Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.3

During baseline exchanges, the Ultra 100 v5 offered plenty of ways to damage our testers' opponents and finish points off with authority. All of our playtesters could implement the blend of power and pocketing, albeit to varying degrees of success. For Brittany, the hitting experience seemed to be dependent on what kind of shot was coming at her. She explained, "To be honest, there were some days I loved this racquet and some days I didn't quite jell with it. I felt it really depended on who I was playing or what type of ball was being hit at me. The Ultra 100 v5 was not as powerful as I expected, and I had to put a little more effort into generating racquet head speed to create my own pace and get the ball to land deep in the court. This made hitting approach shots a little more challenging for me, especially down-the-line forehands. On the other hand, I found success when I was using my opponent's power to block the ball back. I was able to redirect pace and even add some spin, and I loved hitting my backhand down the line when using my opponent's pace. This helped me stay in a neutral position or transition out of a defensive position into a more offensive one. Lastly, I really liked to hit slice backhands, and I was even mixing in some offensive slices to keep my opponents guessing."

Jason found the Ultra 100 v5 easy to use, and it encouraged him to maneuver his opponents into uncomfortable positions out wide. He said, "The Ultra 100 v5 was pretty easy to swing from the baseline. I was able to pick up those tougher shots hit right at my feet with relative ease, and I thought the power level and spin were really good as well. During intense dingles games, I found I was able to hit sharp cross-court shots to pull my opponents off the court, so it was definitely a weapon there."

This Ultra 100 v5 offered Tiffani a little less power than she's accustomed to, but the feel and control helped make up for the slight gap. She said, "Although it's been quite some time since I've officially playtested an Ultra 100, I'm quite familiar with the line. I found it easy to get into a rhythm from the baseline with this Ultra 100 v5. That's not to say it's an underpowered racquet, just that I was expecting even more power. I actually enjoyed how easily I could control the pace it was generating, and I saw some good consistency numbers, which my game relies on. With my flatter hitting style, I didn't find the need to overemphasize spin to get this racquet to work with my game. Still, when it came time to add some topspin (lobs, or when wanting to buy some time with a loopier ball), I found it easy enough to do from the baseline."

Elsewhere, Oak struggled to find a consistent forehand, but he liked hitting his slap-shot backhand. He described, "The latest Ultra 100 is one of the most string-sensitive racquets I've played with to date. Existing in a class of powerful 300-gram frames, with competitors like the Yonex EZONE 100, the Babolat Pure Drive and the Head Extreme MP, the Ultra 100 sets itself apart by offering a flatter hitting experience, emphasized purely by power. I loved this racquet on my two-handed backhand and felt confident just slamming shots up the middle or pulling the trigger down the line. It was really fun to wait until the last second before getting my opponents on the wrong foot. I found the experience to be a bit of a mixed bag on my forehand side. Some shots were easy to trust, and depth was thankfully easy to come by, but spin generation was not as easy for me, which often can make or break a racquet on my forehand side. My bread-and-butter touch shots like lobs and defensive stabs were consistently landing long or wide, which was frustrating. I also felt like the Ultra 100 v5 wasn't super stable and didn't always pocket the ball the way I like when hitting. It didn't always feel conducive to my style of play, mainly because I couldn't trust my defensive shots when I was on the run."

Volleys: 8.4

The Ultra 100 v5 seemed to encourage more aggressive, point-ending volleys rather than crafty touch shots. Jason opted to put the ball away quickly, but he noted a lack of feel if his contact point was slightly off. He said, "I was enjoying the power and pop I was able to get on my shots up at net. It made putting away overheads pretty easy, but I did notice a significant drop in performance when I was making contact just slightly outside the sweetspot."

Likewise, Oak often looked to end points sooner rather than later at net, and he especially loved the frame on higher trajectory balls. He explained, "Volleys were actually fairly decent with this Ultra 100 v5, and I enjoyed the easy power to put balls away deep. I loved going up for high volleys and overheads to slam the ball back down. I wish it didn't redirect the ball quite so quickly and absorbed pace better, but I was still able to end points with authority, although perhaps without as much craftiness. Overall, I felt mostly connected to the ball."

