Yonex VCORE PRO 97 310 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 82

From the baseline, the Yonex VCORE PRO 97 310 was an easy-to-swing, control-oriented weapon in the hands of our playtesters. Brittany has been a fan of Yonex racquets for 10-plus years. She said, "I am always game to try new Yonex racquets, and while I tend to lean more toward the 100-square-inch frames, I like to dabble in slightly smaller head sizes every now and again to see how they match up. After hitting the first couple of balls with the VCORE PRO 97 310, I noticed plenty of control and a nice amount of plow through. When I was playing against players who hit a heavy ball, I was able to take the ball early and redirect the pace toward smaller targets. There was slightly less power, which I expected, and I had to put in a little extra effort behind my attacking balls and just mentally expect a couple more to come back than usual. I did have the confidence to hit low-percentage shots since I felt the precision was high."

"Like its predecessor, the VCORE PRO 97 310 was fairly user-friendly from the baseline," continued Jason. "It was easy to swing and generate racquet head speed with it. I felt like I was able to put tons of spin on my forehands with this racquet, and I did notice a slight improvement in stability on off-center shots. It didn't offer the most free power, and it left me wanting more, but the power level is on par with other racquets in its category."

Andrew has used the previous generation in the past, and he found the transition to this update fairly simple. He said, "This racquet made it easy to generate depth, and spin wasn't an issue with the open pattern. The thicker beam offered more pop and power than the previous generation, and I noticed the lower flex right off the bat. I had trouble feeling the ball due to the combination of the Vibration Dampening Mesh and the flex dropping from 64 RA to 60 RA. I had more errant shots than with the previous VCORE PRO 97 310 due to the lack of feel, the thicker beam, and the racquet being super fast on swings. However, even during powerful rallies, the plow through was fully prevalent, and I never felt the need to add weight in the hoop."

Volleys - Score: 82

The stable feel of the VCORE PRO 97 310 allowed our playtesters to end points at net with ease. Jason felt confident hitting volleys. He said, "Up at net is where I noticed the improved stability the most. The update definitely felt more solid on off-center shots and absorbed pace well. I liked the response of the racquet, which kept me feeling connected to my shots."

"My favorite shot to hit with the VCORE PRO 97 310 was easily the volley," added Brittany. "To me, it felt point and shoot. Once I got the racquet into position, I let it do all the work. I enjoyed the connected feel and was impressed with the variety of volleys I could hit. I could easily punch volleys back deep, but what impressed me most was how I could soften my hands and hit short, dipping volleys. This is normally not one of my strengths, but I had fun adding in a cheeky volley here and there. The stability was excellent, and I never felt like the racquet was being pushed around, even against the hardest hitters."

Although Andrew was able to hit a variety of volleys with the VCORE PRO 97 310, he prefers a racquet with a stiffer feel. He said, "Touch is a shining factor with the VCORE PRO line, and with the addition of the thicker beam, I felt like I had a balanced combination of power and control at the net. The 'pop' I felt from the thicker beam offered me the ability to push volleys deep or finesse drop volleys on command. Again, I prefer a slightly stiffer response from my racquet, and the dampened feel of the VCORE PRO 97 310 made it difficult to tell where the ball was landing on the stringbed."

Serves - Score: 81

Our playtesters had mixed results serving with the Yonex VCORE PRO 97 310, and they ultimately relied on the control and stable feel to start points. Andrew was impressed by this update's extra oomph on serves. He said, "Serves were awesome with the VCORE PRO 97 310. It has increased stability thanks to the thicker beam, and my hitting partner noticed I had more pop on my serves with this racquet than the previous edition, which is always a bonus for me since I don't have an insane amount of serving power. With a polyester string, the open pattern offered the amount of spin I am accustomed to, even for a 97-square-inch head size. With the flexible feel, off-center serves were forgiving on the arm, and I never worried about having a sore shoulder from a previous injury."

On the other hand, Jason enjoyed the control this racquet provided his serves but was left wanting a little more free power. He said, "I felt like I had good control and was able to impart lots of spin on my serves. The racquet was not as powerful as I would've liked, but it's definitely powerful enough to start the point in a somewhat offensive position. As expected, control was very good."

Brittany also thought the power was somewhat lacking, and she ended up relying on precision for effective serves. She explained, "When serving, there wasn't that easy power that I look for in my racquets. But that's OK, I just focused on my placement instead. While my MPHs may have been down a little bit, I found I was more accurate in hitting my targets, with my favorite being out wide on both sides. The key for me was to keep my racquet head speed up on both first and second serves. If my racquet head speed dropped on my second serve I would hit more serves into the net, resulting in a couple extra double faults."

Returns - Score: 80

The results were similar on serve returns with the VCORE PRO 97 310 for the team. The racquet was easy to maneuver for Jason, but like when he was serving, he wanted a little more oomph behind his returns. He described, "The VCORE PRO 97 was whippy enough for taking big cuts at the ball, but I wanted more power when chipping a return back. Those defensive returns landed shorter than I would've liked. On the other hand, when I tried to be offensive I could really tee off on the ball, and the spin I could impart helped keep the ball in the court. I also liked the feel, so my drop shot returns yielded some good results."

Like most racquets, Brittany preferred returning serves over serving with the VCORE PRO 97. She said, "The combination of stability and control allowed me to swing freely with confidence. On first serve returns, I could pick a target and use the pace of the serve to hit a deep, heavy return to stay in a neutral (or sometimes offensive) position. With second serve returns, I could step in and take a full swing without fear of overhitting. I loved aiming at riskier targets and getting a couple extra free points."

Andrew noticed some issues with reliability on his returns. He explained, "The extra pop and dampened feel caused my first serve returns to be a little unpredictable. When I hit the sweetspot, this racquet let me hit some of my best returns; however, I never felt 100 percent connected to the ball. As with my other strokes, this caused me to be more inconsistent, especially when the pace picked up during the point."

Overall - Score: 82