Racquet Playtest Comparison:
| About the play tester | About the racquets |
Name: BreakPoint on the Talk Tennis message boards
Playing Level: 4.5
regular racquet, string & tension: Wilson ProStaff 6.0 Original 95, Gosen OG Sheep Micro 16g @ 59lbs., cable grommet "O" dampener, and Gosen Ripple overgrip over Wilson leather grip
Tell us about your game: All court player playing both singles and doubles, serve and volley 50% of the time. Long, loopy, fast swings on both sides. Can hit flat, topspin, and slice off of both sides, and will mix things up during rallies. One-handed backhand, semi-western forehand Strengths are serve and backhand.
Initial Impressions:
Dunlop M-Fil 200: This racquet felt heavy and solid as soon as I picked it up. Has nice heft and the high swingweight (marked as 348 by TW on a sticker on the racquet) was very noticeable as soon as I first swung it. It immediately reminded me of both the HEAD Liquidmetal Prestige Mid and the Head Liquidmetal Radical Tour with it's heft and high swingweight, its dense 18 x 20 string pattern, and it's beam shape and width. With dampener and two overgrips (the demo was 4 3/8 and my usual size is 4 1/2), it was a hefty 12.6 oz. on the scale. I loved the bright metallic medium blue paintjob, as it matched the color of my car perfectly!
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Babolat AeroPro Control: This is one strange looking racquet! I've never seen anything quite like it. It has a very wide, flattened beam at the throat which looks like a truck ran over it. I guess this is the "aerodynamic" beam that is supposed to simulate an airfoil (like on an airplane wing). It also has this rubbery type of coating over the entire frame. The racquet didn't feel very heavy when I first picked it up but did notice its rather high swingweight (340) when I first took a few swings through the air. The balance is certainly more even than what I'm used to with my PS 6.0 95 (10 pt. HL). With dampener and two overgrips (as above), it came out at 12.4 oz. on the scale.
Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II: Felt surprisingly light and easy to swing given its specs. Certainly felt easier to swing than the Tour 10 MP Gen I that I have. I also noticed that the head shape of the Gen II is slightly different from that of the Gen I. Although they are both supposed to be 98 sq. in., the Gen I has a more traditional oval shaped head, whereas the Gen II's head is more "egg-shaped" - in that its a bit wider at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions than at the 2 and 10 o'clock positions. The beam also appeared to be very thin (both straight on and from the side). With dampener and two overgrips (as above), the static weight was a surprising 12.3 oz.. I say this because this racquet felt lighter than that to me. Has a very high-quality looking finish with a flashy, glossy yellow color.
Power
Dunlop M-Fil 200: I would rate this a low to moderately powerful racquet. Much of the power comes from the sheer weight of this racquet rather than any "technology" that I can see or feel. You do have to take a full swing and generate your own power, though. Players with more compact strokes or those who like to block the ball may have trouble realizing much power from this racquet. However, the high swingweight means that I didn't need to take wild swings to hit the ball hard as slow, smooth strokes worked well. Has a good "plow-through" factor, but not as good as some other heavy racquets that I've used. The power was more evident on groundstrokes than on serves or volleys. I think the high swingweight made it a bit harder for me to get the racquet head speed high enough to really hit serves any harder than with my regular racquet. Volleys were very solid with just the right amount of punch to keep the ball in the court.
Babolat AeroPro Control: This racquet felt less powerful than the previous versions of the Pure Control that I've tried before (e.g., Team, MP, Zylon, etc.). However, this is still a pretty powerful racquet and was the most powerful of the three I playtested here. Power on serves and on groundstrokes were also higher than with my usual PS 6.0 95. This is a very easy racquet to serve with. Both flat, hard first serves, as well as slice or kick serves were easy to execute. Still, I would not consider this a high powered racquet, although its power can be deceptive due to its very muted feel. I would still consider this a control oriented racquet for those that can generate their own power with a full, fast swing.
Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II: Easily the lowest powered of the three racquets. Has a very flexible and headlight feel which results in a low powered racquet. This racquet definitely requires full, long strokes just to get the ball over the net. Definitely not as powerful as the previous Tour 10 MP Gen I. The good news is that the low swingweight makes this racquet very easy to swing fast. Which means, if you're an advanced level player, the power is there when you need it, but for players with slow or short swings, you may want something more powerful. I found myself going for more placement and touch than power and pace to hit winners when I used this racquet. The exception being on serves. I could hit serves with very good pace and even more spin with this racquet.
