Tecnifibre TFight 325 Racquet Review

At every tournament, even at the professional level, there's always at least one dangerous unknown in the draw. While the seeded players garner the majority of the attention, the possibility of an upset by a "dark horse" is forever looming.

The racquet industry is similar to a tournament in that each brand is competing for the top spot. Every year the focus falls on the industry leaders, as tennis players around the world wait to see what innovations they have to offer. However, every once in awhile a dark horse comes along and steals some of the limelight. For 2005, that dark horse appears to be Tecnifibre.

Tecnifibre divides their six racquet line up into two groups, the TFight player's group and the TFeel 'tweener group. As well as being labeled a TFight or a TFeel racquet, each model is assigned a number. The number given to each Tecnifibre racquet references its unstrung weight in grams. For instance, the TFight 325 has a target weight of 325 grams, unstrung.

With a line-up of six performance racquets, it was a tough choice deciding on which model would become our first Tecnifibre racquet review. It's no secret that here at TW we like to playtest player's racquets, so we eventually narrowed our focus to the two player's racquets in the Tecnifibre line up - the TFight 315 and TFight 325. We also decided that if we were going to review a player's racquet, we might as well review the beefiest one offered.

With our choice made, we hit the courts for a three-week playtest of the TFight 325. We'll shed some light on the results of our playtest by saying: Racquet industry be warned, the Tecnifibre brand is here, and if the TFight 325 is anything to go by, Tecnifibre won't be a dark horse for long.

Groundstrokes

The TFight 325 was an immediate hit with our team when hitting groundstrokes. Finding a solid combination of weight, stability and spin with the TFight 325 was Brad. "The first thing you notice about this racquet when you pick it up is its heft. This racquet is not incredibly heavy, but it is definitely no lightweight or middleweight. This racquet reminded me of the Dunlop M-FiL 200, but with a little more power. Groundstrokes with this racquet were silky smooth. One of the first things I noticed was how comfortable it was. I attribute this to its flexibility, weight and length. I felt like I was able to get good pace on my groundstrokes from both sides. Even though this racquet has a tighter 18x20 string pattern, I found that I was able to generate spin with ease. I would say that the spin generation with this racquet was similar to the Prince O3 Tour, but not quite as good. Slice was equally as good with this racquet. I was able to keep the ball low over the net and get decent depth with it. One thing I did notice while hitting with this racquet was that I had to be prepared and ready for the ball earlier than usual due to its higher swingweight and length." Josh liked the feel of the TFight 325 before he even hit the courts. "The TFight 325 is the type of racquet that feels good from the instant one picks it up. The racquet is solid. My forehands were well controlled and had a fair amount of topspin. I never hesitated to hit backhands down the line or cross-court at sharp angles. I was also surprised by the amount of slice the racquet generated."

Quick to find the groove with the TFight 325 was Granville. "The 325 is a very nice racquet solidly placed in the performance category of player's racquets. I was impressed with the stability and sweetspot when hitting groundstrokes. While somewhat of a heavy racquet, it is quite maneuverable due to the headlight balance. I was able to take full swings and found good depth on my shots. I found myself playing confidently almost immediately." Wendi found plenty of depth and weight on her shots with the TFight 325. "Immediately I noticed the solid feel of the TFight 325. It is a hefty racquet with incredible control. I gained tons of pace with this one, especially when pushed out wide. My husband commented that not only did my shots have more pace, but they seemed heavier than normal, too. I didn't have any trouble placing my shots deep in the court, which can sometimes be difficult for me. I had great accuracy and felt very confident in my play. I found the 325 to be a very spin-friendly racquet, especially the slice. I will say the one downfall is that I wore out quickly. My arms were really feeling how hard I had to work to keep up with this racquet. I think if I was a little stronger and in better shape I could keep up with the 325. It is definitely designed for a more experienced player."

Finding an immediate groove at the baseline with the TFight 325 was Chris. "I loved this racquet off the ground. The feel at impact was solid and precise. I felt very connected to where each shot was going and felt like I could gauge the depth, pace and spin of each shot the instant it left the strings. While some racquets over 27 inches in length feel awkward and hard to get around, I did not feel the added length when hitting with the TFight 325. Don't get me wrong, this is a player's racquet that packs some heft, but accomplished players should not have any maneuverability issues. Long swings from behind the baseline resulted in good pace and spin. I really liked the weight and stability of the racquet when hitting slice backhands. When I was forced wide and had to hit off the back foot the weight and stability of the racquet made it easier for me to keep my slice backhand deep and on target."

Volleys

Our team found the 12.2 ounce weight and almost 12 points head light balance of the TFight 325 offered a stable and precise response at net. Chris said, "I continued to enjoy this racquet when pushing forward to volley. Again, I felt lots of positive feedback from the racquet and had a good sense of where my shots were going. I've always liked the firm and controlled feel from a tight string pattern at net, and definitely got that feel with this racquet. I found power to come from good technique and a healthy contact, while the overall response was primarily control oriented." Also finding plenty of feedback on the volley was Granville. "This racquet offers a very solid feel and good punch. The head light balance makes if seem more maneuverable at the net as compared to the groundies. I was also finding very good touch at the net, and the racquet provided good feedback on the touchiest of drop shots. It's much more maneuverable than you would expect with it's weight.

