Yonex EZONE 98 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

From around the globe, our playtesters found the 2020 EZONE 98 easy to use from the baseline. Power was readily available, and many raved about the updated feel, which provided them optimal comfort while still allowing them to feel connected to the ball. There was no hiding Michelle's optimism. After a few adjustments in string setups, this racquet fully complemented her aggressive game. She explained, "The EZONE 98 goes straight into my 'guilty pleasure' category. It felt great and was fun to hit with from the baseline. One of the biggest questions everyone has been asking is how it compares to the DR 98. I much preferred the feel of this update to the previous one, and I found myself reminiscing about the DR version as I was hitting it. However, I did find it to be pretty powerful and would have liked a bit more control. It also would have been nice to see Yonex differentiate this racquet more from the EZONE 100 by making it a bit heavier, but that's something I can do through customization. The EZONE 98 was stable against big hitters, and it was easy to generate spin. Toward the end of the playtest, I realized that pairing it with a dead poly strung in the high 50s or low 60s gave me just what I was looking for — quick to swing, easy to step up and put balls away, plus great feel! The sweetspot felt large and plush. I'm hoping Yonex will put out an extended version."

Chris also adjusted his string choice to maximize control. He said, "I found ample power with the EZONE 98 from the baseline. Compared to the outgoing version, I liked how the response of this racquet had a bit more of the EZONE DR feel to it. I didn't get the control I loved in the EZONE DR version, and I found myself having to string this racquet tighter or use a deader playing co-poly string. However, I made good use of the power level when in defensive positions, and I found it helped me maintain depth and pace on my shots. I was also hitting my slice with lots of pace, which was a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one side I was hitting some great driving slices, on the other side I had very little margin for error."

Heading across the pond, while our EU playtesters enjoyed exceptional comfort and a nice balance of power and control, they struggled to tap into the EZONE 98's spin potential. Simon said, "The EZONE 98 offered a very soft touch, making it comfortable to play with. Yonex definitely improved the comfort levels with this new EZONE. It also met my expectations in terms of maneuverability. The head-light balance made it easy to accelerate through the ball with optimal speed. I was just a little surprised by the amount of spin this racquet provided; for a 16x19 string pattern, the spin potential was not at the level I was hoping for. As with the previous version, it offered easy access to power without losing too much in control, and it allowed me to impose my aggressive game confidently."

Zeljko continued, "This EZONE 98 was super easy to pick up, and I felt comfortable with it immediately. I enjoyed hitting groundstrokes with it, as it was effortless to maneuver and had a nice combination of control and power. The racquet also provided a decent amount of spin, but for my game, I was looking for those levels to be even higher."

On the grass courts of Australia, our Tennis Only playtesters felt dialed in on groundstrokes. Jaye commented, "I really enjoyed this racquet from the baseline. I think Yonex continues to provide a great blend of power and control, and the firm feel definitely helped me stay on the gas - especially on my forehand!" Natasha took full advantage of the slightly wider, more forgiving hitting surface, adding, "I loved the feel from the baseline. It offered a really big sweetspot on groundstrokes."

Volleys - Score: 79

No matter the country or player, the EZONE 98's volleys received nothing but praise. Our Aussie team found it easy to end points quickly when moving forward. Natasha commented, "The EZONE 98 offered good touch and feel around the net. I really enjoyed putting volleys away." Jaye added, "It was crisp, comfortable and definitely a point-and-shoot racquet. I had fun putting away volleys and playing my droppies."

Whether implementing his crafty game or going for an aggressive put-away, this racquet shone in all areas at net for Chris. He said, "One of my favorite shots to hit with the EZONE 98 was the volley. I liked the crisp and clean feel of this racquet at net. I was able to line up the stringbed and punch my volleys to my targets with precision and pace. I also found ample feel for my drop volleys, and the racquet was stable enough to allow me to relax my grip for the utmost feel."

Michelle could bring her aggressive game forward with ease. She said, "I found the EZONE 98 to volley great. It held up against big hitters and was easy to get into position. It was fun to be aggressive with this racquet, and I found myself hitting a lot of swinging volleys and laying on the gas when approaching the net. It also offered decent touch and remained stable."

