Breakdown

Spin: 8.4

With its sharp bite and ability to snap back powerfully through impact, POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT was designed to enhance spin potential. Needless to say, Michelle was impressed by how effectively this co-poly grabbed and rotated the ball. She said, "I noticed some nice grab from this string. It was probably most noticeable when I was kicking the ball up on second serves. I found easy arc on the ball when needed off the ground too, and I was able to access some good spin when changing up the height of the ball and hitting more defensive shots. This is a very spin-friendly string."

"I liked the level of spin I got on my shots with POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT," added Chris, who found enough spin potential to bend and shape his shots effectively. "I was able to get my cross-court angles to dip nicely inside the lines. The same could be said for my lobs, which have to be placed well on our inside court since we don't have the luxury of infinite sky. However, with this string, I could get a decently paced lob over my opponent and still get it to drop inside the baseline thanks to a solid level of topspin. My slice shots also worked well with POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT, and I liked the bite I was getting on the ball."

Control: 8.2

Although POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT gave our crew great control, it has a softer construction than the stiff and dead polys of yesteryear. For Chris, this softer feel came with some downsides, but it also made it easier for him to hit with depth. He explained, "I found decent power in POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT for a co-poly string. I was getting easier access to depth and pace compared to regular POLYTOUR DRIVE. I also noticed a higher launch angle to my shots, which helped me get more clearance over the net and more depth. As this is a co-poly, there was still tons of control, just not as much as firmer playing co-poly strings. As the test went on, I found control to diminish because this string suffers from the tension loss that is typical with softer co-polys."

Although she typically prefers stiffer, more control-oriented polys, Michelle had no problem hitting her targets with POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT. She said, "Sometimes the softer co-polys feel a bit too powerful to me, but that wasn't the case with POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT. I never felt limited in power, but I also had enough access to control to hit out confidently."

Feel: 8.0

One of the biggest downsides of poly-based monofilaments is their high stiffness level, which results in more impact shock, especially on off-center contact. To mitigate this problem, Yonex designed POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT with a more flexible construction. According to Chris, this softer build came with some clear benefits, especially in the early stages of the playtest. He said, "I got the sense the stringbed was offering a deep pocket at impact, and I had lots of feel for hitting my targets. As with control, I lost some of that feel as the string aged in my racquets. Fresh off the stringer, I loved it. After a couple of weeks, I was ready to get that feel back and was cutting the string out of my racquets."

Michelle was thankful that this string's softer feel didn't compromise control. She described, "I enjoyed the feel of this string; it was soft but didn't feel too springy or bouncy. The ball pocketed nicely, but I still felt like I knew where the ball was on my stringbed and felt in total control of my shots. I could string it in the higher 50s in some of my stiffer racquets and was appreciating that combo."

Playability Duration: 6.3

All tennis strings lose tension over time, especially softer co-polys like POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT. The big question for every player is when or if the tension loss will compromise the string's feel and performance. Michelle was pleasantly surprised by how long this co-poly held its playability. She said, "I have noted that a lot of the 'soft' strings do seem to bag out a bit quicker and in turn get too springy after about two weeks. I was happy to report that I didn't find that to be an issue with POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT. For me, it stayed playable longer than Yonex's POLYTOUR PRO, which is also a softer poly. However, after about two or three weeks it did start to get a bit more erratic, and I was ready to cut it out and restring. Plus, at this value, it is a great option for anyone who restrings regularly!"

"I found a two-week playability duration to work best for me with POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT," said Chris. "I found the string to feel too jumpy and trampoline-like when I got into a third week of hitting. I also found the strings got stuck out of position at that point, and it felt like POLYTOUR DRIVE SOFT had lost some of its snapback capabilities."

Breakdown Summary