The Beast is back! But now in the shape of Prince Chrome racquets. Chrome is the cosmetic update of the Beast series. The Beast series was Prince most popular line and the Prince Chrome racquets are pretty much the same thing. The Prince Chrome is another collaboration with Italian fashion brand Hydrogen (they previously launched the Tattoo racquets). At Tennis Warehouse Europe they offer three versions of the Prince Chrome racquets: 300, 290 and 280g (seems like a tight spectrum to have 10g increments to me), but on Tennis Warehouse they offer the Chrome 100 and the Warrior 100. I have only …
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It’s what many of you have been waiting for. The Yonex Regna 98 Review. At 380 USD, is it worth the money? Yes, and no. The Yonex Regna 98 review was made possible by Yonex, who were kind enough to send me a demo of this beautiful racquet. And now I don’t want to send it back. But I will, I promise. It’s an almost mythical racquet as it’s so limited. From what I’ve heard, Yonex puts their top team on manufacturing these frames and only make 200 per month of each model (98 and 100). That’s the reason the …
I often get questions about popular racquets among the pros, usually meaning pros that use commercially available retails molds The problem with the question of pros using retail racquets is that few to no high-level pros use racquets from the shop. They get so-called pro stock racquets sent to them from the brand they are sponsored by. It’s often the same mold of a certain retail racquet but might have a different layup (for example a softer flex). Most pro stock racquets come with a certain code (check out some HEAD codes here) which gives you information about that particular …
I have been play-testing the new Ezone 98 for a while and it’s been enjoyable. Here is my Yonex Ezone 98 Review. The Yonex Ezone 98 series is likely the bestselling Yonex racquet of all time (just guessing). With players such as Nick Kyrgios (Xi 98), Naomi Osaka (Ai 98), Marton Fucsovics (Dr 98), and plenty of other players using this line of racquets – it’s been a blockbuster among competitive players the world over. I tried all of them and liked them all for different reasons. I thought I had given the 2020 Ezone 98 a proper test in …
I have been testing the new Instinct MP for a couple of weeks and here is my HEAD Instinct MP Review. Nice power frame. I should not really write HEAD Instinct MP Review because the full name of this racquet is HEAD Graphene 360+ Instinct MP. Graphene 360+ is referring to the material inside the frame: Graphene and the 360 means that it’s placed in various positions inside the racquet and the + means that it includes spiral fibers for a more flexible feel. Each current HEAD tennis racquet comes with this material composition right now, but hopefully, the naming will …
I have asked the question many times over the years: Can you play with classic racquets? The answer remains the same. James Lloyd is an ex-tennis coach and tennis nerds from the UK who I have emailed with over the last couple of months. The topic has mainly been older racquets like the HEAD Pro Tour, the older HEAD Radical Tours, and the PT57 mold, but also other things tennis. James, like me, enjoys playing with racquets from the 90s, but we’re “older” as well. That’s why we were happy to see that one of the players James hits with, …
Aslan Karatsev has shocked the tennis world with his extraordinary season in 2021. But what is Karatsev’s racquet? The 27-year-old from Vladikavkaz in Russia reached the semi-finals in the Australian Open, won the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, and reached the final in the ATP 250 in Serbia after defeating no other than Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. He has seemingly come from nowhere and showed that he has the game and grit to become a consistent force in the game. But what is Karatsev’s racquet? Karatsev’s Racquet It looks like a Prestige Pro or MP if you just look at …
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia is only 17 years old and has reached his first ATP tour semi-final! It’s the youngest since Zverev in Hamburg 2014. Carlos Alcaraz Garfia moved into the semi-final in the Anytech ATP 250 in Marbella, Spain after defeating Casper Ruud in straight sets: 6-2 6-4. With his victory, Alcaraz set a dream semi-final line-up for Spanish tennis fans in Marbella. All four semi-finalists at the ATP 250 event hail from Spain, with Alcaraz set to face countryman Jaume Munar for a shot at the championship match. How far can he go? Tennis pundits have talked about Carlos …
Sometimes it makes sense to revisit racquets after some time has passed. My Wilson Clash 98 Review is a great example. I am a fan of the Wilson Clash series. Power and spin in a comfortable package. What can go wrong with that? Yet, I never grooved with the 98. Until now. That”s why this Wilson Clash 98 Review Revisited was important to make. My reviews of the Clash 100 and the Clash Tour (now Pro) were overwhelmingly positive. I have always been a fan of racquets that focus on arm comfort and I thought the Clash had managed to …
Sebastian Korda is the son of tennis star Petr Korda. He has recently climbed into the top 100 on the ATP Tour. Yesterday Sebastian Korda defeated Aslan Karatsev in a one-sided affair 6-3 6-0 (Karatsev was either injured or just tired of playing tennis, but that shouldn’t diminish Korda’s performance). This means Korda is in his first ATP Masters round of 16. He will face Diego Schwartzman, a stern opponent, but still a decent pairing for Korda. Sebastian Korda is what the ATP calls a NEXT GEN FINALS Contender. Meaning, he is in the run to qualify for the Next …