Volkl V-Sense 9 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 80

With a 16x17 string pattern, this maneuverable V-Sense 9 came loaded with spin. All of our playtesters agreed that the V-Sense 9 was quick to swing and made it easy to hit shots deep into the court. Andy liked the access to depth and spin. He began, "This was definitely an interesting racquet to hit with from the baseline. All it took was an easy swing to get my shot landing deep in my opponent's court. However, just like with other racquets that have wide-open string patterns, I felt like I had to use topspin to get any sort of control. Whenever I went for flatter shots, especially on my backhand, which I typically hit a little flatter, I'd often lose the ball off the strings and it would sail long. I also thought the sweetspot was not very forgiving -- the power dropped off quickly and dramatically when I didn't make contact in the middle of the racquet."

Michelle, who is used to heavier racquets, thought this racquet was missing something. She explained, "Maybe it was plow through or a few cross strings, but the racquet felt 'tinny' to me, which isn't my preferred feel when hitting, although it wasn't uncomfortable or painful. The string pattern helped me add easy spin and depth to balls without really having to try, which also meant the launch angle was a bit more extreme than what I'm used to. With all that said, when I was just trying to hit and move the ball around, it was pretty easy to be consistent, and my shots landed deep in the court with good spin. But when I started going after balls and flattening my shots out I started struggling a bit more and found the racquet to play more erratically. The harder I tried the less I could tame the racquet. This led to some consistency issues when I was trying to put the ball away. I don't have a huge margin of error in my game, so this became a bit detrimental in point play. Lastly, this racquet wasn't helping me get back into points when I was in a defensive position, and my shots were vulnerable or short. I was playtesting the V-Sense 8 315g at the same time and the V-Sense 8 did that really well."

Jason, who is familiar with the Volkl 9 line of racquets, added some great perspective. He said, "First things first, this racquet does not play like the Super G 9 it replaces. That version was low powered with a tight string pattern. This V-Sense 9 is the complete opposite, and I really liked it. It swung fast, and I was able to put tons of spin on my shots. It complemented my game well. I like to hit with a lot of spin, and the V-Sense 9 magnified my shots, whether I was hitting a topspin forehand or a slice backhand. The excellent maneuverability really allowed me to hit some sharp angled shots. I thought the power level was excellent for a racquet of its weight class. I did, however, struggle to hit with depth and pace when on the run."

Troy found the V-Sense 9 fast and whippy from the baseline. He commented, "There was a noticeable difference between this Volkl V-Sense 9 and the Super G 9 that it replaces. The V-Sense 9 has a crisper and more responsive feel, while the Super G 9 was stiff, but muted and lacking in feel. This racquet provided loads of topspin, and I found my forehands possessed a lot of arc on them. I enjoyed the fast feel of this racquet whenever I needed to create racquet head speed with the flick of my wrist, which helped when I was on the run and off balance. The lighter weight of this racquet (compared to my racquet of choice) was a problem when I played against heavy hitters, though, and this racquet got pushed around at times. I think some added weight (to increase the swingweight) would do this racquet some justice. The wide open 16x17 string pattern was lacking in control at times, and it forced me to hit to big targets, which had me second guessing my offensive strategy. I was able to get a ton of spin off my backhand slice, but again, I felt this racquet lacked enough plow through to get the ball moving through the court."

Volleys - Score: 72

Our playtesters may not always agree, but they did all find the V-Sense 9 a bit unstable at net. Michelle commented, "I was looking for a bit more stability at net. Again, the launch angle threw me off a bit. I felt like I had to push the ball and guide it to get it where I wanted it to go. It didn't feel like simple point and shoot volleying. I struggled a lot with balls below the net as well, which I wasn't expecting with the open string pattern. I felt more comfortable swinging away at volleys instead of trying to place them."

"At net the V-Sense 9 was fast and had great feel," began Jason, "However, it was not the most torsionally stable racquet. Some added weight in the hoop would have definitely helped. I could hit overheads with this racquet with just a snap of my wrist, though."

