The following review was one that I performed for Tennis Warehouse.  I was selected for this play test based on my participation on their message boards and this post is a reprint of the review I created for TW. You view the original review by selecting the following link. TW Review

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Racquet Model Received:
Dunlop Precision 98 Tour

String and tension used for test:
Ashaway Monogut ZX (16g) @ 54 lbs mains. Tourna Big Hitter Silver (16g) @ 50 lbs cross

Tennis experience/background:
I have only been playing seriously for the last two plus years. Most of my tennis is participating in group drills 3 to 4 times a week at the 3.0 to 4.0 level.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
Primarily a doubles player with an attacking style, always moving forward.

Current racquet/string setups:
Modified 2015 Blade 104 (380g / 7 pts headlight) with Ashaway Monogut ZX 16g @ 57 lbs (mains) and Tourna Big Hitter Silver 16g @ 50 lbs (cross)

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
12 hours in stock configuration, 3 hours after modification.

Comments on racquet performance:

–Groundstrokes:
It was a very easy transition into hitting ground strokes with the Precision 98 Tour from my current racquet. Ground strokes were solid with excellent spin for an 18 x 20 spin pattern. There was a noticeable power drop off from my normal setup which forced me to hit out more than I am used to in order to keep good depth on my topspin stokes off both sides. The plus side of that equation was the control aspect of this racquet, I was hitting my targets more precisely than with any other racquet I have hit with. Additionally, the underspin / slice shots off both sides were deadly accurate and I was able to keep the ball low and avoid the high floating underspin misses. The launch height on my ground strokes was significantly lower than any other racquet I have played with. It took a few strokes to train myself to hit the ball higher to avoid clipping the tape.

–Serves:
Just like the ground strokes, I found similar characteristics in the serve. My flat serves were missing some of the free power that my normal setup provides, but control and service location were more easily attained. I was able to serve closer to the lines on a regular basis and less service faults in general serving with the Precision 98 Tour. My kick service was not spinning as much as I am used to, but I still was able to get decent spin and control on my second serves. My service percentage was up, but my free points on serve were down.

–Volleys:
Volleys were probably my favorite aspect of the Precision 98 Tour. Point and shoot. Point and shoot. Point and shoot. With really good maneuverability and the ability to hit targets precisely, this racquet was deadly up at net and on touch shots. Two nights a week we do a four ball drill with target cones and I was picking cones off at a much higher rate than normal. If I had to spend the rest of my tennis life in front of the service line, I would be happy to take the Precision 98 Tour into battle with me.

–Serve returns:
The Precision 98 Tour was just an average return racquet for me. I was struggling a bit with the smaller sweet spot compared to my normal set up (to be clear, I play with a modified 104 with a large sweet spot, the Precision 98 Tour’s sweet spot is as large or larger than any other 98 racquet I have played with.) The lower power level did not suit me well either when I was stretching for returns or on defensive shots in general. Stronger servers gave me the impression that the racquet was getting pushed around a bit and my returns were not as solid as with my normal racquet. Probably my least favorite aspect of this particular racquet.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
The racquet is beautiful out of the box. Paint quality is really good and it is a very pleasing design. It took me a bit longer to string it up, but that is the nature of the 18 x 20 pattern and blocked holes. In general, I could play with this racquet if need be in stock form, but for my game it could use some additional weight to get it into my normal specs. This is definitely a control oriented racquet and there is not a lot of free power to be had. The Precision 98 Tour is a fairly comfortable racquet, but it is a bit stiff for my preferences as I prefer to feel the flex and dwell time a bit more. I also found the racquet to be a bit unstable against harder hitters, and as mentioned above, a bit unstable on service returns. I believe this particular racquet would be suited for those with faster swing speeds as it performed very well when I was pushing my swing speed limits.

The Modification:
After several sessions in stock format, I decided to explore if I could improve upon the stock configuration to match my own personal specs. I removed the stock grip and added a TW leather grip to start the process. After checking weight and balance, I needed another 30 grams to get it up to my standard 380 grams. My plan was to add 15 grams of BlueTac in the tubes and 15 grams of lead split between 3 & 9, but was a bit shocked to discover silicon in the tubes when I opened the butt cap. There was some room to play with, but I could only get 14 grams of BlueTac into the shafts before I ran out of room, so I upped the lead to 16 grams split between 3 & 9.

What a difference the weight makes. The power and plow through change transformed the racquet. I no longer felt the need to over hit on my ground strokes and my flat serves regained most of their lost pace. Defensive shots and service returns gained much needed pace as well as the sweet spot felt bigger and there was less dead space on the outer edges of the racquet. A little bit of that fantastic control was lost with the gain in power, but it was still the most accurate racquet I have played with.

The additional weight pretty much got rid of most of my perceived negatives with the Precision 98 Tour and turned it into a racquet I could confidently put in my bag and play with on any given day. The only aspect that I can not change, the flex, is probably what would keep me from switching over to the Precision 98 Tour full time. If Dunlop could produce this frame in a sub 60 flex, I would probably ditch my Blade 104’s.

Playing against the Precision 98 Tour:
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to play against the Precision 98 Tour in the hands of a teaching professional. A couple of weeks ago when I was starting this play test I showed him the Precision 98 Tour and he was intrigued with it from first sight. He is currently playing with the Prince Textreme Warrior 100 and found the Precision 98 Tour to have very similar characteristics design wise. Yesterday, after drill, we got around to discussing the racquet again and he wanted to hit with it so I stuck around for an extra half hour and let him try it out. We removed the lead at 3 & 9 as he liked a bit lighter racquet but left the rest of the modifications in place.

In the hands of a professional with a higher swing speed the Precision 98 Tour really shines. I have never experienced such a heavy ball being launched at me. The amount of pace and spin he was able to get out of it was amazing. I had all I could do to keep up on my forehand side and get the ball back consistently, and the backhand side was just shameful as I could not get a solid top spin return back. After some general hitting, he started to hit some serves with the Precision 98 Tour and I encountered some of the fastest/heaviest serves I have ever faced. The movement and spin he was generating was just too much for my game. Over the span of 10 minutes or so of his serving, I got got one, maybe two, solid returns back at him.

He was very impressed with the Precision 98 Tour, to the point that he is considering switching to it as he liked it better than his current racquet. He found it very comfortable and stable enough to suit his game.

In the hands of a highly skilled player, the Precision 98 Tour is a solid weapon. Like I mentioned above in my review, I believe that players with a higher swing speed would do quite well with the Precision 98 Tour as it provides great control and amazingly good spin for an 18 x 20 string pattern. It is,however, probably a bit too much racquet for me to handle at my level without the significant level of modification that I performed.