Finding a more maneuverable response from the TFight 325 when at net was Wendi. "When I got to the net with the TFight 325 I was pleased with my results. It had a very solid and stable feel on contact and it didn't feel as hefty at net as it did from the baseline. I didn't find myself charging the net as much as normal, but I think I was just worn out."

Brad found some added touch at net with the TFight 325. "I found that I was able to hit some piercing volleys with this racquet as long as I had the racquet prepared early. I did find that the swingweight made it a little more difficult to maneuver the racquet and get it to where I needed it to be. Touch volleys with this racquet were awesome. It had a lot of feel and I could really finesse the ball thanks to the racquet's soft and flexible response." Josh said, "the TFight 325 felt a bit heavy at net. The racquet's maneuverability seemed to be compromised by the combination of extra length and a weight of 12.2 ounces. When my opponent hit shots directly at my body or down towards my feet, I had trouble responding quickly enough with the racquet. On the flip-side, volleys hit squarely had nice pop and could be driven deep along the baseline. Overheads were easy to drive back and the racquet felt really stable on off-center shots."

Serves

Our team used the extra length of the TFight 325 to good effect when serving. Chris said, "I found plenty of control serving with this one. I was finding good angle with my kicker to the ad court and liked the spin and grip I was getting on the ball. There's nothing quite like bombing a big first serve with a player's racquet, and this one didn't disappoint. While I'm not the most powerful server, I was very pleased with the pace, weight and placement of my shots. On second serves, plenty of control meant I could stay aggressive - going for the kind of pace and placement I usually reserve for my regular racquet." Enjoying the response of the TFight 325 on serve was Brad. "The extra length of this racquet really came in handy on serves. I found that I was able to generate some good pace on my first serves. You can really feel the extra weight of the racquet doing some of the work for you while serving as long as you are able to get the racquet head moving at a decent speed. Also, I really enjoyed hitting my kick serve with this racquet. I found that I was able to get that extra kick/movement with this racquet that I haven't quite figured out how to get with my Yonex RDX 500 Midplus."

Josh found the TFight 325 to be a "great racquet to serve with." He said, "my first serves had good pace and weight behind them, and control was impressive. I was also able to generate good spin on second serves, which gave me the opportunity to hit kickers out wide to the Ad court and stick with my serve and volley game." While finding the racquet to be demanding, Wendi hit some great serves with the TFight 325. "I had mixed results serving with the TFight 325. I really didn't think I served well until my husband told me he's never seen me serve with so much pace, even my second serves. I guess I wasn't pleased because so many were in the net, especially towards the end of a set. I did have a decent amount of control, but to tell you the truth I was just trying to keep the point alive.

Granville offered, "given the right player the TFight 325 provides all the tools to dismantle any opponent. With the balance being so far toward the handle AND the flex a soft 59, I did notice a slight drop in power on the serve compared to my regular racquet. That may or may not be overcome with a different string and/or tension.

Service Returns

Our entire team was impressed by the stability and response from the TFight 325 when returning serve. Wendi said, "when returning serve, the TFight 325 can really take a beating and come out ahead. The stability was incredible even when facing my much stronger serving husband. I didn't have any problems returning his serves, although I did utilize the block return on the harder serves." In agreement was Brad. "Serve returns with this racquet felt very comfortable. I did not feel that I had any stability issues when I had to lunge to block a ball back or chip a return back. When I had a little more time to set up on 2nd serve returns, I was able to return the ball where I wanted with good pace and spin."

Also finding a good platform for aggressive returning was Granville. "The TFight 325 provides a solid and stable platform for serve returns. It always seems a luxury to be able to hit out with little risk of hitting long. Such is the case with the TFight 325 due to the soft, flexible shaft. Blocking the ball was not a problem. I gave this racquet high marks for playability on serve returns." Josh found the TFight 325 to be effortless on the return. "The TFight 325 was surprisingly easy to return with. The combination of weight and length seemed to make first serves easier to return. Outside of shortening my backswing, the racquet did all the work. Returns were deep and consistent and again, returning serve almost seemed effortless.

Also finding good results when returning was Chris. "I was finding plenty of control on the return allowing me to play aggressively at every opportunity. When stretched wide, I found the racquet to have enough mass that it wasn't getting knocked around by the ball. There was a nice solid feel at impact when chipping and blocking back fast first serves. I also found the comfort level to be good. Shanked returns didn't have the harsh feel present in some of the lighter and stiffer player's racquets currently on the market."

Overall

The TFight 325 impressed our team from every position on the court. The weight and control oriented nature of this racquet made it somewhat demanding for our lower ranked playtesters and a better fit for our advanced players. While it might be hefty for some, if you've got the game and the strength, you'll be hard pressed to find another racquet that offers the precision and response delivered by the TFight 325. Our team was impressed with the amount of control and spin they could generate on their shots from the baseline. At net the focus seemed to switch to touch and precision. On serves and returns our team seemed to enjoy a combination of the above, making the TFight 325 a true all court racquet.

Last Shots

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Review date: June 2005. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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