Yonex EZONE DR 100 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 87

Our playtesters were impressed with the EZONE DR 100 from the baseline. The Ai 100 is Brittany's current racquet of choice, so she was excited to start the review. She offered, "The EZONE DR 100 felt very familiar in my hands, and it was easy to adjust to. The combination of power and control was very similar to the Ai 100. I had enough power to be aggressive but enough control to keep it in the lines, which was one of my favorite aspects of the previous version. When comparing the two, the new DR version has just a tad bit more free power. The spin potential was still there, and I loved hitting short angled groundstrokes to pull my opponent off the court, especially on the backhand side. The only small downside was the stiffness, which is just something I have to get used to."

Jason uses a customized EZONE Ai 100 that weighs 11.6 ounces. He compared the two racquets, saying, "The DR 100 feels like it has nearly as much power as my customized Ai 100 model, even though it weighs 0.5 ounces lighter. I felt like I was also able to place my shots deeper in the court with lots of spin, but this model didn't feel as whippy and fast as the Ai 100. However, I appreciated the solid feel, and it was still a relatively easy racquet to swing."

"As with most 100 square inch Yonex racquets, this EZONE DR 100 was a pretty easy racquet for me to settle into when rallying from the baseline," said Tiffani. "I hit with its predecessor, the Ai 100, quite a bit even after the testing period was done, and it was a really easy transition into the DR 100. The DR 100 did feel slightly firmer and slightly more powerful. I was accessing topspin easily when I needed it, and I could drive the ball with good pace just as easily. I also liked being able to pull my opponents off the court by angling my backhand."

Like the other playtesters, Mark was a fan of the Ai 100. He said, "I try not to have too many expectations with a new tennis racquet, but since I loved its predecessor (the EZONE Ai 100) so much, I wondered if Yonex could actually add something to this frame that would refine it even more. I was in familiar territory with the EZONE DR 100 from the first swing. I depend on my ground game quite a bit, and within 30 minutes of playing with the DR 100 I had enough confidence in my down the line and cross court forehands and backhands to play matches. I felt versatile and effective from the baseline with the DR 100, and by the fourth hitting session with it I had decided that I could easily make a switch to this frame."

Volleys - Score: 84

The Yonex EZONE DR 100 helped our playtesters end points at the net with ease. Mark enjoyed his time at net with the DR 100. He raved, "Moving from the baseline to the net was a lot of fun with the DR 100. Its versatility from the back of the court was equaled near the net. It was stable enough to fend off some formidable passing attempts, and I also have to say that the DR 100 hid its 11.1 ounce strung weight very well."

The EZONE DR 100 checked most of the boxes for Tiffani at net. She said, "I could get it into position easily enough and stick volleys, which is my usual tactic at net. The one issue I had is that the feel was a bit too firm for my liking when I missed the sweetspot. Outside the sweetspot I missed the pocketed feel."

"After several sets of both singles and doubles I felt fairly confident up at net," Brittany offered. "The DR 100 is solid and has a crisp response. It is not the most maneuverable racquet, but it is by no means sluggish, so I didn't have any issues getting it into position. The firm feel was noticeable on off-center shots, but I never had any issues with comfort or harsh vibrations."

Jason said, "It was more stable than I would imagine an 11 ounce racquet being, but I still found it fluttered a little more than I would've wanted on off-center shots. I'd definitely add some weight up in the hoop to help with that. I felt well connected to my shots, which was great for those touch volleys."

Serves - Score: 83

The TW playtesters found plenty of spin and power when serving with the Yonex EZONE DR 100. Jason was able to serve with great consistency with this racquet, saying, "The access to spin allowed me to have a greater margin for error, but I could still manage to hit first serves in the mid- to high 80s (I'm no Ivo Karlovic). That range isn't as high as the Babolat Pure Aero, but it's certainly above average."

Serves felt comfortable and consistent with the DR 100 for Brittany. She said, "There was no adjustment period required with the DR 100, and I felt in sync during match play. I enjoyed the spin I was getting, and I could be very precise with where I was aiming. I could really go up and after the ball on second serves and rely on the spin to keep the ball in the service box, which let me hit all my serves aggressively."

"I usually prefer hitting groundstrokes and volleys with racquets in this weight range more than serving," Mark offered. "That said, the DR 100 hid its 11.1 ounce strung weight very well again. Even though it barely weighs 11 ounces, I was actually crushing serves a bit harder than I usually can with this light of a racquet."

Tiffani is always looking for extra power on her serves. She said, "I was hitting about as powerful a serve as I could with this racquet. I'm never going to be blowing people of the court with my serve, but this racquet provided solid power and spin. On occasion, I could get my serve swinging out wide nicely. I enjoyed that I didn't have to swing any harder to get a solid serve."

Returns - Score: 85

Returns were a hit for our playtesters with the Yonex EZONE DR 100. Tiffani really enjoyed the EZONE DR 100's blend of power and control. She compared it to the VCORE Xi 100, saying, "With the last Yonex I tested, the VCORE Xi 100, the scales tipped too far in power's favor so I was not as consistent on returns as I would like. With the EZONE DR 100 I could be aggressive with my returns with more confidence that I would find my target. The only downside was the response outside of the sweetspot, which was too stiff for me."

"Here again, the DR 100 showed its overall utility in terms of maneuverability and stability," added Mark. "Although this racquet is still new to me, I have to say that I am more comfortable returning a serve with the DR 100 than I am with my own racquet, or any other racquet for that matter. I still mostly chip my returns back into play, but my chip return was improved with the DR 100, and I was also able to swing out on my returns much more often."

Jason could have used a little more stability when it came to returns. He explained, "I was finding nice depth with my returns. Most of the time I could take a big cut on second serve returns without fear of overhitting. I did notice that the EZONE DR 100 would get pushed around against bigger servers, but it was to be expected with a racquet in this weight class."

Return of serve is one of Brittany's favorite shots to hit! She raved, "The DR 100 was stable enough to return any serve hit at me, whether it was flat with pace or kicking up with tons of spin. I love to return so it is important that I have a combination of power and control that lets me be aggressive. The DR 100 allowed me to take full cuts at the ball and start off points on the offensive."

Overall - Score: 87