Yonex VCORE 100 (300) Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 80

This VCORE 100 (300) was easy for our team to pick up and groove with from the baseline. Maneuverability, a spin-friendly nature and a crisp feel were recurring themes for all of the TW playtesters. Chris found these attributes helpful in switching up his game style. He said, "The VCORE 100 (300) felt very fast on groundstrokes. It was easy to whip this racquet through contact to add some pace and spin to my shots. I could be creative with this racquet, and I found I could hold the ball longer to disguise my shots. I also liked how I could loop the ball easily with ample depth and pace, which allowed me to stay neutral in a rally without exerting much effort. The VCORE 100 (300) felt very crisp and direct, so I had a good sense of where my shots were going. While this racquet didn't have big drive-through power for knifing a slice, it offered enough spin and control for me to move my shots all over the court."

No stranger to testing frames in the VCORE family, Tiffani was quick to pick up on familiar traits. She said, "This updated VCORE 100 (300) has similar ease of use to previous versions. This racquet is quick through the air, and it makes it easy to hit with depth and pace, which is especially helpful when pushed back off the baseline. The VCORE line has always felt crisper than the otherwise similar-in-spec EZONE 100 offerings, and the VCORE 100 (300) is no exception. The firmness of the frame was especially noticeable to me this time around; when I hit outside the sweetspot, it felt more jarring than it did with the previous model."

Having also tested the previous iteration, Jason found quite a few similarities between the two racquets. He said, "The VCORE 100 (300) felt very similar to the previous SV 100 model — not only in feel but also in performance. It's plenty maneuverable, so I was able to generate racquet head speed with ease for lots of topspin. When I missed, I was mostly missing long; this racquet tended to launch the ball a bit when I wasn't careful about putting spin on my shots."

While Kristen could appreciate several of the VCORE 100 (300)’s positive characteristics, she found it hard to truly mesh with the racquet on groundstrokes. She explained, "This racquet had great maneuverability, a very whippy nature and great access to topspin, but it lacked stability on groundstrokes. I was left longing for a tad higher swingweight to allow me to swing through my strokes with more confidence. I found a solid, crisp response in the center of the sweetspot, but the racquet would feel quite jarring when I missed the sweetspot. I also found there to be a couple 'hot spots' where the ball would just launch off the stringbed."

Volleys - Score: 78

Reaction time is key when coming up to net, so the VCORE 100 (300)’s speedy maneuverability really payed off in this category. However, our playtesters discovered that finding the center of the racquet’s sweetspot was vital for both feel and stability. Tiffani described, "This VCORE 100 (300) had some important ingredients that add up to a successful recipe at net. Most importantly, this racquet was quite quick on volleys. I always felt confident that I could get the racquet into position with time to spare, and I enjoyed the power level. However, the stability suffered outside of the sweetspot, and I lacked control when I hit my volleys slightly off center."

Jason echoed these sentiments, adding, "This racquet provided a quick and crisp response up at net, and I appreciated the generous sweetspot. However, I still would've liked to have more overall weight, especially in the hoop to help with torsional stability."

While Kristen noted some of the same stability issues as the others, she still found success on volleys. She said, "At net, the VCORE 100 (300) offered a nice balance of easy maneuverability and surprisingly solid response. It was a bit brassy outside of the sweetspot, but I found I was hitting some great volleys with this racquet. I just had to keep a firm hand and be careful not to put too much swing into my volley motion due to the light nature of the racquet."

Though he also had to contend with a little instability, Chris enjoyed a generally positive experience at net. He explained, "The VCORE 100 (300) felt very fast and easy to maneuver on volleys. The downside was that I had to make sure I punched through the ball to keep the racquet feeling solid. Still, I was able to find my targets well and only really got into trouble when caught off balance, stretching or contacting the ball slightly off center. I would have liked a little more mass and a softer response from the tip of the racquet at net to help me out on volleys."

Serves - Score: 82

Our playtesters were a bit split on serves. While some struggled with comfort issues, others found this to be the area where the VCORE 100 (300) excelled most. Kristen was in the latter group. She said, "I loved serving with this racquet. This was definitely my favorite part of the playtest. I found it to be an easy racquet to serve with, as I could generate a lot of racquet head speed without too much effort. If you like a whippy racquet on serves, you'll definitely enjoy serving with the VCORE 100 (300). I found I could easily change up my serve from flat to slice and even throw in a few kick serves, which I don't hit often."

The praise continued with Tiffani. "The serve was my favorite shot with the VCORE 100 (300)," she said. "This racquet was easy to swing over my head, and it delivered some good pace and spin. I'm not a massive server, so I always look for a racquet to do some of the work for me; the VCORE 100 (300) generated easy pace without added effort."

Although Jason was content with how the racquet performed, he found that other VCORE models suited his game better. He noted, "Grading it on its own, the VCORE 100 (300) racquet felt pretty good on serve and checked a lot of boxes for me: easy to swing, good access to spin, decent power. But hitting it side by side with the VCORE 98, it didn't stack up as well. I wanted more power and more control. I do think some tungsten tape might quickly and easily fix most of the issues I had."

Chris found himself in good point positioning off his serves, but he struggled a bit with the feel. Chris described, "The one shot where the VCORE 100 (300) felt a tad brassy (too crisp to be comfortable) was the serve. If I caught my serve too high in the stringbed, the racquet felt very stiff. I think a little weight up at the tip, and a softer string like a multifilament would help it out greatly. Other than that, I felt like I was getting enough pace and spin to start most points offensively."

Returns - Score: 80

The VCORE 100 (300)'s maneuverability continued to shine for our playtesters on serve returns. That nimbleness helped Chris start off points on the right foot. He said, "The fast feel of the VCORE 100 (300) allowed me to take a good crack at returns. I could get the racquet around my body very quickly, and I found it to be a great help when I wanted to be offensive off the return. The pace I found was easy to control, mainly due to the spin-friendly response that got the ball dropping quickly on my intended targets."

Jason also found the maneuverability to be a huge asset on returns. He said, "The VCORE 100 (300) was fast enough that I could try to take bigger cuts at the harder hit serves, and it also came in handy when I was simply reacting to block a serve back."

Tiffani experienced some instability whenever she hit returns outside of the sweetspot. She noted, "I struggled a bit on returns with the VCORE 100 (300). The response wasn't very consistent for me. Outside the sweetspot, the racquet didn't feel stable and twisted in my hands, and I struggled to keep my shots on track. That said, it did come around quickly, and it made it easy to attack weaker serves because I could step in and try to take the ball early."

Always looking to go for an aggressive return, Kristen lacked a bit of confidence when returning with the VCORE 100 (300). She said, "This racquet’s super light feel made me a little hesitant against powerful servers, and the lack of stability kept me from ever really feeling comfortable while returning. It would be easy to overhit or hit off target when going for an aggressive return, and I found my balls landing shorter than I wanted when blocking back heavier serves."

Overall - Score: 79