Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.2

The Instinct MP 2025 proved to be reliable and highly capable during baseline exchanges, both when rallying or finishing off a point. Our playtesters all enjoyed the racquet's spin capability and easy power. As a fan of previous Instinct MPs, Brittany was able to find a home with this 2025 update relatively quickly, enjoying the great depth afforded to her on most shots. She said, "This Instinct MP 2025 was easy for me to use right from the start, and it was very versatile. It performed well in both singles and doubles play. On groundstrokes, the racquet offered easy power and spin. The launch angle is on the higher side, so my shots were landing plenty deep in the court. I liked how easy the racquet was to maneuver, and I was able to rotate my wrist to add spin. I struggled a little on slices because it felt I was missing some mass behind my shots to really knife the ball and keep it low."

For Tiffani, what the Instinct MP 2025 lacked in overall feel, it made up for with its depth and pace. She noted, "I found this Instinct easy to swing right from the start. It had been a while since I played with this model, but it didn't take long to find a groove from the baseline. The Instinct is pretty user-friendly and offers easy pop and depth. I'd also call it pretty versatile, so I could hit with topspin or flatten out my shots. My slices did tend to sit up a bit too much, so I preferred only to pull out that shot as a last resort on defense. Although I could still get some decent power when I missed the sweetspot, the feel dropped off a bit for me. I liked the pocketing and ball feel when I made contact inside the sweetspot, but the racquet twisted a bit outside of it.”

Jason found the Instinct MP 2025 easy to use from the get-go, and he could lean into his aggressive style with confidence. He described, "This was one user-friendly racquet! It was very maneuverable, and I could easily generate lots of racquet head speed. Combining the racquet head speed with the open string pattern meant I was able to generate a lot of spin on my shots, especially from my forehand wing. I did find it to be a little launchy at times, so I needed to be a bit more conscious about getting under the ball. Another area where I thought this racquet did well was finding sharp angles. I was able to easily hit shorter, more angled shots to pull my opponents off court."

Oak found the Instinct MP 2025’s performance in line with many pricier frames in a similar spec range, with it even outperforming some of those racquets. He detailed, "For its price point, I was honestly blown away by this frame. Although the Instinct family isn't exactly known for its control or feel, I found myself really enjoying how this racquet played. Intense levels of dwell time and ball pocketing aren't always the most fun for me personally, but this was an area where I actually really enjoyed the Instinct MP's inherent characteristics. The ball pocketing on heavier strikes just felt superb. I loved how the ball would seemingly hang out in the strings, then redirect back out of the stringbed with a great sound, plenty of depth and good directional control. However, this kind of pocketing really only tended to happen in the sweetspot. Topspin was easily accessible, and I felt confident shaping balls back down into the court if necessary. Slices were staying low and had good lateral movement as well. The stability factor was plentiful, and I think with a little bit of customizing, this frame would be delightful for many a player."

Volleys: 7.9

When it came to volleying, the Instinct MP 2025 didn't have a ton to offer in terms of feel or being able to redirect pace, but that said, it still provided easy put-away power. Touch and finesse was the best way for Oak to utilize the Instinct MP's power, spin and depth. He said, "Volleying with the Instinct MP 2025 was a mostly comfortable experience for me. I enjoyed the feel of the racquet at the net but would've appreciated a tad more comfort because it feels slightly stiffer despite its 64 RA rating. Some additional mass would've been helpful as well, but thankfully, a decent chunk of the mass is actually in the hoop. I found myself going for more feel-based shots to counteract the easy power of the racquet. When absorbing heavier pace, I felt more connected to the ball as opposed to when the shot was slower and required me to up the pace, which then felt like the contact was less stable."

The distribution of weight in the Instinct MP 2025 made it challenging for Jason to redirect pace, pushing him to dial up the aggression to try to end points more quickly. He explained, "The lack of mass in the hoop was more apparent up at net. I found that the Instinct MP 2025 could get pushed around against bigger hitters, and off-center shots were more jarring. On the positive side, I thought it felt lightning quick on reflex volleys, and there was enough pop there to put away overheads and sitter volleys."

