Yonex VCORE 95 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

From the baseline, the VCORE 95 offered our team great feel at contact. After only a few hits with this Yonex racquet, Sean appreciated how comfortable and flexible it felt. He said, "The lower stiffness rating helped dampen the power level, so I could go for really ambitious shots and still get my ball to land in. When I played well, I felt like I was swinging for the fences. The more I hit with this racquet, the more I realized that to play optimally with it, you'd better be the type of player who takes a big cut at the ball. Anything else, and the VCORE 95 might come across as underpowered. The directional control was great, but I had a difficult time adjusting to the launch angle of the 16x20 string pattern; I'm more accustomed to 16x19 and 18x20 patterns."

Troy found a plush and dampened feel when drilling from the baseline. He said, "The previous iteration of this racquet, the VCORE SV 95, felt slightly firmer and crisper on contact. I found it to play somewhat powerfully for a 95 square-inch head size, maybe along the lines of a Wilson Burn 95 or Volkl V-Sense 10 Mid. This update is way on the other end of the spectrum — it's all about control. The amount of control it provided and the maneuverable feel allowed me to take big rips at my forehands and backhands, and I felt confident the ball would consistently land in the court. It was easy to generate heavy backspin on my backhand slice, though I would have liked a bit more mass in the hoop to help with stability, especially when playing against heavy hitters. The VCORE 95's topspin potential was decent, but it didn't stand up to 16x19 racquets like the Wilson Pro Staff 97 or Volkl V-Sense 10 Tour."

"The baseline is the area of the court where I play most of my tennis, so I always gravitate toward racquets that complement my groundstrokes," began Mark. "And for me, the VCORE 95 was quick and easy to swing from the baseline. During the first hour of play a few too many of my shots were landing short. This was a surprise to me, and it may have had something to do with the smaller 95 square-inch head size. However, I adapted after that first session and was able to play effectively from the backcourt. With the 16x20 string pattern, I was able to keep my backhand slice low and effective. I also generated a high level of topspin off both wings."

"It was a big transition for me to come to this racquet right after playing with the hugely powerful Prince Beast Pro 100 LB," said Michelle. "With that being said, I'm going to add that I generally prefer stiffer racquets and don't always appreciate more feel or flex. Right away, I noticed the flexible feel of this VCORE 95, especially compared to the stiffer VCORE SV line. It also felt a bit low powered to me. Those aspects both posed an initial challenge for my game. However, as I played more with the VCORE 95 I found a fast swinging racquet that helped me hit my targets well. I can't say that the sweetspot felt big, but it did feel nice on contact. The 16x20 string pattern was a little tight for me, and I struggled with spin at times. As I spent more time playing with this VCORE 95, I found I had to work the point a bit longer than I'm comfortable with. I felt like I was at a disadvantage since that's not the way I like to win my points. However, I can see why the rest of the team loved this racquet. For players looking for feel and control, it's definitely here! The biggest downside for me was that this racquet just didn't fit into my wheelhouse."

Volleys - Score: 80

The easy maneuverability of the VCORE 95 offered our team great command of the ball, which really stood out at net. "There was a relatively soft and plush feel when I struck my volleys in the sweetspot," began Troy. "I felt very connected to the ball as well. Hitting a drop volley or a sharp angle felt natural. Although I was never afraid to aim at the lines with this racquet, I wouldn't put it in the scalpel rank of racquets like the Volkl Power Bridge 10 Mid or Wilson Pro Staff 90. My only knock was that I felt this racquet lacked a bit of stability. Against hard hit shots, like Michelle's forehand, this racquet didn't quite hold its ground as well as my VCORE Pro 97 (330) or Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph."

Mark was pleasantly surprised to find a maneuverable, stable response at net. He explained, "Whether the volley was within easy reach or I made contact at full stretch, the result was favorable. Although I am not known to consistently serve and volley, I did gain a little more confidence during this playtest and felt confident coming in behind a serve or groundstroke."

"Since the VCORE 95 felt a bit unstable for me off the ground, I expected to have some serious stability issues at the net," said Michelle. "However, contrary to my expectations, this racquet played pretty solidly at net as long as I had it in the right position. It felt fairly maneuverable, but I do prefer something a bit stiffer that makes it easier to block balls back. Touch was ample, though, and I felt I could carve out some nice shots. It wasn't as stable as my RF97, but not many racquets are."

