Yonex has been producing a lot of solid racquets over the years and struck gold when they released their Yonex Ezone Ai line a few years ago. Now it’s time for another Ezone. Question is: Do we need it?
I was a big fan of the Yonex Ezone Ai 98 AND the Yonex Ezone DR 98. With the last iteration, I thought they had nailed that fast, yet relatively arm-friendly 98 square inch spin frame. But not so long after the Yonex DR line of racquets, here comes another version called just Yonex Ezone. What is really new here?
I didn’t think it would be much, but according to Yonex they have updated the so called Isometric head shape (for a bigger sweet spot), they have introduced a new type of grommet system which is supposed to reduce shock and they have added hyper modulus graphite (hyper-MG) in the upper hoop for more stability.
Does it work? Well, I’ve only hit with the racquet for a little bit – not really enough to write a proper review, but after playing hundreds of racquets and string combinations over the years, I get a pretty good idea if I will like a racquet or not after only a few minutes. And sadly, I just don’t think they needed to anything with Yonex DR 98, which is a great racquet. The Yonex Ezone feels quite a bit stiffer (I tried it with the relatively soft poly Yonex Poly Tour Pro) than the DR 98 and the AI 98 and in my mind that’s too stiff. What I really enjoy about both the AI and DR versions is that it played quite soft for a modern, ball-basher style of a tennis racquet.
So in my mind, there was no need for another version of the already great Ezone line, but this is how the racquet companies make money so there’s nothing strange or unusual about it. And racquets are of course a highly subjective thing so maybe someone will like the new Ezone racquet better, but in my view they have pretty much perfected the feel and performance with Yonex DR line.
Have you tried the new Yonex Ezone? What did you think of it? And if you haven’t tried it, do you want to?
WHERE TO BUYÂ NEW YONEX EZONE RACQUETS
Europe
Racquet Depot
Pro Direct Tennis
USA/CANADA
Tennis Express
Do It Tennis
Amazon.com
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