Yonex VCORE 95 8th Gen Racquet Review

With a smaller head size and manageable swingweight, the VCORE 95 8th Gen offered plenty of stability and maneuverability at the baseline. Oak found exceptional spin potential as well. He said, "The VCORE 95 8th Gen is one of my favorite 95s currently available and one of my favorite frames to play in stock form. This update felt great off either wing, and I loved how quick through the air the smaller hoop was, letting me easily increase racquet head speed. Spin was super accessible, and slices landed deep, with lots of action on the ball. While this is inherently more of a control-oriented experience, the slightly thicker beam in the throat did supply some increased power, even with its more traditional geometry and straight beam construction. I found good stability and enough pocketing to absorb pace without compromising on playability. I love this frame for my style of play. It's precise enough to go after aggressive targets, powerful enough to end the point and spin-friendly to a degree that I love implementing."

The VCORE 95 worked very well for Mark's game style. He described, "From the baseline, the VCORE 95 8th Gen was great for my counterpunching style of hitting groundstrokes. The stability and directional control I got from its 11.5-ounce weight were spot on for me from the backcourt. Besides providing a very connected feel to my groundstrokes, the spacing of the 16x20 pattern was such that I could easily shape my groundstrokes with lots of topspin and decent pace. Without having to make much of an adjustment, my slice backhand stayed linear, low and effective whether I was hitting it cross court or down the line."

The VCORE 95 gave Troy a very connected feel that paired perfectly with his craftier game. He said, "Right from the get-go, I was feeling confident and precise hitting my groundstrokes. The 310-gram unstrung weight gave this VCORE 95 a relatively solid feel on contact -- not as solid as the Wilson Six.One 95 18x20 but decently solid considering the weight difference. I also felt like I could generate easy racquet head speed since the swingweight is nice and manageable compared to my usual racquet specs. I definitely noticed I was getting easier power, depth and spin from the VCORE 98+, but I could be very consistent and go for my targets with precision with the VCORE 95 8th Gen. This was my favorite of the 8th Gen VCOREs for hitting my slice backhand; it didn't have as much plow through as the 98+, but it felt so precise, and the 16x20 pattern helped give me the connection to the ball that I look for."

Munish found a good connection with the ball when using the VCORE 95 at the baseline. He explained, "I loved this VCORE 95 8th Gen on my groundstrokes. I absolutely love the fact that the 95 is not as spinny as the other VCORE racquets I have been testing, because I usually feel like the line is almost too powerful and spin-oriented. My shots had a decent amount of height, and I felt confident going for sharper angles. I had no issues with stability, but that's been the case for all the previous versions of the VCORE 95 as well. I found a lot more feel and connection from the 95 8th Gen, which was surprising for me due to the inherent power and spin a VCORE racquet has. I loved changing pace and being a little bit craftier with this racquet, which was a lot harder to do with the VCORE 98 Tour or the regular 98. This VCORE 95 8th Gen not only suited my game, but it also allowed me to try a few new things, like drop shots from behind the baseline."

The highlight of the VCORE 95 8th Gen at net was its maneuverability and super responsive feel. Not only did this allow the playtesters to be extremely precise with their volleys, but it also gave them a little more firepower. Oak was able to add good variation to his volleys, and he found the racquet accommodating in every situation he faced. He said, "This VCORE 95 8th Gen handles so smoothly up at net, and the precision factor makes for a really satisfying volleying experience. I found great feel that was slightly firmer than the previous generation and excellent connection to the ball. I felt comfortable shaping balls short or sticking them deep because the racquet was obedient no matter the situation. It was great for net-rushing, which is something I've been trying to implement more of lately."

Troy found a good connection with the VCORE 95 at net but considered adding some weight to the frame for some increased heft. He described, "I found good precision from the VCORE 95 8th Gen, and it also had pretty good stability on my volleys. Compared to the 98+ or 98 Tour, there was a little less easy power, but I was rewarded with more control and precision, giving me more of that player's racquet type of feel at net. I won't go so far as to say this racquet is a scalpel, like our friend Granville would say, but I was pleased with my ability to command the ball. The feel was smooth and responsive, whereas the Gen 7 VCORE 95 felt a little more dampened, and I was able to execute my drop volleys with confidence. If I am being real picky, I might want to add a bit of weight to this one to give it a more solid feel closer to the Wilson Six.One 95. It's not that this VCORE 95 underperforms at the net, but I just crave that heftier and slightly more solid feel of a classic player's frame.”

Regardless of the situation Mark was in at net, the VCORE 95 8th Gen performed exceptionally well. He said, "My confidence at net with the new VCORE 95 was a 9 out of 10. If tennis were all about the volley, I would for sure claim the VCORE 95 8th Gen as my first choice. I cannot recall any other racquet that provided me with a better or more connected feel to my volleys, not to mention an obedient and reliable response. Whether I was hitting the volley offensively or defensively, the VCORE 95 8th Gen’s performance at net was maybe as good as it gets!"

