Volkl V-Cell 10 300g Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 76

When grinding groundstrokes from the back of the court, our playtesters found that the updated construction did, in fact, aid in a more stable and responsive hitting experience. Tiffani noticed that it resulted in an uptick in power over the previous model. She said, "I've historically thought of the 10 series as being all about control. With the V-Cell 10 300g, it felt like Volkl ramped up the power. In previous versions of the lightest Volkl 10 racquet, I struggled to get consistent depth. That wasn't as much of an issue with the V-Cell 10 update. That increase in power did come at the expense of the precision I've found with older models, so there was some give and take in that regard. The racquet delivered adequate topspin for my game, and I liked how the stringbed grabbed onto the ball to help me keep my slice shots low and skidding through the court. The feel of this racquet was muted inside the sweetspot, but it felt firmer outside of it. There were times mis-hits felt a bit jarring."

Kristen also noted plenty of power, but she struggled at times with precision. She said, "The first thing that stood out on groundstrokes was how lively this racquet played. The balls really shot out of the stringbed, which was great for hitting shots that pierced through the court and put my opponent under pressure, but of course that liveliness could also be cumbersome when it came to control. I felt like I had to find the right balance between hitting flat and hitting with some spin to up the percentage of balls landing within the lines. Going too big when hitting flat or trying to get under the ball to whip up a lot of spin would send the balls soaring. Spin was super easy to generate, though, and hitting slice was definitely one of my favorite shots with this racquet. They were low, fast and very effective. The V-Cell 10 300g felt maneuverable, and at the same time there was really nice mass coming through the ball, so it definitely felt stable on contact, and I could hit a pretty heavy ball."

Kendal found it a bit difficult to get dialed in to a consistent rhythm from the back of the court. She explained, "While playtesting the V-Cell 10 300g, I quickly noticed that it had a very small sweetspot. I could hit a good, heavy ball if I was making clean contact when hitting forehands, but it was hit or miss when trying to drive the ball. On backhands, I was a tad more consistent when just hitting topspin on the ball. My favorite shot when using this racquet was slice. I was able to drive my slice deep into the court and still keep it very low. This racquet was pretty maneuverable, especially when I had the time to set up and step into the ball. It isn't the most forgiving frame, so I missed pretty much every time when I caught the ball late."."

It was easy for Jason to get this racquet moving, but he would have liked a bit more weight behind his shots. He said, "This was a very easy racquet to swing from the ground. It also offers really good access to spin. I loved it on my topspin forehands, but thought it lacked some 'oomph' on my backhand slice. It was so whippy that I felt confident standing a little closer to the baseline and taking balls earlier. It does get pushed around slightly when going up against bigger hitters, so I'd definitely add weight to this racquet."

Volleys - Score: 84

Maneuverability was a key factor in the V-Cell 10 300g's volleying success. It helped Kristen feel comfortable closing out points at net. She said, "I thought the racquet performed great at net. It felt super stable — very point and shoot — but it also handled quick reaction shots and volleys on the stretch well. It wasn't the best for touch shots, though; when I would try and drop a ball short, it would pop up more than intended."

No matter what was thrown at her, Kendal had a good handle on the point when closing net. She said, "I enjoyed hitting volleys with the V-Cell 10 300g. I was able to hit whatever style of volley I needed to. I could drive the volley when needed, and I could also hit a soft touch volley short."

Tiffani found the playability in line with other racquets in this spec category. She explained, "This racquet was easy to volley with since it felt mobile. I was able to get it into position pretty easily, which is my top priority for playing at the net. It felt on par as far as stability goes with other racquets in this weight range. I really have no complaints at net."

Although Jason found some improvements over the previous model, he struggled with feel outside of the sweetspot. He said, "The V-Cell 10 300g is more stable than its predecessor, and I really appreciated that up at net. The racquet felt extremely fast, making it great for reflex volleys. I did struggle with it getting pushed around a bit, and balls that hit outside of the smaller-than-usual sweetspot made the racquet torsionally unstable."

Serves - Score: 79

Across the board, our playtesters felt that the V-Cell 10 300g made it easy to load up their serves with some nice spin, but acceleration and power access were met with mixed opinions. For Jason, getting the V-Cell 10 300g moving overhead felt effortless, but it produced only decent power. He said. "I think this racquet provides above-average spin and consistency with average power. It was easy to serve with, but I didn't feel like I was getting any more free points with it than I get from my own racquet. It was very easy to accelerate the V-Cell 10 300g through contact, though, and it provided ample spin on my slice serves."

Kendal enjoyed feeling a bit of weight behind her serves, and she used the access to spin to her advantage. She noted, "This racquet is heavy enough that I was able to snap it around to the contact point. My favorite serve to hit was the kick serve, but all my serves had really nice bounce and spin."

Tiffani preferred serving with this update over prior iterations. She said, "With previous versions, I really struggled to find the power I needed to start off the point, so the V-Cell 10 300g was an improvement for me. I still wasn't blowing anyone off the court with my serves, but to be fair, that's never the case. I got adequate pace and spin on serves. I did need to emphasize my finish. I was hitting quite a few of them long when I first started serving with this racquet."

The V-Cell 10 300g didn't quite fit the bill for Kristen's ideal feel on serves. She described, "I typically rely on a whippy feel overhead to stay loose and best accelerate through my serves. This V-Cell 10 300g definitely felt a bit slower overhead for me, and it took me a while to adjust. There was definitely some nice mass coming through contact, I just felt like I could never get the racquet swinging fast enough overhead to tap into the power potential that was there. In time, I was able to adjust my motion to get into a rhythm of hitting some nice spin serves that landed deep in the box and had some effortless kick."

Returns - Score: 78

With the V-Cell 10 300g being easy to swing through the air, some playtesters were able to capitalize on an aggressive return game strategy; others, however, found they were lacking the precision needed to hit their targets. The latter was Kendal's issue when trying to attack. She explained, "I wasn't able to control my shot when trying to step in and drive my return, but I was able to get a nice topspin return deep."

Noting how responsive the racquet was playing, Kristen was aware that she might need to dial it back on returns. She said, "I knew I was going to have to be a bit cautious on returns with this racquet, and it was a little bit hit or miss for me. There were times when I was surprised at how controlled the response was if I made just the right contact and kept my motion a bit more compact, but there were other times when I wanted to take a bigger crack at the ball and that liveliness got the better of me."

On the other hand, Jason found success when cranking out big returns. He said, "It was fun to be able to consistently take big cuts at the ball with this racquet. Its maneuverability and access to spin allowed me to be aggressive more often than not. It's not the most powerful racquet either, so overhitting wasn't much of an issue."

Tiffani found that tapping into power was easier on returns than when serving, and she found the right balance of control to keep her shots on target. She said, "I much preferred to return with this racquet. It was coming around my body quickly, so I felt confident that I could get my racquet on most shots. It offered power, but there was enough control for me to be aggressive with my shot selection."

Overall - Score: 81