Yonex Ezone 98 Tour 2022 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 88

Following the success of the first version, we are happy to report that the designers at Yonex have kept the good times rolling. The distinctive feel of the original EZONE 98 Tour has been refined even further in this update. It challenged Mark to really fine-tune his strokes. He explained, "There is a point where if the racquet is heavy enough, I notice that I have to place an emphasis on my footwork, otherwise the weight of the racquet quickly works against me. I mention this because the EZONE 98 Tour is probably at the upper limit of what I can effectively swing from the backcourt, yet it seemed to do most of the work for me. By the time I had logged a few sessions with the new EZONE 98 Tour, I got used to its heft and my footwork improved, making it one of my favorite racquets to play with from the baseline."

Michelle found a natural pairing for her preferred first-strike brand of tennis. She said, "I playtested this racquet side by side with the EZONE 100+ and EZONE 98+, and I initially thought those two racquets would overshadow this one due to their massive power and overall fun vibe to swing. However, the more I played with the EZONE 98 Tour, the more I realized this racquet really fit my game best out of the three. Off the ground, it was everything I like about a racquet — just over 330 swingweight yet not too hefty to swing. It proved to be a stable frame that also felt comfortable at impact and allowed me to feel in control of where the ball was going. Unlike the extended frames, I felt more comfortable and confident swinging fast through the ball and wasn't worried about being too far behind the ball. I could transition seamlessly from hits and drilling straight into point play, and I felt confident executing first-strike tennis. One of the major upsides was that I could go from offense to defense while still being comfortable in longer points. My intention is always to go back to offense to win points on my terms. Short balls were easy to attack and put away, and I also found it much easier to hit spin and angles with this Tour racquet compared to the extended EZONEs."

Chris noted the attention to detail shown by the improvements from one generation to the next. He said, "Being a big fan of the previous version of this racquet, I was very excited to get on court with the new EZONE 98 Tour. I immediately noticed a plusher feel. It felt like the team at Yonex had somehow managed to take an already silky-smooth racquet and refine it for an even smoother response. I loved the way the stringbed pocketed the ball, and I felt very connected to my targets. This racquet also had great stability, which combined with the feel, made it a perfect fit for my drop shots. On my backhand slice, I found enough mass to effortlessly drive the ball deep in cross-court exchanges. I could then mix things up with a drop shot and disguise it with an almost identical swing thanks to the amount of control I had with this racquet. If I had one complaint, it would be that the balance was not as head light as I would like at this weight. With the balance fixed by simply switching to a leather grip, I felt like I had better control of the tip of the racquet. I was able to whip the racquet through better when hitting angles and when looking for additional pace or spin."

It was full speed ahead for Troy, who thought the EZONE 98 Tour did nearly everything well. He described, "As with the previous version, this update to the EZONE 98 Tour felt nice and solid when I was hitting my groundstrokes. The stiffness is slightly different from the previous version, but it still felt rather plush, and the comfort was pretty good overall. One of the most important things I found when swinging away at the baseline was that I could be aggressive and play an attacking style without fear of spraying the ball. I felt a little more control and more connected to the ball with this Tour version compared to the Plus, but there wasn't quite the same added boost or easy depth. Spin was easy to generate when I hit heavy topspin or slice. There wasn't quite as much bite and spin as there is with the Yonex VCORE 98 or Babolat Pure Aero Tour, but this EZONE 98 Tour is still spin friendly, while also being more predictable on flatter shots."

Volleys - Score: 86

The EZONE 98 Tour provides a combination of pace and feel that makes it especially effective in doubles. It gave Chris a blank check, and boy, did he cash it. He said, "I simply found the EZONE 98 Tour to be an excellent racquet for hitting volleys. The frame felt stable, the stringbed connected me to the ball, and the overall feel at contact was top-notch. I loved how much control I found on my touch volleys. When I had to dig tough low volleys out there was ample mass to help me punch my volleys deep and find solid pace. Overall, I thought the racquet felt fantastic at net, and volleys were one of my favorite shots to hit."

For Michelle, the EZONE 98 Tour's volley game was simple and successful. She said, "This racquet maneuvered into position easily and was effective. It was easy to punch volleys back deep, and there was access to some touch. No complaints here!"

Troy pointed to how forgiving the EZONE 98 Tour was in more than one scenario at net. He said, "This was definitely my favorite of the EZONE line of racquets when hitting volleys. The mass of this racquet created a very solid feel, and there was plenty of stability when facing hard-hit shots. It was also pretty plush, so when the pace increased, or if I made contact slightly off center, the feel was still comfortable. There was enough feel for the ball to confidently drop a volley short and go for those short angles. I wouldn't say the comfort and feel were on the level of the Yonex VCORE PRO 97D, but they were both undoubtedly good. Depth and put-away power were great for a 98 head size; it offered easy pop when I needed it."

