Yonex VCORE Pro 100 (300) Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

At the baseline, the Yonex VCORE Pro 100 (300) offered our playtesters a thrilling combination of maneuverability and spin potential with controllable power. Although Tiffani always enjoys easy access to pace, she tends to prefer racquets that offer a little extra control. She said, "Sometimes I think that I should stick with more powerful racquets, like the Babolat Pure Drive, to give me more put-away power, but time and again I'm drawn to racquets that lean toward the control side, like this VCORE Pro 100 (300). I loved hitting from the baseline with this racquet. I liked the beam shape and thickness, and felt that the lean construction helped it cut through the air very quickly. I enjoyed the crisp, yet comfortable response, and I felt there was good pocketing as well. Although I'm not much of a spin player, I was surprised by how easy it was to throw in topspin when I needed it, and my slice was consistently on point. As I indicated, the VCORE Pro 100 (300) isn't a power machine, so I could hit through the ball without fear of overhitting. This racquet fit my placement-focused game style well."

"It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Yonex racquets, especially those with 100 square-inch heads," said Brittany. "I've playtested all current offerings in the 11-ounce range and haven't found one I didn't like. Among those, the VCORE Pro 100 (300) is the lowest powered, followed by the well-balanced EZONE line, and then the VCORE SV, which offers the most power. I enjoyed the controlled response and excellent precision that the VCORE Pro 100 (300) offered from the baseline. However, I had to work a bit harder to get depth and pace, and I wasn't putting the ball away as easily. Nonetheless, I was impressed with my slice with this racquet. I typically don't hit a lot of slice, but during this playtest I had success with both my offensive and defensive slice, which stayed low and knifed through the court."

Kristen enjoyed hitting groundstrokes with this racquet. She said, "The VCORE Pro 100 (300) felt super solid on contact, had a very crisp, clean response and gave me that feeling of hitting a really heavy ball. I could generate a lot of power with this racquet when I had time to get in position and hit the sweetspot, making it a nice weapon when playing more aggressively. Although the power dropped a bit outside of the sweetspot, I found I was still getting a stable, controlled response on off-center shots and found it to be a good backboard on defensive shots. At times, I was missing the more whippy nature and ball-pocketing of my Prince Phantom Pro, which allows me to hit more extreme angles and play with more variety. I definitely felt my game was more one-dimensional with the VCORE Pro 100 (300). Due to the more unforgiving nature of the frame, I definitely had to stick to bigger targets and put a greater effort into getting around the ball to make sure my defensive shots on the run were getting enough depth. Overall, I found this to be a really solid baseliner frame. It has the stability to be a really good weapon for counterpunchers and has enough plow through to satisfy the aggressive power player."

Jason found that the VCORE Pro 100 (300) was easy to swing and accelerate, though he felt that it didn't quite have enough "oomph" when playing points. He explained, "This racquet was great at generating lots of head speed for spin on my forehand. I really enjoyed it on my backhand slice, too, because I felt like I could knife it easily and keep it low with depth. This racquet was easy to swing when I was doing drills or just rallying down the middle, and I was hitting my targets effortlessly. However, when I was playing points I wanted more free power. I had a harder time putting away shots and staying on the offensive."

Volleys - Score: 81

Our playtesters all noted the VCORE Pro 100 (300)'s responsive feel up at net. Kristen typically prefers a racquet with a more flexible feel, but she was able to find success with her volleys. She said, "This racquet provided effortless depth at net, and it offered a very firm and stable feel on contact. I wasn't feeling quite as dialed in on touch shots as I'm used to having a bit more flex and a more pocketed response, but overall, this was a great stick for blocking back volleys effectively, and it had enough plow through to put away floaters."

"When I was volleying I appreciated this racquet's low swingweight and head-light balance," added Jason. "I was always able to get it into position quickly, even against harder hit shots. The responsive feel was really nice when it came time to hit touch volleys. Where the racquet fell short for me was the lack of torsional stability on off-center shots. I would've liked a little more power when trying to put away sitter volleys."