Likewise, Brittany found herself trying to end points faster at net rather than shaping balls or using more of the court. She said, "Up at net, I opted to punch volleys deep to end points. In doubles, reflex volley exchanges were fun because I was able to get the racquet into position quickly. I was a little surprised by how firm the Instinct MP felt considering the lower RA. I couldn't be as crafty with my volleys, so I kept it simple and aimed for big targets."

Tiffani experienced some instability on volleys, but she was still able to follow her usual volley game plan. She described, "Once again, I found solid all-around playability from the Instinct MP 2025. There was more-than-adequate maneuverability and good access to pop when punching volleys. As mentioned earlier, the racquet does get a bit wobbly when the ball doesn’t hit cleanly in the sweetspot, but the Instinct did manage to keep the ball on target when I kept a firm hand."

Serves: 8.2

Serving was one of the highlights of playtesting the Instinct MP 2025 for our team, and they all noted the easy power and spin. Tiffani was impressed by the effortless depth and spin she found on serve, and she made good use of the extra pop on most of her serves. She said, "This Instinct MP gave me some easy pop on my serve, which is always a bonus. I could also rely on my slice serves to keep me out of trouble, both by upping my serve percentage and by keeping me off the defensive right away."

Serving with the Instinct MP 2025 proved to be reliable and effective for Jason. He explained, "Racquets that have a low, fast swingweight typically allow me to serve with really good consistency, and that was the case here. I was hitting a higher percentage of first serves in, although the serves were not as powerful as I would've liked. Luckily, the spin I was able to impart on my serves made them a bit more effective."

Brittany was thoroughly captivated by the Instinct MP on serve. She noted, "My favorite shot to hit with this racquet was the serve, and I received several compliments! I didn't feel like I was doing anything differently, but I had a couple of opponents tell me that my first serve was landing deep in the service box and coming in with some pace, making it difficult to return. I was also able to add some spin to keep my second serves consistent as well."

On the other hand, Oak struggled with consistency, but he appreciated the ball pocketing. He said, "Serves were a little unpredictable, but the Auxetic dampening helped smooth out most of the harsher vibrations. I enjoyed spinning my serves in, but for the most part, I wasn't getting the kind of precision I'd like on serve. As such, I typically opted to just pick a serve type (flat, kick, slice) and a general direction, as opposed to a specific spot. This made for good first serves, but second serves were definitely harder to trust."

Returns: 8.0

Bigger cuts and more aggression ended up being most effective when serving with the Instinct MP 2025, but our team had mixed results in this category. Jason found a lot of success swinging through his returns. He explained, "Because of how whippy the Instinct MP 2025 is, I was able to get into an aggressive mindset and take bigger cuts at the ball. I felt like I had time to get the Instinct on a ball, even against bigger servers. I noticed that when I blocked or chipped a return, though, it wasn't landing as deep into the court as I would've liked."

Oak found easy depth but not a lot of finesse. He noted, "Returns were fun to power through, but it felt like I didn't have many options beyond that. I would've liked more mass through the ball or perhaps more precision to make aggressive spot-targeting more effective. Against first serves, I noticed a bit of instability, and on seconds, the ball pocketing felt superb. The racquet still felt plenty maneuverable due to the lower static weight, and the pocketing on returns was equally sublime as it was on groundstrokes."

Despite a lack of stability and an adjustment to her timing window, Brittany enjoyed picking big targets and letting it fly. She said, "I found that I needed a small adjustment period on returns because I was actually ahead of the ball and swinging too early. Once I got my timing down, I found it fun to return first and second serves to big targets because the Instinct MP 2025 was easy to swing fast, and I could add spin to keep the ball from going out. In doubles, I found angles and was able to dip my return at my opponent's feet, causing them to pop up their next shot. However, I was left wanting a little more stability at times. It was most noticeable on returns, but I also felt it at times on volleys and groundstrokes. If a ball packed a little more pace or a little more spin, the racquet tended to flutter in my hands."

While Tiffani would've appreciated more stability throughout contact, she also found other avenues to success when returning. She explained, "I appreciated how quickly this Instinct MP 2025 came around on serves, which made it easy to get a shot at almost any serve. As I noticed in a couple of other areas, there were some small stability issues, but they weren't that detrimental. I liked the depth I could generate, especially off weaker serves. I could put myself in a good position with either deep or angled returns."

Breakdown Summary