One of the highest reviewed tennis racquets on Tennis Warehouse and Tennis Express is the Yonex DR 98Â with some play-testers calling it “one of the best tennis racquets they’ve ever reviewed”. I really enjoyed the Yonex Ai 98 (still have four of those although I mainly play with the Tecnifibre 315 ATP Ltd 16×19)Â and I really think the Yonex DR 98
is a solid successor to the Ai 98. It feels a bit firmer, but not uncomfortable and doesn’t require lead at 3 and 9 o’ clock to feel stable.
The Yonex DR 98 is endorsed by the flamboyant Nick Kyrgios (read about what he really plays with here) and is now available in a funky blue version that looks like this:
I think the Yonex DR 98 plays very similar to the Wilson Blade 98, a favourite racquet of mine despite my usual preference of 95 inch head size players’ racquets. What I really enjoy about these 98 inch “tweeners” is how much racquet head speed you can get on the ball. They have a pretty much perfect blend between stability, manoeuvrability, power and control. You want be able to crack the same kind monster serve as you can perhaps with a Babolat Pure Drive
or Babolat Pure Aero, but it has everything you need to play all-round all-court tennis.
I would say the 98-inch 300+ gram racquet spectrum is quite packed with good choice these days and here are a few of the best ones:
Babolat Pure Strike (Babolat Project One 7) – a big improvement over the boardy predecessor.
Wilson Blade 98
(both the 2015 and the Countervail versions are great).
Yonex DR 98 (great blend of all important racquet attributes, a slight improvement in stability)
If someone would ask me, without me knowing what level of tennis players they are, what tennis racquet to buy, I would give these three options and I’ll be pretty confident they won’t come back and hit me with it.
So if you ask me if the Yonex DR 98
is for you, I would say that it is very likely. Remember that Yonex racquet handle sizes run slightly bigger so if you’re used to a 3-size grip, it might be worth considering a 2 with an extra overgrip.
| Technical Specifications OF YONEX DR 98 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Length | 27 in | 69 cm |
| Head Size | 98 sq in | 632 sq cm |
| Weight | 11.5 oz | 326 gm |
| Balance Point | 12.7 in 32 cm | 6pts Head Light |
| Construction | 23mm/24mm/19.5mm | |
| Composition | HM Graphite, Nonmetric DR, Quake Shut Gel | |
| String Pattern | 16 Mains / 19 Crosses | |
| Babolat RDC Ratings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Score | Grade | |
| Flex Rating | 62 | Range: 0-100 |
| Swing Weight | 324 | Range: 200-400 |
16 comments
Hey
I used to play with the Yonex RDS 001midplus (98) I sold it long time Ago, I came back play and bought this ezone dr98 the yellow one , And I’m struggling with this one, wich racquet would be more similar to the RDS 001 midplus 98 ??
Hi Lucas,
The Yonex RDS 001 MP is definitely a more powerful/crisper racquet in my mind than the DR 98. It might also feel a bit easier to swing since the beam is thinner. There are not that many racquets with similar beam profile and stiffness on the market today. If you like Yonex racquets, I’d definitely try the Yonex VCORE SV 98 and put some lead tape on the handle and possibly at 3 and 9 to get the weight a little bit closer to the RDS 001 MP.
Good luck and let me know how it goes! Cheers / Jonas
Hey,
Could you tell me some of the best strings (quality/price ratio) to play with this racquet? I´m a 4.0-4.5 player and I´ve been playing with Babolat around 6-7 months (before played with Aero Pro Drive for 2 years) and I have a elbow pain now.
Cheers
Hi Pedro,
If you have arm issues, I would go for a softer polyester or a hybrid setup (poly + synthetic gut), but since we’re taking price into the consideration I wouldn’t recommend natural gut. There are a few soft poly strings that play really well:
Weiss Cannon Silverstring – cheap, quite soft and a good string.
Yonex Poly Tour Pro – My favourite string in the mentioned racquet. Choose a thinner gauge for a softer feel. I go with 1.25.
Luxilon 4G soft – A little expensive but a great string
Luxilon Element Rough – Super soft poly, expensive, but nice.
Volkl Cyclone Tour – Relatively inexpensive and nice soft poly.
Solinco Tour Bite Soft – really nice, softer poly.
