Racquet Playtest Comparison:

About the play testerAbout the racquets

Name: Netman on the Talk Tennis message boards

Playing Level: 3.5

Regular racquet, string & tension: Pro Kennex 5g modified to 11.7 oz, 12 pts HL. Strung with Gosen SM 17 at 55. Backup is Dunlop MaxPly McEnroe modified to weigh 11.7 oz. Both have Yonex Supergrap overgrips.

Tell us about your game: Mostly doubles on hard courts. Prefer to serve and volley. Swing fast and generate own power. Serve flat and slice, continental grip. FH and BH Volley continental. One hand BH, topspin and slice. FH mainly flat and slice, have added some topspin. BH is my primary weapon on both groundstrokes and volleys. Use angles, spins and placement to construct points, not a baseline basher.

Specs:

All racquets weights matched TW published weight. All were strung with Wilson Sensation 17. Was not provided tension info. I did not use vibration dampeners. Added an overgrip to all 3 which added 4 grams of weight.

Power Comments:

Prince O3 Hybrid Shark MP - My first hit with an O3 racquet. The O3 Hybrid Shark definitely has more power than the regular Shark. The sweetspot seems to extend from just above the throat bridge almost to the tip, but it must be shaped like a narrow, elongated oval. Hit the sweetspot anywhere and the ball really has some power that needs spin to keep it in play. Miss even slightly to the left or right of the sweetspot and power drops dramatically. The Hybrid Shark has that extra little heft that allows it to stand up to hard hits shots. I blocked back a couple of huge jam serves right near the tip and they still went into play with some depth and speed (and no shock to the arm). The Hybrid Shark can rip a return of serve or groundstroke deep, then turn around and put a slice shot just inches over the net. Volleys have a solid, no shock feel and good power as long as you use good form. Just a smooth solid feel on every serve. Even mishit serves get into play with pace.

Wilson nPro Open - What a difference a few engineering tweaks can make. Whereas I really struggled to find anything nice to say about the nPro Surge, the nPro Open slowly became by favorite frame as the test progressed. I mainly play doubles these days and this is a wonderful doubles racquet. Quick and agile at the net and easy to generate high head speed on short balls and serves, it's a real pleasure to wield in hard hitting, quick exchange doubles match. The sweetspot feels big and is easy to find. There is plenty of power, but it needs good form and full swing to access it. The nPro Open is much closer to being a player's frame than a 'tweener. You can really take a big rip at the ball and it is going to stay in play. The nPro Open has enough stiffness to counter some of the power loss inherent in a lower weight frame, but the lower weight means the nPro Open does not hit a heavy ball. Even when I ripped shots my opponents seemed to have little trouble picking them up and getting them back into play. Volleys and overheads are crisp and have decent pace. However, you must use good form or the ball just dies on the strings. A little lead on the head would probably help. You can really crank out some fast serves with it due to the head speed, but again they did not have the weight of the Yonex's shots.

Yonex RDS 003 - This was the most powerful of the 3 frames. Also the stiffest one and the one that felt the heaviest when swinging. When I first started with it, I quickly discovered that my normal long, fast, flat strokes would send balls flying off the court without some spin added. However, if I slowed my swing down a bit I could hit some nice penetrating groundstrokes with good weight and control. Could really rip one-handed backhand flat shots. This also happened with the NSRQ-7, so must be something in my one-handed backhand stroke that works well with the Yonex head shape. Nice volley frame in that it does some of the work for you. Even if you are late to the ball you can get a powerful volley shot back into play. An absolute monster on serves and overheads. Could hit big flat serves with it with that almost took divots out of the court. Adding a little spin did not really reduce serve speed, but made them even tougher to handle.

Control Comments:

Prince O3 Hybrid Shark MP - The problem for me with the Hybrid Shark is that the 03 technology really dampens feel. This makes for a very comfortable racquet, but it made it hard to get a feel for where shots were going. It was hard to hit flat shots with any pace and keep them in play. Control on topspin shots is good, which is important since you need to add spin to keep balls in play. Slice and under spin shots were harder to execute due to the lack of feel. I kept overshooting my target and they tended to sit up. I could put the ball on target consistently when serving with reasonable power and spin. Return of serve requires good preparation and taking the ball early, but even shanks get back into play with some pace and depth. Not as maneuverable at the net as the nPro Open, but volley and overheads can be put away with pace and precise placement as long as you use good form. Again, the lack of feedback made touch volleys tough to execute.

