Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.6

Hitting groundstrokes is the usual litmus test for feel, and groundstrokes with the Ripcord 100 300g proved to be quite impressive for our testing team. The easy power was backed by great feel and surprising amounts of control for a 100-square-inch head. The Ripcord 100 300g slotted easily into Jason's preferred style of play, which emphasizes heavy topspin drives and high net clearance off the forehand wing. He explained, "This Ripcord 100 300g was a lot of fun to hit with from the baseline. Not only is it pretty easy to swing, but the open string pattern also gave me great access to spin and good net clearance. Compared to the Ripstick 100 300g, I was getting better control and wasn't launching my shots long quite as often. That extra cross string seemed to make a difference. I was able to put away shots fairly easily with this Ripcord 100 and play my game style, which is being offensive and attacking with my forehand as often as possible."

The Ripcord 100 300g also worked well for Brittany's baseline game. She noted, "I loved how easy it was to use the Ripcord 100 300g with absolutely no adjustment period. I was able to go right into a competitive singles match with no issues on my very first hit with the racquet. It does help that the specs are right in my wheelhouse, and Prince is one of the brands I have preferred in the last 20-plus years of playing. Nonetheless, I loved the access to power and spin on my groundstrokes, which complemented my aggressive style of play. It does have a little more control compared to the Ripstick 100 300g thanks to the 16x19 string pattern, which I appreciated when playing points. The Ripcord 100 300g was also a dream in practice sessions."

For Oak, the Ripcord 100 300g offered only positives on groundies, making shot selection feel nearly effortless. He said, "I have always enjoyed Prince racquets for their blend of classic precision and generally softer feel, and this Ripcord 100 shakes things up a bit in relation to the rest of the Rip family. While I think the Ripsticks are going to be more comfortable and more spin-friendly due to their open O-Port design, the Ripcord employs a classic combination of specs that makes it widely accessible. With its specs, it's safe to say that this Ripcord 100 300g is going to appeal to players who enjoy frames like the Babolat Pure Drive, the Head Extreme MP, the Yonex EZONE 100 and the Wilson Ultra 100. In comparison, what immediately jumped out to me with the Ripcord 100 was its similarity in frame geometry to my beloved Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98, which is my go-to stick for string testing. The biggest overlap proved to be the yoke design just above the handle, which ended up looking and playing like the Tour 98 in terms of its great feel, precision and connectedness to the ball. The Ripcord 100 has a slightly more squared-off geometry than the other power frames I mentioned, which helps offset the inherent power with good levels of control, emphasized by a somewhat denser 16x19 string pattern. At times, I would've liked a bit more ball pocketing, but that could be achieved with a softer string or lower tension."

Tiffani noted just how straightforward this racquet felt on her groundstrokes. She said, "The Ripcord 100 300g is one of those racquets that's just easy to pick up and use. I found it to be a great all-around performer, and I was getting reliable power and spin. I found it to be a bit more powerful than control oriented, but the balance of performance wasn't tipped too far in any one direction. The racquet has a crisp but not uncomfortable response, and I could play defense and offense equally well. This is the kind of racquet I like to pick up and use when I'm struggling a bit with my game. It gives me the needed boost mentally and helps me win back some confidence because I find I can hit a little bigger than I normally would without too much worry that the ball is going to fly."

Volleys: 8.3

At the net, this Ripcord 100 300g continued to reliably do what our testers asked of it, though perhaps nothing exemplary. Tiffani found that this racquet added some variety to her net game. She explained, "I felt pretty confident coming forward to net. This Ripcord 100 300g fit my net game well. I tend to keep it simple and punch my volleys. This Ripcord felt maneuverable and stable. It also gave me the power I needed to put away volleys. Although I don't typically use much touch, I did hit some nice drop shots with this racquet."

Brittany had a similar experience to Tiffani on volleys. She added, “The Ripcord 100 was versatile when I approached the net. I loved that I could get it into position easily, and I felt very connected to my shots. Softening my hands resulted in some great pick-up volleys that landed short and angled. I could also tighten my grip and hit some great punch volleys that landed deep in the court to end points.”

