How to Buy a Yonex Racquet in 2024
Yonex as a tennis brand has seen immense growth in the past 15 years. Any hype you may have read about Yonex is well deserved. They operate gimmick-free, opting for real engineering and quality over marketing taglines and memes. With exclusive factories in Japan producing their flagship models, Yonex boasts the best quality control of any major manufacturer. This is something you can feel when you hold a Yonex racquet next to something from Head or Wilson. The paint feels thick, the hitting feel is quite solid and rich, despite being relatively muted for arm comfort. So which Yonex racquet is best for you?
Product Map
Yonex splits up the racquets they sell into 4 main racquet lines. There’s EZONE, VCORE, Percept and Astrel.
While this is a nice way for Yonex to organize their offerings, there’s actually quite a bit of overlap between the different racquet lines and that’s where things can get pretty confusing. For this article, we are going to be focusing on Yonex’s best sellers. Their premium racquets, in their standard weights from the EZONE, VCORE and Percept lines, though I’ll briefly touch on the other racquets.
So let’s start with how Yonex organizes their racquets.
EZONE, power, forgiveness, supposed to be the “EZ one.”
VCORE, spin, variety. It’s red
Percept, control, feel, for advanced players and attacking tennis.
Within these lines, Yonex offers a variety of different head sizes, string patterns, weights and lengths. In general, lighter racquets with larger head sizes are geared more towards developing players while heavier racquets with smaller head sizes are geared more towards advanced players.
EZONE
Since the EZONE is the “easy one,” it's the line where you will find the most forgiving options, with 105 and 110 square inch options. Here, there’s also some overlap with the Astrel line, which is Yonex’s so-called “game improvement” line of racquets. These are geared towards senior players with limited mobility. I think a lot of these players have now moved to pickleball, so I suspect the popularity of these senior’s racquets is likely to decline as pickleball continues to grow.
Now let’s get into the meat of the lineup.
The EZONE 100. This is Yonex’s most powerful mainstream tennis racquet and it's available in 3 weights.
There’s the standard EZONE 100 which I would recommend to most players, however, there’s also the lighter 100L, and the super light 100SL. The 100SL would be a good option for a junior player’s first adult sized racquet, likely between the ages of 10-13 depending on their skill, strength and size.
The 100L has a wider appeal and would work well for junior girls under 16, smaller framed women or people who like the feel of a faster racquet.
Still, I think for most adults, there are several benefits in going with the 300g EZONE 100. You’ll get more controllable, natural power, better stability and in general, the racquet has a higher ceiling, so you’ll be able to improve your game with it.
The EZONE 100 is probably the best power racquet on the market for flat hitters. The response off the stringbed is incredibly direct for a racquet of its nature. This is due in part to the relatively dense 16x19 string pattern that leads to superb directional control. The downsides are maneuverability and comfort. It’s not that it's an arm breaker per se, but if you’ve had issues in the past I’d proceed with caution.
One step up in the EZONE line is a 98. This is going to be most popular among advanced players, college level and up.
The EZONE 98 is incredibly versatile. You can play pretty much any shot with this frame. It's incredibly fast through the air, so the user can access plenty of spin with the right swing path. The 16x19 string pattern is also extremely dense, rivaling the control of many 18x20’s on the market. The thicker beam means that there’s decent access to power off centre, but stability is not on par compared to many other 98 square inch racquet on the market. It's also relatively stiff, so some users have reported arm pain, while others are totally fine.
VCORE
Next, let’s talk VCORE. VCORE is all about spin and there are some common themes that you’ll find in this line where things differ from the EZONE line.
In general, VCORE’s have more open string patterns. While both VCORE 98 and EZONE 98 have 16x19 patterns, the way Yonex drills them is actually quite different. The EZONE is very dense in the centre for control when you make strong on-centre contact. The VCORE is more open, especially towards the tip of the frame, allowing for more string movement and better spin application when you are at the end of your range.
Further, the VCORE models, at least for 2023 and 2024, are softer, more comfortable and let you hold the ball on the strings for longer. The most powerful model is the VCORE 100, also available in the lighter L model for junior players or smaller framed adults. The VCORE 100, to me, feel less inherently powerful than the EZONE 100. You can’t quite hit as hard, and the directional control isn’t quite as strong, but the spin production is among the best in the world. It’s tremendously easily to apply heavy spin, arcing the ball over the net with plenty of margin.
These same themes carry over to the VCORE 98. Not quite as much free power, slightly more forgiveness off centre from the open string pattern and in general, I think the VCORE encourages safer shots, whereas the EZONE encourages more dictating play.
Finally, the most control oriented VCORE is the VCORE 95. One of the last 95 square inch racquets on the market, the VCORE 95 is much easier to use than you might think. The hoop is surprisingly wide, especially towards the tip, meaning you get a very wide spin window with a generous margin for error on mishits.
