Prince Vortex 300 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

On groundstrokes the Prince Vortex 300 offered our playtesters easy spin and power but at the cost of some control. Tiffani began by explaining this racquet's unique characteristics. She said, "The Vortex 300 has a few features that piqued my interest. The first thing that caught my eye was the V-shaped throat, and the bright cosmetics also helped to draw my eye in. Then I counted the strings — 14x21?! I haven't been this intrigued by a string pattern since those open Wilson Spin Effect patterns were popular. When I got on court, it did take me a few hitting sessions to find a groove. This racquet seemed to really like topspin, which isn't really my style. I have more of a classic game and hit a relatively flat ball. After drilling from the baseline and focusing on my strokes, I found a better groove. This racquet offered a good balance of controllable power and spin. I could also knife through my slices better than I would typically see with racquets at this weight. I never did quite shake the issue I had with some of my shots flying, unfortunately. I noticed this issue popping up when I wasn't working to put spin on the ball or was taking a stab at a ball while on the run."

This racquet immediately felt familiar to Jason, who found the specifications right in his wheelhouse. He said, "The Vortex 300 allowed me to hit with power, depth and spin with ease. I was immediately comfortable with it because the specs are right in line with what I like. The unique 14x21 string pattern was an asset for the most part, but the one downside for me was that it made the stringbed a little launchy. When I hit with a full swing I was definitely landing shots long more often than with my own racquet."

Chris thought the Vortex 300 felt plush and forgiving from the baseline, and he especially appreciated its access to spin. He said, "I liked how easy it was to swing the Vortex 300 quickly, as it opened up access to lots of spin and pace. I was able to rally aggressively without sacrificing consistency. The response felt pretty plush considering the power level of the racquet. I liked the way the ball felt coming off the stringbed, and it gave the racquet a forgiving feel. I felt confident going after my topspin and slice shots and was able to get them to drop well inside the lines, even when dialing up the pace. I had to be a little more careful when hitting flat shots because the powerful response had me missing long if I got too aggressive."

Brittany was looking forward to testing out this racquet after a tennis hiatus. She explained, "Anything that says Prince with a 100-square-inch head size gets me excited to play tennis. Getting back into playtesting after a six-month hiatus, I was relieved that the Vortex 300 was the first thing on my list, and I luckily had a sneak peek about a year ago, so I knew what to expect. With most of the specifications right where I like them, the Vortex 300 was a nice transition back into playtesting, and I was able to adjust quickly. There was easy power and maneuverability. The string pattern is unique and had some pros and cons. The positive was that it created easy depth that was helpful when I was in a defensive position and trying to get the ball back into a neutral position. The negative was that I found it to be erratic at times, especially when I was hitting an attacking ball. I found that the ball was launching and I was missing a lot deep."

Volleys - Score: 82

Our playtesters found the Prince Vortex 300 to be quick and efficient when volleying. Jason said, "This racquet is nice and maneuverable for shots up at net. There is plenty of pop to put away easy sitters and enough whip for tough overheads. I felt like I had fantastic access to spin on my volleys, and I was even able to spin a couple volleys back toward the net."

Chris thought this racquet's speed was perfect for doubles. He said, "I liked that the Vortex 300 was maneuverable enough for me to easily cut under the ball on volleys to add plenty of spin. I enjoyed knifing under my angle and drop volleys, getting lots of backspin to make my shots die quickly. The Vortex 300 also felt very fast in my hands on reaction volleys, and it was a good option for me to take onto the doubles court. On punch volleys, the racquet felt responsive, with easy power and a clean feel."

Brittany enjoyed most of her time at net with the Vortex 300, but she thought it could use more touch on drop volleys. She said, "The Vortex 300 felt quick in my hands up at net. Getting the racquet into position and punching the volley back deep was successful in singles play. While I enjoyed the overall feel of the Vortex 300, I could have used a little bit more for touch volleys. I will say it always felt comfortable, even on off-center hits."

Tiffani agreed that the sweetspot felt forgiving on volleys. She added, "I enjoyed this racquet at net and felt confident following my approaches forward to put the ball away. The Vortex 300 felt as stable as I expected, and I liked the comfort at impact. It didn't feel excessively jarring when I missed the sweetspot, which is more of a common occurrence for me on volleys than groundstrokes."

Serves - Score: 82

The Vortex 300 offered all of our playtesters great access to spin on serves, but some had trouble dialing in the control. Chris found that serving successfully was easy with this racquet in his hands. He said, "I felt like I could serve all day with the Vortex 300 without getting tired. The racquet offered easy power and spin, so I could relax and just focus on targeting. My slice serves were working well; I could get the ball to swerve nicely in the air and then kick even wider off the bounce. I don't hit a ton a flat serves, but when I did, I found solid pace and accuracy."

The slice serve was also a highlight for Brittany, who said, "I always like testing out all my different serves to see what best suits the racquet. For the Vortex 300, slice serves were easily the standout for me. I actually found I had to hold back because it was easy to hit too much slice and miss wide. Regardless, the slice serve was extremely effective and I was winning free points, especially on the deuce side. Kick serves were landing deep in the service box, and I needed to make sure I was really pronating my wrist to get the serves to drop in and not sail deep. Flat serves were solid, and I was getting above-average pace."

On the other hand, the unique string pattern caused a few issues for Tiffani, especially on her flat serves. She explained, "The Vortex seemed to enhance my spin serves. I typically struggle to get action on slices, but this racquet was giving my serves a little bit more spin than usual. On the flip side, I had a hard time finding my range on my flat serves. I was missing those long, and as a result, I preferred trying to slice both first and second serves."

Jason also struggled to rein in the depth of his serves. He said, "I was able to get a lot of pop on my first serves, but I had a few issues controlling the depth. Since this racquet is fantastic for adding spin, I found really good success on my second serves."

Returns - Score: 82

Our team was able to keep their returns deep with the Vortex 300, and they had no issues getting the racquet out in front of powerful serves quickly, though control was once again lacking for some. Brittany explained, "I appreciated the depth on my returns, but I wanted a little more control. I ended up being very conservative on first serve returns, aiming deep down the middle. However, the racquet cut through the air nicely, and I never felt late, which was great since I was getting my timing back. Second serve returns were the same story; I was aiming for bigger targets and not taking as full of swings, to make sure I wasn't overhitting my return."

Tiffani found similar results with control and added, "Like with groundstrokes, I had some issues controlling my depth from time to time. Aiming at large targets was best for me on returns. Otherwise, I liked how quickly the racquet came around; I felt like I had a good play on the ball even when I was pulled out wide. This racquet also felt stable enough for my game."

Jason had an easy time both on offensive and defensive returns. He said, “For offense, the firepower was there. I just had to be conscious about adding topspin to my shots in order to avoid shots landing long. On defensive returns I could get easy depth and give myself time to recover for the next shot."

Chris was able to shorten his backswing and still hit excellent returns. He concluded, "The Vortex 300 worked well for me. I loved taking returns early and driving them with pace and spin. I didn't have to put much effort into it, and I found a compact backswing with a long follow though produced solid results. The Vortex 300 felt comfortable even when my timing wasn't perfect. I was getting ample spin, which helped control the power level and helped me find some nice angles on my cross-court returns."

Overall - Score: 83