Prince Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 88

From the very first hit of this playtest, there was no hiding the Beast Pro 100 LB's huge power potential, especially from the baseline. Chris liked the way this racquet's swingweight and added length combined to push the ball deep. He began, "All I had to do was get the racquet swinging and let it do the rest of the work. I had a lot of success driving through the ball with both my forehand and backhand. I also liked the way I could knife a slice backhand with this racquet. I was able to hit my slice with pace and get it to skid through the court and stay low. When I only had time to take a compact swing at the ball, I found the mass of the racquet still helped me get some depth on my shots, which made it a good racquet on defense as well. However, when I tried to flick the ball or react quickly to shots around my feet, I had some difficulty maneuvering the racquet. I was still able to get a shot on the ball, I just wasn't able to do as much with it as I'd like."

"As cliche as it sounds, this racquet was an absolute beast! I loved it," said Michelle. "Right away, without knowing any of the specs, it was obvious the racquet was packing a serious swingweight. I think it's important to note that the racquet completely unlocks itself to huge power if you can swing it effectively. It won't suit everyone's game or style, but players looking for serious plow through should not ignore this racquet. Although some might see the 351 swingweight as a challenge, I welcomed it and was really happy with how I could load my shots with absolute mass. I literally saw my opponents getting pushed back off balls I hit. The 16x19 string pattern allowed me to add height to the ball and pick a big target, and when I was looking to be more consistent rather than aggressive, I could do so by hitting with good depth and arc on my ball. The Beast Pro 100 LB had a good amount of stability, which really showed up when I had to stab at backhands on the run. I will admit that I struggled a bit with my backhand slice; the racquet is a little too hefty to cut through the ball consistently."

In the past, Troy considered the Babolat Pure Drive Tour Plus to be the most powerful racquet with a 100 square-inch headsize. After playtesting this Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB, he found a new contender for that title. He said, "With the combination of the mass and the extended length, this racquet provided loads of power and easy depth on my groundstrokes. When I had time to set my feet and take a full swing, I could crush the ball. My groundstrokes were consistently landing deep with heavy topspin. I was surprised to find decent control when hitting a flatter trajectory from the baseline. I didn't feel as connected to the ball as I do with some of the more control-oriented racquets, like the Yonex VCORE Pro 97 (330) and the Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 Tour 18x20, but the response and feedback were better than the Babolat Pure Drive Tour Plus and the Yonex VCORE SV 100+. Hitting backhand slices with this racquet was also surprisingly effective. The downside of the extra length and high swingweight was that it made it a bit tough for me to scoop up deep shots near my feet. I also found it difficult to flick the tip of the racquet to hit groundstrokes on the run."

"From the baseline, it didn't take much time at all for me to feel right at home with the Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB," said Mark. "The combination of this racquet's heft and extended length made it hard for my opponent to get the ball past me. It was a real weapon from the backcourt, and within an hour of play I could move the ball around with lots of spin (and decent pace). I could consistently land the ball away from my opponent."

Volleys - Score: 82

With its extended length and beefy build, the Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB doesn't get pushed around. Although it's not particularly maneuverable, the Beast Pro 100 LB provided our team with stability and power when punching volleys. Michelle was initially apprehensive to head to the net with this racquet. However, she was happy to report, "I could execute my volleys well. The racquet was stable, and I was able to stick nearly all of my shots as long as I had it in position. It wasn't the most maneuverable racquet, but I never felt like that got me into trouble. I was a bit frustrated at times because I wasn't getting ahold of the ball with the racquet on my first volleys, but over time my volleys became more accurate and effective. Because this racquet put a lot of punch behind the ball, I liked handcuffing my opponents. I was also happy that I could put overheads away fairly well. I was concerned it would be too hard to get the racquet up and over my head in a pressure situation, but my overheads were very effective every time I hit them."

"The combined weight and extra length of the Beast Pro 100 LB kept the swingweight just under the limit of what I can get into position to execute volleys," Mark said. "Volleys made at a complete stretch were about as comfortable as volleys that were within easy reach, making this shot my other favorite to hit with this stick."

Troy enjoyed the Beast Pro 100 LB's firm and crisp response on his volleys. He said, "Initially, this racquet felt a bit sluggish to maneuver up at net. I adjusted to the hefty feel and extra length after a couple of hitting sessions, and I started to play better. It wasn't the most maneuverable racquet, but I found I didn't have to move it much to achieve an effective volley. By keeping my technique simple and meeting the ball out in front, this racquet delivered easy put-away power. I found decent touch and feel considering the racquet's specs, and the stability helped against heavy hitters. The Beast Pro LB was far from a scalpel on my volleys, but I was content with my ability to locate my targets."