Oddly, I think the directional control on the EZONE 98 is still better than what you get with the VCORE 95, even despite the 16x20 pattern on the VCORE, but there’s something immensely rewarding about the VCORE 95. It's more raw, more organic and the hitting sound is one of the loudest, most best noises you’ll hear on a tennis court.
Percept
Last up we have the Percept, which in recent times, have become one of the more nuanced racquet lines on the market. The most forgiving is Percept 100. Still, the thinner beam means that you’ll be getting more feel and control than you might with either the EZONE 100 or the VCORE 100. The downsides of the thinner beam are reduced forgiveness, but that’s a common trade off anytime you go for more control and feel.
Up a little bit in weight is the 100D. Most of this weight is placed in the handle, so I think for most players, the more noticeable change between the 100 and the 100D will be the string pattern. The 18x19 string pattern in the D means you’ll be getting better directional control and a lower ball flight. The improved targeting makes this easily Yonex’s most precise 100 square inch options, and among the best 100 square inch racquet for flat hitters in any brand.
Moving down in headsize, Yonex offers the 97 in 3 different options, the 97 at 310g, the 97D at 320g and the 97H at 330g. The base 97 feels as fast as either VCORE 98 or EZONE 98 while offering a slightly more connected feel. I do think the directional control from the EZONE 98 is better than the Percept 97, and spin production is definitely better with the VCORE 98.
Unfortunately, the power and stability with the Percept is well below that of the 98’s so it’s pretty crucial to hit the ball in the middle of the stringbed or else there’s a significant drop off in power. This is where the extra mass in the 97D and H comes in. Both the D and the H have swingweights around 330, 15 points higher than the base 97. This means you’ll be getting mass-driven stability and power to really punch through the ball.
Of all the racquets we’ve talked about today, the 97D and H hit the heaviest ball, without a doubt, but it's critical that you are able to maintain high swing speeds if you want to access this power. The D, which signifies “dense,” has the 18x20 string pattern for better targeting, though spin potential is sacrificed. Despite the weight, I think the tighter string pattern makes the playing experience less forgiving than what you can get in Yonex’s big daddy 97H.
Player Recommendations
In general, I really like how Yonex’s product line is laid out. Almost every racquet delivers on the missions of the brand and provides a unique hitting experience compared to the other racquets that Yonex offers. There is truly something for everyone, so let’s break it down.
In general, I think aggressive baseliners should be sticking with the VCORE 95 and below.
The VCORE 100 and 98 have such open string patterns that it will be tough for a lot of players to stay aggressive and take the ball early.
If you demand a lot of control from your racquet, meaning that you can provide your own power, maybe even you have a tendency to over hit, I think you should stick with the EZONE 98 and everything to the right. This isn’t just about level either. Some beginner and intermediate players, like Trey from Winners Only or Baseline Conversation from Insta are great athletes and can clearly provide their own natural power and strength. If this is you, there’s no reason why you couldn’t find success from something as demanding as the Percept 97D, just know, if you go that route, poor footwork and late preparation will be more punishing than ever.
For more defensive players, I think you want to stay with racquets from the VCORE 95 and to the left. If you are more of a Rafa style defensive player, you might like more spin oriented racquets like the VCORE 100 or 98, but if you are more Medvedev-y, I can see you having great success with the Percept 100D or the EZONE 100.
Still, all of the Yonex racquets are immensely versatile. In general, you’ll find a lot of commonalities across the range. You’ll get the more muted, yet still solid graphite feel which is, on aggregate, quite comfortable compared to other brands. Yonex also prioritizes maneuverability in most of their frames.
This translates to a lot of versatility on court, you don’t feel locked in to playing a certain style of tennis. These racquets feel like they are there to let your tennis shine more than they feel like they make you conform to their strengths. This means that in 2024, none of Yonex’s racquets are incredibly unique or oozing with personality, but that also means they won’t stand in the way of you playing some great tennis.
The Best Yonex Racquets
To me, there are a few key standouts from Yonex’s range.
The EZONE 100 is the best power oriented, 100 square inch racquet for flat hitting aggressive players.
The VCORE 95 is the best sounding racquet on the market, offering possibly the most rewarding all-around hitting experience on the market today.
I also gave the VCORE 100 the award for best spin racquet of 2023, something I standby as I don’t think there’s any racquet on the market that I would rather use to play counter punching tennis with.
Honorable mention to the Percept 100D and the EZONE 98 for being amazing choices for advanced players who value winning matches with well-rounded high percentage play.
If you have any questions about any of these racquets, I always try to reply in the comments to help you find something that works for your game and I have paid consultations on our website if you want some one-on-one time with me. I’ve helped over 100 people find the racquet and strings in these consultations and I can’t wait to hear from you.
