Equipment Reviews

PolyTour Pro is one of the strings I get asked about most in the shop, usually because someone has seen it in a pro's frame and wants to know whether it suits them. So I put a set through my own racket properly rather than repeating what's on the packet.

I strung the 1.25 mm in a control frame at a mid-range tension, no dampener trickery, and hit on a hot outdoor court — the conditions most of my players actually compete in here. Worth saying up front: gauge changes the verdict on this string more than usual, and I'll come back to that at the end.

First impressions didn't match the marketing. Yonex lead with comfort; what I felt was a firm, direct stringbed with very little ball pocketing. Not harsh — I had no arm soreness at all after a long session — but 'soft' isn't the word I'd use. It reads more as crisp and honest than plush.

What it does give you is power, and the good kind: the ball leaves faster and lands heavier. In neutral and attacking rallies it makes stepping in feel easy, and flat drives down the line come off with real weight behind them. The trade is that it demands clean contact. Find the middle and you're rewarded; miss it and you feel the drop in pace immediately. That's a fair deal for a decent ball-striker, and a rough one for someone still finding the sweet spot.

Spin is the honest weakness. Snapback is fine and there's enough shape available in a neutral exchange, but when I got pushed behind the baseline and needed a big looping forehand to buy time, it wasn't there. A few of those balls floated and landed mid-court — exactly the ball you don't want to give a good opponent. Slices came through low and biting rather than heavy, which I actually liked on the backhand and drop shot.

Serving with it is a case of technique in, technique out. A well-timed ball fires; a lazy one drifts in gently and invites the return you were dreading. If you have a fluid motion, you'll love the free pace and the serve-plus-one it sets up. Around the net the firm bed transfers energy beautifully on punch volleys and reflex blocks, but delicate touch shots take softer hands than usual — this isn't a feel string.

The one genuine gripe is tension maintenance. It dropped off faster than I'd expect from a poly of this type: noticeable after the first hour and clearly gone by the end of the week's play. That doesn't make it a bad string, it just means you have to plan for it — treat the interval as shorter than your usual poly rather than waiting for something to break.

Who it suits: aggressive intermediate to advanced players who hit flat, take the ball early and want to finish points. Who should look elsewhere: heavy-spin baseliners who live behind the baseline, players who need the string to help them defend, and anyone chasing comfort and feel above all else.

Stringing note, since that's my side of the counter: if you want more bite, drop to the 1.20 mm — the thinner gauge grips noticeably better and it's the version most of the pros using it are on. If you like the power but want it to last, put PolyTour Pro in the crosses and something with more grip or more give in the mains. Bring your frame in and we'll build the setup around your swing rather than a number on the packet.

This one landed on the stringer after a recommendation to give it a run. I was curious for two reasons: it looks like genuinely good value, and that bright blue finish is hard to ignore.

Evolution is only offered in a 17 gauge, and I normally get on better with the feel and playability of a 16. Gauge aside, I was keen to see what the colour and the claims could deliver.

I strung it at 22.5 kg to squeeze a bit more pop out of my groundstrokes. Installation was painless — no kinks at all — although the coating feels slightly slick, so weaving the crosses takes a touch more care than usual. On a HEAD Speed MP the pale blue looked superb.

Kirschbaum describe it as a softer poly with strong ball pocketing and good access to spin, so my first job on court was to swing hard and find out how much bite was on offer.

Honestly, it sits squarely in the middle of the pack for me. Nothing to fall in love with, nothing to dislike much either. The spin never really showed up, though the extra pop on groundstrokes went some way to making up for it. After the build-up, it under-delivered when I asked for high performance.

What it does do is reward flat hitting. The ball sits in the stringbed long enough to steer drives precisely, which is a pleasure. I play with heavy spin though, and hitting flat all afternoon meant a stack of errors — frustrating.

The highlight was touch. Firm volleys felt excellent, and dropping a volley just over the net with backspin was easy and quietly entertaining while my hitting partner scrambled. As a softer poly it also lived up to its comfort billing: after a few hours I had ordinary muscle fatigue and nothing more. Genuinely arm-friendly.

Kirschbaum pre-stretch the string at the factory and claim extra durability. I'm not convinced. Around the four-hour mark the strings started shifting noticeably, even on gentler strokes, and by the end of that session the stringbed had gone flat and lost the pop it had an hour earlier.

Would I recommend it? Yes — if you hit flat, like coming forward, or need something kind on the arm, it's a strong pick. Aggressive baseliners should be more cautious: use it in a hybrid with something grippier in the crosses.

There's a certain weight that comes with strapping on a frame endorsed by the most successful player ever. The Speed MP Legend 2025 wears that mantle literally — an exclusive all-black cosmetic with gold details and Novak's official logo. It looks every bit the collector's piece, but the question on court is whether the performance matches the prestige.

The spec sheet reads like a classic modern player's frame: 300g unstrung, 100 square-inch head, 16x19 string pattern, even balance at 320 mm, and a 23 mm beam. Nothing extreme, nothing gimmicky — this is the template that has defined the all-court game for a generation. HEAD hasn't reinvented it; they've refined it.

The standout construction detail is micro-forged carbon at the top and bottom of the hoop, paired with HEAD's Hybor technology — a layup they introduced to add perceived stability, power, control and spin. In practice that translates to a frame that feels solid at contact even when you don't quite find the middle. Mishits don't jar; they just lose a little depth. That forgiveness matters more than most players admit.

Swinging it, the Legend sits in that plush-but-controlled territory the Speed line is known for. The 16x19 pattern gives you access to spin when you commit to it, but this is not a launch-and-pray stick — the thin beam keeps the power honest. You have to generate racket-head speed to unlock depth and penetration, which is exactly how a frame of this calibre should behave. Players with short, jabbing swings will find it underpowered; players who swing through the ball get rewarded with a clean, predictable response.

