Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.4

With a massive spin window and explosive power, the Ripstick 98 2025 allowed our testers to play aggressive tennis from the baseline. It took little racquet head acceleration from Chris to access this racquet's massive spin and power. He said, "The Ripstick 98 offered easy power and a very soft and comfortable feel from the baseline, and I liked how fast the racquet swung. I was able to inject pace and spin at will just by accelerating a little more before contact. Hitting deep topspin shots or flicking sharp angles was equally easy to do. The racquet really lived up to its name and was the perfect partner when I was looking to take a good rip at the ball. I was also able to get a lot of rotation on my slice backhand. Ideally, I would have liked just a little more mass to drive through the ball on slices, but that was my only knock from the baseline. On the plus side, I was able to get tons of back spin on my drop shots to get them to bounce away from my opponent."

Being familiar with the O-Port technology, Mark knew the racquet would be very comfortable on his arm, but what surprised him was how solid the racquet felt. He said, "Love might be too strong of a word, but I have to say I really liked the Prince Ripstick 98 from the baseline. I accurately predicted premium comfort based on the ports, but I did not forecast how solid it would feel and how easy it was to play with from the baseline. My backhand slice required a little change to the angle of the racquet face to keep that shot low, but topspin and shot depth off either wing were easy for me to develop and gauge."

Having played with Prince frames as a kid, Michelle was excited to test this racquet, but the O-Ports and open 16x18 string pattern made it feel too muted and erratic for her faster, more linear style, especially when she was trying to finish points. She explained, "I grew up on Prince, so I am always excited to playtest new racquets from them. With that being said, I've never found an O-Port racquet to work for my tastes and game. This racquet felt very muted at impact, and I wasn't super connected to what the ball was doing off the stringbed. If I slowed my swing down and just focused on consistency in a rally, this racquet was easy to use, but the second I put the pedal to the metal and tried to put balls away, it was tougher for me to put the ball where I wanted. The one shot I did not struggle with at all was my backhand slice, and thanks to spending a little time on the padel court, I was having fun slicing through the ball throughout this playtest."

Despite not being the biggest fan of the Ripstick's feel, Munish was still able to play his game well with this racquet and implement good point construction. He said, "I found the feel of the Ripstick 98 very muted. I wasn't getting a lot of feel, but despite that, I was still able to hit most of my shots. The spin potential is crazy, and paired with the power, this Ripstick 98 is a beast. The surprising part of this playtest was that my slices stayed low and penetrating. Due to the power and open string pattern, I thought keeping the ball low would be extremely hard, but that wasn't the case. Overall, I don't think this Ripstick 98 really suits my game because I already have a hard time controlling the ball, and the power and spin potential on this racquet wouldn't help."

Volleys: 8.1

The Ripstick 98 worked extremely well for all our playtesters when it came to volleys. Chris found the Ripstick 98 fast and maneuverable at the net, where it offered a soft, forgiving response with great touch once he was able to adjust to the unique feel from the O-Ports. He described, "I found the Ripstick 98 fast and easy to maneuver at net. I had fun serve-and-volleying with this racquet. I could put the power of the Ripstick 98 to good use both when punching volleys away and when having to dig out a tough low volley. The response was very soft and forgiving thanks to the ton of string movement allowed by the huge ports. The feel the port system provides is so soft that it does take a few volleys to get used to it when coming from a traditional racquet, but once dialed in, I found lots of touch."

The Ripstick 98 impressed Michelle at net with its maneuverability, stability and easy access to touch, allowing her to hit precise volleys ranging from soft drop shots to deep, penetrating finishes. She said, "This was one of the areas of the playtest where I was not really bothered by anything the Ripstick 98 had to offer. I was able to place my volleys where I wanted and keep them deep and low. The racquet felt maneuverable and stable at the net and also gave me access to touch shots. Again, thanks to padel, I've been playing around with more cuts on my shots — everything from little short dying balls just over the net to deep, penetrating volleys that dive through the back of the court."

A lot of Munish's touch volleys were sitting too high for his liking, but he was able to take advantage of the Ripstick 98's maneuverability and power to hit solid volleys. He explained, "I was able to volley pretty well with the Ripstick. I did struggle with touch volleys and drop volleys, and I found some of my balls sitting up a bit too high, which allowed my opponent to hit a passing shot on me."

