Racquet Playtest Comparison:
| About the play tester | About the racquets |
Name: TripleB on the Talk Tennis message boards
Playing Level: 4.5
Regular racquet, string & tension: Yonex RDX-500 Midplus; Babolat Pro Hurricane mains at 60 pounds and Bow Brand Championship Natural Gut 15L crosses at 60 pounds; 4 5/8Ó grip plus a Wilson Cushion Aire Super Tack overgrip
Tell us about your game: All court player; full western forehand grip; two-handed backhand; heavy topspin and slice from both sides; medium length strokes; fast swing speed.
Power
Babolat AeroPro Drive: The AeroPro Drive is a bit more powerful than the other two racquets in this playtest, especially when hitting flat groundstrokes. The power level seems to drop off significantly when hitting with topspin due to the lack of mass going through the hitting zone. If you are a flat ball hitter or want to be able to serve flat bombs all day long, the power level of this racquet is perfect. When compared to the Pure Drive I would say that this racquet is slightly less powerful but offers more control.
Pro Kennex Type R: The power from the Type R comes from the mass of the racquet and reminds me of the power I was getting with the Prince Original Graphite midsize. Medium to full length swings are a must, but once you get the racquet moving the weight seems to help in giving the racquet nice pop. Unlike the AeroPro Drive, there was not a noticeable difference in the power level when you tried to use various spins. The lower power level, compared to the Babolat, became a small problem at net when trying to put away forceful volleys because I couldn't get enough pace for highly effective volleys to the corners of my opponent's court.
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Volkl Tour 10 Generation II: The power level of this racquet was much lower than what I'm accustomed to or what I would need in order to be successful. Every shot seemed to require well-timed strokes in order to be offensive minded with this racquet. Serving with this racquet reminded me of Volkl Tour 10 racquets I've tried in the past - very little 'free' power to be had leaving me trying to throw my arm out just to try and be offensive with my first serves. At the net I had to rely on touch volleys due to the lower power level.
Control
Babolat AeroPro Drive: Control with the Babolat was well below that offered by the Pro Kennex Type R and even slightly below that found in the Volkl. Ground- strokes were very inconsistent, lacking depth and direction while volleys seldom found their mark because of the lack of stability from this racquet. Serves seem to have more control than other shots but this may stem from the fact that I was hitting such huge serves that my confidence with this racquet was sky high when starting each point.
Pro Kennex Type R: The Type R offered the best control in the group by a long shot. The other two racquets in this playtest pale in comparison to the Type R when referring to control because the Type R allows you to (and gives you the confidence to) pick your spot, swing out, and know that the ball is going where you were aiming. It was a joy using this racquet from the baseline because it has great combination of control, power, and stability to where you never feel like you are being overpowered and you have the ability to almost hit a winner whenever you wish.
Volkl Tour 10 Generation II: The Tour 10 was disappointing when trying to pick a spot and hit a winner. With its flexy feel and its heavier weight, I was expecting a very control oriented racquet. What I found was a mediocre racquet that doesn't have enough power to put the ball away and doesn't have the control necessary to beat opponents with placement. The one exception to it's below average control was at the net where great success is to be found when hitting angle volleys that require touch.
Maneuverability
Babolat AeroPro Drive: I'm not sure if it's the Aero Modular frame shape or just the fact that the racquet only weighs 11.3 ounces, but this racquet is extremely quick from everywhere on the court. Quick exchanges at the net proved to be no problem due to the ability to get this racquet into position instantly. With it's 5 points head light and weighing in at only 11.3 ounces, this racquet plays much more maneuverable than the 324 swing weight would indicate. Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, this racquet will allow you to be lazy and still get away with it.
Pro Kennex Type R: Maneuverability with the with the Type R is about what you would expect out of a 11.7 ounce racquet that is 4 points headlight. With the racquet being only 4 points headlight, it offers a different feel from the 8 or 9 points headlight we see with typical players racquets. But overall the feel of the Type R is solid and the maneuverability is still better than average, even from the net. At first I had problems getting the racquet head speed up on my serves but after a small adjustment period I began loving my serves with this racquet and didn't notice any maneuverability problems at all.
Volkl Tour 10 Generation II: The maneuverability of the Tour 10 Generation II was one of the high points of the racquet. With it's 9 points headlight balance this racquet felt more along the lines of a 11.5 ounce racquet and almost equaled the maneuverability I found with the Babolat. This racquet was deceptively quick at net where I was shocked at how fast I was able to get the racquet into position. A fast racquet head speed can be found when serving but I was never able to get any big pop on my first serves, which was very frustrating. At the baseline changing the direction of the racquet was simple so if you were caught with a ball that took a strange bounce (off the line, rough spot on the clay, crack in the court, etc.), you were able to react and still get the ball back in the court.
Stability
Babolat AeroPro Drive: As was the case in the comfort category, the light weight and thick beam caused the stability of this racquet to be well below average. Balls hit from anywhere other than the sweetspot caused the racquet to twist and lose pace and direction. This was most noticeable on volleys against powerfully struck groundstrokes where the ball pushed the racquet around at will. The lack of stability really hurt the overall score of this racquet.
