I was given an opportunity to play test a pre release version the of the Prince Phantom tennis racquet and really enjoyed putting Prince’s latest racquet to the test.  Unlike previous play tests, I was not able to keep the racquet so I was unable to fully modify it to my preferred specs during the course of the play test as the racquet was sent back after 3 weeks so that they could evaluate the wear and tear on the frame.  Enjoy the review.

 

String and tension used for test:

Mains: Ashaway Kevlar 16g @ 57 lbs.
Cross: Ashaway Monogut ZX 16g @ 50 lbs.

Describe your playing style:

Aggressive Doubles player, always moving forward.

Current racquet/string setups:

Wilson Blade 104 (2015) modified to 380 grams / 10 points Head Light with leather grip.
Mains: Ashaway Kevlar 16g @ 57 lbs
Cross: Ashaway Monogut ZX 16g @ 50 lbs

How many hours did you play with the racquet?

16.5 hours (Majority of time during group drills with some wall time)

Surface(s) played on?

Indoor hard court and outdoor hard court

Comments on racquet performance:

Groundstrokes: The Phantom performed well on ground strokes. I was able to achieve a good amount of spin off both the forehand and backhand sides. The power level was down from my personal racquet and I was a little bit ahead of the ball as the Phantom is a good deal lighter than my normal set up, but I was able to adjust fairly quickly to the Phantom. The sweet spot was fairly generous and I felt as though the majority of my shots were played from within it’s confines. The only time I felt I was outside the zone were on extreme edge shots/shanks which were few and far between. Playing slice ground strokes were also a joy with the Phantom. Once I adjusted to the higher ball flight versus my normal setup, I was able to hit some really good slice shots off both wings. That additional spin I was able to create with the Phantom kept the ball really low on my opponents side of the net which resulted in more net shots or pop up returns from my opponents. The Phantom is a very solid racquet on groundstrokes.

Serves: I enjoyed serving with the Phantom both on my flat power serves as well as my kick serves. With the open pattern, kick serves were a joy as I was able to achieve a higher spin rate and a more controllable serve than my normal set up. My flat power serves were a bit more controllable than my normal set up, but I was definitely down on speed which resulted in more of my flat serves being returned at me cleanly. If given more time with the racquet, I would start tweaking the tensions to try and up the power level a bit as well add some weight to see if I could get the speed up on the flat serves.

Volleys: Once I adjusted to the Phantom from my normal setup, I started to enjoy volleying with it. I found the Phantom to be adequately stable even on reaction volleys and really enjoyed playing drop volleys. The drop volley was probably my favorite shot to play with the Phantom as it had great control and backspin which allowed me to hit several winners with this shot. As I mentioned before, power was down a bit from my normal setup which made it a bit tougher to score with put away volleys, but with some tweaking I am sure this could be resolved. I had good control over my volleys with the Phantom and was able play a little closer to the lines.

Serve returns: The Phantom performed well on service returns. It was adequately stable and with the generous sweet spot I was able to return serve quite well. As mentioned above, it was down on power a bit, so some of my offensive service returns lacked their normal punch, but this is probably fixable with some adjustments. I enjoyed the level of control I had on service returns and felt as though I could get a bit more aggressive with my returns. Like my volleys, I was able to play closer to the lines with the increased accuracy.

Additional comments on overall performance:

I really enjoyed playing with the Prince Phantom, and with some modifications, I could probably switch into it without too much trouble. For the last 4.5 hours of the Playtest, I did add some weight to the racquet at 3 & 9 in the hoop and some lead on the shaft just above the grip. While not my preferred way to customize a racquet, I did not want to modify it with BluTack and a leather grip as the racquet was to be returned to its owner. I was able to get it up to 365 grams and 10 points headlight and I did find some increased power levels and a more stable racquet in general. With further modification and adjustment to string tensions I am sure I could get this racquet to perform close to my current set up.

In general, I found to be a very comfortable racquet to play with. No aches or pains after swinging it for a few weeks and loved the feedback and flex the Phantom provided. There is definitely a muted response with the Phantom. The ball coming off the strings is quieter than any other racquet I have played and could see how that may be a turn off for some. Once I adapted to it, I had no issues with it. I also found the sweet spot to be quite large and the racquet very forgiving on off center shots. While ball speed was a bit down, for me, I found it more consistent between center and off center hits which definitely improved control for me. All in all, it was a very enjoyable Playtest of a racquet that I could definitely put in my bag in the future.

Describe the physical condition of the racquet after test. Any concerns?

The Phantom looks good after the Playtest. I have a couple of small nicks in the paint near the 12 o’clock of the hoop (one on each side) but they are very minor in nature. There is also some wear on the bumper guard where in came in contact with the courts during play, but there is an adequate amount of material left so there is no apparent damage to the frame. Other than the mentioned minor issues and some residue where I added some lead tape, the rest of the frame looks the same as the day it was delivered.