Yonex VCORE Si 98 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 80

Loaded with spin potential, the VCORE Si 98 was easy to swing from the baseline. The firm and crisp response created some discomfort for our playtesters, who agreed that a multifilament or hybrid would pair best with this racquet. Chris enjoyed the direct and accurate feel of the VCORE Si 98. He said, "I had the sense that the ball was in and out of the stringbed very quickly. However, the downside to such crispness was some brassiness to the response. Hitting slightly out of the sweetspot or using a full poly stringbed exacerbated the issue. Rarely do I favor the response of a multifilament string over a monofilament poly-based offering, but in this racquet I found vastly improved comfort with a multi. Yonex's Tour Super 850 felt very good in this racquet, and I had no drop off in control, which is unusual for me when going from a poly to multi strings. I also found the level of spin to remain impressive. My favorite groundstroke with this racquet had to be my backhand slice. While it is admittedly one of my go-to shots, I was feeling especially dialed in with this racquet. I was able to knife through the ball very aggressively because the racquet had me feeling very connected to where my shots were going."

Michelle, who has been hitting with heavier racquets since the launch of the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph, wasn't sure how she was going to feel about the 11.4 ounce strung weight of the VCORE Si 98. She was happy to find that she was able to pick up the racquet and find some success right off the bat. She explained, "This racquet was super fast and maneuverable off the baseline, and I loved that I could accelerate quickly to generate some serious racquet head speed and power. The 16x20 string pattern was nice because I felt a bit more control compared to a 16x19 string pattern. However, I really noticed the 'lighter' spec on my forehand. I was slapping the ball trying to produce the power and pace I use to put balls away. I could definitely see myself adding some weight to this racquet for that reason. Luckily, I had no problems off the backhand side since it is harder to slap with two hands. When I was playing points with this racquet I tried to remain consistent with my forehand and attack off my backhand. One of my favorite things about this racquet was slicing! I could get the ball knifing down and penetrating the court. Topspin was also easy to add, and throwing in an off pace, heavy ball was simple. One more critique I had, and again, this could be the lighter spec, was the comfort of this racquet. At first I thought it was me, but every time I hit with this racquet it resulted in some soreness in my arm."

Andy found a large and forgiving sweetspot, and he found it easy to use this racquet from the baseline, even when he was caught out of position. He said, "The feel and response is crisp, lively and more modern, kind of like a slightly lower-powered AeroPro Drive. I found plenty of power and spin, along with more than enough control, as long as I was generating enough spin on my shots. If I flattened the ball out it could fly at times, but all-in-all this racquet was user-friendly and offered plenty of power and spin on my groundstrokes."

Karly thought the "S" in Yonex Si, which stands for spin, could also stand for speed. She said, "The Si 98 was one fast racquet, in both maneuverability and response. It swung so much faster than I expected and allowed me to speed up my strokes effortlessly. There were even times when the ball landed behind me and I was still able to swing fast enough to get the ball back. I felt more comfortable than usual hitting against powerful players because of how quick and easy the racquet was to take back. Then, not only did it swing fast, but the ball sprung off the stringbed with an immediate response. It is a stiffer racquet so there wasn't much flex or lag time on contact. Once the ball hit the strings it was gone, and with a lot of pop. I generally like stiffer racquets because of the livelier response, but I think this racquet was too stiff. It lacked dampening technology and the vibrations on contact were hard on my arm. Usually I don't mind hitting with stiff polyester strings, but with this racquet I preferred using a multifilament to help make contact feel softer."

Volleys - Score: 84

Our players found a crisp and clean response at the net with the VCORE Si 98, and it was easy for them to take control of the point and remain aggressive. Karly didn't think the racquet could play much faster than it did from the baseline, but that quick mobility was even more helpful on her volleys. She said, "It was so easy to get to each ball and then move the racquet back into position for the next shot. On contact, the power was still prominent and my volleys had a lot of pop behind them without much effort. The biggest downside for me was the feel. The stability was OK, but the stiff feel and lack of shock absorption didn't make it the most comfortable racquet to play with at the net."

In Chris' eyes, this racquet felt far removed from recent Yonex offerings such as the VCORE Tour G 310 and Tour 97 310. He said, "I was reminded of the old RDS 001 racquets when hitting this one, and on court they felt like they share a similar beam stiffness -- although this racquet played a tad lighter and faster. Again, I was feeling very connected to my shots. The addition of a multifilament string took care of any comfort issues and left the racquet feeling comfortably firm. It was easy to get this racquet positioned, and I was snapping away volleys with authority. I especially liked the pace I was getting on high volleys and overheads, as I found it easy to end the point quickly."

Feeling confident at the net with this racquet, Michelle felt like she could hit any kind of volley she wanted. "I could get back balls that were dipping at my feet and I had no problem with precision or the putting balls away. This racquet was really stable against harder hitters. Actually, the best way I can tell that a racquet is stable is on my lefty-forehand volley, which was really easy to hit with this racquet."