Simon took advantage of the EZONE 98's speed at net. He said, "The good maneuverability made it easy to get my timing right at net. That maneuverability, combined with the generous sweetspot, made this racquet very effective on volleys. I'm not a great volleyer, but I caught myself finishing points more often than usual at the net."

Zeljko added, "I loved the maneuverability at the net and the soft response. However, I missed some power on volleys when I wanted to put the ball away with a moderate swing or just by blocking the ball back in the court."

Serves - Score: 80

The speedy maneuverability of the EZONE 98 proved advantageous on serves as well. Zeljko used that characteristic to dish out heavy serves loaded with spin. He said, "I felt super comfortable serving with the EZONE 98. The key was the maneuverability. I could get my racquet head over the ball easily on kick and slice serves. There were almost no downsides when it came to serving."

On the flip side, Simon had more success when flattening out serves. He said, "As with groundstrokes, I wasn't finding as much spin as I would have liked when hitting my slice serves. In my opinion, the EZONE 98 is more suitable for players with a flat serve."

On the courts Down Under, Jaye could load up spin and flatten out serves with great speed and precision. He said, "It's no wonder why most Yonex players have big serves. It was easy to generate racquet head speed with the EZONE 98. It has a lot of juice in the head, and the Poly Tour Pro string let me ramp up the big ones. Kick serves were also good. I was able to get it up above my opponent's shoulder, and that's something that always makes me happy." Natasha added, "I also generated nice power on serves, and it felt like I got good pop on the ball."

Our U.S. testers had similar success on serves. The EZONE 98's playability was exactly what Michelle expected. She said, "Similar to previous iterations, I found this update to execute everything I needed when it came to serving. Power was easy to access on flatter first serves. Spin was readily available for kicks and slice serves. The racquet came through the air fast and allowed me to carve some serves out wide on the deuce side or down the T on the ad side."

To maximize his consistency and tap into more spin on serves, Chris made some slight changes to his grip. He explained, "I served well with the EZONE 98. I was able to generate lots of pace on my first serves. My flatter serves also came off the racquet with solid accuracy. I found myself hitting my second serves long early on, but by using more of a backhand grip I was able to cut the ball more and get enough spin to add control. I stuck with that grip from then on and had no further issues on serve."

Returns - Score: 78

When returning serves, our playtesters again highlighted the EZONE 98's maneuverability, power and feel. Go big or go home was Michelle's motto. She said, "Cracking big returns with this racquet was sensational! It felt great. I did need to rein it in every now and then, though, so I was craving more control or more mass to help slow the racquet down a bit. I felt pretty dialed in with my targets, but because it was so fast to swing, I sometimes came through early and missed my target by inches. The racquet was stable against big servers, and if I was pulled off the court I could successfully stab at the ball and get myself back into the point."

Chris could find an answer for any serve thrown at him. He explained, "My returns worked well with the EZONE 98. I found a solid feel and enough power that I only had to take a compact backswing. The racquet felt nice and fast, so I could react quickly and still get plenty on my shot even when almost at full stretch. Again, I could get into trouble if I tried to drive my backhand slice too much, so instead I played a steadier slice with a bit of float to it."

Over in Europe, the racquet's feel and maneuverability provided an opportunity for aggressive returns. Zeljko commented, "The EZONE 98 was easy to maneuver, and it offered a soft response when I stepped into the court and hit an aggressive return. For my game, I would have preferred a slightly stiffer feel to get an even more direct response."

Simon added, "The maneuverability was good enough to get the EZONE 98 into position on time reliably. Similar to my experience at net, I found that the isometric shape of the frame made the racquet more forgiving in feel."

Our Tennis Only team disagreed somewhat when it came to their returns. Natasha could get a high percentage of returns in the court with good placement. She said, "I found that this racquet had great maneuverability on the return of serve. When I was stretched out far, I could still take a nice cut at the ball thanks to the bigger sweetspot. I felt like I was getting better depth on my returns than I usually do."

On the other hand, Jaye was missing some consistency in his return game. He said, "Returning was probably not my strongest area. This racquet was a little more dampened than the previous version, and I struggled to react quickly enough to get a clean hit. That being said, this stick is also a little bit stiffer, so the added stability did help me in that respect."

Overall - Score: 80