Brittany found more stability than she expected from the Ultra 100 v5 and often sought to put her shots deeper into the court. She said, "I appreciated how stable the Ultra 100 v5 felt on volleys. It was especially helpful when I was stretched out and reaching for a passing shot or trying to volley back a heavy shot right at my body. However, I will say the Ultra 100 v5 is on the stiffer side, and I struggled with the comfort throughout the playtest."

Tiffani appreciated the Ultra 100 v5's stable nature at net and looked to keep volleys simple and effective. She said, "I liked the blend of maneuverability, stability and pop when at net. I'm definitely not what I would call an adventurous volleyer, and I keep it relatively simple. This Ultra 100 v5 was good for basic volleys and felt stable enough when I missed the sweetspot."

Serves: 8.3

When it came to starting points, the Ultra 100 v5 offered plenty of pace, although perhaps not as much control. Tiffani's issues with the Ultra 100 v5 had largely to do with her preferred grip when serving, but thankfully, she dialed in a workable option to make good use of the easy pace. She described, "Although I struggled at first to hit my spots with the Ultra 100 v5 on serves, I think it was more of a 'me' thing. The way I hold the racquet with my pinky hanging off the end (I want all the leverage I can get!) is hard to do with the flared butt cap. The grip felt too big, and I was having issues getting enough wrist rotation to come around the ball on slice serves. After changing how I hold the racquet on serve, I found I got decent pace and spin on my serves. It was enough to get me into points on neutral ground."

Brittany left the playtest without strong feelings either way about the Ultra 100 v5's performance on serve. She noted, "Nothing specifically stood out when it came to serves. Power didn't come as easily for me, and I had to put out a little more effort than expected to get the racquet up and over my head. There was some spin potential that I utilized on first serve slices out wide and kick second serves. I would say I was mostly focused on getting my serve in consistently, so I wasn’t concerned about pace or placement. I didn't get a ton of free points, which is OK, and I was able to serve well enough to keep me in a neutral to offensive position."

Serving was one of the highlights of this playtest for Oak. He said, "Flat first serves with this Ultra 100 v5 were delightful. I was easily able to generate high amounts of pace, and I was getting more free points than I am accustomed to on serve. Second serves were pretty good, but again, not as reliable as I would have liked in terms of precision or spin. My favorite serves had to be my flat serve up the T on either side."

Likewise, the Ultra 100 v5 worked wonders for Jason's serve. He said, "I was hitting bigger serves with this racquet than with my own. It was definitely adding 1 to 3 MPHs to my first serves, and on my second serves, the open string pattern helped me get plenty of spin."

Returns: 8.4

Most of the playtest team enjoyed hitting returns with the Ultra 100 v5. It was Oak who struggled the most on returns, saying, "I thought the power access would be more helpful than it was on my returns. I found a mostly inconsistent response, which made hitting a spot with my returns harder to achieve than I would've liked. There were more balls wide or long than I'd care to admit, so take the footage of me hitting my returns with a grain of salt. Thankfully, the Ultra 100 v5 is still maneuverable enough to get in position quickly enough to hit most returns."

The Ultra 100 v5 worked very well for Brittany's returns. She described, "My favorite shot to hit (surprise, surprise) was the return of serve. The combination of less power and a stable feel allowed me to really be aggressive with my first shot. I was able to step in and take a full swing at the ball without any fear of overhitting. I was able to return both first and second serves this way, which let me be on the offensive immediately.”

Jason had a blast while hitting returns with the Ultra 100 v5, and he felt confident going after his spots. He said, "Whether I was hitting an aggressive return or blocking one back, I felt like the Ultra 100 v5 was an asset. The access to spin helped me get more shape on the ball as well."

Tiffani also had a great time returning serves with this racquet. She said, "I was not surprised to find myself enjoying returning more than serving with the Ultra 100 v5. As I mentioned in the groundstrokes section, I appreciated the balance of power and control. I felt in command of where I was sending the ball, so I felt confident going for the break."

Breakdown Summary