Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 93

The Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98 surprised our playtesters with two major factors: its controlled power and its spin generation. The Tour 98 offered the ability to produce deep, high-kicking topspin shots that penetrated the court and placed our playtesters in offensive positions. For Sage, the racquet "produced a smile within five minutes of hitting." He continued, "The Textreme Tour 98's launch angle was the aspect that stood out, and it worked very well with my strokes. The second factor that went hand-in-hand with the launch angle was the spin generation. Even when the ball looked like it was going to sail long, it dipped well into the court with plenty of margin. The results were exactly what I look for from the baseline. It allowed me to play confident, aggressive tennis. The transition from offense to defense was effortless, and it encouraged me to narrow my targets, which highlights how much I trusted the racquet to place the ball where I wanted. It packed comfort, control and plenty of power within a set of specs that aligns with a wide variety of players and skill levels."

If you have seen some of our videos lately, you may have noticed Michelle with the Tour 98 in her hands. While the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 is her current racquet of choice, she has really been grooving with the Tour 98. She said, "I loved this racquet! I had zero expectations going into this playtest. In the past, the Tours have played well but never really stood out for me. This racquet swung explosively fast but still provided plenty of plow through. I felt like I could hit any shot with it; it was super stable but also allowed me to construct points in a very thought-out way. I found easy depth consistently, whether I was hitting a rally ball, short-hopping a tough shot, or stepping up to change direction and dictate. There is always a little nostalgia for me when hitting with Prince racquets because I was a Prince-sponsored player in the juniors, and something about that just always makes me feel like I am 16 again — striking balls confidently and constructing points in smart ways. I could easily add spin if I wanted, and I even felt good changing up the height of the ball and trying to mix things up. I found myself moving forward more, which meant I was being effective with my groundies and earning my short ball. My favorite shot with racquets is often an inside-out or down-the-line forehand, but because this racquet is more maneuverable than many I gravitate toward, I loved ripping balls cross court. The ATS Textreme Tour 98 was so fun to drill with; I never wanted to let go of it. While it is a bit lighter than my normal spec and the swingweight is lower, I never felt like I was missing anything when it came to plow through or stability. I am seriously considering making the switch to this racquet."

Andrew has been testing many 98- and 100- square inch racquets over the past year trying to find the perfect frame for his game. He was intrigued by the combination of power and control the Tour 98 had to offer. He explained, "I was incredibly surprised when I first took to the courts, as the Tour 98 had more power than I was expecting from its listed specs. I got the power dialed in after a few hits, and I found that I could focus more on generating spin rather than having to generate depth. Spin potential is great with the 98; it has a spin-friendly, open string pattern, and the added stability of ATS at 10 and 2 gave the ball excellent rotations. Keeping my backswing concise and flicking my wrist produced effective shots that allowed me to get my opponent heavily moving side to side. Another great aspect from the baseline is the Tour 98's feel. The flex is low at 62 RA, but that is more registered in the throat, as the beam thickens up at 3 and 9 and at the racquet tip. Because of this, I noticed my arm was comfortable and did not experience fatigue, but the response still let me feel where I made contact on the stringbed. The power I discussed earlier caused issues on my drop shots, so I had to improve my finesse game to be successful, otherwise I would push the ball too deep. Overall, this is one of my favorite 98 racquets from the baseline!"

Coming into the playtest with minimal experience with Prince racquets, Zsofi had difficulty finding any downsides from the baseline. She said, "Honestly, there are not many negatives I could mention about this racquet. I do want to say that coming into this playtest I have not really been focusing on Prince racquets much. Having said that, one of my first ever racquets was the Prince Hornet back in the day, so there was a nostalgia element that got me excited for this playtest, and I was not let down! The Prince Tour 98 feels super steady on the baseline; I had easy depth and great control over the positioning of my shots. I felt like I could open up the court easily from the baseline and create some nice angles. One thing I did have to get used to was the launch angle off the stringbed; it is just a bit more 'wild' than I am used to. However, I was quickly able to turn this into an advantage and use that launch angle to really generate that extra pop, especially for my backhands."

Volleys - Score: 89

The Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98 holds its own at net. With ATS assisting in stability, our playtesters found great response against heavy hitters. The 98 size feels more forgiving, like a 100, but with the added benefit of precision for angled or short volleys. Michelle began by describing these aspects, along with how well the Tour 98 handled swinging volleys. She said, "Throughout the playtest, I was sort of expecting to have an off day and find a spot on the court that was not working as well. Turns out, that didn't happen, and I loved volleying with this racquet. It was easy to maneuver and easier to keep my volleys deep. I could get the ball right inside the baseline consistently, forcing the player on the other side to pop the ball up, or if I wanted to add touch, I could drop balls at the net. Swinging volleys were also super effective. Everything lined up, and as I mentioned, I found myself moving forward often to end points, so it was clear I felt comfortable volleying with this racquet. Crazily enough, I started serving and volleying too. In college, my first volley was often where I got yelled at by my coaches, so I always dread missing that shot. With this racquet, it was easy to pick up the first volley and keep it deep, allowing me to sneak all the way into the net."

Zsofi added, "I felt very steady with the ATS Textreme Tour 98 on my volleys. I was able to generate easy depth, and I didn't get pushed around easily either. It was very fun on some touch volleys as well."

For Sage, the Tour 98 shone at net, allowing him to be more aggressive in singles and doubles by hunting down and striking volleys. He said, "Volleying is where the Tour 98 separated itself in a big way compared to the Tour 95. Although it is a lighter frame, it gave me a dependable feel and solid response. The sweetspot felt huge and opened the court by giving me multiple options. The maneuverability and stability worked in harmony. Whether it was dropping the ball at a shallow angle or really sticking my shot with pace, I could continue to dictate the point when I moved forward. During doubles play, I found myself looking to poach more than usual, and in singles I was confident in doing enough with the first volley to set up the second one. Even though it was lighter than the racquets I usually use, the Tour 98 held its own during fire fights and big hitting."