Control
Dunlop M-Fil 200: I found very good control with this racquet. The sheer weight of this racquet made it very hard for the ball to push it around no matter how hard your opponent hits it at you. As I mentioned above, it has decent plow-through" feel and the ball pretty much goes where you aim it. I found good control on serves, groundstrokes, and volleys. This racquet really reminded me a lot of the Head Liquidmetal Radical Tour, especially on serves and groundstrokes. The heavy swingweight and dense string pattern provides good control but made it a bit hard to generate fast racquet head speeds to really crank up the serves or to hit heavy spin.
Babolat AeroPro Control: I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised as to how good the control was with this racquet. Previous Babolat racquets I have tried were usually very stiff and lacked much feel which made it difficult for me to control the depth of my shots. Not so with this one. I found this racquet to provide good feedback and a somewhat soft feel which helped me make the minor adjustments necessary to better control the ball. However, I think the biggest factor influencing the feeling of control with this racquet is its huge sweetspot, perhaps the biggest I've ever used. Almost the entire stringbed felt like a sweetspot to me which made this a very forgiving racquet. I could hit the ball well off-center and still maintain decent control over my shot. Control was excellent on all shots, but especially strong on serves and forehands.
Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II: This racquet also had excellent control but in a different sort of way. The thin beam and flexible hoop provided excellent feedback and you almost feel as if you're catching the ball in the stringbed and then throwing the ball back in the direction you're aiming at. Once in a while, however, the high flexibility of this racquet threw me off a bit, and I ended up hitting a much weaker, slower shot than I had anticipated. Control was evident on all shots but particularly good on volleys. This racquet also has a very generously sized sweetspot. I would definitely consider this a more control-oriented racquet than a power-oriented one.
Maneuverability
Dunlop M-Fil 200: The least maneuverable of the three racquets due to its very high swingweight. Even though it has a headlight balance (6 pts HL), this racquet still has quite a bit of heft to it. This heft is not that noticeable once you start your swing and momentum takes over. However, the sheer weight made it sometimes difficult to hit those last second shots when you're late getting to the ball or to flick the ball back with your wrist. However, I found if I prepared early, I could still take a full stroke and hit the ball well out in front. I had no problems with volleys although I did feel a bit sluggish at the net, especially on overheads. Serves were decent but nothing really outstanding because the extra weight kept me from generating the same racquet head speed I usually require to hit serves effectively. I could hit some big bombs with this racquet but it was hard to do it consistently over a long period of time.
Babolat AeroPro Control: This racquet also has a relatively high swingweight (340), so it was not as maneuverable as my usual PS 6.0 95, but slightly more maneuverable than the Dunlop M-Fil 200. The very thick and flattened beam at the throat also gave this racquet a clunky feel which made it feel less maneuverable. Once you take a big swing with the racquet, however, it felt fine. I can't really confirm nor deny the effectiveness of the aerodynamic beam since I'm not really sure if it made much of a difference. Maneuverability was very good at the net and I had no problems serving with this racquet. In fact, I could serve some real bombs with it and slice and kick serves were also excellent. However, when waiting to return serve or when setting up for a backhand, I couldn't help feeling like I was cradling a "club" in my left hand.
Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II: This racquet was easily the most maneuverable of the three. It really does feel significantly lighter than its 12.3 oz. static weight to me. This is due to its very headlight balance (9 pts. HL). The narrow beam also enhances its feeling of maneuverability. This racquet was very easy to swing on serves and groundstrokes and was easy to move into position at the net. The great maneuverability is what makes this racquet so easy to volley with. It also allowed me generate serious racquet head speed on my serves for those heavy slice serves. Makes an excellent racquet for playing doubles in my opinion. Noticeably more maneuverable than the Tour 10 MP Gen I.
Stability
Dunlop M-Fil 200: This is a very stable racquet due to its sheer weight. However, I wouldn't say it's among the most stable I've ever used. Perhaps because the beam does have some flex to it, but it's not quite as rock solid as some other recent racquets, such as the Wilson nSix-One 95. Still it's much more stable than most of the light weight racquets out there today. It has a decent sized sweetspot and does not twist very much on off-center mis-hits.
