Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.2

The O3 Phantom 100X offered up phenomenal levels of touch, control and feel during groundstroke exchanges. Despite finding this racquet a little underpowered, our playtesters took full advantage of the exceptional finesse. Precision was the name of the game for Mark, and he had more than enough touch and control to move his opponents around the court. He explained, "I felt the O3 Phantom 100X 2025 delivered more power than the prior version from the baseline, but it is still very much a control-oriented racquet with substantial power. My shot consistency and tolerance were great off either wing. The 16x18 pattern gripped the ball nicely for topspin and good net clearance, and it still allowed me to keep my slice shots low and linear. The power level was decent, and the comfort level was ultra-high, which made long rallies great for me and draining for my opponents."

Chris' groundstroke experience was characterized by the racquet's versatility and speed, and he was able to play points in whatever fashion he wanted. He said, "The racquet felt very fast through my swing considering its weight and balance. Adding racquet head speed for extra spin or pace was super easy. I found I could ramp up either pace or spin during a rally to catch my opponent off guard and force an error or a weak reply. The response was super plush and comfortable thanks to the O-Ports and the deep ball pocketing they provided. All of my shots were working very well with this racquet, and my only adjustment was getting used to that super soft O3 feel again."

The only drawback for Troy was the lack of free power at times, but everything else about this O3 Phantom 100X proved to be stellar. He described, "Coming into this review I had playtested many Prince Phantoms as well as quite a few O3 technology racquets over the years. I expected the feel to be soft and plush, and that is what I found — very comfortable and plush feel on contact. Even with the stiffness rating being a bit higher than some of the older Prince O3 Tours or O3 Phantoms, this racquet still felt super plush and comfortable. I found this racquet to offer a very controlled feel when hitting from the baseline. The power level is pretty low, so I felt like I could swing out and not worry about the ball flying on me. Topspin came rather easily, and my slice backhands felt nice and smooth. However, there just wasn't a lot of free power, so sometimes I was left wanting easier put-away power."

Oak found a stable and controllable hitting experience. He said, "This playtest was a pretty unusual hitting experience for me, mostly characterized by the comfort and dampened feel I found. I was actually pretty surprised by how much I liked this O3 Phantom on groundstrokes, even though it seemed to encourage a shorter or more compact overall motion. The spin factor was admittedly lower than I would've liked, but I really enjoyed how the racquet swung through the ball and the loads of dwell time during contact. I enjoyed the weight of the racquet as well, which gave me at times shades of the Prince Vortex 310g, which is the same unstrung weight as this racquet. The power was good overall, and the racquet was accurate enough despite the more open string pattern. The O3 Phantom 100X 2025 also felt pretty maneuverable during the take-back but slower through the actual swing path, which I really liked because it helped slow down my normal swing. This racquet worked well for my defensive style, but I would have appreciated a little more spin access for recovery balls and lobs."

Volleys: 8.2

Its plush feel and controlled response made the O3 Phantom 100X 2025 a pleasure to use at net. For Troy, the experience at net left little to be desired, with the touch and spin allowing him to be creative against his opponents. He noted, "I liked the plush and soft feel on my volleys, which I think enhanced my touch shots, like drop volleys. No matter how hard the ball was hit at me, volleys felt smooth and plush. I wouldn't say this racquet felt quite as stable as the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98, but the stability was decent. The put-away power was the strong point of this racquet, but when it came to being crafty, using those sharp angles and taking pace off the ball, I felt very good with the O3 Phantom 100X in my hand. Drop volleys felt smooth and natural, and I could take pace off the ball with ease."

Oak also had a positive experience when volleying with the O3 Phantom 100X, due in large part to his ability to shape balls in the forecourt. He explained, "Volleys were certainly unique with this racquet. I had plenty of ability to absorb pace and redirect shots, and I loved utilizing drop volleys off heavier strikes. Shorter, more angled volleys seemed to work a little better than deeper ones, but the overall feel of the O3 Phantom 100X 2025 saved me once again if I needed to put the ball deep."

Mark found exceptional precision at net, which helped counteract the slightly lower power level of the racquet. He said, "My volleys with the O3 Phantom 100X 2025 were effective and predictable, which is exactly what I want from my racquet. The only challenge I had at net was putting away volleys with authority because, although this racquet's power level is higher than that of its predecessor, it is still somewhat low overall."

With help from the O3 Phantom 100X's comfort and reliability, Chris utilized his signature craftiness and touch at net to keep his opponents off balance. He described, "My net game was working well with the O3 Phantom 100X 2025 in my hands. This racquet offered me a nice combination of stability and maneuverability. Again, the response was very plush, and the stable response further added to the comfort. My touch shots were working well with this racquet once I got used to that O3 feel. I was able to easily add spin to my drop volleys to get them to bounce away from my opponent."