Oak's time at the net tended to be more short lived, and he sought to finish the point more emphatically than usual. He described, "Volleys with this Ripcord were pleasant and mostly reliable. I do generally prefer more pocketing on volleys, so I tended to opt for more aggressive volleys than usual to end points quicker. My connection to the ball was good overall, despite the stiffer response. I appreciated the easy maneuverability and spin generation for getting to and then shaping my volleys."

Jason found more success at the net with this Ripcord 100 300g than he has with some other frames in Prince's Rip lineup. He enjoyed the classic feel and his ability to end points. He said, "I thought the Ripcord 100 300g was solid up at net. I felt better connected to my shots with this racquet than with the Ripstick because of the traditional beam. There was enough pop and spin available to put shots away with relative ease."

Serves: 8.4

Across the board, our playtesters were more than happy with how the Ripcord 100 300g performed on serve, savoring the easy pace and depth, along with good spin production. Starting points with the Ripcord 100 300g was a breeze for Brittany. She explained, "I felt very consistent hitting serves with the Ripcord 100 300g. In fact, I felt like I was making significantly more first serves than I typically do, which helped me win my service games easier. I had plenty of access to power on first serves, but my favorite serve to hit was a slice serve out wide on the deuce side. This opened the court for an easy put-away shot. On second serves, I tapped into the spin potential and got great net clearance."

Likewise, Jason was able to trust the Ripcord 100 300g and go after both first and second serves. He said, "I was definitely getting some nice pop on my serves. Not only that, I was able to put a good amount of spin on the ball on my second serves. I did a serve test side by side with my current racquet of choice, the Head Gravity MP, and I was definitely noticing an increase in power."

Tiffani felt at ease with the Ripcord 100 300g on serve, employing good spot-targeting and getting lots of free power. She described, "Serving felt natural with this Ripcord 100 300g. It was easy to swing overhead, and I found it to offer good power and spin. I tested this racquet alongside the Ripstick 100 300g, which has the O-Ports, and I thought it was easier to generate power with this Ripcord. I could also reliably move my serve around the box because the directional control was good."

Oak enjoyed the Ripcord 100 300g's easy, reliable depth and felt confident going after most serves. He said, "I was mostly satisfied with this Ripcord 100 300g on serves. I thought the plow through and pop were more than sufficient, and this racquet was definitely easy to wield. I would've appreciated a little more precision when going after more aggressive targets, but the racquet definitely didn't feel unusable. My favorite serves were heavy body serves on the ad side and wide slice serves on the deuce side."

Returns: 8.5

Returning with the Ripcord 100 300g was a positive experience for our team. For Oak, the depth he found was the best part about returning. He said, "I thought returns with the Ripcord 100 300g were solid but perhaps nothing too special. Again, I would've liked more precision overall because I try to stay pretty aggressive on returns and am always looking to make the server move instead of letting them tee off down the middle. If I do hit my return back up the middle, good depth and net clearance are important to force the server back behind the baseline. I found reliable depth against first serves, but I was spraying wide a little bit more than I'm accustomed to."

For Tiffani, the balance of power and control on returns was most welcome, and she felt confident leaning into her aggressive spot-targeting. She noted, "Like I mentioned in the groundstrokes portion, this Ripcord 100 300g balanced power and control well, and it played right into my returning style. There is more power than control, but I still had enough confidence to pick areas of the court to hit attacking returns. There weren't too many instances of me feeling wild on my returns, and when I did, it was more my fault for poor shot selection."

The Ripcord 100 300g's combination of power and spin access allowed Jason to be creative with his returns. He explained, "This racquet has power for aggressive returns when I want to take a full cut at the ball, and there is power there when blocking a serve back too. The access to spin is great for helping control my aggressive returns. And I like the feel too because I actually pulled off a few drop shot returns with this Ripcord 100."

Returning serves is Brittany's favorite part of her game, and the Ripcord 100 300g provided great reliability for creating devastating returns. She said, "I definitely utilized the balance of power and control on my return of serve. I set up right on the baseline for both first and second serves and took the ball early. I could take either an abbreviated swing on first serves or a full cut at a second serve and redirect the ball to create an offensive return of serve. I could be aggressive and hit a variety of second serve returns to keep my opponent guessing."

Breakdown Summary