I recently wrote about Naomi Osaka’s Ezone 98, but there are more new Yonex Ezone racquets coming. The Ezone 98 Tour, 98 Plus and 100 Plus.
New Yonex Ezone Racquets
I’m quite curious about these new Yonex Ezone racquets, especially the Ezone 98 Tour, which was a favorite of mine in the previous generation. I liked pretty much everything about it, but in the end it hurt my elbow. And I had no ongoing elbow problems or arm issues at the time. What did it for me was the extra weight in the throat area. Karue Sell from MyTennisHQ noted a similar problem so I’m curious if the new Ezone 98 Tour (link to Tennis Warehouse) delivers better comfort.
Yonex Ezone 98 Tour
This is what Tennis Warehouse writes about the new Ezone Tour:
In addition to widening the beam for extra stability and power, Yonex adds 2G NAMD SPEED to the graphite layup, resulting in increased pocketing and better ball feedback. The RA-stiffness is also a smidge higher than the previous version, resulting in a slightly crisper feel without compromising the plush feel for which Yonex player’s racquets are known.
Will the 2G NAMD Speed help the comfort? Maybe. That’s why I’m curious to try it.
The specs are otherwise similar:
| Head Size: 98 in / 632.26 cm | ||
| Length: 27in / 68.58cm | ||
| Strung Weight: 11.7oz / 332g | ||
| Balance: 12.99in / 32.99cm / 4 pts HL | ||
| Swingweight: 332 | ||
| Stiffness: 64 | ||
| Beam Width: 23.5mm / 24.5mm / 19.5mm | ||
| Composition: 2G-NAMD SPEED/HM Graphite | ||
| Power Level: Low-Medium | ||
| Stroke Style: Medium-Full | ||
| Swing Speed: Medium-Fast | ||
| Racquet Colors:Blue | ||
| Grip Type: Yonex Synthetic | ||
String Pattern:
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Yonex Ezone 98 Plus
I’m personally not a huge fan of extended racquets, but I know that many players appreciate that both Babolat and Yonex deliver 27.5 inch versions of their bestselling racquets.
The specs are pretty much identical to the tour, which is impressive. Most longer racquets swing weights reach up into the 340s.
Check out the Yonex Ezone 98 Plus if you like longer racquets.
| Head Size: 98 in / 632.26 cm | ||
| Length: 27.5in / 69.85cm | ||
| Strung Weight:11.4oz / 323g | ||
| Balance: 13.07in / 33.2cm / 5 pts HL | ||
| Swingweight: 333 | ||
| Stiffness: 64 | ||
| Beam Width: 23.5mm / 24.5mm / 19.5mm | ||
| Composition: 2G-NAMD SPEED/HM Graphite | ||
| Power Level: Low-Medium | ||
| Stroke Style: Medium-Full | ||
| Swing Speed: Medium-Fast | ||
| Racquet Colors:Blue | ||
| Grip Type: Yonex Synthetic | ||
String Pattern:
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Yonex Ezone 100 Plus
Do you want a lot of free power? Then the extended Ezone 100 is the way to go. I find the regular Yonex Ezone 100 to be an excellent power frame (one of my current favorites). But for me, a longer version of it will likely be too much of the good stuff. But Casper Ruud uses a customized DR 100 Plus (even more power) and can control it, so it depends on your skills and how much spin you can generate on the ball.
As you can see from the specs, the stiffness and the swing weight are a little bit higher here (to be expected). If you’re power-hungry, the Ezone 100 Plus might satisfy your appetite.
Summary
I hope to be able to demo some of these racquets, but I’m not sure if they will be available in Europe. Currently they are not on sale at the Tennis Warehouse Europe Yonex Ezone page or the corresponding page at Tennis Only in Australia. So if you have hit with these, let me know what you think about them in the comments below.
3 comments
Hej! Har du testat nya ezone tour 2022?
Hej Jens,
Nej, tyvärr inte. Verkar svårt att få tag i den i Europa.
Long time user of the ezone line- 10 plus years – have all the models – currently using my first extended length ezone plus. First impression I love the extra height I am able to hit from on serve, providing extra power and consistency on my flat serves- big help for a 5ft8 guy-
My issue is the racquet – even when weighted up to my specs- for some reason doesn’t have the same crisp feel as the tour version- I’ve even tried distributing the weight slightly more to the top on the ezone plus – and it feels good- but Just not the same plough through on ground strokes for some reason.
I’ll play test for the rest of the month and let you know how I go. Probably still going to be the racket I change too, as the extra pop on serve for a short guy is really a game changer- just wish they had the extended length 27.5 and the extra weight- did babolat use to do that with the Rodrick ?? I think I had one pure drive extended length and weight?
Anyways pleasure to leave a comment- long time listener viewer – first time commenting.
Kind regards,
Coach Paolo Francesco cianci –
All the way from Sydney Australia