When you first see this racquet, the color is the first thing you notice. The yellow color of this racquet is one of those things that you either like or not. It is definitely an attention-getter. Needless to say, I was anxious to review this racquet as all of the Volkl racquets I have reviewed in the past were winners.

 

 

Groundstrokes

I definitely felt like I got good leverage and length on the both my forehand and backhand. This racquet is also a bit heavier than some but it wasn’t too heavy. This was right in my sweet spot, weight-wise. I had adequate control and a surprising amount of spin. The open string pattern has something to do with this, I’m sure. I could feel the flex of the racquet and it was a very comfortable feeling. I had no problem hitting my groundstrokes consistently deep with ample spin. This is a very competent racquet on groundstrokes but I wouldn’t call it a groundstoker’s racquet.

Serves

I was looking forward to this part of the game since it does have a 98 inch head. It did not disappoint me, either. Very solid on serves as I felt in control with the direction of the ball and that I could place it where I aimed. Kick serves were nice, but not amazing and if I wanted to rock the flat serve, it was there to help me. Serves are a very solid part of this racquet.

 

Volleys/Overheads

Just like the serves, I was looking forward to volleying with this stick. The 98 inch size begs to be at the net and it felt very comfortable doing so. The racquet is rock solid on both sides along with good touch. I felt that if I wanted to hit a certain shot, this racquet delivered. The mid plus head helped my confidence on overheads as I never missed. Loved that!

 

Returns

Outstanding! This is a very nice racquet for returning serves. I felt like I could take even the best serves of my opponent and spank them back from whence they came! I tried slicing, blocking, and taking full cuts and all were well rewarded.

 

Overall

If you are a serve-and-volley player, this is racquet is right up your alley. The groundstrokes were the weakest part of this racquet, but only slightly, and if you serve-and-volley, no worries. You’ll be well rewarded due to the larger head and more flexible frame. Personally, I would explore higher tensions to gain a bit more control on groundstrokes but this tension was very close. Like all Volkl racquets, the grip takes a bit to get used to but it doesn’t take too long. I would suggest that this would fit a 4.0 and above serve-and-volley and all-court players very nicely.