Munish complimented the stability and overall feel of the VCORE 95. He said, "I had similar experiences with the VCORE 95 8th Gen as I did with the VCORE 98 Tour 8th Gen. The weight and head size were clutch for stability and maneuverability when I was hitting against bigger hitters. The maneuverability was great, which was something I wished for on the 98 Tour 8th Gen. Although I sometimes struggled with overhitting the ball or adding too much power on drop volleys, my volleys were otherwise precise, powerful and low. I got amazing levels of feel from this VCORE 95 8th Gen, and I love that it has a level of crispness to it that the previous generation did not."

The combination of power and control made the VCORE 95 8th Gen feel like a Formula 1 car -- significant power and steering so precise that you can place serves exactly where you want them. Troy loved the control-to-power ratio of the VCORE 95 8th Gen, and how well it allowed him switch up his serves. He explained, "I thought this VCORE 95 8th Gen felt pretty fast and whippy on my serves, and I had good precision and placement within the service box. My favorite part about this racquet when serving was really just my ability to have good command over the ball, which gave me a lot of confidence to keep mixing up my serves. With the easy maneuverability, I felt like I could kick my serves with a tight and heavy rotation, which helped me open up the court and keep my opponents off balance. I wouldn't say this racquet gave me a big boost in power, but I will say it packed some good pop considering it is a 95. Overall, the spin and precision worked well for my lefty serve, and I might add just a bit of swingweight to give me a little more power on my serves."

Oak has always loved the VCORE 95 on serves, and the 8th Gen was no different. He said, "Man, the VCORE 95 8th Gen is such a dream on serves. That was what originally kept me coming back to the previous generation; I just loved serving with it. This update is a little more powerful, and this was the main area where I noticed the thicker beam in the throat, not to mention its more conventional geometry. It was excellent for flat and spin-heavy serves, with kicks and slices both well within reach. My favorite serve was up the T on either side."

Munish loved the VCORE 95 8th Gen on serves, especially when hitting kickers from the ad side. He described, "The VCORE 95 8th Gen offered a lot of power and directional control. I was able to stay consistent enough with my first serves, and even when I was hitting second serves, which was somewhat rare. My favorite serve was still my kick serve out wide from the ad side. I felt I could hit that serve every single time from the ad side and not miss. Although, my flat first serves got me a handful of aces."

Despite not being a huge server, Mark was still able to get enough pace and spin out of his VCORE 95 8th Gen to get points started on the right foot. He said, "Serving is not the most dominant part of my game, but by the end of the second session I knew that serving with the VCORE 95 was going to be my favorite shot of the playtest. Developing a decent amount of pace on serve with good action on the ball did not require excessive effort, and my percentages didn’t drop much when I was trying to hit a bigger serve. Serves aimed to the body on either side were consistent but nothing out of the ordinary, while my serves out wide out on the ad court were better than usual."

The easy directional control of the VCORE 95 8th Gen was the main highlight when it came to returns. Our testers raved about their ability to redirect huge serves, and Mark particularly loved it for slice returns cross court. He said, "I have been working on hitting my return with topspin more often, but I must admit that slicing my backhand return felt pretty natural and effective with the VCORE 95 8th Gen. Overall, I had the same good directional and depth control on my returns as I did with my groundstrokes."

Oak enjoyed returning with the VCORE 95 8th Gen because it allowed him to attack second serves confidently while still handling big first serves with decent control. He explained, "I had a great time returning with the VCORE 95 8th Gen. I like to be pretty aggressive with my spots on returns, and the precision of this frame helped me hit through my targets. I found good control when attacking seconds, and the racquet was stable enough to absorb pace against heavier firsts. Maneuverability is excellent, so I never really felt late, thankfully."

The VCORE 95 8th Gen's excellent maneuverability and stability made returns super easy to control, which allowed Munish to absorb pace and direct the ball quite effectively. He said, "The maneuverability and stability really shone through on returns. Just blocking the ball with good intent and direction was enough to get into the point and even get the upper hand. I can't remember how many drop shots I hit off my second serve return. I think this was due to the crisper feel of the VCORE 95 8th Gen paired with the maneuverability, which made it so easy to absorb pace and just drop the ball into the service box."

The VCORE 95 offered Troy great control and placement on returns. He described, "This VCORE 95 8th Gen gave me good control and placement on my returns, but it didn't necessarily give me any particular boost. Hitting it side by side with the VCORE 98+ let me see the added benefits that the 98+ gave me on my backhand returns. This VCORE 95 didn’t give me the easy depth I got from the 98+. I loved how I could really attack the ball and be aggressive on my forehand returns; I could go big without fear of missing long. I found this VCORE 95 8th Gen to work well in doubles. I could place my returns very reliably whether going cross court or up the line, and I could even use my chip lob over the net player's head. My backhand slice return felt nice and dirty, and it would stay very low off the bounce. The only thing missing was a bit more easier depth on my returns, and maybe a little more mass added to the racquet would help with that."