Sean weighed in, saying, "The combination of the flex and the lighter weight made it difficult to get the type of punch I was looking for up at net. I enjoyed hitting angles and droppers a lot more than pick-ups and put-aways with the VCORE 95."

Serves - Score: 83

The lower power level of the VCORE 95 impacted all of our playtesters' serves. Mark noted that the racquet felt nimble and fast from all areas of the court, even when serving. However, he added, "There wasn't a lot of power available. I never could eclipse 105 mph serving with the VCORE 95, but the directional control was top notch. I served consistently with it and rarely coughed up a double fault."

For someone whose game revolves around power and big shots, Michelle just couldn't juice enough power out of this racquet when serving. She explained, "If I wanted to hit a big first serve I really had to load my arms and legs and execute the timing perfectly. Even then, I wasn't breaking any speed limits. Let's just say big first serves weren't seamless or easy for me. I could target well with the VCORE 95, though, which was a plus. I shifted my focus to my spots rather than my speed. Second serves were fairly straightforward. Although I was missing some spin potential off the ground with this racquet, I can't really say it was lacking on serves."

Because the VCORE 95 is a naturally low-powered racquet, Sean felt very confident going up and after his serves. He said, "This actually allowed me to hit my serve harder than I can with more naturally powerful racquets. I also loved how much kick I was getting on my second serve; I was consistently getting the ball at least to shoulder height on my opponents."

Since Troy was coming to this racquet right after playtesting the power-house Prince Textreme Beast, he had to make some major adjustments to his serve. He described, "Going from a very powerful racquet to a lower powered racquet made it tough to get a handle on serving with the VCORE 95. The playtest before this one was the Prince Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB, which packed loads of power. The VCORE 95 was quite the opposite on my serves. I wasn't finding much of a boost in power on my serves with this racquet, but I was locating my targets with a high level of precision. Whether I was going for a flat first serve up the middle or a kick serve out wide, the VCORE 95 made me feel dialed in. My ability to mix up the location of my serves helped me keep my opponents from dictating the point with their returns. I felt like I could snap or pronate my wrist easily with this racquet, which helped me achieve a lot of spin and kick serves off the court. The fast feel helped me generate some good pace when I needed to go for a big first serve. I wasn't getting the free power I did with the Textreme Beast Pro 100 LB, but I was serving with consistency and accuracy."

Returns - Score: 80

The feel, control, precision and speed of the VCORE 95 worked well for our team on returns. "This was where I liked the racquet most," said Michelle. "I found it easy to pinpoint my spots and execute solid returns. Because of the predictability and control, I could dial in my target and attack without fear of overhitting. It was fun to channel the sneak attack off a second serve, and I was confident following big returns forward into the court. I struggled a tiny bit with my angle returns in doubles; I just wasn't able to execute the same shot to get my opponents off the court. This racquet felt relatively stable blocking returns back against bigger servers though."

The serve return was Sean's favorite shot to hit with the VCORE 95 as well. He said, "I loved the feel of connecting on the return, and knowing that I had to swing out to get the most out of this racquet helped me focus on making contact. The option to absorb pace and place the ball at the returner's feet was there too, which was especially helpful in doubles."

"The control of this racquet allowed me to take aggressive swings on my returns without fear of hitting long," added Troy. "I loved when I lined up a forehand return and made contact about chest high. I could slap at the ball and hit hard, flat, offensive returns that my opponent had trouble putting a racquet on. I could slice backhand returns with a lot of spin, getting the ball to skid and stay low off the bounce. While playing doubles, this racquet helped me place my returns with a lot of precision. I felt confident keeping the ball out of reach of the net player and could hit sharp angles or pull the trigger down the line effectively. The only thing missing was a bit more plow through when facing big servers (around 100 mph and higher)."

Since he has a more defensive return, Mark tends to favor racquets that offer a little more inherent power. He explained, "Since I rarely swing much past the contact of the ball, I like a racquet with more power to help get the ball going. With this Yonex, my returns were landing shorter than I would like to admit. This part of the playtest challenged me the most."

Overall - Score: 84