Yonex VCORE SV 95 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

Although our team appreciated the maneuverability of the VCORE SV 95 from the baseline, this racquet proved to be too light for some of our playtesters, especially the ones who typically play with heavier, more stable racquets. Troy, whose preferred racquet has a higher swingweight than the SV 95, explained, "From the baseline this racquet was easier to maneuver than my typical racquet. The fast feel allowed me to get easy racquet head speed, which helped me crank up the RPMs. For a 95 square inch head size, I found the VCORE SV 95 to be spin friendly. With the SV Frame technology I could feel the ball sink into the stringbed for increased dwell time, and it helped me get more spin on my groundstrokes. I really liked the amount of spin and control I was getting on my forehands. The downside to this racquet was its lack of plow through, especially on my backhand slice. When playing against heavy hitters I didn't have the stability I'm accustomed to. I often found my slice backhands landing short and not penetrating through the court the way they would with a heavier racquet. The lack of weight hurt the put-away power, especially on my two-handed backhand."

While Michelle was impressed by the maneuverability, control and generous sweetspot, she ultimately had some issues with this racquet's weight and feel. She said, "Hitting with the SV line of racquets instantly reminded me of the Si playtests. I played well with these racquets but didn't love the feel. My first impression of this racquet was how fast it swung. Also, to me, this 95 square inch racquet was pretty forgiving. The sweetspot felt large in the sense that even off-center hits were staying in, but I didn't feel super connected to the ball, nor did I get a plush feel at contact. However, I have no reason not to like this racquet on groundies because I was able to get easy depth and spin. There were times when it was lacking plow through and enough weight to accelerate through the ball, which caused some inconsistencies. Aside from that, it was easy to swing fast and big, and for the most part I appreciated the control and precise response."

Andy discovered more pop than the other playtesters, but he lacked the needed spin potential to bring the ball down reliably. He said, "I was surprised with how much pop this racquet had from the baseline. It packed a lot of power for a 95 square inch racquet. When I connected just right on a groundstroke I felt like I could generate tons of pace and depth with ease. With that said, though, I couldn't generate enough spin from the 16x20 string pattern to help corral some of that power. When I went for a little bigger shot than usual I'd sometimes lose control and wouldn't be able to place it as well as I normally could with a racquet in its weight class. Although I didn't get the precision I normally crave in a midsize racquet, the signature Isometric Yonex head shape made the racquet feel like it was 2-3 square inches larger because of how forgiving it was."

Although he had some minor complaints about the power level, Mark was ultimately satisfied with this racquet from the backcourt. He said, "I am always happy when I learn that there is yet another high quality racquet option in the mid-11 oz range, especially if it's a 95 square inch model from Yonex. I brought the new Yonex SV 95 to my lunchtime hitting session with Spencer and never wanted to put it down. The maneuverability made it easy to get this racquet moving through contact. I was able to create some great angles with lots of topspin, and although my forehand often landed a little shallow, I was extremely confident with the SV 95 on the backhand wing."

Volleys - Score: 82

As we found from the backcourt, the VCORE SV 95's maneuverability was a major asset at net. Unfortunately, the issues with stability continued for all but Mark, who had zero complaints. He said, "Transitioning from the baseline to the net with Yonex's new SV 95 was almost seamless for me. Getting the SV 95 into position for the volley required very little effort, while still affording me ample stability and directional control at contact. Besides my backhand, the volley is another part of this playtest where the Yonex SV 95 really shone."

"Maneuverability and feel were the standout aspects of this racquet around the net," said Andy, who ultimately had some issues with stability. "I felt like I could get it into position quickly and place the ball where I wanted with good command. Although the racquet feels crisp and firm, I still felt very connected to the ball as it left my strings. However, the one thing that gave me trouble was the instability I felt on off-center hits. The small head size, combined with a lack of mass in the hoop, made the racquet susceptible to too much twisting at contact."

Michelle also needed a little more stability. She said, "I struggled with the easy volleys but found this racquet worked well when I was getting dippers at my feet. At times the racquet just felt unstable and light, so my volleys didn't feel solid at contact. The racquet was forgiving, though, because my volleys were still going in. I personally would prefer a bit more stability on contact."

