Yonex EZONE 98+ Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 87

When it came to hitting groundstrokes with the EZONE 98+, there was nothing but high praise from our playtest team. Most of the playtesters on this review prefer a higher swingweight, and with the swingweight measuring 334, our team felt right at home. Michelle expressed her appreciation for this EZONE 98+, saying, "It was easy to hit big, penetrating shots, and the sweetspot felt massive. Slice was also very nice, and it was fun to knife that shot deep into my opponent's side of the court while keeping the ball very low off the bounce. I prefer a heftier racquet, and although this EZONE 98+ is only 305 grams unstrung, it felt well balanced and was easy to accelerate through contact. There was enough stability and plow through, so it did a great job of blocking heavy shots back. Even when I was scrambling to get a racquet on the ball, I could pop it back up deep in the court to get myself back into the point. When comparing this racquet to the EZONE 100+, what really stood out to me was the added flex, feel and precision of the 98-square-inch head size, which made me feel confident going after my targets."

Coming into this playtest, Mark had been hitting with the previous version of this EZONE 98+, so it was an easy transition. He explained, "I absolutely love playing from the baseline with this update of the Yonex EZONE 98+! I was impressed with the standard-length version of the EZONE 98 for its great blend of power, control, feel and maneuverability. With that said, this extended-length version added a little extra pace, spin and stability on contact, basically like a supercharged version of the EZONE 98. I was very consistent at redirecting my opponents' shots and aiming at smaller targets with effective ball speed and spin."

Since Troy has been using the previous version for a while now, he was eagerly anticipating this update. He has his racquet weighted up, so he found the update with stock specs to be rather user-friendly. He said, "As expected, I noticed the easy depth and plow through on my groundstrokes. The overall weight of this EZONE 98+ is relatively light compared to what I usually gravitate toward, but the swingweight is high enough to provide a nice, stable response. The blend of power, easy depth and control makes this a very well-balanced racquet for me in terms of playability. I wouldn't necessarily say this racquet is loaded with feel due to the slightly thicker beam in the hoop, but the more I played with it, the more I could appreciate the somewhat dampened response. There wasn't as much control and feel on my backhand slice as with more traditional player's racquets, but I found it stable with easy plow through. The extended length helped me drive through the ball, and I loved hitting a hard, relatively flat ball with my two-handed backhand as a result. On the forehand side, I could whip the racquet with ease since it's lighter than what I usually play with, allowing me to maximize topspin and penetration through the court."

Like Troy, Chris has used an older EZONE as his go-to racquet, and he found that he could put the extended length to good use. He said, "I loved the easy power and spin I could generate with this EZONE 98+ on my groundstrokes. I was able to find plenty of depth with just an easy swing, and the ball was jumping off the court with topspin. The EZONE 98+ felt smoother on contact than the standard-length version, as though the added length improved the kick point of the racquet, making it feel more responsive with a smoother power delivery. I was also finding ample control on my shots. I didn't have to work hard with this racquet, and that enabled me to focus on where I wanted to place the ball and how much spin I wanted to use. I was able to move the ball around the court and create some great angles, and I could tap into the racquet's power when looking to blitz the ball down the line. The added length gave me some useful leverage on my backhand slice. I put the leverage to good use, whether I was hitting the slice aggressively or floating the ball deep to buy some time to recover to a better court position."

Volleys - Score: 85

The playtest team found easy put-away power on volleys thanks to the EZONE 98+'s relatively high swingweight and extended length. The testers were also happy to find that this racquet's power and stability didn't come at the cost of maneuverability. Chris described, "I really did have my cake and eat it too with the EZONE 98+ at net. I found all the maneuverability I needed to react quickly, yet I had added reach to help me get to more volleys. I had a lot of fun when serve-and-volleying with this racquet due to its great blend of power and feel. My touch and drop volleys felt dialed-in and precise, but there was still plenty of put-away power on tap anytime my opponent left the ball sitting up."

Mark was also impressed by the good balance of characteristics this EZONE 98+ provided when coming to the net. He said, "When volleying with this racquet, I found aggressive tennis came easily, and I was achieving easy power and depth on my shots. I was usually able to close out the point or put my opponent in a defensive position within a couple of volleys. I didn't find this racquet too difficult to maneuver at 11.4 ounces strung, but at the same time, the extra length and substantial 334 swingweight provided plenty of stability against heavy hitters. The thing that really impressed me was that when I was stretched out or off balance, the added length and stable feel helped me hit effective volleys from what is usually a defensive position."

With the updated EZONE 98+ in his hand, Troy was able to approach the net with confidence. "'Solid' and 'stable' are the first words that came to mind when hitting volleys," he noted. "When I was facing big hitters I could block the ball back with ease, and when making contact slightly off center, this racquet was rather forgiving. I have played with this racquet side-by-side with the Yonex VCORE 98+ a few times, and although I prefer the VCORE 98+ from the baseline, this EZONE 98+ feels more stable and has a more forgiving sweetspot when hitting volleys. In the beginning of the playtest I wasn't quite finding the touch and feel that I got from the previous EZONE 98+, which I've been using for a while now and have become accustomed to. That said, after about a week of playtesting this update, I became more and more comfortable with it and found that I could execute my drop volleys and touch shots with ease. I will likely try adding some weight to the handle of this EZONE 98+ to make it more head light and hopefully even more maneuverable at net."