Feel is where this frame earns its keep. The micro-forged carbon gives a slightly crisper response than the standard Speed MP, while the Hybor layup keeps it comfortable across a long session. Volleys are a pleasure — the even balance lets it move, and the hoop stays stable enough on reflex blocks. On returns, it picks up the ball cleanly and lets you swing freely at a second serve without the frame fighting you.

The serve is the part that closes the case. With the balance and mass distributed the way it is, the Legend comes through the contact zone with authority. First serves jump; second serves bite. For a frame that trades as a control stick, it gives back more on serve than you'd expect.

Who's it for? Intermediate-to-advanced players who already swing with reasonable speed and want a frame that rewards clean technique without punishing the odd off-centre hit. Beginners will find it too demanding; pure bangers might want something livelier. For everyone in between — and for anyone who wants to channel a bit of the GOAT — the Speed MP Legend 2025 is a genuinely good frame wrapped in a genuinely beautiful cosmetic.

I put the new Ruby Red VCORE line through a proper block of hitting, with a previous-generation VCORE in the bag alongside it so the comparison wasn't coming from memory. Two things became obvious fast: Yonex have genuinely improved stability and comfort, and this is still a frame with conditions attached.

In the Yonex family, EZONE is the comfortable, forgiving option and PERCEPT is the control stick. VCORE is the spin frame. It doesn't manufacture spin for you — it rewards you for producing it. Swing quickly, brush up the back of the ball, and everything clicks into place. Take your foot off the gas and it stops helping.

First impressions are excellent, largely because the sweet spot is big. Off-centre contact still gets a playable ball, and the frame feels easy to wield from the very first rally. That generosity has a cost though: when I flattened out and slowed down, control got vague — the ball started leaving the stringbed with less predictability than I'd want in a tight game.

The reason is snapback. The main strings need to slide and return in the grommets to generate bite, and on this generation that mechanism wants racket-head speed. Fast, spin-heavy swings activate it beautifully. Slower, straighter strokes barely engage it at all. That's the whole character of the racket in one sentence, and it's why I call this 'natural spin' — the frame enables it, but you supply it.

The narrower beam is a real gain. It cuts through the air more easily, which makes a fast swing cheaper to produce — and that matters most on the awkward balls: scrambling wide, digging out something low, or hitting on the run when you have to rely on spin to bring the ball back into court. Opening up angles was the standout benefit for me; the extra shape let me hit wider targets with margin.

Stability is where I felt the clearest step forward over the outgoing model. Under pressure — blocking back a heavy return, absorbing pace on a stretch — the head twists less and the response stays honest. Comfort has moved in the same direction: there's more dampening in the hand than before. Purists may find the previous generation gave a cleaner, more direct read of contact, but for anyone playing volume this version is easier on the arm.

Across the range: the 98 is the surer, more accurate option — more stability, less catapult, my pick for players who want to know exactly where the ball is going. The 100 flies more freely and gives more energy, but it demands that you actively supply the spin or the extra ease starts costing you control. The 100L, at 280g, is the surprise — genuinely lively for the weight, and a sensible choice for lighter juniors, women's players and anyone managing a shoulder or elbow who still wants a spin-friendly frame.

Who should look at it: intermediate to advanced players with a modern, spin-based game, and juniors coming through who already swing fast and hit up on the ball. Who should look elsewhere: flat hitters, players with compact or defensive swings, and anyone who wants the racket to do the work — the EZONE or PERCEPT lines will serve them better.

Stringing note, since that's my day job: don't over-tension it. A round poly in the mid-range gives the mains room to slide and return, which is exactly what this frame needs. If you want the spin without the stiffness, run a soft poly in the mains with a multifilament cross — you'll keep the bite and take the edge off the impact. Come and see me and we'll set it up around your swing rather than a number on the box.

The Vapor line has always carried a reputation, and the Pro 3 arrived with real expectation behind it. Nike didn't just refresh the colourway — they reworked the upper, retuned the cushioning, and added a new rubber compound. That earned it a proper session on court.

First fit: no break-in drama. Where some speed shoes fight you for the first hour, the Vapor Pro 3 was comfortable straight out of the box. The midfoot band and redesigned tongue wrap the foot cleanly, and the metatarsal area felt pillow-soft thanks to the new Zoom unit sitting under the forefoot.

The 'Vapor' name implies a featherweight race flat. This isn't that. The Pro 3 is on the comfortable side of speed — light enough for elite play, but the priority is ride quality and lockdown, not shaving grams. For most club players that's the right trade, and the redesigned lacing lets a wide range of foot shapes find a secure sweet spot.

Forefoot cushioning is where this shoe earns its money. Tennis players live on the balls of their feet, ready to react, so placing the Zoom Air unit up front — rather than only in the heel — is the smart call. There's ample cushion at the heel too, but the forefoot placement is what kept my feet fresh after long baseline sessions. The tighter you lace it, the more confident the lockdown becomes.

Durability is the area the previous model got knocked on, and Nike answered with HART rubber. It wraps the eye stays and the medial toebox — the two spots that go first on a hard-court shoe — so the upper holds up noticeably better in high-wear areas while staying flexible enough for quick movers. A real improvement, not a marketing claim.

Value: a lot of shoe for a fair price. You get performance cushioning, a protective upper, and a fit that works for different foot types, available in men's and women's with PRM drops around the Slams. If you want one shoe that does comfort and speed without forcing a compromise, the Vapor Pro 3 is the easy recommendation.