Mark found that the Ripstick 98 delivered reliable control and versatility at the net. The racquet allowed him to hit great touch drop shots but also drive his volleys with lots of power whenever he needed. He said, "I felt in control of most every volley with the Prince Ripstick 98 in hand. Whether I was trying to rob pace and change direction of a passing shot with a touch volley or ending a point with an offensive volley, the Ripstick 98 never disappointed me."

Serves: 8.3

On paper, the Prince Ripstick 98 sounds like the perfect racquet for serving, and once the testers got on court with it, it was clear that was the case. Although Mark's groundstrokes are usually stronger, serving became his favorite shot with the Ripstick 98 thanks to its combination of heft and maneuverability. He said, "My ground game is more accomplished than my serve, but as much as I enjoyed the Ripstick 98 from the backcourt, the serve ended up being my favorite shot to hit with it. Its heft made it easy to develop decent speed on my serve, but its blend of maneuverability allowed me to get over the top of the ball to create more movement on my service delivery than usual, specifically out wide on the ad side and near the T on the deuce court."

Munish was very excited to try out his kick serves with this Ripstick 98 and rightfully so. He was able to utilize the power and spin of the racquet to hit massive kick serves and even get a few aces. He commented, "I was hitting a good number of aces with this racquet on my first serves, and my kick serves were extremely jumpy. Placing my serve was a bit difficult, but after a few hours of hitting, I was able to dial it in. I thought the racquet might benefit from a bit of weight on the 3 and 9 for some extra stability, but otherwise, it was pretty fun to serve with."

The Ripstick 98 offered Chris a lot of ball pocketing and a very plush feel, allowing for big serves to all his spots. He said, "I was very happy with both the power and the spin I found when serving with the Ripstick 98. The racquet continued to feel very plush, and I got the sense the ball was pocketing deeply in the stringbed on powerful shots like the serve. Even with a firm co-poly string, the Ripstick 98 felt like a very comfortable racquet."

The Ripstick 98's unique sound stood out to Michelle on serves. She also noticed how, despite its 16x18 pattern, it lacked the easy net clearance, power and heavy spin she typically relies on for effective serving. She described, "The sound of this racquet is a bit different, and I really noticed that on serves. I was surprised to find I wasn't getting easy net clearance since the string pattern is 16x18. I was a little thrown off and just didn't find the big power I like on first serves. Instead, I really exaggerated slice and spin on second serves, but I thought they were sitting up too much and weren't as effective."

Returns: 8.2

The power of the Ripstick 98 shone through once more as our playtesters were able to hit returns more aggressively than usual. However, returning bigger serves proved a bit more difficult, and some of the testers lost control and stability. Such was the case for Munish when he tried returning against some of our most powerful servers. He said, "It was pretty easy to get the balls back nice and deep due to the power level of the Ripstick 98. This allowed me to be more aggressive with my returns and get the upper hand in points much quicker than I usually would. I even got some return winners off of my backhand, which is rare for me. This was also one of the times I thought the racquet could benefit from a bit more weight for stability. Bigger serves got the best of me at times because I was either getting caught off guard or not hitting the sweetspot."

The Ripstick 98's abundant power and forgiving feel made returning a joy for Chris, who could hit aggressive, high-clearance shots with confidence and great spin. He said, "The easy power and forgiving feel of the Ripstick 98 made it a fun racquet to return with. I felt like I was still hitting decent returns even when my timing wasn't absolutely perfect. That forgiveness from the racquet had me feeling confident enough to return aggressively and take bigger risks. I was able to give the net plenty of clearance and still get the ball to drop well inside the lines. I was impressed by how much shape I could get on the ball while still hitting with lots of pace."

Mark tends to play it safe on returns, and the Ripstick 98 didn't change his approach much in terms of aggression. However, it did improve the quality and consistency of his returns, allowing him to hit with more topspin regardless of the type of serve. He explained, "I typically lean toward safety instead of being aggressive with my return of serve, which has little to do with the racquet itself. Honestly, that did not change much with the Ripstick 98. However, the quality of my return was definitely enhanced, and percentage-wise too."

The Ripstick 98 was inconsistent for Michelle on returns. It was capable of producing winners or mishits with little feedback, but it excelled at creating angles and consistently delivered solid slices. She said, "This shot was literally hit or miss for me. I could rip a winner, find an awesome angle or completely shank the ball and miss in the net. There wasn't a lot of feedback I could find when making mistakes and executing. Slowing the swing down worked, but that just isn't my style, so I was a bit frustrated. The Ripstick 98 did excel with angles, though, so that was always a more effective way to get the point started. I genuinely had no issues with slices throughout the playtest, so that worked here too!"

Breakdown Summary