Babolat AeroPro Control: This racquet is also very stable thanks to its weight and stiffness. The upper hoop is very stiff which makes for a very consistent stringbed. As I said above, the sweetspot is huge although if you hit the ball right in the center of the sweetspot, the feel isn't quite as sweet as with some other racquets (e.g., PS 6.0 95). But the good news is that I could hit the ball pretty much anywhere on the stringbed and get a pretty decent feel and a pretty good shot out of it. Not much twisting at all no matter where I hit it on the stringbed and the ball pretty much just goes where I aimed it. The excellent stability applied to all shots.
Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II: Probably the least stable out of the three due to its lower swingweight and very flexible hoop (at least compared to the other two), but still a pretty stable racquet overall. I could feel the racquet twist and bend on some groundstrokes and volleys, depending on how off-center the shot was. This made the racquet feel somewhat weak on occasion. However, when I hit the center of the sweetspot it was quite stable. Just a very different feel from most of today's lighter and stiffer racquets. Although its high flex and thin beam and hoop may make some off-center shots feel a bit unstable, it is still a very comfortable racquet and I would classify the feel as being "sweet" or "wood-like".
Comfort
Dunlop M-Fil 200: Very comfortable racquet with a very solid feel when you hit the sweetspot. However, may be a little "tinny" if you mis-hit the ball. Although it has a relatively low RDC stiffness rating of 61, it does feel like it has a firm hoop, which may be more jarring for some than a more flexible hoop. The dense string pattern and the relatively high tension (probably 62 lbs.) also made for a pretty stiff stringbed and a pretty muted feel. If you're not used to using a heavy racquet, this one may cause some shoulder discomfort or tire out your arm after swinging it for a few hours.
Babolat AeroPro Control: Although it's supposed to be a stiff racquet (RDC = 70), it does not really feel that stiff, despite its thick beam width. Thus, it feels pretty comfortable overall. The fairly soft feel surprised me as I was expecting a much harsher, stiffer feel like some older Babolat models. Somehow Babolat has managed to mute out the stiffness of this frame so that, while it maintains the playing characteristics of a stiff frame, it is not as jarring and has almost a soft feel to it. The very large sweetspot also means that you can hit the ball off-center and still maintain a high level of comfort. However, the relatively high swingweight may take a little getting used to for those used to playing with a lighter swingweight racquet.
Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II: A very comfortable racquet with an extremely muted, almost "wood-like" feel. The high flex of this frame, especially in the hoop, make this a very comfortable racquet to use. Definitely the most comfortable of the three here, and feels more flexible than the Tour 10 MP Gen I. Even the sound of the ball hitting the strings sounds soft. If you suffer from tennis elbow this would be a good option to look into. The lightweight feel of this racquet also means that you shouldn't have to worry about putting too much stress on your shoulder. If you liked the feel of wood racquets, this one's for you!
Spin
Dunlop M-Fil 200: Not the most spin friendly racquet I've ever used but not so bad, either. The dense string pattern and the heavy swingweight made it a bit of a challenge to brush up on the ball quickly to generate a lot of topspin. I felt I could drive through the ball and hit flat, hard shots a bit better than I could hit whippy topspin shots with this racquet. I could hit pretty heavy balls due to this high "plow-through" factor. Slice and kick serves felt on par with my usual racquet as the heavier swingweight counterbalanced the lower racquet head speed to produce similar pace and spin on serves.
Babolat AeroPro Control: A bit easier to generate spin with this racquet than with the Dunlop, but not by all that much. I think the relatively heavy swingweight and the relatively even balance made it not as easy as with my usual racquet to whip up on the ball to produce gobs of topspin. It even had a bit of a sluggish feel at times. But when you do swing smoothly from low to high, you still get ample topspin, enough to keep an offensive stance during a rally. Slice shots, however, did not have the same feel and bite as they do with my usual racquet and the ball tended to sit up more. No problems with flat shots, whatsoever. Slice and kick serves were very easy to produce with this racquet as the weight in the head combined with the aerodynamic beam seemed to pull the head through quickly at the end of the stroke and wrist snap to impart extra spin.
Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II: By far the most spin friendly of the three racquets here. The very flexible hoop combined with the open string pattern makes it relatively easy to generate gobs of spin. I could "whip" the ball over the net with good topspin off of both my forehand and backhand sides. You almost feel as if you're catching the ball in the stringbed and throwing it over the net with spin on it. Slice shots were decent but not as good as with my usual PS 6.0 95. Slice and kick serves, however, were excellent as the very headlight balance allows you to really produce some serious racquet head speed. I could get more spin on serves than with my usual racquet. I'd say the spin ability is on par with the Tour 10 MP Gen I.
Final Thoughts
Dunlop M-Fil 200: A good no-nonsense player's racquet similar to the Head Liquidmetal Radical Tour and Liquidmetal Prestige Mid, in my opinion. It's high swingweight makes for hitting very heavy balls, and better for hitting hard, flat shots than whippy, heavy spin shots. It also has a very comfortable, if not muted feel. Both advanced baseliners and all-court players should be able to appreciate the control this racquet has to offer. So if you like to hit the ball hard from the baseline and can handle its relatively heavy swingweight, you should demo this racquet. Bottom line: Best suited for 5.0 to 7.0 players with a strong arm and shoulder looking for a very solid feeling control racquet with a dense string pattern and no bells nor whistles.
Babolat AeroPro Control: This racquet was the biggest surprise out of the three to me because it was much better than I had expected. The big surprise was that I actually liked this racquet. I had expected not to like it at all. It felt much less stiff and had much better feel and control than I had expected. I think this racquet represents a major departure for Babolat to tone down the power and turn up the feel in their racquets. It was actually very hard to hit the ball long with this racquet no matter how hard I swung. Because of the high swingweight, not so headlight balance, and the thick, clunky feel of the frame, I'd say this racquet is likely better suited for baseliners than for serve-and-volleyers. Bottom line: A solid racquet with good feel and control best suited to 4.0 to 7.0 baseliners looking for a modern racquet with good control and power.
Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II: Almost an "old school" type racquet with its thin and flexible beam and hoop. Lots and lots of feel with this racquet and the flex helps to create an abundance of spin. Very headlight balance makes for great maneuverability at the net and makes it easy to generate the racquet head speed needed to produce heavy spin serves. If you're old enough to remember wood racquets and liked the feel and control you had with them, and are seeking something similar in a modern racquet, look no further! If you're not old enough to remember wood racquets but you like very flexible racquets with a lot of feel, and can generate your own power, you should also take a look at this one. Bottom line: Best suited for 4.0 to 6.0 all-court players looking for a flexible, comfortable, thin-beamed, not too heavy player's racquet that's very easy to swing.
A Last Word
If I had to choose one of these three racquets to switch to from my PS 6.0 95, it would be the Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II. It plays the closest to the PS 6.0 95, with similar static and swingweights, very headlight balances, and stiff throats and flexible hoops. This racquet almost feels like a modern version of the Dunlop Maxply Fort wood racquet that I grew up playing tennis with!
By the way, if you're interested in the Tour 10 MP Gen II then I also suggest giving the Tour 10 MP Gen I a try as well just for comparison purposes. The Gen I is a bit stiffer, more powerful, and swings a bit heavier, perhaps a bit better suited for hard-hitting baseliners.
| Comfort |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 82 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 80 |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 79 |
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| Control |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 81 |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 79 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 78 |
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| Groundstrokes |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 79 |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 78 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 77 |
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| Maneuverability |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 82 |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 70 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 65 |
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| Power |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 68 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 66 |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 64 |
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| Serve Returns |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 80 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 77 |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 76 |
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| Serves and Overheads |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 83 |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 82 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 78 |
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| Slice |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 78 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 76 |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 75 |
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| Stability |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 82 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 80 |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 79 |
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| Topspin |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 83 |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 79 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 75 |
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| Touch/Feel |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 83 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 79 |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 78 |
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| Volleys |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 79 |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 76 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 75 |
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| Overall |
| Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II | 82 |
| Babolat AeroPro Control | 80 |
| Dunlop M-Fil 200 | 78 |
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| Playtest date: April, 2005. |
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