Always a big fan of taking charge of the net with a Yonex racquet in hand, Andy liked volleying with this one almost as much as his racquet of choice (Yonex EZONE Ai 98). He stated, "Just point and shoot! Even with how stiff and crisp it felt, I still felt connected to the ball as it left the strings. It was stable and didn't twist when I hit off-center, and man, could I generate some under spin and get the ball knifing through the court! Maneuverability was good as well, making it easy to get it in position on fast exchanges. At the net was my favorite place to be with this racquet!"

Serves - Score: 77

All of our playtesters had mixed results when serving with the VCORE Si 98. With the occasional ace here and there, Chris felt he served decently with this racquet. He favored the combination of pace and spin on his slice serves, and on the deuce side he could swing the ball wide effectively or go down the middle into the returner's body. However, he had some issues with his kick serve. He said, "It felt like my kick serves were sitting up a little with this racquet -- a sense which was immediately confirmed by several blitzing return winners from Michelle. With the high level of control and feel for the ball I was able to hit a flatter, faster ball or use slice to still be aggressive on first and second serves."

Generating power was much easier for Karly on serve compared to any other area of the court. She said, "Even if I wasn't swinging my hardest the ball flew off the strings, especially with flatter serves. However, that also meant I had to be more careful with my shot placement because the serve was the hardest shot for me to control. It was tough to judge where the ball was going once it left the frame, so I had to aim closer to the center of the service box to allow room for error. Even though I struggled with control, the quick mobility and good access to spin helped. It hardly took any effort to swing the VCORE Si 98 and it was easy to put a lot of topspin on the ball. However, it was a gamble if I wanted to go for a flat serve."

Andy didn't get the same level of control on his serves as he did with his other strokes. He said, "Power and spin were easy to come by, so I usually found myself serving offensively. I liked hitting big spin serves that got my opponent out of position. Like my groundstrokes, if I didn't use spin it was difficult to be precise, but with all the spin potential of this racquet it made me want to go for big spin!"

Michelle just didn't feel like she was serving effectively enough on her first serves. She explained, "I think the weight of this racquet came into play on serves. I felt like the VCORE Si 98 could get the ball moving with spin or slice but it didn't feel as effective on flat, big serves. It was lacking that extra punch I need to start the point off super aggressively, but it felt good on second serves, and I enjoyed the consistent feel I generated with my kick serves."

Serve Returns - Score: 80

Our testers were quick to generate racquet head speed with the VCORE Si 98, which resulted in big returns. Michelle realized she could attack well with this racquet, but the results were similar to her groundstrokes. She said, "The backhand was fine, but I found myself overhitting off the forehand wing. Defensive slice returns were awesome with this racquet."

The light and fast spec of this racquet gelled with Chris' style of returns. He said, "I could take a cut at most serves. The response was also firm and solid enough to let me feel comfortable on block returns. As with groundstrokes, I was slicing my backhand well with this racquet. I loved hitting a low cross-court angle return from the ad side with heavy slice. I was opening up the court very well with that shot, and it immediately put my opponents in a tough position. I also found a solid blend of pace and control on topspin returns."

Karly continued to use the speed of the VCORE Si 98 it to her advantage. She said, "It was so easy to hit the ball on the rise that it allowed me to return much more aggressively than usual. Even when I was hitting against big servers, I was confident I could get take the offensive off my return. Because the racquet was lively and generated enough power on its own, as long as I got the racquet on the ball I could hit a hard shot back. I also liked that I could add variety to my shots with its good spin. Slices felt crisp on contact, and the exceptional maneuverability made it simple to brush over the ball for a ton of topspin. I just had to be careful with my placement because the power was so overwhelming. I didn't feel in control of where my shots were going to land so I had to adjust and aim farther away from the lines."

In the grand scheme of things this racquet worked with Andy's returns, but he was craving a bit more control from the VCORE Si 98. He explained, "I usually like to take my returns early and hit them flatter, but when I flattened the ball out I lost precision. Chip returns were great to hit, as were big topspin returns from further behind the baseline. I enjoyed the maneuverability and forgiveness, but ultimately I needed a little more control for my flatter return game."

Overall - Score: 78

Technical Specifications Length 27 inches 69 centimeters Head Size 98 square inches 632 square centimeters Weight 11.4 ounces 323 grams Balance Point 12.75 inches 32 centimeters 6pts Head Light Construction 22.5mm / 22.5mm / 22mm / Composition H.M. Graphite / Black Micro Core / Nanometric String Pattern 16 Mains / 20 Crosses

Babolat RDC Ratings Score Grade Flex Rating 70 Range: 0-100 Swing Weight 316 Range: 200-400

Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester Profiles

Chris: 4.5 all-court player currently using the Wilson Six.One 95S. Chris uses a full-western forehand grip, has a fast swing style and hits a one-handed backhand.

Michelle: Open level baseline player with a semi-western forehand and a two handed backhand. She currently plays with the Babolat Pure Drive Roddick.

Andy: Open level all court player with a semi-western forehand grip and a two handed backhand. Andy currently using a Yonex EZONE Ai 98.

Karly: 4.0 baseline player currently playing with the Volkl Organix 10 Mid. She hits with a semi-western forehand grip and uses a two handed backhand.

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

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