Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.3

The Prince Ripstick 100 300g offered our playtesters easy power, spin and depth from the baseline. The racquet was easy to swing from the baseline for Brittany, who said, "Right away, I noticed plenty of power and spin. I also noticed how easy it was to hit my groundstrokes deep in the court, which I attributed to the very open 16x18 string pattern. However, it did take some time for me to adjust to the depth because I found it very easy to overhit. I loved practicing with this racquet, but I had to be careful to add a little more spin when going after my shots. I really loved using the spin to hit more angled shots, whether in singles to pull my opponent off the baseline (and court) or for hitting passing shots in doubles."

"With lots of power and spin, you can truly 'grip it and rip it' with this racquet," added Jason. "I noticed the higher launch angle, which resulted in higher net clearance on my shots. Luckily, there is great access to spin, but even still, I needed to be conscious about adding spin to my shots to get them to land inside the lines. However, control was slightly lacking for me. I thought I was pretty dialed in on my targets from side to side, but depth was more of a struggle."

Tiffani was on the review for the first version of the Ripstick 100 300g a few years back, so she had a good idea of what to expect. She said, "The response is definitely powerful and spin friendly. With my flatter strokes, I did struggle to keep the ball inside the lines consistently. When playing with more intentional topspin, like during rallies and drills, I liked the loop and depth I could generate. However, when in point situations, this was harder for me to do consistently because I would fall back into my usual patterns. I also struggled with the feel of this racquet and found it a bit too dampened for me, which also led to me having issues placing the ball."

With comparable specs to his racquet of choice, Chris had an easy transition. He said, "The Ripstick 100 300g was a very fast racquet on groundstrokes. The racquet felt close in specs to my current racquet of choice in my hand, but felt faster and easier to swing. I was able to generate plenty of pace and spin, and I liked giving my shots lots of height over the net and using the spin to dip the ball inside the lines. I was getting plenty of spin on the ball on my slice backhand, and I found good consistency with that shot."

Volleys: 8.3

As the playtesters approached the net, they appreciated the fast and forgiving feel the Ripstick 100 300g offered. Tiffani preferred hitting volleys over groundstrokes, saying, "This Ripstick 100 300g felt maneuverable and comfortable at the net. I could hit volleys with good pace and punch them deep and away from my opponent, although I stayed away from trying touch shots."

Chris found success up at net with the new Ripstick 100 300g. He said, "The Ripstick 100 300g felt very forgiving at net. I was impressed by the size of the sweetspot. Even my not-so-spot-on volleys were often good enough to get me the point. The racquet felt very comfortable, and the stringbed was pocketing the ball very well. I found the racquet to feel very maneuverable. It was easy to dispatch high volleys, and I could also put overheads away with a snap of the wrist."

"The feel of the O-Ports brought back some great memories of Prince racquets I have used in the past," continued Brittany. "I will say it does take some time to get used to them, so the more I hit with it, the more I liked it. The Ripstick 100 300g was easy to get into position, and I could hit a variety of volleys to put the ball away at net."

While Jason enjoyed the Ripstick 100 300g's speed, power and spin, he was looking for a little more feel at times. He said, "I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I was able to get the Ripstick 100 300g into position. Due to the O-Ports, I think it swings faster than the swingweight would indicate. The power was there once I made contact with the ball, as was the spin. I did feel a little disconnected from my shots, so it was slightly more difficult to judge depth on drop volleys."

Serves: 8.4

The Prince Ripstick 100 300g was a hit with the playtesters when it came to serving. Jason found good access to spin and pace on his serves. He described, "I felt like this racquet definitely added some pop to my serves, and the large sweetspot and power level had me winning more free points. I appreciated the easy access to spin on my second serves; it kept opponents from attacking too aggressively."

Brittany was surprised by how much she liked serving with the Ripstick 100 300g. She said, "My first serves had plenty of power, and it was easy to generate racquet head speed. With second serves, I could rotate my wrist and add even more spin to create some shots that bounced out of my opponent's strike zone, allowing me to start off points in a neutral position. I felt pretty consistent on both first and second serves."

Tiffani ultimately enjoyed serving with the Ripstick 100 300g, but she felt that she was missing some pace at times. She explained, "With all the power I was getting off the baseline, I was hoping to get a bigger boost on my serve. With this Ripstick 100 300g, I got moderate power and good spin potential."

"I liked hitting my slice serve with this Ripstick 100 300g," added Chris. "I was able to hit with enough spin to get the ball to either swing away from my opponents or swing into their bodies to force an awkward return. The racquet felt very comfortable thanks to its plush response. The maneuverability was also impressive, and I felt like I could handle many long service games without getting tired."

Returns: 8.3

While the playtesters had to dial back some of the free power that the Ripstick 100 300g provided, they loved going after their returns. Chris was able to start return points offensively. He said, "I found myself going for aggressive shots when returning with the Ripstick 100 300g. My angles, topspin drives, chips and sneaky drop shot returns were all working well. I was very happy with the amount of spin I was generating, and it allowed me to flirt with the lines. I also found enough stability to block back tough serves without the racquet feeling like it was getting pushed around."

"The Ripstick 100 300g definitely put me in an aggressive mindset," agreed Jason. "I could get it around quick enough to try and take full cuts on first serves and had enough access to spin to get more returns in than I anticipated. When I had to slice a shot back, there was the nice, high net clearance that allowed me to get good depth on my shots. I attempted a few drop returns, but they were landing too deep in the court."

Brittany required a small adjustment period to dial back the Ripstick 100 300g's power and depth on returns. She described, "By adding a little more spin, I could be aggressive when returning and start points on offense. The racquet was easy to get into position as well, and it felt pretty stable even on tough first serves. My returns landed deep in the court, pushing my opponent back off the baseline."

Tiffani couldn't quite find her groove with the Ripstick 100 300g when returning. She said, "The power-loaded nature of this racquet had me a bit scared to go after my returns. I had trouble controlling the depth of my shots, and I struggled to add enough spin on returns. Mentally, I couldn't figure it out and found myself resorting to blocking the ball back."

Breakdown Summary