Wilson nPro Open - This frame has loads of control. The nPro Open has a 68 stiffness rating, but plays more like a flexy, old school graphite frame. It swings the lightest of these three frames. You can carve up the court with it. Its so much fun, its addictive. Top spin angles, slice, underspin, dippers, angle volleys, overheads, serves on a dime, pretty much any control shot you want can be hit with ease. Your shots might not be that heavy, but they will hit right where you aim. If you enjoy using angles to win points and have a full, powerful swing, then this racquet is worth a try. It took me a while to consistently hit good drop shots and other touch shots with the nPro Open due to the wide frame, but once I figured it out it was easy to execute these shots.

Yonex RDS 003 - This frame feels the heaviest and stiffest of the 3 frames. There is good control with this one as long as you add some spin. However the Yonex's stiffness made it harder for me to hit big spin consistently. My shots tended to skim the net cord. You have to swing smoothly and slower than the other frames to keep flat shots in play. Control on serves is actually quite good. It was easy to hit big flat serves with precise placement. Found it easy to hit deep slice and underspin shots, but touch shots were tough to execute.

Maneuverability Comments:

Prince O3 Hybrid Shark MP - Found this racquet to be well weighted and balanced. Maneuverability was good. Played heavier than the nPro Open but lighter than the Yonex. Good quickness on groundstrokes, serves and reaction shots at the net, but not as quick as the nPro Open.

Wilson nPro Open - Maneuverability was excellent. The nPro Open felt more headlight than its 6 point rating and cut through the air like a knife. Gives that sense of confidence that you can recover quickly, even if you guessed wrong on a shot. Only downside is strong players may find themselves out in front of the ball with the nPro Open.

Yonex RDS 003 - The RDS 003 felt and swung heavier than the other two frames. In fact when swinging it, I would have sworn it weighed a good bit more than the listed 11.1 oz. Even when you pick it up it has the heft and presence of a heavier frame. This is a racquet you have to prep early with or you will be late on your shots. It also required more effort than the others to generate fast racquet head speed.

Stability Comments:

Prince O3 Hybrid Shark MP - The O3 technology makes the Hybrid Shark feel very stable. Its light weight allows it to be pushed around by hard hit balls, but I was amazed how many mishits and framers got back into play with some depth and pace. It's not as rock solid as a 12.5 oz graphite frame, but it sure feels like it due to the dampening of the O Ports.

Wilson nPro Open - Even though this frame has a light static weight and is head light, it feels very stable. I'm sure some of that is due to Wilson's tried and true PWS weighting. I felt a very satisfying solid strike on serves, groundstrokes, overheads and volley. It will twist and vibrate on off center hits, but not like the nPro Surge. The lightweight and balance leave plenty of opportunity for customization if you want to add some lead.

Yonex RDS 003 - As I mentioned earlier, this racquet had the stability and solid feel of a much heavier racquet. However, there is no getting around the stiffness and light static weight. You will feel mishits but they are not as pronounced as on the nPro Open.

Comfort Comments:

Prince O3 Hybrid Shark MP - One cushy frame. The feel of the Hybrid Shark was like an amplified version of the Sweetspot Suspension on the TT Bandit and TT Hornet. There is just no shock or jarring unless you hit the frame itself. I used the Hybrid Shark in a very hard hitting game of doubles where I was facing huge flat serves and rapid fire volleys at point blank range. Many of my shots were framers and shanks just trying to defend myself. The Hybrid Shark never punished my arm and actually got most of these shots back in play. If you like to stick those little rubber dampers in your strings to kill string vibration, you will love the O3 technology.

Wilson nPro Open - nPro Open is surprisingly comfortable for such a lightweight, no nonsense frame. It feels like it has some kind of filler in it, that dampens some of the shock without removing feel. Its not a comfort frame by any stretch of the imagination, but it definitely feels much more solid and comfortable than your typical 11 oz. head light frame.

Yonex RDS 003 - Another comfortable Yonex offering. Not as cushy as the NSRQ-7, but surprisingly muted for what feels like such a stiff racquet. You rarely feel any shock or vibration, except on shots near the frame.

Spin Comments:

Prince O3 Hybrid Shark MP - Easy to generate topspin from the baseline. Slice and under spin were tougher to control. Both tended to sit up and overshoot the target. You can put plenty of spin on serves. You can get decent under spin on volleys as long as you prep well.

