ProKennex Ki Q+ Tour Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 82

Our playtesters felt that spin, power and precision were the ProKennex Ki Q+ Tour's standout traits on groundstrokes. They found the racquet well suited for those who like to command the game from the backcourt. Kristen thought the racquet was a good fit for her counterpunching game style. However, she did encounter some inconsistencies from the stringbed. She explained, "I was pleasantly surprised by this racquet when drilling at the baseline. It had great maneuverability, and I noticed I was preparing for my shots early and was able to drive through the ball with good stability and super easy access to spin and power. The sweetspot felt pretty small on this racquet. When I found it, the racquet felt comfortable and had a nice controlled, even slight pocketing feel to it, but outside of that zone the racquet became more unpredictable. The livelier response outside of the sweetspot was particularly noticeable in the upper hoop, and resulted in the ball launching on me at times."

For Erik, proper timing and staying aggressive from the baseline were key to getting the best performance out of this racquet. He elaborated, "The Ki Q+ Tour felt whippy when I was hugging the baseline, in command of the ball, and going for my shots. However, when I was on the run and hitting more vertically through the ball as opposed to hitting through it, I struggled to generate racquet head speed and found myself catching the ball a little late and spraying long. I really liked hitting slices and knifing them low with this racquet, and it was quite stable and came through the ball exceptionally well. There was a good amount of power with this Ki Q+ Tour, especially if I accelerated on the ball. This racquet worked for my game style when I wanted to hit high loopy balls from the baseline, but when I wanted to flatten out my shots I had to be dialed in or I would struggle and mostly hit long."

Stepping into her first playtest, Suzy was impressed with how well the Ki Q+ Tour complemented her aggressive baseline game. She said, "This racquet felt good at the baseline. I was able to hit a deep, heavy ball on my groundstrokes, and it felt pretty crisp on contact. My slices were staying fairly low, but the plush feel wasn't quite there for me on this shot. Overall, I felt pretty connected to the ball, and I was able to really drive through my shots with good placement. This is a predominantly control-oriented frame, but I found I was able to generate enough power on my groundstrokes if I increased my swing speed a bit. I was pleasantly surprised with the maneuverability of this racquet; it was easy to get into position, and I never felt rushed. Overall, I found that the racquet worked well with my game style, and I think it's a fantastic choice for an aggressive baseliner looking for a mixture of power and control."

Volleys - Score: 80

With top-notch stability and maneuverability, the Ki Q+ Tour held its own at net. Always looking to move forward, Erik found the racquet allowed him to close the net successfully. He said, "The Ki Q+ Tour was quick to get into position up at net; I had no issues maneuvering it. This is also an area where the stability of this racquet stood out. The feel was pretty neutral. I felt connected to my shots, but the racquet was slightly on the softer side and was quite comfortable at the net. I found myself mostly hitting deeper volleys, but I could soften up my hands and hit some decent drop volleys as well. I really enjoyed volleying with the KiQ+ Tour.”

Suzy also enjoyed some nice depth on her volleys. She noted, "This racquet was pretty solid up at net. It was easy to get into position and felt fairly responsive. One thing I noticed was that I was volleying balls a lot deeper than normal, which was a big plus for me. I felt connected to the ball and was able to consistently pack a good punch up at net."

Kristen felt confident when drawn forward with the Ki Q+ Tour. She said, "I thought this racquet performed really well at net. It was notably stable, making it great for blocking back reaction volleys, but I also felt I could really drive through volleys with good plow through. It's not as maneuverable as my racquet of choice, but it’s maneuverable enough, and it has better touch than I expected."

Serves - Score: 76

Although serving wasn't quite a highlight of the playtest, our testers noted several positive attributes that stood out to them as they became more dialed in with the Ki Q+ Tour's feel. Suzy found she was serving her best when she took some pace off and focused on spin and placement. She described, "I found it a little tough to generate enough power on first serves. I also tend to flatten out my first serves, and I wasn't able to get the placement I was looking for. When I took some pace off the ball this racquet shone. On my second serves, I was able to generate lots of spin and get more control over the ball placement. I was fairly confident hitting second serves with this racquet, but I would have preferred a bit more weight added to the top of the frame for easier access to power. My favorite serve on both the deuce and ad sides was a slice away from my opponent."

Erik also initially struggled to place his first serves. He said, "On serves, I found myself hitting long a lot at first. The pace I could generate with this frame was solid, and I had excellent access to spin. I loved hitting kick serves with this frame, but I struggled to hit a low knifing slice serve out wide on the deuce side at times. I also loved hitting kick second serves, and I got excellent height, depth and spin on the ball. My favorite serves to hit were body serves on the deuce side and kick serves out wide on the ad side."

"I definitely needed an adjustment period here," added Kristen. "The racquet dragged a bit for me on serves at first. I could really feel the mass in the head of the frame as I started my service motion. My current racquet of choice is whippier on serves, so it took me a while to get used to the feel of this over my head. The more I served with it, the more I was able to tap into the high spin and power potential, and I noticed my serves landing deep in the service box."

Returns - Score: 80

Power and access to spin were plentiful on returns, but some playtesters were looking for a bit more control from the Ki Q+ Tour. Erik commented, "This is an area where I struggled slightly. The launch angle of this racquet caused me to hit many balls long when I was really going after my returns. I did have to be a little more conservative on returns, so I would mostly just block the ball back and send it deep in the court. I wouldn't necessarily go after the ball and strike it confidently. However, this racquet did feel very solid on contact, and there were no stability issues."

Kristen felt the Ki Q+ Tour was a bit hit or miss on returns. She said, "Returning is my favorite shot to hit, and although I returned well with this racquet, nothing stood out to me as being especially beneficial to my game. I felt it was maneuverable and that it counteracted powerful serves well. Like on groundstrokes, though, I could get myself into a bit of trouble at times with the ball launching off the stringbed when I took bigger cuts and caught the ball in the upper hoop."

Suzy had no qualms with this racquet on returns, and like on groundstrokes, she found it catered to her desire for staying on the offensive. She noted, "I was able to be quite aggressive on returns. The racquet felt solid on contact against first serves, and I was able to feed off my opponent's power to push the ball deep and keep them on the defensive at the baseline. Against second serves, I was able to attack the ball a lot more; it was easy to get this racquet into position, and I had a lot of control over ball placement."

Overall - Score: 82