Troy was craving more stability and precision when volleying. He offered, "Because of the firm and crisp feel, when I made contact outside the sweetspot it jarred my arm. The wide open string pattern lacked the response and precision that I have grown accustomed to over the years, since most of the racquets I gravitate toward are dense 18x20 string patterns. I never felt comfortable placing my volleys close to the lines with the erratic response I was getting. However, the benefit of this racquet being so maneuverable was I could flick the racquet with ease to get a low volley when I was off balance. This racquet lacked the mass I typically favor, and it was getting pushed around and twisting in my hand more than I would have liked."

Andy thought the V-Sense 9 offered good feel around the net, and he felt pretty connected to the ball as it left the strings. This made it easy for him to use touch and finesse. He said, "It was also very maneuverable and easy to get into position during quick exchanges. However, I thought the racquet was a tad unforgiving outside of the sweetspot. If I didn't make contact just right the racquet fluttered and my volley landed very short in the court."

Serves - Score: 77

The grippy spin pattern of the V-Sense 9 helped our playtesters' serves move and jump off the court surface, but our players who normally play with heavier racquets were looking for a bit more mass behind their serves. Jason found good consistency when he served with the V-Sense 9. He explained, "I could generate tons of spin on my serves, so even though I wasn't getting as much power as I would've liked, they were still effective. I'd say control was above average."

"It was when I was hitting my slice and kick serves that this Volkl V-Sense 9 really shone," said Troy. "The maneuverability and the spin-friendly string pattern allowed me to hit slice and kick serves with ease. I was able to snap my wrist to get easy racquet head speed, which allowed me to hit my kick serve more consistently than usual. On the other hand, I did not favor this racquet as much when hitting flat first serves. I could hit first serves with ease due to its maneuverability, but I felt that it was lacking enough plow through to get the heavy pace I typically have with heavier racquets. I felt comfortable hitting my spin serves with a lot of margin, but I lacked the confidence to hit my serves to the corners of the service boxes because the precision wasn't quite there for me."

Andy offered, "The V-Sense 9 offered excellent spin potential and good control for my serves. Once I adjusted to the unique response off the stringbed I was finding my targets consistently and was able to get my kick and slice serves moving off the court. Its fast feel also made it easy to generate lots of racquet head speed. However, I wish the V-Sense 9 had a bit more mass to generate more power on my flatter serves. I found that if I didn't really go after my serves they would just sit up for my opponents."

The specs of this racquet threw Michelle off a bit, and she had trouble serving consistently. She explained, "I just found that where I was aiming was not always where the ball landed. First serves were more unpredictable than second serves, though. I tried to play to this racquet's strengths and key in on the spin potential with kick and slice serves, and that seemed to get the job done. I found that effective ball movement was more dangerous than speed when serving with this racquet since I couldn't generate heavy, fast first serves as easily as I wanted."

Returns - Score: 72

Spin continued to be the name of the game when our playtesters were returning with the V-Sense 9. Troy found the maneuverability beneficial whenever he was stretched out on his returns. He said, "I could get the racquet on the ball and try to get into the point. When I had my balance and could step into my returns I wanted more plow through to hit a deep and penetrating return. My backhand slice returns were often landing short, and the V-Sense 9 didn't knife through the ball like my Wilson Six.One 95. The fast feel of this racquet allowed me to get the racquet on a lot of serves, but the result was typically a short ball for my opponent to crush."

Like his groundstroking experience, Andy had to use topspin to get any sort of control on his returns. He said, "When I hit with topspin I found I could get easy depth and spin with simple, compact swings. I thought chip returns would have benefited from a bit more weight in the hoop of the frame because they often fell short in the court if I didn't hit them just right."

This racquet wasn't Michelle's favorite to return with. She commented, "I had to pick big targets, and even then I wasn't loving it when trying to attack returns. I felt the racquet played lighter than its weight on returns, and there were times when I would go after my return and find the racquet was accelerating too fast, putting me off my target. I needed more weight in the head to get the racquet going. It felt erratic and slightly unstable, and it was getting pushed around a bit."

On the other hand, Jason's game benefited from the whippy feel and open string pattern when returning. He said, "The 16x17 string pattern really helped me dip my returns into play when I took big cuts at the ball. Because I could swing it fast I had confidence to be aggressive on both first and second serve returns."

Overall - Score: 75