Prince Phantom 107G Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 82

With its easy power and spin, hitting with the Phantom 107G from the baseline was a fun experience for our playtesters. Tiffani is a current Prince user, but the Phantom 107G's specs are very different from her racquet of choice, so it took some time to for her to get used to it. She said, "My first shot with this Phantom 107G went flying way past the baseline. With an open string pattern and a 107-square-inch head, the launch angle was much higher than I'm used to since my Textreme Tour 100P has 18 mains in a 100-square-inch head. This racquet took me a good three hitting sessions to feel confident with my shots off the baseline. Because I don't use a lot of topspin, I needed to adjust my targeting quite a bit. Once I got more dialed in, I really enjoyed this racquet's flex, and I was surprised how much I liked hitting my slice. Typically, I would gravitate toward smaller head sizes and tighter patterns to get the most out of that shot, but with this racquet it felt like the ball sat on the strings forever. That really lent itself to great control on slices. I found depth to come easily, and the comfort was outstanding. However, as I said, it just took some getting used to playing with the Phantom 107G."

"This racquet swung much faster than the Classic Graphite 107, making it more user-friendly," said Jason. "I thought the access to spin was excellent, which helped me control the high launch angle. For being a fairly standard string pattern, the exit angle was pretty extreme. Because of that, I was able to get easy depth on my groundies even though the racquet wasn't as powerful as I would've liked. I did appreciate it on my backhand slice since I felt like I could really knife it low."

Chris had similar thoughts, adding, "The Phantom 107G was super forgiving off the baseline. Several factors combined to make this a very, very spin-friendly racquet. The weight was easy to maneuver for fast swings, the spin window was massive thanks to the oversize head and thin beam, and the open string pattern provided excellent bite. As a result, I was able to hit high over the net for safety and use lots of pace for aggression, and I was still able to get the ball to drop way inside the lines thanks to all of the topspin. If I chose to hit a flatter shot, I had to be much more careful because it was easy to spray them wide or long. Comfort was fantastic, and the racquet also offered plenty of feel."

Although Brittany has played with many Prince racquets in the past, she wasn't sure what to expect from the Phantom 107G due to its unique specs that are just slightly out of her wheelhouse. She said, "My first hit with this racquet was a practice session where I was cycling through four or five different racquets, getting a groove from the baseline. The Phantom 107G stood out from the rest in terms of feel. I would describe it as plush, flexible and comfortable. The racquet really pockets the ball well; I felt like the ball just sank right into the stringbed. The other major thing I noticed was the high launch angle. It was very easy to get my groundstrokes to land deep in the court — sometimes a little too deep. I definitely had to make some adjustments. On the plus side, my slice was low and penetrating, and I could really knife the ball."

Volleys - Score: 82

The Phantom 107G's plush feel allowed our playtesters to hit a variety of volleys when ending the point up at net. Chris was left thoroughly impressed. He said, "An easy racquet to volley with, the Phantom 107G will make a great choice for doubles players and serve-and-volleyers. Thanks to the oversize head and thin beam, I felt confident cutting the ball with lots of spin to find sharper angles and get drop volleys to drop even faster."

Jason found the feel and stability to be the highlights when it came to volleying. He said, "The Phantom 107G has that flexible old-school feel at net. Stability was surprisingly solid, considering the thinner beam and 11.4-ounce strung weight. I think the stability cross bar was a key component to that, along with the oversized head."

"I tried to keep it simple when I was at the net with the Phantom 107G," added Brittany. "I just needed to make sure I got the racquet into position, and it would do the work for me. If I punched my volleys a little too much they would sail deep. The 107 head size was forgiving and felt very stable in my hands. The feel was top notch, and I was able to consistently hit drop volleys during point play by softening my hands, which is typically not a strength of mine. The racquet could be a little cumbersome to get into place when a ball was hit right at me, but that was easily fixed with some better footwork."

Tiffani was in the same boat as Brittany. She noted, "If I wasn't careful with my technique, it was easy to send volleys long or pop them up with the Phantom 107G. Simply blocking back the ball was sufficient to get depth with this racquet. That launch angle really came in handy when I was on the stretch. There were several times I lunged for a volley and expected that I was going to send the ball into the net. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised that the ball managed to pop over the net to keep me in the point."

Serves - Score: 81

Our playtesters had varying opinions when it came to serving with the Prince Phantom 107G, but the team could agree that the racquet's easy access to spin was a boon when starting the point. Chris described, "Despite not having a ton of mass for plow-through power, I was impressed with how much pace I could generate on serves with the Phantom 107G. It felt like the racquet was cutting through the air well, which I don't always expect from an oversize racquet. I continued to be impressed by the access to spin, and I was getting some nice movement on my slice serves."

The rest of the playtesters noted some areas for improvement. Brittany explained, "When I got the racquet up and moving over my head, I could hit serves with solid pace. However, I did have to put a little more effort into it. My favorite serve to hit was a slice out wide to the deuce side. It is a serve that I sometimes struggle to hit with consistency, but not with the Phantom 107G. I utilized this serve the most and got a lot of free points. One thing I did struggle with was second serves. I had to really make a conscious effort to snap my wrist. If I didn't, I was hitting a ton of second serves long."

"I could really feel all 107 square inches of that head size when I served,” said Tiffani. "It felt big and hindered the maneuverability for me. Granted, the serve is probably my weakest stroke. I served OK with this racquet, but I didn't feel comfortable with my motion. When I missed, I tended to miss long with this racquet from all areas of the court, including the serve."

This Phantom 107G felt a little sluggish on the serve for Jason. He said, "The very open string pattern made up for the lower swing speed and definitely allowed me to put lots of spin on my ball. I thought the power level was pretty good too; it was more in line with my own racquets and didn't feel underpowered like my groundstrokes."

Returns - Score: 83

The Phantom 107G's reliable return of serve was one of the highlights of this month-long playtest. Once she got used to the launch angle, Brittany was pleased with this racquet's maneuverability. She said, “After the adjustment for the higher launch angle, this racquet was forgiving, yet stable. I didn't have any issues with maneuverability and was able to block back tough first serves. Aiming for larger targets, I could go after a second serve return as well. Overall, I preferred returning over serving with the Phantom 107G."

The return was Chris' favorite shot with this racquet. He said, "The Phantom 107G felt super easy to position and then accelerate quickly through contact. I felt like I had a lot of options, as my drives, blocks, chips and even droppers were all working. As with groundstrokes, I found I needed to hit with spin to maintain control. If my returns were hit flat, it was very easy to miss long with this racquet."

Tiffani again made some adjustments to get this Phantom 107G working for her returns. She said, "I loved the comfort, and even mis-hits weren't punishing. Once again, the issue was launch angle, since I hit so flatly. For me, the chip return was the best bet on first serves. I tended to get too wild when I tried to swing out on first serve returns. I could keep the ball low by chipping or blocking the ball back. I could step in and swing on slower second serves, being mindful to use more topspin than usual."

With a conscious effort to add a little extra topspin, Jason found success sending serves back. He wrapped up the playtest, saying, "I liked the maneuverability and fast-swinging response on my returns. It allowed me time to take big cuts at the ball, but I needed to consciously make an effort to put plenty of topspin on those aggressive shots to keep them in play."

Overall - Score: 84