the MPHs. That said, my bread and butter with this racquet was getting my spin and kick serves to jump off the court with a lot of action. The open string spacing helped me grip the ball on those spin serves and generate a lot of rotation. The upper hoop is also a bit wider than usual, and this gave me the confidence to brush up on the ball for that added topspin and kick. My two favorite serves with this racquet were the kick serve out wide on the deuce side, and the slice or can-opener on the ad side; if for some reason that sounds backward to you, it’s because I'm a lefty."

Our playtesters could take offensive rips at incoming serves with the VCORE 98 Tour. Chris continued to enjoy this racquet when it came to returns, and he appreciated the spin he was getting on his shots. He said, "When taking aggressive cuts, I could hit high over the net and trust that the spin I was getting would dip the ball inside the lines. Getting pace on my shots felt easy since the solid response of the VCORE 98 Tour helped me redirect the speed of incoming serves. My slice backhand was working just as well as it was on regular groundstrokes, and I had fun cutting the ball cross court from both returning sides to get my opponent moving with my first strike."

Mark had no issues with returns during this playtest. He said, "A racquet's weight and balance are aspects that I notice from anywhere in the court, but I am probably more sensitive to those two traits while returning serve. That said, I had the easiest time returning serve with this racquet in hand."

"The maneuverability of theVCORE 98 Tour made it pretty easy to get it into position against fast servers," added Troy. "The racquet also had enough mass built in to feel solid and stable on contact. I really liked the comfort and plush feel that it provided; the feel was pretty comfortable even when I made contact slightly off-center, and my returns were usually effective. When I needed to block the ball back or use my slice return to neutralize the server's power, there was enough plow through to do it effectively. The downside was that I was left craving just a bit more control and a more connected feel from the racquet. At times, when I was attacking on the forehand or on those deep slice returns, the ball was sailing on me just a bit. I think a slightly tighter string spacing on this racquet would be ideal for that bit of extra control and feel. I also could use a thicker poly and go up in tension to help with the control."

As a player always looking for more control on returns rather than power, Michelle enjoyed returning with this VCORE 98 Tour, but she also found herself missing big at times. She explained, "I noticed the muted feel at contact the most when hitting returns, and I did not feel super connected to where the ball was going off my racquet. When it was in, it was great, but it was hard not to go big every time, which resulted in a few silly errors. I felt like I could swing big, but I also could have used a bit more discipline when returning with this racquet."