Prince Phantom Pro 100 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 86

The plush, soft feel, juxtaposed with a lively, responsive stringbed, made the Phantom Pro 100 a comfortable and practical option. Our testers could also hit tons of spin and maneuver the Phantom Pro 100 with ease. By the end of the playtest, Kristen was more than pleased with her results from the baseline. She said, "This playtest was an interesting progression for me. The first time I hit with the Phantom Pro 100 I was really caught off guard by how different it felt from other racquets I've been testing as of late. I started getting used to the feel of the racquet by my second hit, and that's when it really started to shine for me. With the easy maneuverability and the plush-yet-stable feel, I found I was hitting a more relaxed stroke with great feel and consistency. The open 16x18 string pattern brought me back to my Wilson BLX Juice days. I loved hitting those high arching balls that dropped at the baseline, and I also found good access to pace. With its low flex rating and thin beam, this racquet had a great amount of control."

After a glimmer of doubt, Sean too was swept off his feet when it came to the comfortable feel of the Phantom Pro 100. He found the tapered beam and low stiffness rating complemented his groundstrokes. "As someone with reoccurring wrist and elbow issues, the Phantom Pro 100 was a smooth and silky dream to hit with from the baseline," beamed Sean. "The flexibility made it feel like I could hold the ball longer than normal on the racquet and redirect pace with ease. After I initially looked at the specs of this racquet I was concerned with the potential power level and maneuverability. Those doubts were washed away in a sea of satisfaction once I actually started playing. I loved the tapered beam and was glad the racquet had a little extra mass up top, because without it I'm not sure it would have had enough plow through and stability. If I were to nitpick for a downside, I'd say that it was difficult to control when I flattened out the ball and on slices."

Although the specs of the Phantom Pro 100 are similar to the specs of his racquet of choice, the Pure Strike 16x19, Jason admitted he was in new territory when it came to feel. He said, "In terms of playability, it was such an easy transition to go from my racquet to the Phantom Pro 100. The weight, swingweight and balance were all so similar. The biggest, most noticeable difference was the feel. The super flexible feel was so different compared to any other modern racquet out there. I was getting the power and depth I wanted thanks to the low swingweight, as I could easily generate racquet head speed. I was getting lots of spin on my groundstrokes, whether it was my topspin forehand or a backhand slice. According to PlaySight, I was actually getting a bit more spin with this racquet than my own."

A big fan of the regular Phantom 100, Hannah noted how the absence of the Port Holes on the Pro 100 increased the stability and control from the baseline. She commented, "The solid beam of the Phantom Pro 100 provided more stability than the original Phantom. It was fast, had a low stiffness rating and offered a large sweetspot. This made for an extremely comfortable experience. It was not the usual spec I gravitate toward, as I usually prefer freer power and a stiffer beam, but the Phantom Pro 100 allowed me to play with a bit more finesse and creativity. This racquet offered good spin because of the open 16x18 string pattern, but my shots weren't loopy and tended to flatten out toward my target more than usual. Because of this, both depth and angles were easily accessible from any part of the court. Although I loved the whippy feel and easy racquet head speed provided by the Port Holes on the old Phantom, the Phantom Pro 100 was still extremely maneuverable. Because of the solid beam I didn't struggle quite as much to find control. Swinging out toward smaller targets didn't feel as unpredictable, and the increased stability and lively response facilitated a good connection to the ball. The one knock I have on this racquet from the baseline was that, even with the solid beam, it tended to get pushed around against heavier hitters. I would say that it requires mixing in different types of shots as opposed to playing toe to toe at the baseline against a power hitter."

Volleys - Score: 88

The Phantom Pro 100's comfort translated just as well to the volley portion of the playtest. Our playtesters were a bit stunned here, too, as the racquet allowed enough touch, directional control and quick handling to do some serious damage at net. Sean was smitten with the Phantom Pro 100 when it came to volleys. His experience with the soft, yet responsive stringbed may have been tough to put into words, but that was not enough to silence his compliments. "I absolutely loved volleying with this racquet from the start," he said. "The stringbed managed to somehow feel both soft and responsive at the same time. Don't ask me how this is possible, it just is. There was enough mass to put the ball through the court and enough feel to drop the ball short. I had no qualms."

Hannah found the volley portion of the playtest to be her favorite. She attributed this to the touch, maneuverability and comfort she had with the Phantom Pro 100. "As with the Phantom, a highlight of this Phantom Pro 100 playtest was the excellent touch I got with this racquet," she explained. "I said it on the playtest of the original Phantom, and the same holds true for this one: I had excellent control on volleys. The comfort of the sweetspot and the flexible beam made it easy to hit and place volleys deep in the court or hit touch shots. The maneuverability of the thin beam made it ridiculously easy to get the racquet in place for reflex volleys and volleys close to the body. As with any frame in its weight category, the stability at net was not optimal. This didn't bother me too much, aside from losing power when reaching for volleys. I was able to get the racquet in place to take advantage of the sweetspot most of the time."