One of Brittany's favorite things about Yonex racquets is the feel, and the VCORE Pro 100 (300) was no exception. She raved, "I had excellent feel up at net and had confidence hitting a variety of volleys. This racquet was also very maneuverable, so I never felt late or jammed when hitting a volley and could always get it into the correct position. Volleying with this racquet was great for the most part, but I did notice that I experienced some instability when I hit outside the sweetspot."

Tiffani found the racquet to be a workhorse at net. She said, "The VCORE Pro 100 (300) performed well enough for me at net. I was able to get it into position quickly and had good directional control, but nothing jumped out as a 'wow' factor for me while volleying. It felt pretty comfortable and had a stability level on par with other racquets in its weight range."

Serves - Score: 80

Overall, our playtesters found the Yonex VCORE Pro 100 (300) easy to maneuver on serves, and they enjoyed its precision and spin potential. However, they were left wishing for a little more free power. Jason was placing his serves really well with this racquet. He noted, "Whether I was trying to go T or out wide, the VCORE Pro 100 (300) was so easy to swing that I had no problem placing the ball wherever I wanted it. Another positive effect of the whippiness was that I was able to impart a good amount of spin on my serves, which I needed because the power was lacking for me."

At the beginning of the playtest Kristen was hitting really deep serves with this racquet. She observed, "It had that solid feel on contact that allowed me to feel really connected to the ball, and it felt like I was getting good mass behind each one of my serves. However, I was missing the more whippy nature of my current racquet, which allows me to generate a lot of racquet head speed and hit serves with a really relaxed motion. That whippy feel encourages me to mix up my serves, and I really wish the VCORE Pro 100 (300) had more of it. I found that this racquet started to drag a bit on serves over the course of a match, and my accuracy tended to drop because of it."

"I really liked how quickly this racquet swung over my head," said Tiffani. "I didn't feel like I was generating huge power, but I was serving consistently and could direct my serves pretty well. Although I always like a bit of extra power on the serve, I was able to use placement to my advantage with the VCORE Pro 100 (300)."

Brittany is always looking for free power on her serve, and the VCORE Pro 100 (300) didn't quite stack up in that regard. She said, "As I expected, the VCORE Pro 100 (300) doesn't offer as much easy power as I would have liked, although it was very easy to generate racquet head speed. Instead, I focused on my placement and precision on both slice and kick serves to start off the point. I found I was very consistent, and my first serve percentage went up slightly, but I was losing a couple MPHs on both first and second serves."

Returns - Score: 82

While our playtesters appreciated being able to take big swings with the VCORE Pro 100 (300) on serve returns, they had mixed feelings about the racquet's performance. Similar to Tiffani's sentiments at net, Brittany thought this racquet did everything well when it came to returns, but she didn't find anything particularly impressive. She described, "I was able to get my racquet into place, aim at a target and swing. When I was returning first serves I could use the pace of the serve to return the ball back with good power and depth. On second serves I had to work a little harder to generate pace, but I was able to be a bit more precise with the placement of my returns to make up for it."

Tiffani found mostly positives when it came to returning with this racquet. She said, "The VCORE Pro 100 (300) came through the hitting zone quickly, so I could take full swings at returns when I wanted to try to attack serves. The racquet also offered enough stability to let me chip back returns when I was caught off guard by a bigger serve. I enjoyed the feel and I could sense the ball sinking into the strings, which helped me feel in control of my returns. When I caught the ball late I did tend to launch it, so it wasn't always very forgiving in that sense."

"I didn't mind the underpowered response on returns," explained Jason. "I felt like I could get into an aggressive mindset and try to take full swings at the ball. Because the VCORE Pro 100 (300) is so maneuverable I could fully attack first serves. The spin I was able to put on my shots helped keep the ball down and in play. Controlling my shots and placing them at or near my targets felt natural and intuitive with this racquet."

Kristen wrapped up the VCORE Pro 100 (300) playtest looking for a little more precision. She said, "The ability to hit a really aggressive return with a lot of plow through was there, but with my current racquet the ball sits on the strings a bit longer, which gives me more options in placement and more freedom to take bigger cuts at the ball. With the stiffer, crisper response of this racquet I felt that I wasn't being quite as dynamic in my placement, and I was a bit afraid to overhit. Because of this I tended to shorten my stroke, and would focus on hitting a more defensive return."

Overall - Score: 84