Volkl V-Cell 10 320g Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 80

Of the four playtesters on this review, it was Mark who seemed to enjoy this Volkl V-Cell 10 320g the most, and it didn't take long for him to find his rhythm. He explained, "I immediately enjoyed this V-Cell 10 320g during baseline rallies, but after about an hour or two of playtesting I found a great groove with this racquet. A 16x19 string pattern, such as the one on this racquet, tends to work great for generating topspin, but I also rely quite a bit on my backhand slice. When I play with a racquet with an extremely open string pattern my slice sometimes sits up too high. However, the spacing on this 16x19 pattern was tight enough for me to keep my backhand slice consistently low over the net while still being able to load the ball up with topspin. This racquet has plenty of mass for stability and provided enough plow through to help with my shot depth. On the same note, it felt maneuverable enough for me to easily generate heavy topspin, with the 16x19 pattern gripping the ball well. The 98 square inch head size gave me enough confidence to locate my targets and hit the ball close to the lines."

Chris found this update to the Volkl 10 to be noticeably different from some of the classic versions, but he was still effective with it from the baseline. He said, "I found the V-Cell 10 320g to be a pretty forgiving racquet from the baseline. Driving the ball with depth and pace felt pretty easy. The racquet was relatively easy to maneuver, but it still had enough beef to provide some plow through and stability. I only tested the racquet strung up with co-poly strings, like Volkl Cyclone, and it offered good access to spin with that setup. The trade-off for such a forgiving response was that this version of Volkl's 10 didn't feel as silky smooth or as precise as past iterations. Instead, the racquet offered a more modern response. While it felt great when hitting, I would have liked more of that old Volkl feel to help me hit the corners and find the lines."

Although this racquet shares a similar head size, string pattern and stiffness to her racquet of choice, the Wilson Pro Staff RF 97 Autograph, Michelle found that the missing factors were swingweight and plow through. She said, "I was hoping this racquet would offer me that elusive blend of control and power and fit seamlessly into my game. I struggled with it through the playtest and found that it didn't offer me enough plow through and power to step up and dictate the way I would like. I was also craving more control since either my timing was off on my groundstrokes or I felt a little too disconnected from the ball when it came to feel. Because the swingweight is about 20 points lower than my go-to racquet, I was craving more stability and wanted the racquet to hold up better against big hitters. The racquet felt a bit firm on contact, and I think some added mass to the head would help create a plusher, more stable feel on contact. On the positive side, this Volkl V-Cell 10 320g was very speedy and maneuverable, making it easy to impart some heavy spin. I could see how someone who relies on spin and precision may find this racquet to be more suitable to their game, but with my flatter mechanics, I just crave more plow through."

Sage echoed some of Michelle's thoughts. He agreed that this racquet helped him generate groundstrokes with a lot of topspin, but he struggled a bit when trying to drive through the court. He said, "The Volkl V-Cell 10 offers a solid, if not slightly stiff, feel from the baseline. The low swingweight, considering the mass, made it easy to swing fast throughout longer hitting sessions. I was able to generate heavy topspin from both wings and settle into hitting a consistent ball during point play. That said, there were times I found myself wanting more drive through the ball at contact and slightly more accuracy. My targets had to be larger than usual for me to be confident in taking a full swing."

Volleys - Score: 83

When it came to hitting volleys, the playtest team generally agreed that this Volkl V-Cell 10 320g felt maneuverable and predictable. Chris said, "I volleyed well with this racquet. I felt more precise with my volleys and was finding my targets well. The feel was crisp, clean and solid. I liked the pace I had on my deep punch volleys. On drop and angle volleys, I was able to get plenty of spin on the ball to help drop it short and out of reach."

Mark was impressed with the balance of maneuverability and stability when hitting his volleys. He said, "After spending a couple of sessions working on my net game with this racquet, I was surprised how stable it felt considering the swingweight is just below 320. The new V-Cell technology seemed to help increase the torsional stability while still allowing the racquet to feel fast. There was a firmer feel overall compared to other Volkl 10s that I have tried in the past, but it still felt solid and predictable when going for my spots. Overall, I found a great blend of maneuverability, stability and precision on my volleys, which made me feel very confident when playing doubles."

Although Michelle was left wanting more stability and plow through from the baseline, she seemed rather content when coming to the net to hit volleys. She said, "This Volkl V-Cell 10 320g felt nice and firm, and it was very easy to get into position. While I mentioned that I craved more stability from this racquet when hitting groundstrokes, I didn't feel like it was lacking when hitting volleys. The racquet held up well against big hitters, and I could block my volleys back with little effort. Although the feel was not necessarily the rock-solid, hefty feel I get from my racquet of choice, it was crisp and predictable enough that I could find the corners of the court with ease."

