Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 84

With its superb spin potential and plow through, it is no question the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 excels from the baseline. Jason began by noting the added flex and the shock reduction on off-center hits. He said, "The racquet offered a great combination of power, spin and control. It has a softer response than the previous version, so off-center hits weren't as harsh. Whether I was stationary or hitting a shot on the run, I felt like it was fairly easy to swing. I loved the open string pattern and the amount of spin I was able to get on my forehand. I also loved the ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 when I was hitting my backhand slice. There was enough mass there to really knife the ball."

Mark found that this version of the Tour suited his game well and held its ground against players trying to push him off the court. He explained, "After playing with Tiff's racquet of choice (the 18-main Tour 100P), I immediately detected the extra power just from the higher launch angle of the new Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 310's 16-main string pattern. Getting groundstrokes to land deep was never an issue, nor was keeping them inside the lines. Personally, I thought the performance of the Tour 100 310 from the baseline was top-shelf. The flexible beam helped tame the high launch angle power, and any concern that a 16x18 pattern would hinder the quality of my backhand slice was put to rest. In conclusion, I never felt bullied or uncomfortable from the baseline with the new Tour 100 310."

Brittany and Tiffani experienced their first official playtest of the Textreme Tour 100 310 series with this new model. Tiffani has been using the 100P, and she compared the two models. She noted, "Although I didn't test the previous version of this racquet, I'm very familiar with the Textreme Tour line since I've used the 100P for several years. This racquet has the same feel as my racquet, but with a higher launch angle, slightly more stability and additional plow through. I thought I could play well with this racquet off the ground, and I got easier depth off my groundstrokes than with my own racquet. However, I am most comfortable with racquets in the 300- to 305-gram range, and this racquet falls slightly above that zone. In most instances, I didn't have any issues maneuvering the racquet in time. I did notice that it was harder for me to flick my wrist when trying to hit cross-court dippers or when I was trying to pick up a ball at my feet. The end result in those instances was generally an errant shot. For a racquet with a 16x18 string pattern, I was also able to dig into my slice backhand better than I expected. Other than the ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 being slightly too heavy for me to use reliably in match play, I enjoyed grinding from the baseline with it."

"I have not officially playtested this model in the Tour family, so I was interested to see how it would match up with my game style," Brittany added. "For some background, I had hit briefly with previous generations of it, but it was more just to get an overall feel, and I didn't spend a lot of time with them. When I first started playtesting the Tour 100 310, I was surprised by how easy of an adjustment it was. I was feeling very confident swinging within ten minutes of hitting from the baseline. I enjoyed the launch angle (as it is similar to what I am used to) and felt very comfortable rallying with it. I was able to get into a good groove on my cross courts; I felt like I could hit all day at about 70-percent effort. Where I ran into issues was point play, especially when I started to be a little more aggressive with my shots to end a point. To generate more power, I would have to put a lot more effort into my swings, but once I got the racquet moving, I was regularly hitting long. I had to reel back and found that I couldn't be as aggressive as I wanted, and the ball was coming back more often. On the other hand, I used the plow through to my advantage on my slice. Slice has never been a strength of mine, but I had success knifing the ball and keeping it low. This allowed me to stay in a neutral position on my backhand side when I had to drop a hand."

Volleys - Score: 84

The Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 offered great playability and control at net, especially for a racquet with a 310 static weight and an open string pattern. With the lower flex, comfort felt improved on off-center volleys, but the feedback was still responsive. Brittany explained, "The Tour 100 310 was solid on volleys. I enjoyed the feel and appreciated how I could play around with my angles and spins. I could soften my hands and hit short or really punch the volley deep if needed. I never felt like I was getting pushed around either, which was helpful when playing doubles and having to get back hard-hit passing shots. I wouldn't say this is the most maneuverable racquet, but I don't feel like I was hindered by it at all."

Mark has experience with the older generations of this model, and he described the benefits of the ATS technology in this update. He said, "At net, I have always felt dialed in with the previous iterations of the Tour 100 310. The 11.5-ounce strung weight, 7-points head-light balance and mid-320 swingweight allow me to sit on the fence of racquet stability versus maneuverability. That said, the addition of the ATS material in the hoop provided more predictability and responsiveness for both my half and airborne volleys."