Michelle found plenty of stability on her volleys, which is high praise considering her racquet of choice is the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph, one of the heaviest and most solid racquets on the market. She said, "This EZONE 98+ performed great for me when I was volleying, whether I was going big on a swinging put-away volley or using some touch for a short angle. This racquet held up against heavy pace with ease, and I felt as though I could command the ball to wherever I wanted. It was super stable on contact, and I found I could block the ball back deep with little effort or swing on my volleys. That extra half inch of length allowed me to feel more confident when I was out of position or had to hit my volleys on a full stretch. Although it's not a conventional shot, sometimes I throw in a left-handed (my non-dominant hand) volley, and this EZONE 98+ gave me a little more reach and power on that shot."

Serves - Score: 89

Typically with extended-length racquets, players will notice a boost in power when serving, and that seemed to be the case with this EZONE 98+. Michelle described that experience, saying, "It was easy to bomb big, flat first serves. That extra length gave me some added leverage, but this racquet also felt fast and maneuverable compared to my racquet of choice. This EZONE 98+ let me mix up my serves with slice and spin, allowing me to get the ball jumping off the court. I've been trying to work on my serve mechanics to take some stress off of my shoulder, and I was really able to tap into that with this racquet's free power."

Chris also appreciated the power he found when serving with this racquet. He explained, "I found this EZONE 98+ to be a great fit for my game on serves. My first serves had some added zip, and I must admit I very much enjoyed getting easy points by forcing more errors from my opponents. I found it super easy to create angles and get the ball to kick up off the court when adding spin to my serves. I was able to hit spin second serves with some added speed without sacrificing consistency."

Troy achieved a good blend of power, control and spin. He said, "I felt like I could go big on flat first serves while still finding enough control to dial in my targets. Although the swingweight is fairly high, I found this EZONE 98+ to be light and fast enough to help me generate a lot of spin and kick on my serves. When going for a big serve, there was a nice 'pop' sound coming from the racquet, and the ball was zipping off of the strings with good pace. Compared to the previous version, I felt like I was getting a bit more speed on my serves, but it was also a seamless transition. Maybe it's not quite as powerful as the Babolat Pure Drive Tour Plus or the Prince Textreme Beast Pro 100 Longbody, but the additional control from the 98-square-inch head size gives me the confidence I need to locate my spots."

For Mark, this EZONE 98+ felt like a perfect fit to help his serves. He said, "Almost every specification of this updated EZONE 98+ benefited my serve, but especially the extended length and the ease with which I could maneuver it. The extra half inch of length gets me to focus on tossing the ball a little higher and making contact as high up as I can reach. My flat first serves were coming off the racquet with extra heat, and the slightly higher contact point helped me achieve more net clearance on my second serves, adding some consistency. Although the swingweight is relatively high, the overall static weight is pretty manageable, so I could maximize my racquet head speed without stressing out my shoulder."

Returns - Score: 81

When playtesting extended-length racquets in the past, Chris has occasionally struggled a bit with the maneuverability factor on return of serves. To his surprise, he found the EZONE 98+ to work well for him. He said, "With this EZONE 98+, the one area I was concerned about was my return game due to its higher swingweight. However, the racquet felt fast and was easy to get around. I think the fact that I could generate easy power with only a short swing helped me maximize my returns. Driving returns deep with pace and spin was easy, and I also liked the stability the racquet offered on block returns. There was enough feel in this racquet to help me guide shots to small targets. My initial concerns quickly dissipated during the test, and I found all my return options working well with this EZONE 98+."

Michelle was equally pleased going for a big return or being defensive. She said, "This is where I really loved the EZONE 98+ more than the EZONE 100+. I found more precision and control, but I could still take big rips without worrying about the ball flying long. The extra length really made it feel like no one could ace me! This racquet held up even if I was lunging for a return, which gave me a chance to get back into the point. I was happy with the maneuverability as well. I found that I could get around the outside of the ball better than with my Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph, which helped me access some great angles on returns. I loved going for the big down-the-line return to put my opponent in a bad position, helping me start the point off on the offensive."

If Mark had a knock against this EZONE 98+, it was that the racquet was slightly tough to get into position against fast-paced serves. He said, "As with most extended-length racquets I have played with, the lack of maneuverability most often stands out for me on compact strokes. I usually chip my return of serves back, and whenever I faced high-speed serves, I often found myself getting jammed without quite enough time to get this EZONE 98+ into position. On the other hand, when I had the time to take a swing on my returns, especially on the forehand side, I could achieve easy depth and hit rather effective returns."

Like most extended racquets that he's tried, this EZONE 98+ improved Troy’s returns in every respect. He described, "I found easy depth on my returns, and I especially loved this racquet on my two-handed backhand. When I needed to keep a compact stroke, as when facing a big server or returning in doubles, I found enough plow through and depth to hit effective shots. When I had time to take a big rip on my returns I could unload on it without fear of hitting long. I didn't find a ton of feel or response when hitting my slice returns, but there was enough control and stability for me to use that shot without second-guessing myself. The extended length, which I have been using for a while now, gave me that little extra bit of leverage to boost my confidence in my two-handed backhand return. That being said — and I think a player like Michelle would agree — I was always looking for the chance to take a big cut with my forehand and just punish the ball."

Overall - Score: 86