One 98 To Rule Them All: Extreme Tour vs. EZONE 98

Tennis racquet homogenization is here. Basically every racquet you can buy new today follows one of a few basic formulas. This article analyzes two of the top performers in the 98 square inch, 305 gram racquet market. So which one will give you the power to annihilate your opponents?

One More Spec

According to TWU, the Extreme Tour boasts a twistweight of 14.31, over the EZONE 98’s 14.03. This may seem like nothing, but every inch counts. This suggests that the Extreme Tour has slightly better torsional stability, a characteristic which may be further reinforced by a more torsionally rigid beam design. In my experience, the Extreme Tour offers superior off centre performance compared to the EZONE. This is a characteristic that will benefit more players than it hurt, with only those who seek maneuverability as paramount preferring the EZONE.

It’s all about feel…

The EZONE is the more comfortable of the two. It offers a more muted and plush response. The ball-pocketing experience is also superior. The downside is that the stringbed can be slightly vague due to that muted feel. The Extreme Tour is significantly more responsive. Without any vibration filtration (like Yonex’s VDM), the Extreme lets the feedback travel through the frame and into the hand. It’s not uncomfortable, it’s informative. If gives the user confidence with the amount of information you get on impact.

My preference:

Obvious the Extreme Tour. Usually I’m one to prefer maneuverability, but thee Extreme Tour swings plenty fast, and the stability off-centre is necessary for my game. My crappy backhand simply can’t generate any pace with the instability in the EZONE. Further, if it wasn’t obvious, I much prefer the responsiveness in feel from the Extreme, over the the muted pillow of a Yonex.