Racquet Playtest Comparison:
| About the play tester | About the racquets |
Name: Colpo
Playing Level: 4.0
Regular racquet, string & tension: I'm currently playing with a pair of 2001 Babolat Pure Control mids (330 gm. stock), customized with 0.3 oz. of lead added to each rackethead and with each strung at 56 lbs. with Luxilon Monotec Zolo 16L.
Tell us about your game:
Playing tennis for about 23 years;
I'm an aggressive baseliner who likes to trawl on and inside the baseline;
I have long backswings off both sides, with a one-handed backhand;
I like to move in and hit out, and will sometimes give away a point or three to my opponent by going for winners from the backcourt;
Dependable second serve with spin, so will use the harder/heavier first serve to set up forehand;
Semi-western forehand and continental backhand grips;
Generally hit with topspin off both sides, but can also incorporate flat and slice strokes; Prefer singles, but enjoy doubles particularly in league play;
Play mostly on clay;
Will sometimes war-cry "MASSU" after cracking a particularly fine winner, a decidedly rare occurrence.
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Impressions out-of-the-box The Yonex made the most striking initial impression. It's a great-looking frame with superb heft and balance and a great grip shape and base grip. The Prince's cosmetics were rather boring and derivative, and it felt like a lightweight no matter what story the scale told. Pulling out the Estusa was like revisiting an old friend, and reminded me of my first mail-order Puma Becker Super, summer of 1986. Now, however, particularly compared to the other two, holding and shadow-swinging the Estusa makes me wonder whether I can still jam with this kind of hardware.)
Power
The Diablo mid was the most powerful of the bunch, and it wasn't that close, either. The Diablo's ball acceleration is certainly assisted by its relatively round face and an open string pattern (for a mid). Its power was particularly evident on first serves and forehands with time to set up. The other two models, the Yonex and the Estusa, are control-oriented frames, plain and simple, and did not distinguish themselves in this category. I will add that the Estusa, which must, repeat MUST, be strung with a "feel" string as opposed to a new-agey poly, has a nifty "hot spot" just below center of its string bed, which does allow for some random tattooing, but it's often difficult to find because it's such a demanding frame. The Yonex is a straight-up solid frame, but a long swing and/or the user's physical strength are required to max it out power-wise.
Control
While this was largely a control-oriented bunch of frames, I was most impressed with the Yonex in this category. It's so beautifully balanced, with great feel, that I felt as though those attributes enhanced my ability to control the ball. An excellent ball control test is running groundstrokes up the line off of your partner's crosscourt shots, and the Yonex did very well in this test. The rackethead plays smaller than a 90 from a ball control standpoint, so imparting spin on drops and second serves was ideal. Very, very tight frame in this category. I'd place the Diablo second in this category because the Diablo's fine playability helped its control. However, the Diablo, of this bunch, played with the lightest-feeling head, so it did not outperform the RDX on shots like half-volleys, for instance. In the right hands, the Estusa may well have the best ball control of the bunch, but for me, it did not. The Estusa was the most cumbersome frame of the group, and I had difficulty moving its lumber into the proper hitting position with regularity. Its hitting zone, while "hot," also felt very far away from my hand, for some reason.
Maneuverability
Both the Yonex and the Prince proved to be quick at net and on serves. In fact, in this category, the Yonex seemed to play shorter than its 27" length, almost like an arm extension. Very nimble, "manipulate-able" racquet head. As for the Prince, it just played for me as though it were the most head-light frame of the group. That had its drawbacks, as the Prince in stock condition was most likely to get pushed around in rapid-fire action. The Estusa was the least maneuverable for me; it was the heaviest statically of the group and played like it. Again, only capable, physically-stronger individuals need apply. Interestingly, when the stars aligned and I had the time to get the Power Beam where I wanted it, shots like half-volleys were almost effortless and controlled.
Stability
The RDX, a terrific mid all-around, and the Estusa were the stability champs. However, like the Feral Kid's memory of Max in "Road Warrior," the Estusa's stability feature was for me largely a potentiality, rather than an actuality. If I were a better, stronger player, I might have gotten a more regular dose of the Estusa's excellent twist-resistance on volleys and serve returns; the dose I did get made clear to me that the Estusa is rock-solid in this category in the right hands. The Yonex mid, which plays small, seemed to get its feel from a stiffer head and a more flexible shaft, and this combination, if accurate, might be the reason why it was as stable as it was. The Diablo mid, as stated above, played well but somewhat light-headed, and while this feeling was a maneuverability plus, it detracted from its stability component.
Comfort
RDX, RDX, RDX. What can I say, I liked the Yonex. If "Comfort" means frame likeability, this was my winner. One of those frames that feels great right out of the box, from its heft to its grip shape to the way the sides of the throat are beveled. Consistent with Yonex's Japanese production of years past, workmanship, an often-overlooked category, is flawless, with a great color scheme and appealing mock lead tape strips at the head's sides. The Diablo was my next "preferred" here, very easy to swing and with a nice, solid feel, though it played lighter than its static weight. The Estusa had me breaking a sweat in the clubhouse; it's intimidating and I needed a baseball bat donut to shadow-swing it with to get used to its weight/balance component. Contact with its sweetspot did produce a rewarding response, but impacts off the top of the rackethead were droopy and jarring, producing little pace.
Spin
The Diablo consistently produced the best spin responses, particularly baseline topspin from both sides, underspin backhands, and drops. All things being equal, its string pattern played as the most open of the group. The Yonex was capable in this category, but relied more on user spin technique than on its own string pattern. The Yonex did excel on drop volleys at net, probably because the head is so controllable. The Estusa, which still wears its early-1980's Teutonic body armor quite handsomely, is probably a great spin-inducing frame for a 5.0 and up baller. Recall that its hefty weight/balance combination is drawn from earlier Puma frames, which themselves were "takes" on earlier Volkl frames (the original V-Engines). Who played with those frames but recreational-and-better red clay courters? Therefore, it makes sense that for the right player, it'd do well in this category. I did find that the Estusa, on a long swing, could build quite a head of momentum going into a stroke.
| Comfort |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
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| Control |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 80 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
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| Groundstrokes |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
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| Maneuverability |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 60 |
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| Power |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 70 |
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| Serve Returns |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 70 |
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| Serves and Overheads |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
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| Slice |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
|
| Stability |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 80 |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 80 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 70 |
|
| Topspin |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 80 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 80 |
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| Touch/Feel |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
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| Volleys |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 70 |
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| Overall |
| Yonex RDX 500 Midsize | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Midsize | 80 |
| Estusa Power Beam Pro | 70 |
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| Playtest date: November, 2004. |
| All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse. |