Troy appreciated the speed, touch and control, but he too wanted a bit more mass. He explained, "The maneuverability and control of this racquet definitely helped me at net. The maneuverability allowed me to react quickly to shots that were hit hard at me. I also felt connected to the ball when placing my volleys. I found that I could hit short angles and drop volleys with good consistency. The downside was that I wasn't getting the easy depth on my volleys due to the lack of mass. The stability on contact was average. I think adding a little weight at 3 and 9 o'clock would be helpful."

Serves - Score: 80

For the majority of our team, the VCORE SV 95 proved quite powerful on serves. According to Troy, it also packed impressive spin and precision. He said, "The amount of pop and spin this racquet delivered had me feeling confident on serve. The easy maneuverability allowed me to generate a lot of racquet head speed, which translated into extra MPHs on my first and second serves. I could hit flat first serves with power and consistency, and my spin serves really shone with this racquet in my hand. I felt that my kick serve was jumping off the court, and my slice serves had a lot of action. There was plenty of power, even when compared to the Wilson Six.One 95 and Prince Textreme Tour 95. I also had the control to feel confident going after my targets, and I was able find the corners of the service box reliably."

"The more I served with the SV 95 the more I enjoyed it," said Mark, who settled into a nice groove with this racquet. "I think I'm accustomed to the way the ball sticks to the strings on more open patterned racquets, but after serving approximately 40-50 balls I was able to consecutively hit a dozen serves in the box. Toward the end of this playtest I was confident with the SV 95 on serve, and when I went back to my open patterned racquet I sort of had to go through a similar adjustment period."

As he found from the baseline, Andy needed more spin to control this racquet's power. He explained, "There's tons of power to access in this racquet on serve. I felt like I could reach back and bomb big flat first serves when I wanted to. Pace was there in plenty, but like my groundstrokes, I never got enough access to spin on my serves to help me corral all that power. I struggled placing my serves in the service box, forcing me to go for slightly larger targets than I normally go for. I also had trouble getting my kicks and slices to jump and dive off the court. Ultimately, there is enough power for serving, but there isn't enough control and spin for my liking."

Michelle had no problems generating spin and hitting her targets, but she had issues with the feel. She said, "Again, this racquet was good, but I just didn't love the feel. I really appreciated the Spin Vortex on serves. I could get the ball jumping and sliding off the court. I wouldn't say the power on my first serves felt as heavy as it does with my Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph, but the racquet did feel fast and I could get some power going. Slices were my favorite serve to hit because I could get moving off the court with good pace, which was effective as a first and second serve."

Returns - Score: 78

For our playtesters, the maneuverability truly shone on service returns. Michelle even gave the VCORE SV 95 kudos for stability, which is impressive considering her typical racquet is nearly 13 oz. She said, "This racquet was fast, and it was so easy to drive balls into the court with it. It also was decently stable against bigger servers."

For the most part, the VCORE SV 95 worked well for Andy on service returns. He said, "The maneuverability of this racquet made it very easy for me to get it around my body and into position when I was returning serve. I felt confident taking big serves early with a compact swing, getting my racquet where I needed it to be and placing the ball to the corners of the court. The head size was a little too small to give me confidence-inspiring forgiveness on bigger cuts, but for a racquet with a 95 square inch head it was pretty easy and comfortable to return serve with."

As Troy found on his other strokes, returning serve proved to be a tale of two racquets: He benefited from the maneuverability, but stability was lacking. He explained, "While returning serves there were times when I enjoyed the fast feel and times when I wanted a bit more stability and plow through. With the VCORE SV 95 being about an ounce lighter than my current racquet, I found that I could flick it more easily and get back some returns that I might miss with my racquet. The VCORE SV 95 fluttered a bit on contact when I was returning big serves, and I would have liked just a bit more mass in the hoop for stability. It also lacked the needed mass to generate effective depth on my slice returns. The lack of mass meant I sometimes had to take bigger swings to keep the ball deep. This led to some control problems."

"Overall, I like the SV 95 on my return of serve, maybe just a little more on my backhand side, " said Mark. "I drive my backhand more than I do my forehand, so I was getting better depth on that wing."

Overall - Score: 80