Yonex VCORE Duel G 100 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 84

The power, maneuverability and spin of the Yonex VCORE Duel G 100 stood out on groundstrokes. Jason's current racquet of choice is the Yonex EZONE Ai 100, so he is very familiar with the Yonex brand. He said, "This was such an easy racquet to transition to and to use. It's very easy to swing, and it's easy to hit with power and spin. I was surprised at how much power I was getting on my shots, considering the specs. One of my favorite shots to hit was my backhand slice. I was able to easily execute this shot, even when jammed. I was also able to pull my opponents off the court because I was able to hit short, angled forehands with ease."

"I am a big fan of Yonex racquets," began Brittany. "I love their feel and I'm a big fan of the Isometric head shape's forgiving sweetspot. I have used several different 100 square inch Yonex racquets, including my current racquet of choice the EZONE DR 100. I found the VCORE Duel G 100 very easy to transition into. The racquet is easy to swing, very maneuverable and very fast. It was truly effortless to generate racquet head speed. This racquet is definitely more powerful than my EZONE DR 100, and my groundstrokes were landing deep in the court. I was also impressed with the spin potential. My one small knock was that my slice wasn't staying as low as I would have liked. However, I very rarely use my slice, so it was hardly an issue."

Tiffani had both positive and negative things to say about the VCORE Duel G 100. She stated, "A couple of things stood out on groundstrokes. Firstly, I was really surprised at the consistent level of pace I was getting with this racquet. The racquet was coming around very quickly, and I was able to keep the pace up during rallies without much effort. Secondly, the firm feel at contact surprised me. The response is crisp, and I thought the RA would be higher than the 65 we measured on the Babolat RDC. I could generate spin easily when I needed it, but I did notice a slightly higher launch angle. Maybe I'm searching for something to blame it on other than my mechanics, but I struggled with my transition game a lot with this racquet. I found myself hitting mid-court ball long too often. When I tried to adjust I put them in the net. I couldn't consistently find my happy place with those shorter balls."

The VCORE Duel G 100 is quite a bit lighter than the racquets Chris typically likes, but it impressed him from the baseline. He said, "Just like with the Duel G 97 (310g), I quickly found my groove with this version. I was able to rally consistently thanks to a nice blend of power and control. I liked how I could accelerate this racquet very quickly because it opened up angles. I was getting lots of topspin on my groundstrokes and that allowed me to get the ball up and over the net on those sharp angles. My slice was a little floaty with this racquet, and I think it lacked the mass to help me drive through the ball."

Volleys - Score: 80

The maneuverability of the Yonex VCORE Duel G 100 really stood out at the net. Brittany enjoyed finishing points with a volley. She offered, "I was able to bring the VCORE Duel G 100 around quickly at the net. I loved hitting quick volley exchanges in doubles. The power allowed me to punch the volley back deep and the feel helped me hit some good half-volleys when I was moving forward."

Continuing to be impressed was Chris, who said, "I was surprised at how solid this racquet felt at net. I never had any stability issues. Again, the racquet felt light and fast, making it an easy racquet to react quickly with. My touch volleys felt very dialed in. The racquet offered a crisp and clean response that had me feeling well connected to where my volleys were going."

"Not surprisingly, the VCORE Duel G 100 was very fast up at net," Jason continued. "It had great feel and touch when I needed it and enough power to easily put away floating shots. I also found it to be almost effortless to hit overheads. The downside was the instability issues that comes with an 11 ounce, head light racquet."

Tiffani agreed. She continued, "The VCORE Duel G 100 got the job done at net. It was easy to get it into position, and it offered good punch at the net. The feel was a bit firm for me, and when I caught the ball on the tip of the frame I could feel the racquet twist in my hand."

Serves - Score: 78

Our playtesters couldn't quite get into a groove when serving with the Yonex VCORE Duel G 100. Some of the free power they found on their groundstrokes was missing on their serves. Tiffani made up for the lack of power by hitting with more spin. She said, "I was posting just average pace numbers with this racquet, according to my PlaySight data. I was more impressed with the spin I could achieve on my serves, and I noticed more hop on them than usual. Although I thought my serve was fine with the Duel G 100, I actually preferred serving with the Duel G 97 (310g). I could swing it just as easily, and I just hit more effective and powerful serves with it."

Jason was left wanting more. He explained, "This is the one area where the VCORE Duel G 100 fell short for me. The power I found on my groundstrokes wasn't there for me on my serve. On the plus side, it was very easy to get a high percentage of my serves in, and because I could generate a lot of racquet head speed I was able to put a lot of spin on my serves. I just would've liked easier access to power."

"I served consistently with the VCORE Duel G 100, but I lacked my usual power," Chris agreed. "Switching between this racquet and my Babolat Pure Drive Plus resulted in an immediate and very noticeable change in speed. According to our PlaySight Smart Court data, I was averaging 8-10 MPH more with my Pure Drive Plus without putting in any additional effort. I was happy with my targeting with the VCORE Duel G 100. I also found ample spin. However, this racquet lacked the mass I need to hit big serves."

Brittany was in the same boat, saying, "Unfortunately, the serve was my least favorite stroke to hit. While I was able to generate plenty of racquet head speed, it wasn't translating into power. I felt like there wasn't enough weight behind my ball and it was sitting up a little too much. I think adding a little weight in the hoop could really take this racquet to the next level."

Returns - Score: 81

Our playtesters were unanimous when it came to returns; the VCORE Duel G 100 was extremely maneuverable. Chris continued to be surprised. He said, "The return was another shot where the solid feel of the VCORE Duel G 100 surprised me. I returned well with it. It felt light, fast and very comfortable. I never had any stability issues. Getting depth was easy, and I found both my chip and drive returns were working well."

"The quick swing of the VCORE Duel G 100 really came into play here," added Tiffani. "I felt confident swinging at just about any serve that came my way, but I didn't like the feel of this racquet when I missed the sweetspot. We had it strung with a couple of different poly strings, and I definitely enjoyed the softer of the two more. I think a hybrid set-up or multifilament string would be preferable for me."

Brittany was impressed with the maneuverability, saying, "I feel like a broken record, but this racquet came around fast on returns. I was surprised to find that I was actually too early on my first couple of returns, so I had to make a small adjustment to time the serve better. I was finding success on the deuce side taking my forehand up the line. I was really dialed into that shot and was winning some free points off my return."

Jason thought the VCORE Duel G 100 could be improved with some customization. He noted, "For the most part, I enjoyed returning with this racquet. There was enough power to hit offensive returns, and when I had to block a serve back I was able to get enough depth on my shot. At times though, I did find that the racquet swung too fast for its own good. I would add some weight to the head to slow the racquet down just a bit so I wouldn't get ahead of the ball."

Overall - Score: 81