About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the tennis racquet, which was sent to me by the Volkl in February of 2023.

My take

The Volkl V-Cell V1 Pro is a maneuverable all-court weapon for intermediate to advanced players who want a racquet with controllable power and an outstanding feel.

About the gear

• Model: Volkl V-Cell V1 Pro
• Grip Size: 4 ⅜ / EU 3
• String and Tension: Volkl Cyclone 17g 55lbs, Volkl V-Square 17g 55lbs
• Head size: 99.5 sq. inches
• Racquet Length: 27”
• Any Customizations: Volkl V-Dry Overgrip

About me

• Height: 5’11”
• Weight: 185lbs
• Previous Racquet Played With: Head Graphene 360+ Gravity MP
• Experience: 29 years of tennis
• NTRP/UTA Rating: 5.0

Test conditions

• When I bought these: February and May 2023
• Days tested: 10
• Court Surfaces: Hard, Hard Indoor
• Match Play/Practice Session/Both: Both
• Where I’ve used it: Kingsford High School, Kingsford, MI, and Marinette County Rec Plex

How it performs

What I was looking for

After two seasons with the Head Gravity MP, I was feeling the bug to switch up my racquet of choice. After testing so many racquets over the last few months, I hadn’t really found any standout options, though the 2022 Head Auxetic Speed Pro was probably the leading candidate at the start of this year. I wanted a racquet that combines the easy access to spin, maneuverability, and outstanding feel of the Gravity MP but also gives me a little more stability and power as I don’t swing it quite as hard as I used to.

Why I chose this gear

Volkl was kind enough to send our Curated Experts a selection of racquets to demo across the whole range of their lineup. I received several beginner to intermediate racquets and five with specs that would align with the racquets that I typically play with. After testing them thoroughly over two different periods, the V-Cell V1 Pro stood out above the others and over my Gravity MP, so much so that I am switching to the V1 Pro for this season. It has a noticeable boost of power over the Gravity MP thanks to its higher static weight but maintains great maneuverability. There is plenty of control thanks to the easy access to spin. I love the comfortable yet responsive feel with a thin 20mm beam in the shoulders of the racquet and a thicker 23mm beam in the head and throat. It really checks all the boxes for me, and I look forward to dialing in my string selection to bring out the performance even more.

What I love about it

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• Feel: The beam of the V-Cell V1 Pro is quite unique and contributes to a comfortable feeling, like a more flexible frame due to the thin 20mm beam in the shoulders, but offers good feedback with thicker 23mm width in the head and throat.
• Power: The V-Cell V1 Pro is one of the more control-oriented frames in Volkl’s lineup, but it offers nice usable power without having to swing out of my shoes.
• Serves: I love serving with the V1 Pro. The low swingweight lets me generate lots of racquet head speed to give my second serves plenty of bite, and the power from the frame adds a couple of mph from the Gravity MP.
• Groundstrokes: The sweet spot of the V1 Pro is a little lower in the hoop than the Gravity MP, which took some getting used to at first, but once I found that sweet spot, hitting groundstrokes was great. I hit a very heavy ball with good spin and control, thanks to nice ball pocketing on the strings. Strung with Volkl V-Square string, I get even more bite on the ball but find the ball to sit up a little more versus the penetrating depth when strung with Volkl Cyclone.
• Control: With great ball pocketing and spin off the ground, I can change directions quite well and go for smaller targets when moving into the net.
• Maneuverability: The 318 RDC swingweight helps get the racquet moving fast on serves, overheads, and on the run and makes for a great all-court weapon
• Volleys: I am really confident moving to the net with the V1 Pro. With outstanding maneuverability, good power on punch volleys, and lots of bite on cut volleys, there isn’t a shot I don’t feel I can hit confidently.
• Stability: Even though the swingweight of the V1 Pro is lower than my Gravity MP, I feel like it handles pace a bit better. That extra 10g of static weight probably has a lot to do with it.
• Other: The V-Cell V1 Pro has the most unique paint job on the market and looks outstanding, especially strung up with one of Volkl’s lava color strings like V-Square.

Issues I’ve encountered

I haven’t encountered any issues using the Volkl V-Cell V1 Pro. It suits my game quite well, and as a result, I am adding it to my bag for the year.

Favorite moment with this gear

I found great bite on my slice backhand with the V1 Pro while playing a match against my brother. He likes to drive his one-handed backhand down the line but prefers to have it up high, so my typical rally forehand and backhand are right in his wheelhouse. With the V1 Pro, I could change up my game, slice the ball deep, and keep it low, which neutralized his best weapon.

Value for the money vs. other options

The Volkl V-Cell V1 Pro is competitively priced with other modern player's racquets on the market and thus provides good value. Other similar racquets that offer controllable power and a good feel would be the Babolat Pure Strike 100, Head Speed MP, and Yonex V-Core Pro 100.

Final verdict

The Volkl V-Cell V1 Pro is a great fit for intermediate to advanced all-court players looking for a modern player’s racquet with a little more control and feel, while retaining some usable power when they need it.