Page 45 - Tennis Magazine April 2019
P. 45
Prince Tecni bre
These TFights have
A new Textreme improved feel and
with the same playability to match
exceptional feel their good looks
PRINCE
With the addition of Textreme The XTC (Xtreme Touch
X, the Tour family of racquets Textreme Tour 100P Construction) in the new
from Prince get a little bit firmer, TFights is a carbon-fiber matrix
• PRICE: $189
more stable and powerful, but designed to disperse vibrations
• HEAD SIZE: 100 SQ. IN.
doesn’t lose the comfortable for a plusher feel at contact
• LENGTH: 27 IN.
response. The second incar- without making the frame
• WEIGHT: 11.4 OZ.
nation of Textreme now has softer, or sacrificing power. All
• BALANCE: 7 PTS. HL
Twaron woven directly into the the TFights have it where the
matrix. The aramid fibers raise • SWINGWEIGHT: 320 handle meets the throat of the
the stiffness of the frame, but • RA RATING: 65 frame. The TFight 305 and 320
its dampening qualities manage • BEAM WIDTH: 22MM / 23MM / 20MM models—both housing 18x19
to keep the response clean and • STRING PATTERN: 18×20 string patterns—also have it at
inviting. Plus, it improves the • NTRP: 4.0+ the 3, 9 and 12 o’clock locations
sound at impact. It’s a subtle on the racquet head to improve
upgrade, but the firmer beam How it tested: The familiar all-court upon their previously harsh
promotes easier depth and pop, playability was on full display with the responses. It’s the marriage of a
yet remains easy on the arm. dependable Tour 100P. The frame is tighter string pattern for control
Along with the 100P reviewed in stiffer than its predecessor, but it with XTC around the hoop for
this issue, the Tour line includes remained solid and comfortable with a improved feel and power.
95, 100 (310g), 100 (290g) and nice level of feedback. The 18x20 string
100L (260g) models. pattern ably directed hard, flat serves
and penetrating ground strokes, but also EXPLORING THE CATALOG
had wide enough spacing to generate
EXPLORING THE CATALOG good spin for a dense setup. Bigger The Rebound Tempo 2,
hitters may need to string at slightly Tecnifibre’s line of frames
In February, Prince released two higher tensions to rein in some of the designed specifically for women,
Phantom frames: a 93 square- power, but it was otherwise quite adept will come out in March. Three
inch midsize model with a 14x18 at both offense and defense. If there was racquets of varying weights are
string pattern reminiscent of a knock, it was that it did everything well all shorter than standard length
the Prince Original Graphite Mid; without an easily discernible strength. (26.5 inches) for better maneu-
and a Phantom Pro 100 with an Ultimately, testers found the new Tour verability and responsiveness.
18x20 string pattern…Synthetic l00P to play much like the previous They will also receive parent
Gut with Duraflex and a Diablo one—capably walking the line between company Lacoste’s cosmetic
polyester strings are now avail- player’s frame and tweener. And if ain’t treatment for a fresh look…
able in rainbow prism color- broke, don’t fix it. The next generation of TFlash
ways…New colors are expected frames will enter the market in
for the existing bag lines. the summer.
M A R /A P R 2 0 1 9 T E N N I S . C O M 4 3
