Prince Textreme Beast 98 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

From the ground, the Beast 98 extended our playtesters' explosive spin and pace, especially for a player's frame. Chris, whose racquet of choice sports similar specs, commented, "I really liked the the blend of power and control I found from the baseline with the Textreme Beast 98. It felt easy to find depth and pace off a moderate swing. When I really stepped in and took a good whack at the ball, I got plenty of heat without having to worry about the ball flying long. I liked the feel and control I had. I could tell how much I was getting on the ball, and that allowed me to flirt with the lines. The stringbed offered a very consistent response, which further helped my confidence with the racquet. I also found the racquet easy to transition into since the specs are right in the ballpark of my recent racquet choices. The response wasn't as lively as my Tecnifibre TFlash 300 PS, but the Textreme Beast 98 had more plow through power. The difference was a loopier ball with my racquet and a slightly lower trajectory and more driving ball with the Prince."

Michelle needs no help generating pace, so with a racquet as powerful as the Beast 98, you might as well shake hands and duck. She noted, "I was excited to try this updated racquet and quickly found some harmony off the ground when drilling with the Beast 98. I have to admit, maybe it's mental, but that extra cross string was nice to have since I always feel like it helps with some precision and control. I could really swing out and generate my own power without overhitting. I was happy with the levels of spin I could generate as well as the precision. The racquet felt fast, but I still was getting good plow through, so I was effective ending points. It reminded me a bit of the Dunlop Srixon Revo CV 3.0 F Tour by allowing me to dictate but still maintaining great control and precision. The racquet was also surprisingly stable when I was stretched out and needed to stab at the ball. I continually found myself getting my defensive shots deeper into the court than I thought they would go. I appreciated the fact that I never felt like I was getting pushed around from anyone at the baseline. We playtested both the standard and O Port versions of the 98, and I definitely felt more connected to this version of the Beast 98. I preferred the more solid feel, and despite the swingweights being very similar, I could hit bigger shots and had more plow through with this Beast 98."

Sean, who generally looks for feel and control in his racquets, had this to say about the Beast 98. "The first thing I noticed from the baseline with the Beast 98 was the easy power and depth I was getting off of both sides. It had a type of solid power that isn't as trampoline-like as a Pure Drive and came from the solidity of the frame. The tapered beam construction leaves more mass up in the hoop of the racquet, and that provided a greater return of the energy. So, in some ways I really liked this feature, but ultimately this is not what I am specifically looking for in a frame. I think the racquet swings heavier than the 325 swingweight implies, and I was left with a clunky aftertaste. This racquet was probably better suited for someone with shorter strokes because it felt overpowered for me."

Hannah, who has a commanding baseline game, said, "During my first couple of hits with this racquet, I noticed how power and depth came so easily to my groundstrokes. I tend to want to generate my own power a lot of the time, and with this racquet I could relax without putting so much effort in and still forge generous amounts of power. Compared to the thin beam of Phantom Pro 100 that we just playtested, the Beast 98 was the complete opposite, so admittedly, its profile felt beefy at times when it came to maneuverability and ramping up the swing speed. The thicker, solid beam construction offered impressive stability for this spec, and I liked the crisp and lively response it lent. In terms of groundstrokes, when I was in good position and had a clear plan for my shot, I could capitalize on this racquet's ability to unload offensively and generate clean power within the sweetspot. These benefits compromised a lot of spin potential that my playing style tends to rely on. Although the offensive drives were appreciated, I did not find predictable success when controlling the power both on the run and on shots closer to my body. I needed more access to spin to get my shots to drop in the court."

Volleys - Score: 83

The crisp and lively feel of the Beast 98 was demonstrative in the forecourt, where our playtesters felt comfortable and confident attacking. Hannah seemed to have little problem utilizing the strength of the Beast 98 and said, "I just had to set my racquet out in front and my volleys were effective, precise and landed deep in the court with this Beast 98. I really liked volleying with this racquet, and during point situations I know that I would have no trouble executing from the net. I was worried how some of the maneuverability issues I experienced at the baseline would affect net play, but I didn't find it to hinder my racquet setup. Besides ending points, my favorite shot at net with the Beast 98 was a low ball at my feet. It felt effortless, and it was so easy to shovel these volleys deep back into the court to neutralize my opponent."

Chris, whose net game is a key component of his strategic style, offered, "The Textreme Beast 98 was an easy racquet to volley with. I liked the maneuverability, comfort and feel of the racquet at net. I played several doubles matches with the racquet, and I liked how I could react quickly with it at net. Even against hard hit shots the racquet felt comfortable and remained solid enough to prevent undue twisting in my hands. My touch shots felt dialed in. The 16x20 string pattern offered lots of control and feel on my volleys. I found it easy to bleed pace off the ball to drop a short angled volley out of my opponent's reach."