The praise continued with Kristen, who found herself confidently ending points at the net with the Phantom Pro 100. She said, "I absolutely loved this racquet at net. I found I was coming into net more often than normal during point situations. The Phantom Pro 100 had great maneuverability, and it was super easy to direct the ball for great placement in the court. I also had good feel for touch shots."

Jason also tapped into these benefits after a brief transition period. Besides the time it took to get used to the flexible response, his only complaint at net was the lack of torsional stability against heavier hitters. He said, "I needed a little bit of time to get used to the flexible response before I really felt dialed in on my touch volleys, but the racquet performed well at net because it was plenty maneuverable and had good access to spin and control. I do wish the racquet had a little more torsional stability when I was going up against bigger-hitting playtesters, but a little tungsten tape would solve that problem."

Serves - Score: 82

Due to the flexible nature of the Phantom Pro 100, some playtesters found the serve difficult to dial in. However, Kristen noted that it felt stable and consistent, and Hannah claimed the solid beam provided more feel and consistency than the original Phantom. Jason didn't find the same results; he was craving more power on his serve. He said, "Maybe it was the flex, but I was surprised at how much I struggled serving with this racquet. I wasn't able to get in the groove from a consistency standpoint. I had good results with control, and I was able to put lots of spin on the serves that did go in. A tad more pop here would've been nice, but not necessary."

Sean was in the same boat as Jason, describing his serve results as inconsistent and disappointing considering how much he liked the racquet in other areas. He admitted, "Despite loving the Phantom Pro 100's performance from every other area of the court, I did not enjoy serving with it. I had a lot trouble with my first serve, struggling to hit flat or slice serves. Hitting kick serves was easy, and I ended up using my kick serve, which isn't unplayable, as my primary serve on both firsts and seconds. This is one of the main reasons I'm not making the switch to this racquet."

Hannah felt that the Phantom Pro 100 fared well when judged against the original Phantom's serve. She said, "The serve might be where where changing the Phantom's Port Holes to the Phantom Pro 100's solid beam made the most noticeable difference on court. The Phantom playtest left me feeling disconnected from the ball on serves, so it was tough to have faith in my targets. This wasn't true with the Phantom Pro 100. With the increased feel, serves were consistent and extremely effective during point play. I loved the racquet head speed and how easy it was to swing this racquet on serves. Now, the flexible beam still wasn't necessarily suited for flat serves, but my kick and slice serves were effective and precise. The best part about serving with the Phantom Pro 100 was that it felt easy on my arm, which has been sore lately."

Kristen was also quick to praise the Phantom Pro 100 on the serve portion of this playtest. She cited success from the very beginning, saying, "I was surprised with how stable this racquet felt on serves and how easy it was to generate power and spin. I haven't tested many racquets lately that have felt this comfortable and consistent on my serve."

Returns - Score: 85

Aside from one playtester who struggled with control and stability, our team's returns with the Phantom Pro 100 stay on target and felt fantastic. "There isn't too much to complain about here," Jason said. "I loved the control I was getting on my returns. I felt like I could either go inside out on my forehand or, because of the flex, hold the ball for a split second longer to go down the line. The great access to spin gave me confidence when I took an aggressive cut."

Hannah did not experience the same instant success in this category that she did for the rest of the playtest. She recounted having trouble with control and stability while returning serves, saying, "I was surprised that this part of the playtest ended up giving me some trouble. I expected returns to be pretty straightforward, and I was excited at the prospect of taking advantage the Phantom Pro 100's maneuverability. I did end up being able to do this later in the playtest, but I had to reel in my return after a handful of errors — mostly past the baseline. The amount of unwanted power I was getting on these shots was tough to control at first. I also think that even though the solid beam gave the Phantom Pro 100 more stability than the regular Phantom, the stability was compromised somewhat on tough serves, and I craved some added weight to help with this. After a transition period my returns did become more consistent."

Kristen actually found that the Phantom Pro 100 played to her strengths on returns. She said, "The return of serve is one of my favorite shots to hit, and it was one of my favorite aspects of this playtest. I loved the controlled power I got when going for an aggressive return, the angles I was able to create and the ease of slicing back defensive returns."

Sean found returning with the Phantom Pro 100 to be a somewhat magical experience. "What I liked about returning with this racquet was the simplicity," he attested. "I didn't have to think much about finding the right part of the stringbed. I just had to get the strings on the ball, and then, like magic, the ball would end up in the court to start the point. Again, the flex really paid off in absorbing the pace of serves without that incessant 'ring' that comes from off-center returns with stiffer frames."

Overall - Score: 88