Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP Racquet Review

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Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP Scores
Power	83
Comfort	81
Touch/Feel	79
Serves	81
Groundstrokes	82
Returns	80
Slice	77
Topspin	91
Volleys	80
Overall	81

Upsides

• A lot of spin, but not too much
• Easy to use

Downsides

• Nothing we could agree on

Summary

Spin is the name of the game with the Tour Pro 100 ESP! For the first time, Prince pairs the Extreme String Pattern technology with traditional grommets. This fast racquet gives players a controlled, yet explosive response on the court. With its 16x16 string pattern and stable feel, the Tour Pro 100 ESP let our playtesters attack balls with confidence from all areas of the court. They took advantage of the depth and spin they could produce from the baseline, and they had fun producing angles against their opponents. Our team could maneuver this racquet whether they were attacking or keeping balls high and deep to allow them time to get back into a point. At net, our team felt confident with this quick stick in hand and had no issues producing volleys to end the point. When it came to serves, most of our playtesters ditched their flat serves and took advantage of the spin-friendly stringbed to get balls jumping and sliding all over the service box. While flatter hitters may not find what they need from this racquet, the controlled, crisp response is a good match for intermediate to advanced players looking to add more spin and extra power to their games.

Groundstrokes - Score: 82

With a 16x16 string pattern and a firm beam, our playtesters took advantage of the spin potential the Tour Pro 100 ESP offered from the baseline. Dipping forehands and backhands were easy to hit, but slices were a bit of a struggle for our players. Mark appreciated the controlled response from this quick racquet, saying, "This time around, I didn't look at the specs of the racquet I was testing, although I did get wind of some general traits of the Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP. From simply shaking hands with it, I could tell there was a good amount of weight in the hoop area, relative to the more tip-light balanced setups I have been playing with as of late. From the first swing from the back of the court, my feeling of its weight and balance was confirmed, and I found really good plow through against pace and depth. I was also rewarded with the notion that I had a setup that was pretty maneuverable, too. After I got used to the extra weight in the hoop I realized I love this racquet off the ground. The backhand slice was really the only area that was not as comfortable for me, and I think this has to do with the string pattern. None of the wide-open string patterned frames I have played with has ever stood out positively for my backhand slice."

With her flatter game style, Brittany doesn't always get along with racquets that offer open string patterns. But, possibly due to the firmer beam, she adjusted to this racquet the fastest out of all of the extremely open patterns she has previously played. She explained, "Within just a couple minutes I was feeling confident with my swings and was able to control the spin and depth of my groundstrokes. As expected, I found tons of spin potential from this racquet and was really able to get the ball to drop deep inside the baseline or angle off the court with little effort. When I was playing I noticed every sixth to seventh ball flying long, so I didn't feel as consistent as I would have liked. Additionally, I was surprised with how stable this racquet felt, and I loved the plow through. I wasn't the biggest fan of hitting slices with this racquet as I felt they floated a little bit. However, I'm not known to hit much slice, so it wasn't a problem for me."

This racquet felt fast to Jason, who liked how he could generate a lot of racquet head speed to get tons of spin on his shots. He said, "The ESP definitely helped magnify the amount of spin I get on my forehand, which helped my shots land in close to the baseline. I also felt like I was hitting some nice angles, which pulled my opponents off the court. Like Brittany and Mark, the one shot I struggled with was the slice. I don't think there is enough mass in the hoop to really knife through the ball."

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," began Tiffani. "Initially I really struggled to find my range with this racquet, sending way too many forehands into the net. I adjusted after my initial hit and had some good fun hitting angles off short balls with this racquet. As with other open string patterned racquets, there was plenty of spin off the ground and I could see more hops on my shots. The racquet was also very responsive and powerful. However, it wasn't quite whippy enough for me. Once I was in a point I felt great, but if a hard hit return came right at my feet I struggled to flick the ball back."

Volleys - Score: 80

There were no surprises when it came to volleying with the Tour Pro 100 ESP. For Brittany, the Tour Pro 100 ESP felt stable on every ball hit at her. She said, "There was enough pop to hit volleys deep in the court to end the point. I found success hitting behind my opponent to wrong foot them. I would have liked a crisper feel in general when hitting volleys, but I felt more connected with this racquet than with Prince racquets with ports."