Though she noted some difficulty when flicking spin from the baseline, Tiffani had no maneuverability issues with the Tour 100 310 at net. She described, "Perhaps because the racquet is quite head light, I didn't find this ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 to feel sluggish at net. I appreciated that it was quick to get into position, and it offered slightly better stability than my own 100P. As is usual for me, I kept my net play simple on the whole for this playtest, and this racquet responded as I expected. It offered good directional control and enough mass to help get the ball deep and away."

Jason had a positive overall experience on volleys. He said, "I thought the ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 performed very well up at net. First and foremost, it felt stable on off-center shots, and it didn't feel too jarring either. There's more than enough power and spin to put away sitter volleys."

Serves - Score: 82

The Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 rewards sound technique with solid spin potential and decent power. Our testers found that their kick serves kept opponents back while their slices pulled players wide off court. Mark always felt confident stepping up to the service line with the Tour 100 310. He explained, "As much as I enjoyed hitting from the baseline with Prince's update to the Tour 100 310, I was most confident serving with it, making the serve my favorite shot to execute with this racquet. The same traits that positively affected my groundstrokes and volley benefited my serve the most."

Tiffani felt that the ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 assisted her game when her technique was on point. She said, "On serve, I liked how the racquet came through the hitting zone, and I got good power and spin when I got my technique correct. Because my timing and motion can go awry on serve, there were times when I wished I could snap it just a little bit quicker. When I missed my serve with this racquet, it tended to be long."

Since this racquet didn't provide Brittany with much easy power on serves, she had to do the work herself. She said, "When I got the racquet up and over my head I had the ability to hit a variety of serves. This racquet doesn't come with easy power, so I definitely had to generate it myself. My first serves had decent pace, but I was not able to maintain it throughout the match and definitely noticed some arm fatigue. I instead opted to hit more slices on my first serves to start points. I could still be on the offense by pulling my opponent off the court, and I was hitting a high percentage of first serves that way. I wasn't 100-percent confident with my second serve, but I was able to hit a decent kick serve that stayed out of my opponent's strike zone."

The ATS Tour 100 310 provided Jason with plenty of spin and power on serves. He noted, "I served well with this racquet, and I really enjoyed it on my wide serve. The open string pattern and maneuverability allowed me to find the wider angles easier, and there was enough easy access to power that I felt like my serves were effective and not easily attacked."

Returns - Score: 82

Our four testers each have a different play style when it comes to returning, so it was no surprise each enjoyed different aspects of the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 310. Jason immediately noticed an improved backhand return with the Tour 100 310. He said, "Surprisingly, I liked returning with this more from my backhand wing than my forehand. I typically slice many backhand returns, but I was returning well enough that I was confident hitting flat and topspin backhands as well. My forehand was still very solid. I got great depth and power from both wings."

Even with a 16x18 pattern, this racquet provided Tiffani plenty of control. She described, "I like to return more than serve in general, and that was true with this Textreme Tour 100 310. Although it has an open string pattern, I didn't struggle with the control as much as I expected off my flat returns. I think the spin potential, along with the feel, let me pick targets confidently. I also never thought the racquet felt sluggish when returning."

This racquet performed as expected for Brittany, with nothing standing out during the returning section of the playtest. She said, "Like all the other strokes, the Tour 100 310 performed well on returns. However, nothing really stood out. I found myself taking a more compact swing and aiming toward bigger targets. I had the most consistent success returning deep up the middle on first serve returns. On second serve returns, I was still aiming for relatively safe targets but was able to hit them deep (sometimes too deep, and I needed to make sure to add some spin). I found an even balance of maneuverability and stability as well."

Mark relied more on chip returns with the beefier static weight of the Tour 100 310. He said, "This maybe speaks more to my own skill level, but the return is where the ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 was not quite maneuverable enough for me to consistently apply topspin to the ball. I relied more on my chip return, which is like a half volley."

Overall - Score: 84