With more of a baseline preference, Andrew was able to utilize the benefits the Tour 98 provides at net. He noted how the Tour 98 enabled him to keep opponents back when attacking volleys thanks to the easy depth generation. He said, "As I mentioned in the groundstrokes, the Tour 98 offers great pop. This worked well on penetrating volleys. The sweetspot was forgiving for mishits, and I noticed the ATS adding stability when I needed it. Again, touch volleys took an adjustment, and I tended to overhit when attempting drop or short angled volleys, resulting in too wide of an angle or too much float or depth. Overheads were a breeze, and the ATS Textreme Tour 98 was maneuverable enough to not feel sluggish when having to move back and scissor kick smashes."

Serves - Score: 91

The perfect serving racquet does not necessarily feel like a racquet, but rather an extension of your arm, resulting in successful serves that allow you to focus on placement and spin instead of technique. Our playtesters found that quality with the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98, and many felt that their serving improved overall with this racquet in their hands. Michelle found her rhythm right away without adjustments. She said, "The word 'slingshot' kept coming to mind with this racquet. I have a very methodical cadence to my serve that will sometimes get disrupted if I think too much or try too hard. With this racquet in hand, the rhythm of my serve was nearly perfect. I hit first serves so consistently, even I was impressed. I was rarely double faulting and felt like my serve became simple again. I could hit flat first serves over and over. I could kick or I could slice the serve away from my opponent. It was ideal, and I felt really good playing points with this racquet in my hands."

"The Tour 98 was maneuverable and powerful, which enabled me to take advantage of my flat serves," Andrew continued. "I had to be careful, and the depth had to be my point of focus, otherwise I would drive serves deep, but when I hit it right — man, this racquet has some fun power potential. Once I got in a rhythm with the Tour 98, I found it easy to hold serve during match play. In conjunction with the power, the maneuverability and open pattern enabled me to add spin and placement for when I chose not to use the flat serve. This was especially effective on my second serve, which is a shot I can sometimes struggle with depth control. Against other 98 frames, the Tour 98 added more forgiveness on the outer areas of the sweetspot, again benefiting my not-so-perfect technique and timing during stress and tense match play."

Sage effortlessly held serve time and time again by being able to utilize his full armory of serves. He described, "Dialing up a big serve was commonplace and oh-so-smooth. But even more than that was how much I could rely on an aggressive second serve. From placement to comfort and even power, the Tour 98 continued to impress. Just like my groundstrokes, the serve clicked early on and got better throughout the hitting sessions. As is often the case, I leaned on my slice serve to give me the opportunity to play a forehand off my opponent's return. My change of pace was often a flat serve down the T or to the body. The predictability and control from the stringbed often made holding serve easy."

As Zsofi noted previously, the Tour 98's easy depth gave an extra boost to her serving game. She said, "Thanks to the launch angle of the racquet, I had an easier time not missing second serves, and I felt like I could play it more safely as well. At the same time, I was able to generate some nice speed for my first serves and place them nicely."

Returns - Score: 88

With the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98 performing incredibly well thus far, our playtesters were eager to see if the racquet's serve returns would also pass the test. While opinions were slightly more mixed in this category, our testers were still pleased with the Tour 98's returns overall. Zsofi explained, "The ATS Textreme Tour 98 felt stable on my returns. I felt like it was very easy to bring it around, and I could attack any ball with a steady hand, knowing that my shots would go deep in the court. It had easy power and great control for some chipped slice returns as well."

Sage and Andrew struggled at times to be aggressive on returns without hitting the ball long. Sage said, "This was the only area that took a little bit of time to settle into. The comfort and generous sweetspot made it tempting to really go after a return, and as a result, I found myself rocketing them long. As soon as I reeled things in and started picking my spots, everything came together. I could manipulate depth and net clearance with enough consistency to rely on a high percentage of them landing on target. If I got a good look at a weak second serve, it was a green light to take a rip at it. The comfort remained even during off-center contact, and maneuverability translated nicely as well."

Andrew continued, "With the Tour 98, counter-punches and slice returns were easy to place deep, which I loved. If I were to make any complaints, they would have to be about my flat return, which is one of my go-to shots, especially when I am pinned back. Don't get me wrong, the racquet is awesome, but when I needed to rely on some assistance from the racquet for depth control, the ball would tend to soar long. Higher ranked players will find the flat returns to be incredibly effective, but I had to make sure to either make contact early (the ball dwells on the 62 RA frame) or shorten the reach-back and be concise. In terms of other returns, I found it simple to whip up some spin on the Tour 98 to keep the ball out of center-court. It is not a shot I am always comfortable with, and it can aggravate my wrist if I start framing fast serves, but with this Tour 98, it was comfortable and fast enough for me to utilize every now and then."

Rounding out the review, Michelle absolutely loved the Tour 98 for serve returns and found the specifications to mesh immediately with her game. She said, "If you have made it this far in the written review, you can probably imagine what I am going to say when it comes to returning with the Tour 98 — it was awesome! I love ripping returns, but I also need a racquet that will help tame some of my power. The ATS Textreme Tour 98 allowed me to feel completely in command of the ball. It was stable, quick and precise. And I felt like it moved quick enough that I could access good angles deep and short, depending on what I wanted to do. I loved teeing off with my return as well. It got to the point where I was convinced I could not miss with this racquet. I know it sounds cliche, but it just felt right in my hands and lined up with my game!"

Overall - Score: 91