Chris was not the least bit surprised to find that the Beast Pro 100 LB felt rock solid up at net. He added, "I put this racquet's mass to good use and had fun punching volleys away. Anything above net height could be attacked and punched with pace. When I was blocking back harder shots the racquet remained stable and allowed me to redirect the pace to hit a solid volley. I did have some trouble picking up half-volleys around my feet; the racquet felt long and heavy in those instances, which limited what I could do with the ball."

Serves - Score: 91

The Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB delivered tons of power on serves, though some of our playtesters had a little trouble harnessing it. Troy wasn't bringing the type of service heat that John Isner does, but he still loved the easy access to power. He said, "As with my volleys, there was an initial adjustment before I got comfortable with the extended length and high swingweight. I especially struggled on spin serves, but I found a groove after a few sessions of serving practice. The added reach and high level of plow through allowed me to maximize my power on flat first serves. When I had good leg drive and a loose arm, my first serves were coming in hot — at least by my standards. With the boost in power I got from the Beast Pro LB my accuracy wasn't quite at the level I would have liked; I was able to move the ball around in the service box, just not consistently enough to hit my targets."

Mark struggled with this portion of the playtest. He explained, "If I got the Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB and the rest of my body into position on time then the racquet took care of the rest, resulting in a great serve. However, if I were tired at all (maybe after a long point), I would sort of heave it instead of swinging it freely, which resulted in a less than savory serve."

On the other hand, Chris loved serving with this racquet. He said, "I was able to put ample pace on the ball without much effort. The mass of the racquet came through contact nicely to offer up good speed. I felt like I could get a lot behind my flat serves thanks to the racquet's added length and chunky swingweight. It took a slight adjustment to brush the ball with spin, as it was too easy to let the racquet plow through the ball for a faster, flatter delivery. With that adjustment made, I found enough spin from this racquet to really go after my second serves."

"I knew that serving with this racquet might come with some challenges," said Michelle. " Early on, I had a service game where I admitted defeat and didn't even attempt a hard, flat first serve. Luckily, it didn't take too long to unlock what this Beast Pro 100 LB had to offer. Once I got my timing down, I was rewarded with big, flat, penetrating first serves. For me, the main thing I had to remember was to load my right arm and explode up and into the ball. As long as I could execute that, I was rewarded with punishing first serves. The same held true with second serves. If I got the racquet in the right spot and my body was moving up toward the ball, I was rewarded with heavier spin, kick and slice. It was fun to watch kicks just jump at my opponent's backhands."

Returns - Score: 84

With so much mass and extra reach, the Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB was solid and stable on returns. Chris quickly learned not to try and get too tricky on returns with this racquet. He explained, "When I focused on the basics of just hitting through the ball, I instantly found success. With a compact stroke I could block serves back with easy depth and solid stability. When I had more time I would take a bigger cut at the ball, but I still stayed with a somewhat compact stroke since I simply didn't need to swing big to generate pace and depth."

Michelle, who loves returning with extended length racquets, knew this would be one of her favorite parts of this playtest. "Ready, aim, fire!" she exclaimed, "That extra half inch made me feel like I could cover any serve. I found it so fun to pick my spots and attack. I also loved returning in doubles with this racquet. I consistently jammed my opponents right at their feet or handcuffed them, which is exactly how I like to start off a point in dubs! I found tight angles to pull my opponents off the court and used that extra half inch of leverage to my advantage. This racquet easily fits into the 'guilty pleasure' category on returns."

On the other hand, this was another part of the playtest where Mark experienced mixed results. He described, "The 12-ounce weight and extra length allowed me to get through contact on some pretty heavy serves. However, it also taxed my energy level to the point where I couldn't maneuver or finesse it successfully."

Troy found that the Beast Pro 100 LB encouraged him to finish points with his serve returns. He said, "Anytime my opponent hit a serve that sat up in my wheelhouse, I took a huge swing at the ball in an attempt to hit a winner. Although this racquet wasn't very maneuverable, I didn't have to take much of a swing to hit a deep return. The extended length allowed me to get a lot of returns back in play; I could block the ball back with ease when I was stretched out. The high level of plow through became useful when I had to take a more compact stroke. Typically, my two-handed backhand return can be a liability, but with this racquet my two-handed backhand had more range and was landing deeper than usual. The slice backhand return, or what I like to call my 'chip return,' felt dialed in. I could keep it low to bring the server in or chip it back deep and keep the server out of an offensive position. My effectiveness with returns had me contemplating an extended-length racquet as a new go-to choice."

Overall - Score: 85