Expert Review: Yonex VCore 100 Racquet · Unstrung
This review is my honest opinion of the racquet, which I tested for 5 days in September of 2022.
All photos by Brandon M.
About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the racquet, which I tested for 5 days in September of 2022.
My take
The Yonex VCORE 100 is an extremely spin-friendly racquet with easy power and a comfortable feel that shines for intermediate to advanced players with various playing styles.
About the gear I tested
- Model: Yonex VCORE 100
- Grip Size: 4 ⅜ / EU 3
- String and Tension: Yonex Rexis Speed 55lbs
- Head size: 100
- Racquet Length: 27
- Any Customizations: Wilson Pro Overgrip
About me
- Height: 5’11”
- Weight: 185 lbs
- Previous Racquet Played With: Head Graphene 360+ Gravity MP
- Experience: 28 years of playing tennis
- NTRP/UTA Rating: 5.0
Test conditions
- When I bought these: September 2022
- Days tested: 5 days
- Court Surfaces: Hard
- Match Play/Practice Session/Both: Both
- Where I’ve used it: Public hardcourts around Kingsford, MI
How it performs
What I was looking for
I am currently playing with a Head Graphene 360+ Gravity MP, which I have had for just over a year now. It suits my game well with a great mix of controllable power and a crisp but comfortable feel. If I had to nitpick, I would like a bit more stability on serve returns. As a result, I have been testing my way through just about every racquet with similar specs this summer to see if something fits my game better.
Why I chose this gear
After testing this racquet for a week, alongside the 2022 Yonex EZONE 100, 2021 Yonex VCORE Pro 100, Yonex VCORE Pro 97D, Wilson Ultra 100 V3, and Wilson Pro Staff RF97 V13, I didn’t find any that would displace my Gravity MP as my racquet of choice for now. The VCORE 100 was a bit too stiff and inconsistent for my game.
What I love about it
- Power: The VCORE 100 has loads of pop both off the ground and on serves. The ball jumped off the strings and penetrated through the court really well. The easy spin generation helped create a very heavy ball that was difficult for my weaker opponents to handle.
- Ground Strokes: The VCORE 100, like the VCORE 98 I tested earlier in the summer, is a guilty pleasure type racquet from the baseline. The aerodynamic features on the frame seem to help generate more racquet head speed than with other racquets I tested this week. It pairs nicely with the inherent power of the 66 RA frame stiffness and spin-friendly string bed to make trading groundstrokes an absolute blast.
- Serves: I thoroughly enjoyed serving with the VCORE 100. All of the features that make hitting off the ground great translate well into serving also. I found added pace on my first serves, though I was a bit more inconsistent than usual and could hit heavy kick and sharp-slicing second serves.
Issues I’ve encountered
- Feel: Just like with the VCORE 98, the VCORE 100 is a bit muted for my liking. The vibration-dampening technology is very effective because I typically find racquets with 66RA stiffness or higher to be jarring, but it creates a disconnected feel on impact at times. This can make being aggressive on approach shots and going for winners difficult.
- Control: Compared to the Yonex EZONE 100 I tested this week, I found the VCORE 100 to be harder to control. I sprayed my approach shots unless I consciously added more spin and also found my first serves missed their targets more than usual.
- Stability: With a swingweight of 324RDC and a strung weight of 11.3oz, on paper, the VCORE 100 should have been more stable than my Gravity MP. On the court, however, I found it to have the same issues against the big first serves and hard reaction volleys that the Gravity MP struggles with.
Favorite moment with this gear
My backhand had been inconsistent all week with the racquets that I had tested, but picking up the VCORE 100 seemed to cure all of my woes. My wife and I had numerous 10+ ball backhand to backhand rallies the first day out with this racquet, and she said she couldn’t remember a time that we’d ever done that before.
Value for the money vs. other options
The VCORE 100 is competitively priced with the Head Extreme MP 2022 and Babolat Pure Aero, while the Dunlop SX300 comes in about $30 less.
Final verdict
The Yonex VCORE 100 is a power baseliner’s dream, while still having enough maneuverability when moving forward to the net. Though it might be a bit overpowered for the most advanced players, it still would work well for aggressive intermediate to advanced players who want to make power and spin the center of their game.
