Dunlop Force 98 Tour Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 86

With a manageable weight and swingweight, intermediate and advanced players should have no problems swinging the Force 98 Tour from the baseline. Starting off the playtest on a positive note, Andy felt dialed in from the very first groundstroke he hit. He explained, "I loved this racquet from the baseline! It felt pretty similar to my current racquet of choice, the Yonex EZONE DR 98, but the Force 98 Tour offered a bit more power and spin, which allowed me to hit big shots from both offensive and defensive positions. The Force 98 Tour is also light and maneuverable, making it easy to swing and get around the body quickly. The trade-off for added power was slightly less control and comfort than my DR 98, but I was swinging big and confidently from the baseline. I had great success with my groundstrokes during this playtest."

Michelle agreed that the Force 98 Tour did a lot of things well. She said, "I didn't love the feel on contact, it felt a bit brassy -- almost like there was a lack of dampening technology. Because of that, I just didn't fall in love with this racquet, which is a shame because I felt it worked decently well from all areas of the court. I could generate a lot of power, plus there was great spin potential and good control. The racquet swung fast, and it was easy to set up points and tee off to put balls away. This wasn't a bad racquet by any means; it was just tough since there are similar racquets that do what it does even better with a feel I enjoy. Overall, this was an effective racquet from the baseline, but the feel just wasn't for me."

Mark was happy when he found out he was chosen for this particular playtest since some of his favorite racquets from the past have been from Dunlop. The Force 98 Tour's specs (11.5 ounces strung weight; a firm 69 RA; an open 16x19 pattern) were right in his wheelhouse. He commented, "Within minutes of baseline play I was able to find my range with the Force 98 Tour. My deep, high forehand shots were in full effect. Spin was easily generated off either wing, and overall, I felt like I had a predictable response off the stringbed every time. I was a bit challenged to keep the ball low enough on my slice backhand, but overall, the new Dunlop Force 98 Tour was versatile and effective for me from the backcourt."

When Karly first took the Dunlop Force 98 Tour out for a hit she immediately noticed how maneuverable it felt. She offered, "The Force 98 Tour was very whippy and fast to swing, especially for its mid-11 ounce weight. It allowed me to get in position quickly to set up for groundstrokes. I also thought it offered a good combination of control and power -- a little more control than power, but neither characteristic was overwhelming. I could place the ball where I wanted and produce enough pace for a put-away shot. However, even though I really liked how the racquet played, the biggest downside for me was the stiff feel. The racquet felt brassy on contact, creating harsh vibrations after the ball made contact with the strings. This caused my arm to wear out faster. I wish the Force 98 Tour offered a better dampening system, but otherwise I was happy playing with it at the baseline."

Volleys - Score: 76

For the most part, the TW testers enjoyed the crisp feel and power they found at the net with the Force 98 Tour. Michelle tapped into her aggressive net play and found a firm feel on volleys. She said, "This racquet works for my net game! I was able to be aggressive with my volleys, and the racquet was pretty stable up there as well. It was really maneuverable and easy to get into position, but touch and precision weren't as easy to come by."

Mark said, "The combination of the weight and maneuverability of this racquet offered decent stability against a heavy passing shot. This racquet also erred on the side of maneuverability."

"I thought the Dunlop Force 98 Tour played best at net," stated Karly, "mostly because of the better feel. The stability improved significantly, making the racquet feel less harsh on contact. It felt rock solid when I hit the stringbed, and the exceptional maneuverability made it easy to get the Force 98 Tour into position. I was able to generate a little more power than I could on my groundstrokes, making it easier to end rallies."

Unfortunately, Andy wasn't having the same success with his volleys that he had with his groundstrokes. He explained, "I thought the Force 98 Tour lacked mass, feel and precision, all of which manifested the most at net. The very crisp, modern feel didn't leave me feeling connected to the ball as it left my strings, making it difficult to execute volleys that required more finesse. It was easy to get this racquet into position during quick exchanges and punch balls back deep in the court if I hit it just right, but I just felt like I had to aim for big targets because I couldn't consistently put the ball exactly where I wanted."

Serves - Score: 76

Our team was getting the Force 98 Tour moving on serve, although a few of our players who play with heavier racquets were wishing for just a little more weight behind the ball. Mark was among them. He said, "I would add some weight to the hoop of this racquet. That may be a bit picky of me because my serve was still effective, but I just noticed a flutter of instability."

At net, Karly had mentioned having more power than control, but it was on her serves where she found the most power. She said, "I didn't have to swing the Force 98 Tour very hard to generate a lot of pace behind my shots. I even noticed a boost in the speed of my kick serves, which jumped off the ground quickly. The excellent mobility was also there, making it even easier to hit deep, aggressive serves. I just had to be careful not to overhit my serves, which was easy to do with this racquet."

"It was easy to generate racquet head speed and good spin with this racquet when serving," commented Andy. "I found I could get the ball moving around the box well on both my kick and slice serves. However, the lack of mass and lack of control had negative effects. I had trouble locating my serves consistently and found myself needing to aim for big targets. Also, I struggled to generate power and get the ball moving through the court with good pace. I was serving fine with this racquet, but it certainly wasn't helping me get many free points during my service games."

Michelle could generate some serious power with this racquet on her serves. She said, "I found good access to power, as well as slice and kick. Like Mark, I would enjoy a little extra weight in the hoop. I found the most success when I was sliding serves into the body or off the court with this racquet rather than getting them to kick up. I had to to pick bigger targets because I wasn't always dialed in with precision. Power was easy to generate, and I felt I could get the racquet swinging fast."

Returns - Score: 80

Our playtesters couldn't get enough of the quick swinging Force 98 Tour when returning serves. Karly stated, "The maneuverability allowed me to set up quickly and swing the Force 98 Tour fast. The racquet also generated decent power on its own, so even if I just barely got the racquet on the ball I could still send back a shot with good pace. Unfortunately, though, the harsh feel on contact was worse on returns. The Force 98 Tour felt too stiff for me, especially when I was returning serves."

Andy found it easy to get the Force 98 Tour around his body quickly and catch up to harder hit first serves. He said, "I could take short, compact swings and redirect hard hit serves back deep in the court quite effectively. However, I found myself needing to 'guide the ball' more than I'd like to because I didn't trust the level of control this racquet offered. Whenever It was difficult to consistently find my intended targets when I took bigger swings at the ball."

Michelle would have liked a little more weight and plow through here as well. She commented, "I could generate some decent racquet head speed when attacking, but I didn't feel like my balls were as heavy or as effective as they are with my Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph. I tapped into bigger targets and felt like I could be pretty offensive right off the bat. The Force 98 Tour felt firm and pretty stable, so when I was defensive it worked out OK, too. I felt like it was easy to drive through the ball and set myself up with my returns, but anything off center felt a bit harsh and uncomfortable."

Like with his serve, Mark was still looking for a little more heft from the Force 98 Tour when returning. Comparing it to his current racquet of choice, the Babolat Pure Aero Tour, he said, "I wanted a little more weight. I thought I was returning OK, and maybe I'm still being picky, but I think with some weight in the hoop my returns would have been more effective. I noticed some instability off my return."

Overall - Score: 77