I hope this helps! Good luck and keep that arm pain away! Cheers / Jonas
Hi! I currently play with the wilson pro staff Classic 6.1(16×18) but I’m thinking about changing to a more modern frame. Would be this racquet a good option?
Hi Ivan,
Yes, this is a good modern frame. It will be an adjustment from you coming from the heavy Pro Staff Classic, but you can always add some lead tape to make it play heavier.
Other good modern racquets in the same style:
Babolat Pure Strike 16×19 (white/red one)
Prince Beast 98 (just reviewed this one)
Wilson Blade 98 (prefer the 2015 green/black version)
Angell K7 Red
Hope you find a racquet that suits your game!
Cheers / Jonas
I am currently playing with the head ig prestige mp, with lead at 3 and 9h, totaling 346g and balance at 32.5cm. I am thinking of buying a yonex dr98 blue, add lead in 3 and 9h and silicone in the cable to leave a weight of approximately 337g and balance in 32.5cm.
Do you think the change is good? Unfortunately in Brazil I do not have the opportunity to test before buying …
Hi Pedro,
You will get more easy power and spin with your proposed setup. If that is what you are looking for – go ahead. Sounds like perfect specs actually! Cheers / J
You will get a bigger sweet spot and more power/spin, but at the cost of control. If that is what you want – it sounds like a good spec! Cheers / J
I ended up giving up the yonex that I mentioned last (alleged exchange for prestige)
I bought an angell and am looking forward to testing:
ANGELL CUSTOM TC97 16×19 300g Plus – swing: 325mm / 6 ptsHL – Rigidity: 66RA – length 27.5 ” Cable L2 format B
-personal custom-
337g with everything
Balance 33.5cm / 4pts HL
Solinco String Hyper G 1.25mm – 48lbs Cushion grip Wilson Premium Leather Black Overgrip Wilson Pro White
+ 4g lead tape at 3 and 9h
+ 8g lead tape at 12cm from the end of the cable
What do you think?
Thanks!
I ended up giving up the yonex that I mentioned last (alleged exchange for prestige)
I bought an angell and am looking forward to testing:
ANGELL CUSTOM TC97 16×19 300g Plus – swing: 325mm / 6 ptsHL – Rigidity: 66RA – length 27.5 ” Cable L2 format B
-personal custom-
337g with everything
Balance 33.5cm / 4pts HL
Solinco String Hyper G 1.25mm – 48lbs Cushion grip Wilson Premium Leather Black Overgrip Wilson Pro White
+ 4g lead tape at 3 and 9h
+ 8g lead tape at 12cm from the end of the cable
What do you think?
Thanks!
Nice specs! With that balance, the swing weight will be beefy and nice. I would definitely be happy swinging a racquet like that. Let me know how it goes and good luck on your new Angell!
Hi Lucas! Did you try Yonex Vcore SV 98? Did you like it? I am thinking about buying it Thanks Jonas for your advice!!! My son is a Yonex RDS 001 fan! I got to find an update one for him!
Hi! Ravi from India.
I have been following your blogs and videos for quite some time. Keep it going.
I am playing with Babolat Project One 7 for some time now. I love the blend of control and power. What I like the most about Pure strike is the amount of spin I generate. It is addictive.
I have been facing with some mild elbow pain. This might be due to the stiffness. I am planning to switch to DR 98.
Can you compare the two? Ratings on power, control and spin would help.
Please do consider adding ratings for racquet reviews. Just like you did on dr98+
Hi Ravi,
The DR 98 is crisp too, but better for the arm. It offers about the same spin potential and just slightly less power. You might not feel as connected to it on flatter shots as the Strike, but it is a very good racquet.
The reason I don’t do ratings anymore is that I find ratings create the picture over one racquet being better than another and it is about finding the right racquet for the right player. I will consider adding it if I can find a way to do it that makes sense to me.
Regards / J
PS. If you feel like my advice is really useful, please consider becoming a patron for $2 at patreon.com/tennisnerd and get exclusive content every week. DS.
Hi!
I tried the DR 98. You were right. I did not feel as connected on the flatter shots. And I can generate way more racquet speed on the pure strike, helps when I’m being rushed.
It is difficult to get multifilaments in India. So that is out of the question.
I got interested in Head speed 360 pro after watching your review. Your review says that Speed pro is easy to swing. How does it compare to pure strike on power, control and spin? Is it easy on the arm?