Tecnifibre TFight DC 305 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 74

The larger head size of the TFight DC 305 looked enticing with the potential to increase the power level of the previous racquet. Brittany said, "I found the TFight DC 305 very easy to use. It's very maneuverable, and it was very easy to generate racquet head speed. It offered the right amount of power, and I was hitting my shots deeper in the court than normal without changing my stroke. However, I also noticed that I was missing deep more than normal, and I had to rely on the spin that the 18x19 string pattern offered to keep the ball from sailing long. I was also feeling a little disconnected from the ball. I'm not sure if it was the larger head size, but I found I was missing my targets by a fairly large margin. I started aiming for an even bigger target, but even then I wasn't 100 percent sure where the ball was going. This led me to play more tentatively."

The TFight DC 305 mostly worked for Hannah's aggressive baseline game. She said, "I was able to swing out and play my game without making too many major adjustments because the racquet was in my spec range. The TFight DC 305 provided a good amount power for its weight, but I would have preferred a more controlled sweetspot from the baseline. Sometimes the ball tended to fly, and it wasn't as comfortable as I would have liked. In addition, I noticed that it was hard for me to produce any amounts of spin."

Since she plays with the Prince Textreme Tour 100P, Tiffani was excited to try this new TFight DC 305. She offered, "On paper these two racquets seemed pretty similar, with the TFight DC 305 having a slightly smaller head size at 98 square inches. Once I got onto the court, though, I found these racquets weren't that alike. The Prince racquet was more forgiving, controllable and comfortable. I could swing the updated TFight 305 quickly, and it felt faster through the air than its swingweight would imply. The power level was improved over the previous version, which I felt was underpowered. This racquet changed quite a bit with string setups. We started with a full bed of poly, which felt much too stiff but offered more control. A hybrid of a soft poly in the mains and a multi in the crosses improved comfort and boosted the power quite a bit, but I lost control. Maybe with time the magic combination could be found. Although I had trouble with control with the hybrid setup, I preferred it because of the comfort factor. I could play to more conservative targets to keep myself in points with the hybrid, but with a full bed of poly I had wrist pain due to the firmness of the racquet and the string."

Jason was the only playtester who wanted more power from the baseline. He said, "I liked that I could get my opponents off the court with some sharply angled shots. However, the one big downside for me was the lack of power and plow through. I had to take full powered swings at the ball on every shot to get the necessary depth and pace. The small sweetspot, the drop in power and the torsional instability was quite noticeable on off-center shots."

Volleys - Score: 75

Our playtesters again noted the quick feel of the Tecnifibre TFight DC 305 as they moved forward to volley. Brittany loved how fast the racquet felt in her hands, saying, "I could easily get the racquet into position and hit a volley deep in the court. I didn't have as much success on touch or angle volleys as I was still feeling a little disconnected once the ball hit the stringbed."

Hannah, too, wasn't fully satisfied with this racquet at net. She said, "I was able to stick to my normal volley technique with the maneuverable weight. However, this racquet didn't offer the quick response that I was looking for, and I was craving a slightly stiffer option at the net."

The Tecnifibre TFight DC 305 wasn't instilling confidence in Tiffani at the net. She offered, "Admittedly, I'm not the strongest volleyer, but at the net is where I noticed a small sweetspot the most. Once I missed the center of the stringbed I could really feel the racquet twist, and I would lose power and control."

Sometimes there's a trade-off for a quick feel at net, as Jason explained, "This racquet was easy to use on overheads and reaction volleys. However, it can get pushed around up at net, especially when stretching for a volley."

Serves - Score: 79

When it came to serves, our testing team had varying opinions on the TFight DC 305. Tiffani's control problems followed her as she began to serve. She explained, "I liked how easy it was to swing this racquet over my head. I did fire off some good serves, and when I found the box I even was getting some service winners. However, I had a hard time reliably finding my targets."

Hannah enjoyed this racquet's swingweight on her serve. She said, "I didn't have to work too hard to produce the power I needed for my serves, but I came up short when trying to produce good, heavy spin on my kick serves."

On the flip side, Jason wanted more in terms of power. He said, "It was very easy to serve a consistent ball. I was hitting a high percentage of serves in, but not with much pace or spin."

Like with the previous version, Brittany's arm never fatigued during a match. She noted, "I was able to take full cuts from start to finish. I was able to generate racquet head speed, but I found myself slicing the serve into my opponents' body most of the time. I wasn't placing the balls as accurately as I would have liked so I opted for a safer, more consistent serve."

Returns - Score: 75

The TFight DC 305 was missing something for some of our playtesters when they were returning serves. Although the racquet felt underpowered on Jason's groundstrokes, he had more success with his returns. He said, "I felt like I could be in an aggressive mindset and really go after my returns. Control was fairly good, and I liked hitting my inside out forehand with this racquet."

Tiffani also felt more comfortable hitting returns. She said, "The TFight DC 305 was easy to swing, which boosted my confidence on returns. I was less critical of the control issues, maybe because I'm typically not trying to hit a winner off my return. I could hit toward the middle of the court to start off the point in a neutral position."

However, Brittany had more ups and downs. She said, "I had no problem setting up to hit my return, but once it was time to hit the ball I was left wanting more control and stability. I was aiming for fairly large targets, but I was never fully confident in where the ball was going."

Hannah didn't find the results she was looking for on her returns. She offered, "I felt confident going for the variety that I'm used to hitting off my return. If I needed to hit a slice return this racquet worked well. However, just like on my groundstrokes, I was craving a more comfortable feel and more control."

Overall - Score: 73