Sage thought the Volkl V-Cell 10 320g worked well for him on volleys, though it was maybe just a bit firm for his preference. He explained, "This was a point-and-shoot racquet at net. The ball exited the stringbed lightning fast, with little dwell time. The result was crisp and powerful volleys. Depth came easily, especially off the forehand volleys. I'm not looking for exceptional touch and feel, so this racquet suited me nicely, but for a player who wants surgical precision, this may not be the best choice. The stiffness of the frame yielded mixed feelings in that I loved the pop of the ball off the strings, but my forearm was a bit sore after spending time at net during doubles play."

Serves - Score: 82

Stepping up to the baseline to hit serves, it was clear that all the playtesters were making the most of this V-Cell 10 320g's maneuverability and easy spin potential. Chris said, "I felt at home with the V-Cell 10 320g on serves. I like the way heavier racquets come through contact, and this Volkl was giving my serves some nice power. My best serve was a driving slice delivery that I could either make break away from the player by going to their forehand corner (righty) or break into the body by serving slightly to the other side of their body. I had good success using that serve as both a first and a second serve. My flat serves also had solid pace, and I was pretty happy with my targeting, especially considering it is a lower percentage serve for me."

Mark was very pleased with this racquet on groundstrokes and volleys, but he especially loved how easy things felt when serving with the V-Cell 10 320g. He said, "As much I as I consider this a great all-court racquet for my game, I found it to really shine on serves. With it being relatively heavy with a head-light balance made for a fast feel, I could impart pace and spin easily on my serves. The added wrist pronation I was able to generate really made me feel like I was getting some extra zip on my serves. The 16x19 pattern made for easy slice, and when I needed to go for the flat serve down the middle, I found plenty of precision and a nice pop on the ball from the firm layup of graphite."

As she found this racquet to mesh well with her game on volleys, Michelle also enjoyed serving with the V-Cell 10 320g. She described, "Serving with this Volkl V-Cell 10 320g was one of the highlights of my playtest. I enjoyed imparting slice, and I found that I could hit my spots consistently. The racquet came through fast, and it was easy to manipulate different serves. I wasn't finding a huge boost in power on flat first serves but still got plenty of pop. I enjoyed volleying with this racquet almost as much as I did serving with it, and although I am not a serve-and-volley type of player, I do use that style in doubles, and I could see this racquet working great for players who have that more classic style."

Sage found the maneuverability and spin of this racquet to be the key factors for success once again. He said, "The relatively low swingweight combined with enough mass to drive through the ball created a nice balance of pop on my first serve. I wasn't hitting serves with overwhelming power, but there was consistent pace with enough movement to make the returner think twice about teeing off. It was easy to whip the racquet head through my service motion, and this really benefited my spin serves."

Returns - Score: 79

Our team had mixed opinions when it came to returning serves. While some found all the speed and stability they needed, others were left wishing for a bit more weight behind the ball. As with most other shots, Chris felt dialed-in and ready to break his opponent's serve when returning with the V-Cell 10 320g. He said, "The V-Cell 10 320g felt nice and solid on returns. I liked taking returns early, using a compact backswing and using the mass of the racquet to redirect pace. I was impressed by the comfort at impact, especially when catching the ball off center, and the racquet felt decently solid even when my timing wasn't. As I found on groundstrokes, I could easily access enough spin to add control to my shots. My slice backhand return felt great with this racquet, and I was knifing it well."

Mark once again enjoyed the blend of maneuverability and stability this Volkl V-Cell 10 320g provided. He said, "I was finding enough time to hit with more topspin than usual with a racquet that weighs 320 grams unstrung, which typically does not happen for me on returns. That combination of solid weight, head-light balance and sub-320 swingweight made for plenty of stability against hard-hit serves and easy maneuverability for putting some sting on my returns. I loved that I could chip my backhand return effectively and keep the ball deep enough to extend the point. I also favored the precision I had to place the ball away from the net player while returning in doubles."

As she found from the baseline, Michelle sought more swingweight and plow through. She described, "This is where I was craving plow through the most. I easily caught myself swinging too big and too fast and getting ahead of the ball. My shot selection was quite erratic and unpredictable, leaving me frustrated with my favorite shot to execute. When I did connect on time, there just wasn't that sonic boom that goes off when I do the same with my Wilson Pro Staff RF97 v13. I found pretty good control and precision, but I was lacking the easy depth and court penetration to really push my opponent back and take control of the point."

Like Michelle, Sage also craved added mass in the hoop of the racquet or a higher swingweight. He said, "I would have liked more plow through considering the weight of this racquet. It felt smooth when I hit the sweetspot, but overall didn't give me enough heft when I wanted it. When I have the time to take a good crack at the ball, I can typically get the ball deep and put my opponents in a defensive position, but I rarely found that situation during this playtest. That said, I did find success on returns meant to neutralize the point, but when trying to really attack, I felt this racquet needed a boost in swingweight. Some added weight to the hoop might be the fix."

Overall - Score: 80