Volkl V-Sense 10 295g Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 78

From the baseline, the Volkl V-Sense 10 295g offered the TW playtesters excellent maneuverability and spin potential. Mark said, "Knowing that its 10.9 oz strung weight was paired with a 311 swingweight, I thought this racquet would really shine in terms of maneuverability. Within five minutes of trading groundstrokes with Spencer I realized that notion was accurate, and I was also a little surprised by the stability of the newest Volkl 10 295g. I was able to nail my targets from the baseline, and moving the ball around and effectively keeping it away from my opponent's strike zone was a breeze. Although PlaySight did not report any astonishing spin numbers for me, I did feel in control of the ball, and whether it was a short angle or a deeper shot, spin was easily accessed."

"This is the third iteration of the 295g version of the Volkl 10 series that I've tested," continued Tiffani. "Over time this racquet's feel has gotten firmer to me. I was hoping a stiffer layup would translate into more power off the ground. The previous versions were more control-oriented, and that theme continued with the V-Sense version. I really had to swing out to get depth on my groundstrokes, and when I was stretched or playing defensively I really had a hard time hitting penetrating shots. We had our playtest racquet strung with Solinco Hyper-G, and the V-Sense 10 295g felt too light for this setup. On the plus side, this racquet was easy to flick, letting me create angles."

Jason is no stranger to Volkl racquets, having reviewed more racquets than he can recall. He offered, "This was such an easy racquet to swing and to use. To go along with the ease of use, there was easy access to spin. It was effortless to generate racquet head speed and to generate spin on my shots. The flip side to all this was the lack of weight and swingweight, which resulted in a lack of power. When my opponents hit harder shots I could feel the racquet getting bullied around by the ball. It was tougher for me to execute a knifing slice because there wasn't enough weight in the hoop to put behind the ball."

One of the newest playtesters to our team, Hannah, took this racquet out for a spin. She said, "The Volkl V-Sense 10 295g was easy to manipulate and played decently from all areas of the court. It was a breeze to swing on my groundstrokes, and the 16X19 string pattern mixed with the maneuverability of this racquet to make every shot attainable, especially when I was taking the ball on-the-rise. Because of the lower swingweight I found it difficult to hit a deeper target without the ball landing past the baseline. If I stuck to a simple game plan, without trying to muscle through the ball too much, this racquet rewarded me with some tricky angles and the ability to get my opponent on the run."

Volleys - Score: 74

The TW playtesters had similar results with the V-Sense 10 295g at net. They found excellent maneuverability but were left wanting more stability. Hannah had some ups and downs, saying, "My hand movements around the net felt so quick with the Volkl V-Sense 10 295g. However, after a few volleys my wrist was struggling trying to keep the frame stable on my volleys. The frame was fluttering slightly, but it was still proficient in point-and-shoot volleys. I did have some wrist soreness after volleying with this racquet."

"It was nice for quick reflex volleys, but when stretched out wide, the V-Sense 10 295g felt a bit unstable," stated Jason. "I really needed some additional weight on this racquet to help with off-center shots. I did enjoy hitting overheads with the 295g, though, with its whippy feel and control. I didn't have to hit my overheads with power to win the point because of the placement."

Tiffani agreed, adding, "I enjoyed how easily I could get this racquet into position, and I liked the clean feel off the stringbed when I made contact in the sweetspot. However, I struggled with stability, and subsequently control, when I struck the ball outside the sweetspot."

Mark had a little more success hitting volleys. He explained, "Working with a racquet weight that is just under 11 oz, I knew I would be able to get the racquet into position on time, but I was a little wary about the stability against a well struck passing shot. As with groundstrokes, I was surprised by how stable this racquet was at net. It wasn't until shot speeds eclipsed 60 MPH that I felt the new Volkl V-Sense 10 295g twist in my hand."

Serves - Score: 76

The playtesters enjoyed how easy it was to swing the Volkl V-Sense 10 295g on their serves, but they wanted a little more power at times. The serve was Jason's favorite shot to hit with this racquet. He raved, "For what it is, I actually really liked the V-Sense 10 295g on serve. I hit a high percentage of my serves in, put a decent amount of spin on my shots and had good control. However, I felt like my max service speed was lower with this racquet than with my own and many other racquets. It's like a sports car, but with a small engine."

"This was the one portion of the playtest where I wished I had a slightly heavier racquet in my hand," critiqued Mark. "The lightness of the Volkl V-Sense 10 295g did allow me to really swing out and get 'wristy' with my serve, but I was not getting the sort of velocity I need to be effective."

Hannah was left wanting more, saying, "The Volkl V-Sense 10 295g was extremely whippy during my service motion. I was craving more power and a bit more weight in the hoop, especially to get the extra bite on my kick serve."

Tiffani was in agreement with the rest of the playtesters. She commented, "I was missing some free power from this V-Sense 10 295g on my serves, even more than I was missing on my groundstrokes. I felt consistent with my serves, but there just wasn't much to them. Placement became key for me when serving with this racquet."

Returns - Score: 80

The V-Sense 10 295g continued to shine in the maneuverability department when it came to hitting returns. Mark found limited success on returns. He said, "My return of serve was very effective, and it wasn't until the serve speeds reached in to the 90 MPH range that I once thought about another racquet."

"I liked this racquet on returns for its effortless swinging potential," Hannah continued. "This racquet won't produce a threatening return off the serve, but it was a good tool for using the power of the serve to start the point off strong. Just like on groundstrokes, the V-Sense 10 295g gave me the confidence to prepare and swing away at every ball."

Being a fan of this racquet's mobility, Tiffani said, "The maneuverability of this V-Sense 295g was the key for my success when returning. The mobility and the control allowed me to take more aggressive swings when I was returning. This tactic was more successful for me than just blocking back serves. When I did try to block serves back I felt the lightness of the racquet, and my returns were landing short."

Jason had some ups and downs when it came to returns. He said, "I struggled a tad with depth when I blocked my returns back, but when I had time to take a full swing, both spin and control were good from both wings. I surprised both myself and my opponent with some of the angles I found, and that was a definite plus."

Overall - Score: 77