Racquet Playtest Comparison: O3 White vs nPro Open vs TFlash 290
Wilson nPro Open: The nPro Open was the least powerful racquet in this playtest. There was a crisp response off the stringbed, but balls were landing short. I felt that it lacked some mass in the upper hoop to help hit through the ball. Power on serves was average, and I felt myself going more for placement than pace. It was a little tough to keep the volleys and returns deep. The Open felt less powerful than previous generations of the Surge. I would try stringing with a soft multifilament for a bump in power. Tecnifibre TFlash 290: The TFlash 290 has moderate power and I adjusted to the racquet easily. I could consistently keep the ball deep from the baseline and had moderate pace on serves. Volleys were kind of a mixed bag. If I just blocked volleys, they tended to land a little short, but if I tried punching them, they tended to fly out. Returns were average with the 290,but I had to stay more on the aggressive side to get good results. Prince O3 White: The O3 White ranked last in control compared to the other 2. As mentioned earlier, I had to consciously hit with spin to keep the ball in the court. I didn't feel as confident hitting the corners. Short angles (groundstrokes and volleys) were also difficult to hit. Most of them sailed past the lines, or when they landed in, seemed to just sit up. On serves, I felt almost Roddick-esque with lots of pace, but I could not find much placement. Again, I felt more comfortable aiming deep in the box instead of for the corners. Wilson nPro Open: Control with the nPro Open was average, although trying to keep the ball consistently deep was difficult. It had a smallish sweetspot, and balls hit outside of this zone were lackadaisical. Felt good control working the short angles, especially on the volleys. Slices had good response; I could float them deep, or hit a nice, tight short angle. Had decent placement with spin and kick serves. Tecnifibre TFlash 290: The TFlash 290 had the best control out of the 3 racquets in this playtest. Performance-wise, it felt close to my Pure Drive, so I didn't need much time to adjust my strokes. The big difference came on volleys, where the response wasn't as consistent. Otherwise, on groundstrokes, I felt confident going for the corners or for the topspin angles. On serves, I was comfortable swinging slices or kickers out wide and hitting flat ones up the T with good placement. Prince O3 White: Maneuverability is slightly more maneuverable than the TFlash 290. Even though the O3 White was heavier statically, that weight is towards the handle, making it a bit more headlight. It seems to cut through the air easily, which may be because of the O Ports, or its aerodynamic design. This gives it a slightly whippier feel than the TFlash 290. Most noticeable on groundstrokes, but had no problems with serves, volleys or overheads. Wilson nPro Open: Definitely the most maneuverable out of the three I playtested. Its light weight and balance made it easy to react to quick volley exchanges. I was also able to whip more on the ball and get more spin on groundstrokes. Not at all sluggish on serves and I could generate good kick on my serves. Tecnifibre TFlash 290: While I ranked it the lowest in maneuverability, the TFlash 290 was still very maneuverable. The balance feels a little closer to even balance, but it doesn't feel cumbersome. Again, it was very close to my current racquet, the Pure Drive, and I adjusted easily on all shots. Prince O3 White: The O3 White felt the most stable out of the 3 racquets tested. The sweetspot felt large, expanding nearly the whole racquet face. Its muted feel gave the sensation of being stable good shot response on off center hits without any jarring feel. I also didn't feel the racquet twisting in my hand, only when I didn't grip tight enough because the bevels are so round.. Wilson nPro Open: The nPro Open was the least stable racquet in this playtest. Its lack of weight in the head just gave it a smallish sweetspot. When hit outside of this zone, I could feel the racquet twisting which produced a weak response. The upper hoop felt dead and shots hit in this zone were jarring. Adding some lead in the hoop could add some stability to the nPro Open as well as enlarge the sweetspot. Tecnifibre TFlash 290: The TFlash 290 felt stable on shots hit in the sweetspot. Off center hits had a similar jarring feel I've found from other Tecnifibre racquets. I did feel some racquet twisting on balls hit outside the sweetspot. Prince O3 White: I found the White to be the most comfortable racquet in this playtest. It feels very muted, sometimes to the point I couldn't feel the ball at all on contact. Still, it was comfortable and soft feeling. I didn't feel any jarring or racquet twisting on off center hits. Wilson nPro Open: The nPro Open ranked least in comfort. The stringbed felt harsh and stiff, which was extremely noticeable on off center shots. Hitting for an extended period of time, I experienced some discomfort from the firm feel of this racquet. Tecnifibre TFlash 290: The TFlash 290 felt comfortable on shots hit in the sweetspot, but I couldn't detract from the tinny feel. It felt very metallic with a pinging response - especially on off center hits. Despite getting some good results, I just couldn't get used to its feel. Prince O3 White: Generating spin with the O3 White was more difficult than I expected. The frame had a lot of pop so I had to consciously add spin in order to keep the ball in the court. This caused the ball to sit up a little more than I would like. Slices on the other hand were biting and penetrating without much bounce. Wilson nPro Open: I was able to get the most spin out of the nPro Open. Its light weight coupled with its low swingweight allowed me to generate lots of racquet head speed which led to spin. I was also able to generate lots of kick on my serves. Tecnifibre TFlash 290: Spin with the 290 was moderate. I could generate good topspin while driving the ball, which kept the ball deep with good margin of error. My slices tended to float a bit more than usual. Short angles were slightly easier to hit with the 290 than my Pure Drive with topspin that swung the opponent wide.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
to home
International Email twint@tennis-warehouse.com