Yonex VCORE Tour F 93 Review

Groundstrokes - 81

Our playtesters had good success playing with the VCORE Tour F 93 from the baseline and found it surprisingly easy to use given its smaller head size. "I really enjoyed hitting with this racquet from the baseline, and the first thing I noticed was how forgiving it was -- much more so than its 93 square inch head size would suggest," Andy praised. "I certainly didn't have to focus as hard on centering the ball on the strings as I do with other midsize racquets. The sweetspot felt responsive and generous, yet I still felt very connected to the ball as it left the strings. It possesses nice pop off the stringbed, with a crisp, modern feel, while still giving me the control and spin I need to feel confident going for all my shots."

Chris was also able to access his full array of shots with absolute confidence. He offered, "It was fun to trade groundstrokes with a midsize racquet again. I enjoyed its very precise and maneuverable feel. There's something about the way a mid cuts through the air that makes it easy to accelerate through contact. This racquet also had a nice head light balance to help keep the tip fast and easy to whip around. With all of the racquet head speed I was generating I was able to hit with ample pace and spin. The Tour F 93 felt crisp at contact, and I got a sense the ball was getting in and out of the stringbed very quickly. I also found the response to be pretty forgiving, with no major power drop-off outside of the sweetspot. All of my shots were working well with this racquet, and I was finding solid pace and accuracy."

Karly found noticeably good control, although she wished for a little more power for easier depth on her shots. She shared, "Everything about the Yonex Tour F 93 screamed control. From the tight string pattern in the midsize head to the solid and muted response, this racquet allowed me to be precise. When the ball left the stringbed I had a pretty good sense of where it was going to land because of the very dense, board-like feel and because this racquet hardly flexed on contact. The extra cross strings didn't allow the ball to stay on the racquet for very long; the response was immediate. However, I struggled with depth since the racquet was so low powered, and the ball landed short more often. When I tried to hit harder to make up for the lack of depth the dense string pattern made it difficult to add topspin to help keep the ball from soaring long. I had to find the right balance of hitting hard, flat shots that weren't going to land short or past the baseline."

Troy found this racquet easy to swing but ultimately craved a more traditional, heavier setup for better plow through and feel. He said, "I was finding easy maneuverability and lots of control from the baseline. This racquet was very easy to wield given its static weight of roughly 11.5 ounces strung. Although lighter than the typical midsize racquet, I thought it possessed decent stability against hard shots. The unique 16x21 string pattern took some time to get used to, but once that happened I enjoyed the control I was getting, especially when flattening out my backhand. My struggle was getting used to the low trajectory of my forehand when I was being offensive, so I was often clipping the net on my shots. I found this racquet to be a bit unforgiving when I was playing sets. The 93 square inch headsize, compared to the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph that I have been using, made it difficult to play defensively and hit forehands on the run. I would have preferred a more open string pattern as well as a bit more swingweight for added power and plow through."

Volleys - 86

When our testers approached the net they continued to enjoy the fast, precise feel of the VCORE Tour F 93. "Probably my favorite shot with this racquet was the volley," Chris said. "I loved the very direct response because I felt totally in control. Whether I was punching volleys deep with pace or dropping the ball short and angled, I felt very dialed in. Again, the feel was very crisp and clean, giving me a great sense of what I was doing with the ball."

Andy also felt in total command at net during the playtest. He praised, "My love affair with this racquet continued as I approached the net and hit volleys. It felt fast and maneuverable, making it easy to get into position during quick exchanges. The crisp feel gave it nice stability on anything hit off center while still leaving me connected and in control of each shot. Whether I was punching a volley deep or caressing a finesse shot, I felt in total control with this racquet in hand."

Concurring, Karly shared, "I found it was much easier to generate pace at net than it was at the baseline, which was one of the reasons why I liked volleying with the Tour F 93 so much. This racquet felt livelier at the net, and I didn't need to put as much effort into hitting a powerful put-away shot. The maneuverability was great, too, so it was easy to move this racquet into position for a hard-hit volley. Another added bonus was the rock solid feel. Just like at the baseline, it had exceptional stability on contact, which made it simple to drive through the ball. I loved the combination of control, added power, maneuverability and stability the Tour F 93 provided at net."

Troy also enjoyed the crisp, responsive feel this racquet had to offer, but once again he felt a little more weight would have provided some added stability. He said, "I enjoyed the precise feel when I came to the net with this racquet. The control allowed me to place volleys close to the lines and command the ball within the court. The feel allowed me to be confident when hitting drop volleys, and the maneuverability worked well for reaction volleys during doubles. The only knock is that it was a bit unstable whenever big shots were ripped at me."