Michelle also continued to find success with the Beast 98 and said, "This racquet provided really simple point and shoot volleying for me. No matter what sort of volley I was hitting I found great stability and touch. Even against harder hitters, I was finding I could block balls back easily with good depth. When I was being aggressive, I could push my opponent back and even had enough touch and precision to drop short balls at the net when I wanted to be a bit sneaky."

Sean still seemed to have problems in the maneuverability realm, but he was still liking the feel and power of the Beast 98. He shared, "I played a fair amount of doubles with this racquet, so I was able to hit a lot of volleys in both practice and match play. I think the solid beam version is much more solid and responsive at net but definitely less maneuverable than the O3 version. It was great for those first volleys coming in and even for half-volleys, as it was really stable and secure, but I definitely struggled getting the racquet into place on reaction volleys and those little touch shots around the net."

Serves - Score: 83

It is said a winged-beast of the sky, the peregrine falcon, can reach speeds in excess of 200mph; it should not come as a surprise then that the animalistic Beast 98 was engineered to add some extra pop up top. Sean was able to reach up and tap into some of that natural power. He remarked, "This thing was definitely a beast on serves. Huge spin and power were consistent themes here. I think with some more serving practice, I could use this racquet really effectively and actually make my serve a weapon, which it generally is not. Like most thicker-beamed racquets, I was shanking more of my kick serves because the frame was standing out a bit."

Michelle also discovered some success on serve and said, "I found a decent amount of pop off my flatter first serves. I could generate some good racquet head speed, pick my target and get the ball moving aggressively to start the point. On second serves, I had no issues tapping into a more aggressive kick or slice serve and found the accuracy to be solid. The Beast 98 helped me serve adequately, but I wouldn't say I was hitting the most power or even the most kick."

"My serves felt solid, and I could really set up the point well during service games," said Hannah, "but this was overshadowed by a drop in consistency. Similar to the baseline, the power and potential to be the aggressor sacrificed any ounce of control for me. My flat and kick serves that went in pretty much automatically set up my points to be no longer than two shots. I was rewarded off of these serves with a short ball and was stepping in the court right away. This was awesome, but I just couldn't count on my serve to be consistent enough when I needed it to be."

It's fair to say that the Beast 98 had playtester Chris comfortably under its spell by the time he stepped up to the line to serve. He recalled, "I liked serving with the Textreme Beast 98. The weight and balance were a good fit for me. I found it easy to swing, yet it also had enough mass to drive nicely through the ball. I found it to drive through the ball better than the Textreme O3 Beast 98 but not quite as easy to whip for spin. The differences were slight but noticeable enough to result in a different flight path to the ball depending on which Beast 98 I was serving with. I still found plenty of spin with this version, but I was able to get the ball to hop off the court a little more with the O3 version. On the flip side I felt more precise with the solid beam Beast 98."

Returns - Score: 84

Hannah stated, "Blocking back serves was nice, and when I was reaching for serves this racquet got good depth even just by sticking my racquet out and taking a stab. But anything that came close to me and even in my strike zone was at risk for overhitting returns. This is where I just had too much power that wasn't controllable and not enough spin. I really had to tone it down with my returns and put less effort in terms of pace on my shots."

Sean also struggled to find the consistency he needed on returns and said, "I generally think racquets that help me return well are both stable and maneuverable; this racquet fit half the equation. Against slower servers it was really easy to be aggressive while maintaining control, but when someone served up some heat I really struggled getting the frame into position with ample time to make a decision and execute."

Michelle, who finds guilty pleasure in attacking on the serve return. She said, "As a player who really tries to make a statement on the return, I liked how easy it was to attack with authority. If I was given a weak serve, I could really swing big and be aggressive to put me in an offensive position right away. I was confident stepping up against second serves as well and found my targeting to be precise. Even on bigger first serves that had me pulled off the court, I was enjoying good stability and the ability to get the ball back deep enough to stay in the point. This non-Port version really stood out compared to the O3 version here."

Still enthralled, Chris continued to connect with the Beast 98. He said, "This was a great racquet to return serve with. It was maneuverable enough to allow me to swing away and never feel slowed down. The comfortable response was great on tough returns when it's not always possible to keep the contact 100 percent clean. My block and chip returns felt controlled. I also felt in control of my returns when being more aggressive. The solid and consistent feel of the racquet made it a fun racquet to return serve."

Overall - Score: 82