Pro Kennex Type R: The Pro Kennex stability is above average and feels more solid than it's 11.7 ounce weight would indicate. The Type R does a great job of offering fantastic stability in a lighter package, without hurting the maneuverability of the racquet from the baseline or net. The stability of this racquet makes every groundstroke, every serve, and every volley feel like it hit the sweetspot.
Volkl Tour 10 Generation II: Although the Tour 10 and Type R stability levels are very close, the Volkl seems to let you know that it's going to be a stable racquet because of the weight it brings. I preferred the stability of the Pro Kennex because you don't feel that it is necessary to carry around extra weight just to have a solid feeling racquet. Even though the racquet is very head light, doesn't seem to effect the stability greatly. The only time I felt that the stability of the Tour 10 really suffered was when I was hitting slice backhands. The stability I found at the net or on flat groundstrokes just didn't carry over to the slice backhand.
Comfort
Babolat AeroPro Drive: Comfort was not a strong point of the AeroPro. With the thick beam, compared to the other two, and light weight, came a hollow feel and a low comfort level. The only time the racquet felt comfortable was on flat hit groundstrokes and serves. On shots when I used a great deal of spin or on volleys, the racquet had very little comfort to offer and at times felt even more "boardy" than it's stiffness rating of 67.
Pro Kennex Type R: This racquet was a joy to use because when it comes to the comfort level you get, it is just far and away better than either of the other racquets in this playtest. It's almost as if the sweetspot is as large as the racquet head itself. Volleys, groundstrokes, and serves had an incredibly solid feel due to the comfort of this racquet. I was really impressed that an 11.7 ounce racquet could offer such a comfortable ride and it reminds me of the feel I get with my RDX-500 Midplus racquet.
Volkl Tour 10 Generation II: The Tour 10 offers better than average comfort which opens up the sweetspot some, but it doesn't quite offer the soft ride that the Type R delivers. If you are a person who likes a less muted feel, the Volkl is worth a look because it allows to you feel the ball on the strings a little better than the Type R or the Babolat. It reminds me of the feel I used to get with the Prince Original Graphite because it allows you to know where the ball is at all times. This type of feel seemed to be welcomed on topspin and slice shots but seems to give an inconsistent response when hitting flat groundstrokes and serves.
Spin
Babolat AeroPro Drive: The spin potential of the Babolat was the worst of the three leaving it very difficult to play my normal topspin game when going against better opponents. This racquet makes it tough, probably due to it's hollow feel, to feel the ball on the strings which seems to cause lack luster depth on groundstrokes and kick on second serves. It just doesn't seem like there is enough "dwell" time on the strings in order to get heavy topspin or slice so in turn the topspin fell short and the slice sat up.
Pro Kennex Type R: This racquet is a slicer's dream because it keeps the ball low and gives great pace with outstanding control. I typically only use a slice backhand to hit the ball down the line or to hit a dropshot but this racquet begs you to hit a slice backhand much more often than that so I found myself hitting it from everywhere on the court. My favorite shot with this racquet was to take a short ball, slice it to my opponents backhand, and then follow it into the net. With the ball staying so low on my approach it left and easy sitter for my next shot. Topspin was a little tougher to come by and this may be another reason I found myself hitting more slice shots. Kick serves were only average but the placement and pace I was able to get on serves made up for the lack of kick.
Volkl Tour 10 Generation II: Slice and topspin were both slightly above average with the Tour 10 Gen II but they were not effective enough to where I felt comfortable playing my typical game. Slice tends to sit up a bit and heavy topspin is difficult with the Volkl, which caused my doubles play to suffer. Hitting the "dipping" ball at my opponent's feet was not an option, which led me to play defensive far too much. Kick serves were difficult to hit and when I was able to get some kick on them there wasn't enough pace to really hurt the returner.
Final
Babolat AeroPro Drive: If you like the Babolat Pure Drive then you will probably like the AeroPro Drive. It's a server's dream but doesn't seem to offer enough touch, comfort, stability, or spin to make it an option for the baseliner or all-court player.
Pro Kennex Type R: The best racquet in the group and lends itself to the all-court player but would also be enjoyed by baseliners or serve and volleyers as well. A very solid racquet and probably the best Pro Kennex racquet I've played with in 20 years.
Volkl Tour 10 Generation II: I'm not sure if it was because I had such high expectations from this racquet or what, but this racquet just wasn't very impressive. The Volkl Tour 10 Gen II racquet would be enjoyed most by a baseliner who ventures into the net only a couple times a match or a player who puts an emphasis on maneuverability.
| Comfort |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 80 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 75 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 71 |
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| Control |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 79 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 72 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 71 |
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| Groundstrokes |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 78 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 74 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 73 |
|
| Maneuverability |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 79 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 78 |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 75 |
|
| Power |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 74 |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 70 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 66 |
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| Serve Returns |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 74 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 69 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 68 |
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| Serves and Overheads |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 86 |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 82 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 68 |
|
| Slice |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 79 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 74 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 71 |
|
| Stability |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 78 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 76 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 69 |
|
| Topspin |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 74 |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 74 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 72 |
|
| Touch/Feel |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 82 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 78 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 66 |
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| Volleys |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 77 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 76 |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 75 |
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| Overall |
| Pro Kennex Type R | 78 |
| Babolat AeroPro Drive | 76 |
| Volkl Tour 10 Generation II | 73 |
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| Playtest date: April, 2005. |
| All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse. |