Yonex VCORE 98 (305) Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

Even with its lower RA rating, the VCORE 98 still packed the same easy access to spin and depth as its predecessor thanks to the Aero Fin grooves and Aero Trench grommet system. All of our playtesters enjoyed the higher trajectory of their shots coming off the new 16x19 stringbed, and found that it helped them take command of the baseline. Those qualities seemed to suit Jason's aggressive baseline game quite well. He said, "I found that I was getting a lot of natural depth and power without needing to change anything up on my strokes. The spin I was able to put on my shots was really good as well. My PlaySight data showed that the lack of maneuverability (compared to the VCORE 100) wasn't affecting my ability to generate spin, which was great to see."

Sean's counterpunching style played well with the spin-friendly response of the VCORE 98. He explained, "The VCORE 98 was a great racquet for grinding from the baseline. Both maneuverable and spin friendly, this racquet allowed me to hit high, arching balls and push my opponent behind the baseline. As long as I kept it simple, I really liked what this racquet had to offer. The only real issue here was the response, which felt a little jarring up at the top of the hoop."

Kristen preferred the solid feel and response of the VCORE 98 over the lighter VCORE 100. She said, "The difference was pretty substantial when I switched over to this racquet from testing the VCORE 100. Right away it was super apparent that I had a much more stable racquet in my hands. The VCORE 98 had a more dampened, pocketing feel than the 100, and I felt confident enough to swing more freely thanks to the added mass, which resulted in great heavy topspin. I thought this racquet had good maneuverability, which helped me get back balls when I was on the defensive, and I could generate a lot of power and get decent targeting when switching to offense. At times, though, I did feel that I was missing a bit of feel and read on the ball. The touch and feel dropped outside the sweetspot, which led to a brassy response whenever I hit the ball wrong."

The VCORE 98 afforded veteran tester Chris a plethora of options from the baseline, and it complemented his style well. He said, "I enjoyed this racquet from the baseline. I liked how the ball exited the stringbed. My shots had some nice loop to them, which made generating depth easy. I was also pleased with the pace I got off both wings, and it felt very natural to attack the ball with this racquet. The VCORE 98 is built to help with spin, and I found that it worked well in that regard. My topspin shots had plenty of rotation to get them to drop inside the lines. I was able to drive my slice well on the backhand side, too. I felt very in control of the depth and placement of my shot when I was looking to float a slice deep to work my way back in the court."

Volleys - Score: 85

Capitalizing on strong groundstrokes often lures a player forward to finish the point, and despite its aerodynamic qualities at the baseline, the VCORE 98 proved to be a stable and versatile tool up at net. The stability helped our testers punch the ball with authority, while the response was soft enough for some deft touch. Chris tapped into that multifaceted functionality to stay in control of points. He described, "There was a nice blend of comfort and feel at net with this racquet. The weight and balance felt spot on. Needless to say, I quickly found my groove and attacked the net with confidence. When I was punching volleys deep with pace I was able to zone in on my targets and be aggressive. I liked the stability the VCORE 98 provided on touch volleys because it allowed me to relax and focus on placement. When I was up against hard-hitting opponents I continued to find a comfortable response and liked the overall feel of the racquet."

Kristen found that the extra heft (compared to the VCORE 100) helped her reinforce some better mechanics. She said, "At net, I noticed right away that this VCORE 98 had more flex to it than the VCORE 100. It also had a bit more heft maneuverability-wise, but I found that the weight provided a more controlled response. I tend to swing too much on my volleys, so the extra heft forced me to stick to better form, get the racquet out in front and let it do the work; I was rewarded with great touch and placement."

Sean was pleased with the VCORE 98's performance when he moved toward the net. He said, "Volleying was one of the stronger areas of the playtest. The stringbed felt quite plush up at net, and I found a nice balance of springy pop and soft touch, which gave me a variety of options when I came forward. The touch felt more controllable here than at the baseline."

Jason was a little less enamored of the VCORE 98 at the the net, but he still felt the racquet got the job done, albeit with a stiffer response than he would prefer. He commented, "The VCORE 98 felt pretty stable up at net. I didn't feel like my shots lost too much control or pace on off-center hits. When I had the chance to put away an easy volley or overhead the racquet rewarded me with the power I needed to take the point. The feel was pretty stiff, but on the bright side, it kept me connected to my shots."

Serves - Score: 83

If our testers found the VCORE 98 to be spin friendly off the ground, this was only foreshadowing what was to come on serve. Slice, kick, twist — this racquet had the ball bending and jumping all over the place. Remarkably, the VCORE 98 helped Jason tap into some power he didn't even know he was capable of. He praised, "I should preface this by saying that I am definitely not known for the power in my serves, but I felt like I was hitting some bombs out there with the VCORE 98; I was getting way more free points on my serve than I'm used to. And on second serves, I felt like I was getting enough spin to keep my opponent from teeing off."

Sean saw an increase in the RPMs of his favorite serve thanks to the VCORE 98. He said, "The VCORE 98's spin-friendly nature really helped my kick serve. This was good because I struggled to rein in my flat serve and ended up relying on my kick a lot. It was nice to have a serve I could depend on, but I'd prefer a little more versatility."

Kristen found that the VCORE 98's spin and precision helped her score a few free points while serving. She said, "This is a really solid racquet on serves. It has great access to spin and also offers a bit more flex than the VCORE 100, which led to great precision. I was able to mix up my serve placement and was winning more points straight from my serve than I usually do."

Though it wasn't quite as effective as his go-to racquet, the VCORE 98 still met all of Chris' service needs. He commented, "I served pretty well with this racquet. I found enough pace to get the ball away. Spin was easy to generate, and I was able to get my slice serve moving nicely. I was getting plenty of spin on second serves, which allowed me to stay on the throttle and hit with pace while still getting the ball to drop on target. My flat serves were coming off the racquet well too. This racquet wasn't as lively as my Tecnifibre TFlash 300 PS, but I was happy with the amount of pace I could generate on serves."

Returns - Score: 85

The impressive combination of spin, stability and maneuverability made the VCORE 98 a reliable friend when our playtesters were looking to get the ball back in play. That blend aided Kristen, whether she was playing aggressively or defensively. She said, "I felt confident getting into position to return with the VCORE 98 and found that it offered a very stable response. I could go big when serves landed in my hitting zone, no matter how heavy the pace was. My defensive returns were landing deep too; I was getting good consistency and felt that I could start points in a good position."

Sean was in the zone when hitting his favorite shot. He described, "My favorite part of this playtest was when I had the chance to return. I felt totally dialed in and comfortable going at my targets. The maneuverability and spin potential helped me find the court consistently, and I was regularly choosing to return when starting a match."

Chris echoed Sean's positivity regarding his return. He said, "The return of serve was one of my favorite shots to hit with the VCORE 98. I thought the blend of power and control was perfect. I found ample pace to hit aggressive returns, yet I also had plenty of control for more defensive returns. This racquet felt stable, and I enjoyed the feel on my slice and block returns. I felt like I was returning consistently even when mixing up pace and spin."

Jason was the dissenting voice from the group. He said, "I found nice power and depth, but I wanted a bit more control here. Unlike my groundstrokes, I felt like my returns sailed a bit on me. On the plus side, I thought the VCORE 98 was excellent when playing defensively and blocking shots back with depth."

Overall - Score: 83