Prince Textreme Tour 95 Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 85

Our playtesters loved the precise and responsive feel of the Textreme Tour 95 from the baseline, and all of them were able to get dialed in and comfortable during the playtest. "It was love at first hit for me with this racquet!" Karly exclaimed. "The control-oriented specs matched my game perfectly. The racquet was very low-powered so I didn't have to worry about overshooting my targets. I could basically aim exactly where I wanted the ball to land, and if I wanted to go for a powerful shot the racquet had enough weight and mass behind it to help produce that power. The racquet's excellent maneuverability and plow through made it extremely easy to swing through the ball and hit deep groundstrokes. My PlaySight data also showed that I was averaging more spin on both my forehands and backhands by a couple hundred RPMs. The racquet's fast feel made brushing over the ball for extra topspin or hitting slice shots a cinch. The Tour 95 also felt solid and stable on contact while absorbing shock well. I loved how comfortable the racquet was to hit with, both physically and mentally. I could swing freely without worrying about overhitting, and its stability and dampened feel were easy on my arm."

Chris was also extremely pleased with the Textreme Tour 95. It reminded him of a classic Prince midsize racquet from a few years back. He said, "This was my kind of racquet, and I really enjoyed the response from the baseline. I found a ton of control and feel. I was spot on with my placement shots and drop shots. I also felt very confident staying on the gas and going for a lot of heat even during the tighter moments of a match. I haven't felt this confident with a Prince racquet since the Tour Diablo Mid. However, this one is more forgiving. I remember getting more topspin on my shots with the Tour Diablo, but this racquet really came into its own on my backhand slice. I was hitting a heavy ball off that wing. I think my slice was helped by the fact I was getting enough feel and control to be confident in knifing through the ball. I hit this racquet with a full bed of Prince Tour XC string, which felt great when strung at the bottom of the tension range."

Troy was loving the control and freedom to swing big, although the Textreme Tour 95 is a little lighter than what he's been using recently. He said, "My first impression was that the Textreme Tour 95 had a fast and maneuverable feel. This Tour 95 felt more maneuverable than the Wilson RF97 Autograph that I've been using lately, but at the same time it didn't quite pack the punch when it came to put-away power. I found the feel of this racquet to be firmer than what the stiffness rating would indicate (near 60 RA). My favorite aspect, though, was the pinpoint control. I felt this racquet allowed me to take big cuts at the ball, and I felt completely dialed in. The 16x19 string pattern allowed for good access to both topspin and slice, which allowed me to mix up my shots as well as create sharp angles when hitting cross court. I was most impressed with the control I found from the baseline. However, I was left craving a bit more of the plow through and put-away power that I have become accustomed to from the Wilson Six.One 95 and RF97 Autograph."

After a brief adjustment period Mark was loving the Textreme Tour 95 from the baseline. He praised, "First I liked the way the racquet looked, and then I realized it plays as good as it looks. I was little concerned with the racquet being too heavy for me (since it's close to 12 ounces), and I did feel like I had to stand a little further behind the baseline to have time to swing it, but now it has become my favorite racquet for trading groundstrokes. The stability was there, and as I got used to the racquet it stopped fatiguing me during long rallies."

Volleys - Score: 86

The feedback continued to be positive when our team approached the net with the Textreme Tour 95. Everyone loved the precision and how connected they felt to the ball. It had everything Mark could ask for. He raved, "You cannot gripe much about lack of stability with a 12 ounce racquet, and the volley is all about the racquet being light enough to arrive on time while still being stable enough to fend off a passing shot with bad intentions. This racquet has all that I could ask for when it comes to its blend of stability and maneuverability at net."

Troy also had some success at net during the playtest, enjoying the blend of features this racquet had to offer. He shared, "Maneuverability was once again a standout attribute of this racquet when I went to the net. I found the Tour 95 very easy to manipulate considering it's close to 12 ounces in weight. I had great command over the ball, which allowed me to place volleys close to the lines with confidence. Although this racquet felt light and fast for me, I found decent stability against hard shots drilled at me. This racquet performed well for me when I was serving and volleying during doubles play as well."

Chris also found the Textreme Tour 95 to be easy to wield and sufficiently stable for his net game. He said, "This was a great racquet to volley with. It had a soft and slightly dampened feel to it. I thought the response was very comfortable, yet not so dampened that I felt removed from what was going on. For me it was very classic in its feel, and I felt totally dialed in. The weight and balance were very much to my liking. While I enjoyed the maneuverable head light response, I also found ample stability when I was volleying back heavy shots."