Jason found the Tour Pro 100 ESP easy to get where he needed it. He said, "I really liked this racquet up at net. It was fast and maneuverable, so it helped me get the racquet into position. When I had to hit an overhead it was easily done with a snap of the wrist. I did notice a little instability on off center volleys because it was so head light."

For the most part, Tiffani felt comfortable at net with the Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP in hand. She offered, "There were times when I felt this racquet was a little too powerful and I lost control of my volleys. I prefer to hit a basic volley, and the stringbed felt pretty powerful. However, I did feel it had better ball feel than other spin-type racquets, and I even attempted to feather some volleys with touch."

Mark did not play too much doubles with this racquet, but he did practice lots of patterns with it. He commented, "Whether both of us were at net or one was firing passing shots at me from the baseline, this racquet consistently provided a rewarding response for me."

Serves - Score: 81

Spin was the name of the game for our playtesters when firing off serves with the Tour Pro 100 ESP. All four of our playtesters were able to really get the ball moving. Once Mark got used to the extra hoop weight, the serve became one of his favorite shots when hitting with this Prince. He explained, "I was able to climb over the top of the ball, resulting in some great pace, spin and predictability."

The 16x16 pattern really helped make Jason's serves effective. He noted, "The access to spin was great, whether I was hitting a slice serve or a kick serve."

Again, spin and power stood out for Tiffani. She commented, "I didn't put any extra effort into my swing, but I saw the ball jumping more and penetrating through the court. I am not a big server by any means, but I got a bit of a boost from this racquet."

Brittany was also able to generate plenty of spin on her serves. She said, "My serves were jumping nice and high out of my opponent's contact zone. I was still able to start the point in an offensive to neutral position with my second serve. My one complaint was that my arm did start to get tired toward the end of my hitting sessions because it did take a little bit of effort to get the racquet up and over my head."

Serve Returns - Score: 80

Compared to other racquets with open spin patterns, our team found a more controlled response due to the traditional grommet system Prince has introduced into this explosive spin patterned racquet. Because of that firm, stable feel, our playtesters were able to attack returns with confidence, although some still struggled with consistency. When Tiffani had enough time she could be effective with her returns. She said, "I didn't have some of the issues I've had with other spin racquets on returns. This is typically the flattest shot I hit, and in the past I sent many a return flying past the baseline with spin racquets. I had better control with the Tour Pro 100 ESP. However, when I was rushed I couldn't get out in front of the ball, and I gave my opponent some sitters."

Jason was returning well enough with this racquet and started to hit backhands with confidence. He explained, "I was hitting mostly flat or topspin backhands, which was a big deal for me since I typically slice my returns back from that wing. With how whippy this racquet is, I was able to get it out in front of me, even if I was a little late on my take back. I was able to hit my forehand with lots of depth, power and control, so I really have no complaints there."

"I had some ups and downs with returning serves," stated Brittany. "The Tour Pro 100 ESP was stable on most first and second serve returns, but when I was returning some heavier, harder hit first serves I noticed just a bit of fluttering. I like being aggressive on my return and this racquet made it easy. there were times when I tried to flatten the ball out and my return would sail. I had to make a small adjustment and consciously make sure to add just a little bit of spin to my shot."

Mark did not have to modify anything on his return. He said, "This was just another aspect of this playtest that reinforced the notion that this is a very versatile/functional racquet."

Overall - Score: 81

Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester Profiles

Mark: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a one-handed backhand. He currently plays with the Wilson Steam 99S.

Brittany: Open level player with a semi-western forehand and a two-handed backhand. She currently plays with the Yonex EZONE Ai 100.

Jason: 4.0 baseliner with a semi-western forehand and two handed backhand. Currently using a Yonex EZONE Ai 100.

Tiffani: 4.0 level baseliner with a semiwestern grip on the forehand and hits a two-handed backhand. Currently playing with the Donnay Formula 100.

Review date: October 2014. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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