Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.0

When it was time to get this Vostra V10 300g out on court, our team was wowed by the highly maneuverable nature of the frame. Anytime a racquet like this enters the testing arena, it allows the contrasts in our testers' playstyles to stand out. Tiffani's prior experience with Volkl racquets helped her to hone in on what makes this Vostra V10 so special. She said, "I've had the opportunity to test several iterations of the light version of the Volkl 10 series over the years. I found some of the older models to be too low powered and too light. I'm happy that the Vostra V10 300g picks up right where the V-Cell version left off in terms of power. Depth and pace were on tap, and I found it easy enough to access as needed. This racquet is not a powerhouse like the Vostra V8 model, and it offers me a good balance of power and control. I could also tap into both topspin and slice, to add variety to my shot selection. My only drawback was the feel. While I found it to be more comfortable than the V-Cell version, the feel was a bit too muted for my liking. I had a hard time knowing where I was hitting on the stringbed, which took away a little of my confidence in the racquet's precision."

The Vostra V10 300g allowed Oak to lean into his fast, spin-heavy style of play. He described, "This frame reminded me a lot of a racquet very near and dear to my heart, the Prince Vortex. It has a similar launch angle thanks to the more open 16x19 pattern, and the elongated mains add some additional ball pocketing on most shots. I really enjoyed the spin capability of the V10 300g, and I could easily shape my shots on my forehand. The swingweight was also in my wheelhouse, allowing me to swing freely on backhands and hammer shots into the corners. The specs lineup (98, 16x19, and 300 grams) is a pretty surefire recipe for success, but this frame does a little more in terms of feel overall."

Ana had to be highly intentional while adjusting to the V10 300g, but once dialed in, her experience really began to take flight. She said, "It took some time to figure out this new Vostra V10 300g. On my groundstrokes, I had a decent feel for the ball and felt connected and precise. I thought the Vostra V9 was similar, but it felt more stable and offered a better balance to help me keep the ball deep and fast on the court. This V10 feels more like a control-oriented racquet. In terms of maneuverability, it felt very quick and easy to swing, and I was able to generate lots of racquet speed while staying in control of my shots. My only issue was that I found myself losing control of the ball when hitting outside of the sweetspot. When we restrung the racquet and dropped the tension, the Vostra V10 300g had the feel I usually look for in a racquet. It worked out better for me because I was able to generate more power and spin while maintaining control and precision. My slice was a highlight for me with this racquet. I felt like I could keep the ball low and fast, and I had great control when switching the pace of a rally."

For Zsofi, the Vostra V10 300g proved to be tension-sensitive. She explained, "I enjoyed this racquet on the baseline. I thought it had a decent amount of power, but I wouldn’t say it was overpowering. This Vostra V10 300g had better pocketing than the Volkl Vostra V9 305g, which we recently tested, and the balls were sitting a bit longer in the stringbed. I would say I had much better access to spin once we dropped the string tension down to about 35 pounds, and I could tap into that to get my balls deeper in the court. One of my favorite shots with this racquet was the slice; I really enjoyed how nice and deep my shots were landing. I would say that precision is one of the highlights. I did miss a bit of stability, especially when my opponent would put heavy spin on the ball, and I felt the racquet twist in my hand a bit more than I prefer. I would love to customize this frame and add some weight to counter that."

Volleys: 8.1

The Vostra V10 300g allowed for lots of spin-locating and good directional control when volleying. Ana's experience at net proved to be a highlight of this playtest. She said, "I enjoyed this racquet on my volleys. I was able to react quickly and get into a position where I never felt pushed back or late. I found myself hitting my volleys a bit too short, but I did enjoy being able to step into the volleys without being afraid." 

The Vostra V10 300g was a great option for Zsofi at net, especially when she kept things simple. She said, "I enjoyed this racquet at the net, and I felt confident hitting volleys. I did miss a bit of touch, though, so I had to stay away from the riskier angles that I like to hit." 

Tiffani found her volleys clicking almost instantly with the Vostra V10 300g in her hands. She explained, “The maneuverability and comfort were the standouts for me at the net. I appreciated the feel at net more than I did at the baseline. Because my confidence is lower on volleys, I liked knowing that mis-hits weren't going to feel as jarring. The racquet was pretty stable overall, but I did notice it flutter just a bit when hitting high in the stringbed. I also liked to keep it pretty simple with my volleys, which is my typical play." 

“This racquet pretty much performed as advertised on volleys,” Oak added. "It has great spin and good depth, and I really like how the lower contact point, due to the hoop geometry, gave me some help when I got jammed. I did wish it had a little more touch and feel for drop volleys and the like, but punching through my shots seemed to work quite well instead." 

Serves: 8.0

The Vostra V10 300g was certainly a viable option for serving, but it wasn't blowing anyone away from a power or pace standpoint. Tiffani found success when serving with this racquet, though she didn't find it dazzling in any particular area. She said, "I quickly settled into a rhythm with the Vostra V10 300g on serves. I wasn't getting tons of free power, but I felt it was sufficient to get me into games on neutral ground. I did serve consistently with this racquet, and I could hit slice pretty well. I liked to fall back on that for both first and second serves." 

Oak's findings echoed Tiffani's. He said, "The Vostra V10 300g was effective on serve, but it didn't have a standout feature. I found myself mostly going for spot serves instead of big aggressive firsts, and it was definitely sufficient, but not superb." 

Ana noted a mix of pros and cons on serves. She said, "The racquet was OK for serves, but nothing too crazy. I thought it was quick on the take-back, but I did struggle to generate a good second serve since I felt that I had very little access to topspin. My slice serves were great since the racquet is quite maneuverable, and I was able to generate lots of racquet speed." 

Consistency issues caused Zsofi to shy away from riskier serves with the Vostra V10 300g. She described, "I did not find this racquet the best at serves, to be honest, and I struggled with consistency a bit. I would say I preferred to pick safer targets for my serves because of that."

Returns: 8.0

The Vostra V10 300g's fantastic maneuverability went a long way for our testers when they were hitting returns. Ana was able to make the racquet work for her quite well on returns. She said, "Due to how maneuverable this racquet was, I could step into my returns and take time away from my opponent. I liked being aggressive with the Vostra V10 300g. I found myself stepping away to take a big swing, giving myself time to generate a fast, deep, spin-heavy ball." 

The Vostra V10 300g's lack of stability caused some issues for Zsofi's style of returns. She explained, "On returns, this racquet felt a bit unstable at times, especially against heavier serves. So instead of really stepping into my returns like I prefer to do, I ended up just chipping many of them back. I would love to add a bit more weight to the racquet head to counteract this instability." 

Tiffani had a good experience returning with the Vostra V10 300g, and the racquet naturally jelled with her playstyle. She said, "This racquet delivered the right balance of power and control for my returning style. My favorite return was to go right back at my opponents in hopes of putting them on their back foot right away. I felt confident starting points on return with the Vostra V10 300g." 

The Vostra V10 300g made for a seamless experience on returns for Oak. He said, "On returns, the Vostra V10 300g felt adequate in terms of the control and placement it offered. I felt like I could go big and aggressive if I needed to, but it was also able to block the ball back in if I was under heavy fire from the server. The Vostra V10 300g was really a joy to play with, so I didn't think too much while hitting returns.”

Breakdown Summary