Racquet Playtest Comparison:
| About the play tester | About the racquets |
Name: Smashlob on the Talk Tennis message boards
Playing Level: 5.0
Regular racquet, string & tension: Wilson 6.1 HPS Tour Edition, Forten Sweet 17 @ 56 lbs.
Tell us about your game: I am an all court player that plays very aggressively, going for winners from all over the court (often at the wrong time.) I hit with moderate topspin off both sides.
Power The Head and the Prince both had a lot of power; they were neck and neck with each other for first place, however, the Head edges out the Prince slightly due to the fact that the Prince generates spin so easily.
Control The ProStaff Classic wasn't used by so many top pros due to its power, the control here is excellent. The control offered by it, is far and away the best of all of the racquets. Control on the serve, volleys, and groundstrokes were all excellent.
The Volkl had excellent control as well; all the shots I hit with it went where I wanted them to go.
|
|
The Prince Diablo had decent control, it was certainly not bad, however, I felt I had to hit with extra topspin off of my forehand side in order to keep some of the balls from flying out.
On the other hand, the LM Prestige was another story, how any decent player could play with this racquet is beyond me. While I was using this racquet, my groundstrokes as well as volleys were flying all over the place. For me, this racquet had as much control as the latest Wilson Sledgehammer.
Maneuverability
All of these racquets are serious player's racquets, and as such, those looking for incredible maneuverability should look elsewhere.
However, with that said; I felt that the Volkl was more maneuverable than any of the other racquets, with the Prince and the Wilson trailing slightly behind. I know that the swingweights say otherwise, however, I feel that the Prince "felt" easier to move than the Wilson. The Prestige was the least maneuverable of the bunch, and I had trouble getting the racquet around in time when returning fast serves and when hitting reflex volleys.
Stability
When hit in the sweetspot, which was about the size of the tennis ball itself, the Wilson was the most stable by far, never even twisting a little. However, even slightly off, this racquet gave me all kinds of nightmares, with the racquet twisting, causing the ball to go out. I ranked this 3rd place.
The Head Liquidmetal Prestige was the worst of the racquets, on every shot the racquet felt that it was made out of a cheap material, offering no stability. If I were the owner of this racquet, I think that lead tape at the 3 and 9 positions might have fixed this.
The Volkl and the Prince both offered excellent stability, with minimal twisting in the hand during off center hits.
Comfort
I can see now why Volkls are so well known for their comfort, hitting with this racquet offered no additional stress on my tennis elbow. The Diablo was almost as good. The comfort offered by the Prestige was decent as well. However, my elbow will almost never forgive me for hitting with the Wilson 6.0; this racquet caused me some bad pain in my elbow while playing, as well as afterwards.
Spin
Except for the Prince Diablo, this was not a good bunch for spin. Prince's 16x19 open patterns made this untouched by any of the other racquets in terms of spin. You may note that the Wilson had a 16x18 pattern, however, having an 85 sq. in. head, this was perhaps the most difficult to get a good amount of spin out of, frame shots were difficult. The Volkl and the Prestige were not too great either, both having a dense 18x20 pattern. I felt that the Prestige edged out the Volkl slightly in this category.
Overall The Prince Diablo was the favorite of all of these racquets for me, my serve and volleys have never been better, with any racquet. I was hitting many more aces with this racquet than usual, and the people I played with commented how the ball felt heavier when I was playing with this racquet. I would buy this racquet if my current budget allowed me to.
The Volkl Tour 10 V-Engine Mid was my second place choice. The comfort was just there for me; there was a nice blend of all factors, I felt that this racquet would have been better suited with a 16x20 pattern, there was plenty of control, and I think that the racquet would benefit from the added spin.
The Wilson ProStaff 6.0 came next, just picking up this racquet made me feel like Pete Sampras, however, it was not to be. I am slightly sad about this; when I hit the ball in the center of the strings, it would beat any of the other racquets, however, the 85 sq. in. was not enough for me.
The Head Liquidmetal Prestige Mid, was hands down the worst racquet I have ever picked up in my entire life. I do not understand why this racquet is so popular. Perhaps the MP version is better. I found the control was so atrocious, and the racquet felt so terrible that the racquet was the only one of the four that I did not enjoy playtesting. Basically the only shot that I was able to hit well with this racquet was the serve, and that was due to the power offered by this racquet.
| Comfort
|
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Mid | 85 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 80 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 65 |
|
| Control
|
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 94 |
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 88 |
| Prince Diablo Mid | 84 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 75 |
|
| Groundstrokes
|
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 90 |
| Prince Diablo Mid | 88 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 85 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 70 |
|
| Maneuverability
|
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 85 |
| Prince Diablo Mid | 82 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 81 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 74 |
|
| Power
|
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 81 |
| Prince Diablo Mid | 79 |
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 77 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 75 |
|
| Serve Returns
|
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 88 |
| Prince Diablo Mid | 85 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 80 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 79 |
|
| Serves and Overheads
|
| Prince Diablo Mid | 95 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 92 |
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 90 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 85 |
|
| Slice
|
| Prince Diablo Mid | 90 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 82 |
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 79 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 75 |
|
| Stability
|
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 93 |
| Prince Diablo Mid | 90 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 88 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 75 |
|
| Topspin
|
| Prince Diablo Mid | 90 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 82 |
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 79 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 75 |
|
| Touch/Feel
|
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 100 |
| Prince Diablo Mid | 92 |
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 90 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 85 |
|
| Volleys
|
| Prince Diablo Mid | 95 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 93 |
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 87 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 65 |
|
| Overall
|
| Prince Diablo Mid | 88 |
| Volkl T10 V-Engine Mid | 86 |
| Wilson PS 6.0 85 | 83 |
| Head Liquidmetal Prestige | 73 |
|
| Playtest date: November, 2004. |
| All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse. |