Serves: 8.2

Serving was defined by the comfort of the Phantom beam mixed with the O-Port's unique feel. Our playtesters enjoyed the plush response and found themselves ratcheting up the level of pace to counteract the lower-powered nature of this O3 Phantom 100X 2025. Chris was able to shape his serves effectively throughout this playtest. He said, "I was happy with the pace and spin I found on my serves with the O3 Phantom 100X 2025. My slice serve had decent action on it, and I found enough mass from the racquet to get that serve pushing through the court. I was getting enough arc on the ball to give the net plenty of clearance and still get the ball to drop well inside the service box."

For Mark, the precision factor once again stole the show, and he loved targeting specific areas on his serves. He said, "It took all of maybe 30 serve attempts to get into a good rhythm serving with the new O3 Phantom 100X. In particular, serves aimed to the body and out wide on the ad side were my favorite to hit. That said, while the level of precision serving with this racquet was outstanding, this is another part of the playtest where I felt that the power was coming more from me than from the racquet."

Troy found great precision and a high spin window, which made his style of serving deadly for his opponents. He described, "This racquet let me attack the ball aggressively with spin and get a lot of net clearance. I was hitting my slice serve with good consistency and generating a decent amount of spin on the ball. With the round head shape and thin beam profile, I could brush up on the ball easily to hit my kick serves. This allowed me to create a lot of shape and arc on the ball. I wasn't finding much help from this racquet in terms of power; my flat first serves had good control, just not a lot of added pop like I get from my Yonex EZONE 98+."

Although Oak initially struggled with how this racquet performed on serve, he found success by simplifying his shot selection. He said, "Serving with this O3 Phantom 100X was not the easiest experience for me at first. The muted feel didn't always translate to a connected sensation, and it felt like I couldn't shape my serves with spin the way I wanted. I enjoyed the comfort factor, of course, but I would've appreciated just a little more pop behind my shots. The serve that felt the most impactful to me was a heavy body serve up the middle on either side. Over time, I felt more comfortable going for heavier serves, but my initial adjustment window was longer than anticipated."

Returns: 8.1

Returns were mostly characterized by the O3 Phantom 100X's reliability, and our testers liked to swing big since the spot-targeting was so good. Troy was enamored with this racquet's comfort on returns, so he opted to power through his shots to push his opponents deep into the back court. He explained, "I loved the plushness of this racquet when it came to my returns. I felt like I could swing aggressively no matter how hard the serve was coming at me, and most importantly, there were no harsh vibrations or shock on my arms. As I mentioned in previous sections, I wasn't getting a whole lot of power or easy depth. That said, the beauty of this racquet is that you can swing big and attack, and the low-powered response will help keep you in control of the shots. I felt like I could lean in on my two-handed backhand return and drive through the ball effectively. If anything, I would probably want a bit more swingweight and plow through. I think adding some weight to the hoop of the racquet could help with my depth on returns. An extended version of this racquet would be fun to try as well."

Oak took advantage of the O3 Phantom 100X's comfort by upping the pace of his shots, primarily looking to take away any "plus-one" opportunities. He noted, "Returns with this racquet were a lot of fun! I found success by simplifying my approach. I opted to choose one of three spots: down the line, middle or cross court. I wasn't doing much chip returning and instead just tried to power through whatever spot I had selected. The muted feel allowed me to swing through the ball confidently, and I liked how stable the O3 Phantom 100X 2025 felt under pressure. The somewhat higher overall mass allowed for easy plow through, and it still handled quickly, even with this thicker beam design. Off-center hits were certainly punishing, but that just seemed to encourage better timing and targeting."

Although Mark initially struggled a bit against heavier servers, he was able to counteract the issue by increasing his RPMs on the ball. He said, "Dealing with huge pace on serve did challenge me when it came to producing effective returns. However, I was able swing fast enough to to hit more topspin returns than with any racquet in recent memory."

With the new O3 Phantom 100X 2025 in his hands, Chris was able to up the aggression and power through his serve returns. He said, "The fast feel of the O3 Phantom 100X 2025 really worked well on my returns. I had success stepping in, taking returns early and using the pace of the incoming serve to hit a forceful shot. I found the racquet to be very topspin friendly, and my cross-court drive returns had solid pace and spin. I was also able to generate some nice angled returns to open up the court. My slice returns felt equally solid. I was able to hit a low skidding slice with good pace both down the line and cross court."

Breakdown Summary