Pacific X Tour Pro 97 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 85

The common thread in our playtesters' experience from the baseline was the comfort level of the X Tour Pro 97. Sebastian really liked the way this racquet felt when he was swinging it, noting its exceptional comfort on groundstrokes. He said, "I was surprised by the superior comfort and excellent feel of the Pacific X Tour Pro 97 from the baseline. Besides the comfort, I really enjoyed this racquet's maneuverability and fast feel. Its headlight balance and very manageable swingweight allowed me to swing through the ball easily while creating a lot of topspin."

Similarly, Mark felt right at home from the baseline with this racquet, stating, "I usually begin hitting sessions with some short-court groundstrokes, and this is when I get to see if I can finesse a given racquet. With Pacific's newer X Tour Pro 97, I was feeling very comfortable within 20 shots. Whether I was playing groundstroke games from the baseline or from inside the service court, I felt like I was getting more power than expected from the X Tour Pro 97. My groundstroke consistency was in the 90 percent range, and because my backhand/forehand eclipsed the 70 MPH barrier, I quickly learned to love this racquet from the baseline."

Karly had mixed emotions when it came to hitting with this racquet from the baseline. She explained, "What stood out the most to me was the muted feel of this racquet. On one hand, I really enjoyed the extreme comfort; it was very dampened and absorbed shock really well. It also felt very stable, so I didn't experience any harsh vibrations or fluttering. On the other hand, the feel was so muted that I felt disconnected from the ball. I didn't get that immediate response of knowing which direction my shot was going when I made contact. Whether my shots flew off the racquet because I hit the sweetspot or landed short because I hit outside of it, contact felt the same. I had a hard time playing consistently because of that unpredictable response. On the bright side, it was a very comfortable racquet to hit with even if I mis-hit the ball."

Volleys - Score: 88

Our playtesters enjoyed the X Tour Pro 97 up at net, and, for the most part, they were in control of where their volleys ended up. Karly found a good all-around level of performance up at net, noting, "I liked volleying with the X Tour Pro 97 for a number of reasons, the biggest one being I thought it played consistently. I had a better sense of where my shots were going when I made contact. It felt livelier and not as muted, while still offering tremendous comfort and great stability. It didn't flutter in my hand at all if I hit off-center shots. I also thought the maneuverability helped the most on volleys. I was confident I could move the racquet into position in time and never felt slowed down at all. Actually, there wasn't anything I disliked about volleying with the X Tour Pro 97!"

Sebastian was also confident volleying with the X Tour Pro 97, and he was a big fan of the maneuverability at net. He said, "I enjoyed this racquet a lot when coming to the net and hitting volleys, particularly because of its great feel and exceptional maneuverability. Even in pressure situations, I was able to react quickly and adjust the position of my racquet accordingly. I was able to hit my volleys with great precision, allowing me to go for my volleys with a lot of confidence."

The specs of the X Tour Pro 97 suited Mark really well, giving him the ability to get the racquet into position with ease. He said, "I always expect that a racquet weighing close to 12 ounces will feel very stable at net, however, I sometimes have trouble getting heavier racquets into proper position on time. The combination of the X Tour Pro 97's soft feel and weight suited me perfectly anywhere near the net."

Serves - Score: 86

The playtesters seemed to enjoy the fast feel this racquet offered, especially while serving. Karly was finding plenty of spin on both first and second serves, stating, "The X Tour Pro 97 swung much faster than I was expecting for serves. Even with its heavier weight, I was able to whip this head light racquet around quickly for a hard flat serve or use its great spin potential for a second serve that offered a ton of kick when it landed. The spin was so easy to generate I was still confident I could hit a tough second serve even on the days when my first serve percentage was lower than usual. My only minor complaint was that I really had to put in extra effort to generate power. Hitting flat serves helped, but I had to swing hard and fast if I wanted good pace on a serve with spin."

Mark found a consistent response with this racquet on his serves, which complemented his groundstroke game nicely. He said, "Although I have been working on my serve lately, my ground game is a bit more accomplished compared to the serve portion of my game. That said, the Pacific X Tour Pro 97 benefited my serve along with the rest of my game, so much so that I successfully used it in a doubles tournament. PlaySight loves to let me know that my MPHs are nothing to brag about, but my serve was effective and consistent with the new X Tour Pro 97."

While the X Tour Pro 97 had definite upsides for Sebastian, he was left wanting some additional performance. He explained, "While I did enjoy the racquet's fast feel and maneuverability on second serves, I was hoping for a bit more stability, as well as more mass towards the head of the racquet -- especially on first serves. Despite its substantial static weight of almost 12 ounces, the headlight balance and low swing weight didn't provide me with the power I was hoping for. On that note, I feel that the specifications of the Pacific X Tour Pro 97 leave room for customization and some added weight toward the head of the racquet. When I was going for a heavy kick serve I did enjoy the higher trajectory I was able to get on the ball, and I really liked being able to generate lots of spin."

Returns - Score: 79

Return of serve was one area where our playtesters struggled to find a consistent response with this racquet. Playing around with some lead tape and customization is one way these inconsistencies could be ironed out. Sebastian struggled with a bit of twisting on impact, mentioning, "Once again, I was wishing for a bit more stability. I feel that some added weight to the head of the X Tour Pro 97 would improve stability during contact and minimize twisting on off-center shots. While I did enjoy the fast feel, which allowed me to maneuver through my return quickly, I was struggling with some racquet head twisting."

Similarly, Karly was left wanting more mass in the frame on returns, stating, "I had a harder time with serve returns only because of its head light balance. When I was returning against a powerful server the X Tour Pro 97 didn't feel like it had enough weight to drive through my stroke. It lacked plow through and the ball seemed to lag on the stringbed longer, so I had to follow-through with more effort and energy than usual. I didn't notice it as much with slower serves, but when serves came in fast and I had to swing quickly I struggled with plow through and depth."

Mark had the opposite experience. He found this racquet a bit on the heavier side for returning. He elaborated, "Returning serves was not my strongest suit with the X Tour Pro 97. My go-to shot for the service return is a chip back deep in the court, which was fine. However, I have been trying to swing through my return more often, and when I attempted this shot I did feel the X Tour Pro 97's heft a bit more."

Overall - Score: 86