Echoing the others' sentiments was Karly, although she did find slightly less power outside of the sweetspot than she would've liked. She said, "This racquet offered me perfect touch! It was extremely stable and solid while still offering a dampened feel. It didn't flutter in my hand against a hard hitter, and I could take the pace of the ball easily if I wanted to hit a short touch shot. The excellent control and maneuverability was also apparent at net. I could get the racquet into position and hit sharp angles effortlessly. My only slight knock with volleys was when I hit outside the sweetspot. The low-powered response made my shots feel especially dead, and they lacked any kind of power when the ball made contact close to the frame."

Serves - Score: 84

Precision ultimately stood out as a strength of the Textreme Tour 95 when our playtesters were serving, and they all felt like they were able to hit their targets consistently during play. However, they also wished for a bit more power when going for a big first serve. Chris illustrated this point, saying, "I served decently with this racquet. I didn't get quite the zip on the ball I get with my Wilson Six.One 95S, but I was very accurate. Likewise, I felt my spin was down a bit, but I was still able to get my serves to drop where I wanted without having to ease up. I was able to get a little more pace on the ball by keeping the string tension low, but I still felt slightly off my best. Again, I thought the comfort of the racquet was exceptional, and I really enjoyed its feel."

Mark struggled at times with the weight of the racquet when serving. He shared, "This is the one area where I felt the Textreme Tour 95 was just a little heavy feeling over my head. To my dismay, PlaySight accurately depicted that my serve was not on par with the rest of my game, and I have yet to consistently post anything over 100 MPHs with this racquet."

Troy had a little more success when he utilized the variety in his service game, although he never found the power he needed to hit a more offensive first serve. He said, "I was finding I could generate racquet head speed with ease when serving with this racquet. With how easy it was to swing I found my spin serves were getting a lot of action on them. My favorite serve with this racquet was my (lefty) kick serve to the deuce court. I also found great command when going for specific targets within the service box. The only downside was a lack of pop on flat first serves down the middle. Overall, though, I was serving with lots of spin and getting good consistency."

Karly was, once again, finding a perfect blend of power, control, spin, maneuverability and feel that helped her serve effectively throughout the test. She raved, "I felt like I was in total control with my serves. I could count on my serves landing on target, or close to it, whichever direction I wanted to place the ball. This racquet also allowed me to have great precision and pace because of its plow through. Not only was my shot placement more accurate, but I could also hit heavy serves by speeding up my swing and using the weight to drive through the ball. My second serves were landing with a ton of kick on the ball due to the exceptional spin potential from the Textreme Tour 95. I was hitting smarter and more aggressively on both my first and second serves with this racquet."

Returns - Score: 84

The precise and maneuverable feel of the Textreme Tour 95 translated extremely well for returning serve. All of our testers felt really comfortable when having to defend against an opposing serve. "This was simply a great racquet to return with," Chris said. "I felt fast enough with it to be able to react quickly, which opened up options. I also liked the solid, stable and comfortable feel at impact. This racquet's classic head light balance just felt right in my hand, and I really enjoyed the way the racquet moved with my swing. I felt like I could place the ball very accurately, use the pace of the incoming ball and hit consistent but aggressive returns."

Karly was often surprised at how easy the Textreme Tour 95 felt to swing on her returns. She said, "Since this frame is so low-powered I wasn't worried about overhitting my returns. I could control exactly where I wanted to send the ball back, so I was getting on the offensive quickly by making smart returns. On paper the Tour 95 might have somewhat of a hefty swingweight, but it didn't feel like it because this racquet whipped around easily. When I was returning against a tough server I could use the exceptional spin potential to my advantage to hit an aggressive chip shot back. I loved being in complete control of the type of shot I was hitting with the Tour 95."

Mark was also very comfortable returning serve, and he offered, "I had all the returns in my arsenal working with this racquet. When I took a step back I felt good taking a big swing at the ball. When I stepped in I felt confident going for a chip return deep in the court."

Troy wanted a bit more heft at times for blocking back defensive returns. He said, "I was able to get my racquet on a lot of serves since I could swing it with ease. Anytime I got a good look at a return I felt like I could take a big rip and be aggressive. When I was forced to slice or chip my returns against big first serves I found this racquet was lacking some plow through, and often times my returns were landing shorter than I would prefer. I enjoyed the control when returning during doubles play; I could consistently get the returns cross-court or up the alley. I found good consistency on my returns, although I typically favor a more solid feel."

Overall - Score: 85