Serves - 87

The VCORE Tour F 93 performed just as well on serves, and it offered the controlled, maneuverable feel that our team really appreciated. Troy's consistency and control were on point throughout the test. He shared, "My ability to consistently hit my targets and mix up the location of my serves was great, but I didn't think I was getting much added power. My flat serves down the 'T' were consistent, with good location, but I struggled to get a boost in spin when going for slice and kick serves. The easy maneuverability was a nice relief on my shoulder, though."

"I enjoyed this racquet on serve almost as much as I did on volleys," Chris praised. "I found it easy to hit with both pace and accuracy. The racquet came through contact exceptionally well, and the feel was solid and comfortable. I was getting great bite when it was strung with Volkl Cyclone Tour. I could move the ball around the box to vary my targets, and I stayed accurate thanks to all the spin."

Andy couldn't figure out what else he would want from a racquet when serving. He raved, "Power, control, spin... this racquet had it all when serving. I felt like I could unload big flat serves and get plenty of spin when I wanted to get the ball moving off the court. The maneuverable feel allowed me to get easy racquet head speed as well."

Karly felt right at home serving with this racquet. She said, "I was really comfortable serving with this racquet because of its precision, maneuverability and stability. With all the control I could swing big and not worry about overhitting. I could also swing through the ball quickly and place my serve where I wanted. It was even easy to hit a big second serve. The solid, crisp response helped add good pop, so when the ball landed it kicked up aggressively. I was a more confident server with the Tour F 93 because I didn't have to slow my stroke down to hit my targets."

Returns - 78

Our playtesters enjoyed returning with the VCORE Tour F 93 as much as they did serving with it. Karly varied her returns and kept her opponents off balance. She said, "For a midsize racquet with so much control, the Tour F 93 was manageable on returns. Generally, racquets with those characteristics aren't as easy to swing, so I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I could bring this racquet back. My favorite aspect was how control-oriented it played. The maneuverability of the Tour F 93 allowed me to go for tougher angles or change the direction of the ball. Powerful returns weren't as easy to produce, but I could rely on making smart shots to get take the offensive quickly."

The VCORE Tour F 93 worked well for Andy's aggressive style of returning. He offered, "The controlled, maneuverable feel made this racquet great for taking returns early and offensively. The responsive feel also had me very connected to the ball when punching back chip returns deep in the court. The crisper feel provided nice stability when reaching wide or fending off bigger first serves. If I had to be extremely critical, a little bigger head size would allow me to swing even bigger and more freely."

Chris appreciated the maneuverable feel that allowed him to catch up to harder hit serves. He said, "This racquet felt very fast for its weight. I was able to get a solid swing on most of my returns, and when I did I had the control to find my targets. Again, hitting with spin was easy, which helped me swing aggressively while keeping my shots within the lines."

Troy liked the Tour F 93 when returning offensively, but he struggled when trying to defend. He critiqued, "When a serve was in my wheelhouse I loved how I could rip my return without fear of hitting long. When I was stretched out and off-balance on a return I struggled to get the ball past the service line. I found good control on my returns, especially on the slice backhand. The downside was that I couldn't get easy depth on my returns, and I was craving some added swingweight for plow through."

Overall - 84

Technical Specifications Length 27 inches 69 centimeters Head Size 93 square inches 600 square centimeters Weight 11.5 ounces 326 grams Balance Point 12.6 inches 32 centimeters 7pts Head Light Construction 21.5mm / 21.5mm / 20.5mm Composition H.M Graphite / Black Micro Core / Nanometric String Pattern 16 mains / 21 crosses

Babolat RDC Ratings Score Grade Flex Rating 64 Range: 0-100 Swing Weight 315 Range: 200-400

Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester Profiles

Chris: 4.5 all-court player currently using the Wilson Six.One 95S. Chris uses a full-western forehand grip, has a fast swing style and hits a one-handed backhand.

Andy: Open level all court player with a semi-western forehand grip and a two handed backhand. Andy currently using a Yonex EZONE Ai 98.

Karly: 4.0 baseline player currently playing with the Prince Textreme Tour 95. She hits with a semi-western forehand grip and uses a two handed backhand.

Troy: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a full Western Forehand and a two-handed backhand. Troy currently plays with a Wilson BLX Six.One 95.

Review date: April 2015. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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