Wilson nPro Open - "Slice and dice" is the nPro Open's middle name. Any kind of spin is easily accessible with the nPro Open. Topspin is easy to create and easy to control, but lacks some weight. Once I adjusted to the wider frame width I could hit underspin and slice easily. Volleys are joy, with backspin easy to impart. It was easy to put big spin on serves, but they did lack the weight of the RDS 003 shots.

Yonex RDS 003 - The heavy feel and swingweight require extra effort to generate big head speed. It was tough for me to generate much topspin with it. However, I could hit a hard, flat ball without too much concern of the ball flying off. You can blast flat serves, but adding spin on serves requires some effort. Sliced backhands tended to sit up a bit but did have good depth. Under spin can be added to volleys with early prep and good form. Drop shots were tougher to hit due to the stiffness of the frame.

Fit/Finish:

Prince O3 Hybrid Shark MP - Typical high quality Prince finish and construction. I have always liked the blue, black and white Shark color scheme and the O3 Hybrid Shark continues the tradition.

Wilson nPro Open - Solid construction and attractive glossy finish. Same Kawasaki green color as the nSurge. Tasteful black and white highlights and understated lettering offsets the "in your face" color.

Yonex RDS 003 - Another beautifully crafted Yonex frame with a high quality finish in metallic red with silver, white and black accents. Covered with technology phrases just like the NSRQ-7. Every Yonex frame I have tested looks and feels like a luxury item.

Summary:

Over the first week of testing these frames I really struggled with how to differentiate them. Over time their individual characteristics begin to appear, particularly as I used them in competitive play. At first I liked the RDS 003. Its ability to blast big flat serves and the rock solid feel at the net was a real plus. But I began to notice how stiff it felt and the extra effort it took to get it moving in rapid exchanges. Liked it for blasting serves and groundstrokes in singles, but in situations where quick reactions were critical, it let me down. If you like the NSRQ-7 but some more pop, the RDS 003 is worth a look. Next the O3 Hybrid Shark got a work out. Loved the way even mishits got back into play with depth and pace. Very comfortable. But that comfort translated into a complete lack of feel and this combined with the powerful sweetspot made for made erratic shot making. Could not really figure out how to bring the heat on serves with the Hybrid Shark. If you like the regular Shark but want some more power and comfort, you should definitively give the Hybrid Shark a try. In a surprising conclusion, the Wilson nPro Open became my favorite racquet of the three. When I first picked it up it felt too light and I tended to get out in front of the ball too often. But when I returned to it and began using it in competition, it quickly became my go to choice. It is simply a wonderful serve and volley racquet, particularly for playing doubles. I felt like a surgeon with a scalpel, carving up the court with my serves, groundstrokes and volleys. I'm a typically a flat ball hitter, but with the nPro Open I found I could hit topspin shots, dippers and slice with abandon. Serves could be placed on a dime with power and spin. Only downside is all that wonderful feel does find its way to your arm and shoulder, so folks with tender joints might need to be careful. After my last test of the nPro Surge I wasn't expecting much. Boy was I surprised. Seems like the engineers at Wilson must have gotten an earful about the nPro Surge because the nPro Open fixes everything that made the nPro Surge such a disappointing frame for me.

Control
nPro Open 90
RDS 003 82
O3 Shark 80
Comfort
O3 Shark 90
RDS 003 85
nPro Open 80
Groundstrokes
RDS 003 85
O3 Shark 82
nPro Open 80
Fit & Finish
RDS 003 95
nPro Open 90
O3 Shark 80
Maneuverability
nPro Open 90
O3 Shark 82
RDS 003 75
Power
RDS 003 90
O3 Shark 85
nPro Open 80
Serves and Overheads
RDS 003 92
nPro Open 85
O3 Shark 75
Serve Returns
nPro Open 85
RDS 003 85
O3 Shark 82
Slice
nPro Open 85
RDS 003 80
O3 Shark 78
Stability
RDS 003 85
O3 Shark 85
nPro Open 80
Topspin
nPro Open 90
O3 Shark 85
RDS 003 80
Touch/Feel
nPro Open 90
RDS 003 80
O3 Shark 70
Volleys
RDS 003 85
nPro Open 83
O3 Shark 75
Overall
nPro Open 90
RDS 003 85
O3 Shark 78


Playtest date: April, 2006.
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