"Volleying with the EZONE 98 Tour was pretty much a turnkey operation for me," added Mark. "It was the one shot of the playtest that did not require any transition. The combination of its high static weight and swingweight provided unflinching stability on any type of volley, and its crisp layup of graphite helped make the results favorable."

Serves - Score: 86

Even though the EZONE 98 Tour is on the heavier side, our team was unanimous in giving the thumbs up on serve. The EZONE 98 Tour added to Troy's textbook mechanics, producing a big lefty slice or kick. He explained, "I was surprised by how much I enjoyed serving with the EZONE 98 Tour. I have used the EZONE 98+ for a while, and I know the power and leverage help me out a lot, as I'm not very tall. Even though this racquet is heavier than my EZONE 98+, once I started serving I felt like I could maneuver and snap my wrist easily. As I mentioned in the video, this EZONE 98 Tour may not be the rocket launcher on serve that the 98+ is, but I still got pretty good power and precision. I actually preferred the EZONE 98 Tour for kick serves; with that easy wrist snap, the ball was jumping off the court and usually made for a difficult return for my opponents. Flat serves came in with a good blend of power and precision, and it felt a little easier to find my targets compared to the 98+."

Michelle served extra baskets of balls to see just how big she could hit. She said, "The EZONE 98 Tour shone on serves almost as much as the extended versions of the EZONE. I felt in command serving big first serves. Truth be told, I didn't want to hit second serves with this racquet because first serves were so fun, but I appreciated the ability to hit effective second serves as well."

Mark added, "Where the specs of the new Yonex EZONE 98 Tour were at the upper limits of what I can handle from the baseline, it was nearly ideal for my serve. The 2022 update for this racquet delivers lots of easy pace on serve, and it never felt demanding either. Compared to the EZONE 98+, I felt like I had to swing a little faster to produce the type of serve I hit with the EZONE 98+."

This racquet's dependable consistency encouraged Chris to stay aggressive. He explained, "I find I serve well with racquets that come through contact with some mass, and that was definitely the case with the EZONE 98 Tour. My first serves felt pretty heavy, which was confirmed by my hitting partners, who were noticing a difference when I switched to this racquet. My slice serve had some nice movement to it, and I was able to hit that serve with lots of pace, pulling my opponents off court on the deuce side. I found plenty of spin on my second serves, which allowed the ball to clear the net and get inside the box with enough margin to be consistent, and I didn't have to take off much pace compared to my first serves."

Returns - Score: 83

Returning with the EZONE 98 Tour presented a few challenges, but the solid nature of this racquet continued to impress our team. The EZONE 98 Tour gave Michelle the best of both worlds. She said, "This is where the racquet really took the lead over the extended models. I wasn't getting jammed or stuck — even when returning big first serves or when my opponent served into my body. I could swing through the ball more effectively and felt more in command of my return. I could turn the power on and off a bit better as well, whereas the extended models felt very 'all or nothing.' The EZONE 98 Tour was stable against big serves, and I liked stepping in and taking big cuts on weaker second serves."

While the mass worked for Chris from the baseline, he had to dial it in to fit his returns. He described, "I would have liked a more head-light balance to give the EZONE 98 Tour a more flickable feel on returns. I sensed there was some mass to the middle of the racquet, which made it harder to get the racquet around the ball. My best results were when I could drive the ball with pace either deep cross court or down the line. Once I hit the racquet with a more head-light balance, thanks to switching to a leather grip, my returns clicked. I was impressed with how my shots penetrated the court, making it tougher for my opponents to attack my shots."

Mark quickly realized this racquet worked best for certain returns. He explained, "I had a similar challenge returning serve with the EZONE 98 Tour as I did with the 98+. Although the EZONE 98 Tour is standard length, it has a hefty average swingweight of 330. That heftiness complements my half volley return of serve, but it challenges me to prepare in time to develop some topspin on my return."

The EZONE 98 Tour's stability worked well for Troy's return game. He said, "The added mass built into this racquet, compared to the standard 305-gram version of the EZONE 98, made for a very solid and stable feel on my returns. Like volleys, this EZONE 98 Tour was impressive even when returning serves with a lot of pace. There was enough mass and plow through that I could block the ball back with easy depth. When I needed to, I could slice my backhand return deep and low as well. I preferred the EZONE 98+ when I was stretched out wide when returning, but I had a bit more control with this EZONE 98 Tour when I wanted to be aggressive. I found I could take control of a point If I had the time to take a big rip at a return."

Overall - Score: 87