Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 290 Review

For 2022, Prince has revamped their Textreme Tour line, including their Anti-Torque System (ATS) know-how and, in fact, a model new paint job.

The Tour line has a number of rackets to select from, the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 95, Prince ATS Textreme Tour 98, Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100P, Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 310 and eventually, the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 290.

For this playtest, I picked up the 290g model, which is the lightest within the vary and targets novices and intermediates searching for an arm-friendly, easy-to-swing racket.

How does it play? Discover out on this full Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 290 evaluate and playtest.

Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 290 Cosmetics

CHECK LATEST PRICE

The brand new Textreme Tour line encompasses a white base coat with a splash of strong black in sure areas after which a geometrical line sample on the throat and hoop in orange and cyan colors.

The top guard is orange, as are the grommets with that very same orange used for the emblem on the Prince Resi Professional grip.

I am a fan of the design as I like white rackets and the injections of color give it a little bit of a cool look. The fonts used additionally work effectively for the ‘Tour’ branding.

The one space I do not like is the grip, as I’m not a fan of getting logos on them; nevertheless, that’s shortly fastened with an overgrip.

Prince ATS Textreme Tour Line Spec Comparability

My Specs and Setup

After eradicating the grip cellophane, I bought the Prince on the weighing scales. The unstrung weight specified by Prince is 290g, however mine was over that at 294.4g.

This variance is fairly commonplace for many tennis racket brands’ tolerance ranges. Fortunately, I would want a racket at 290g to weigh 294g because it brings the specs somewhat nearer to the load I normally like.

When strung, it got here in at 316.5g with an overgrip, a stability of 33.5cm, 2 factors head mild and a swing weight of 327 kg/cm2.

For those who purchased this body primarily based on wanting a sub 320 swing weight, you’d be disenchanted. So do ask the retailer to match the specs if they provide it.

You’ll be able to see the official (+ Tennis Warehouse) ATS Textreme Tour 100 290 specs under and my self-measured specs for comparability.

I used Prince Diablo 17 (1.25mm) for stringing as a two-piece string job at 50lbs. Stringing the body is simple with clearly marked holes and solely having to skip 8T and 8H for the mains.

The 16 x 18 string sample means the crosses are straightforward to weave, and also you’re stringing one, or two crosses lower than traditional, which speeds it up.

For these , Prince Diablo is a co-polyester string that is a tad softer than most strings within the class, and I assumed it could pair effectively with the open string patterned ATS Textreme Tour 100.

The racket had an L1 grip which isn’t what I exploit, so I bumped it up with an overgrip. This took the specs to 11.2oz / 316.5g with a swing weight of 327 kg/cm2.

First Impressions

It has been a very long time since I’ve used Prince rackets as, sadly, the model hasn’t been effectively bought in Europe and due to this fact is not as in style or available as the opposite large gamers.

However reputation, advertising and marketing and having execs utilizing the model don’t make a racket carry out higher. In spite of everything, the overwhelming majority come from the identical factories, so I used to be trying ahead to giving the Textreme Tour line a playtest.

I would already learn and watched a number of critiques of the 95 and 98-square-inch rackets, however there was little on the 290g racket and having not used the earlier iterations (the racket Iga Swiatek used earlier than she signed with Tecnifibre), I wasn’t too certain what to anticipate.

After my first few hits, my ideas had been that the Tour 100 290 packs an honest punch, feels secure and is a racket I would be capable of use with no issues.

Full Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 290 Assessment

Groundstrokes

My first few full-blooded groundstrokes had been wild from the again of the court docket.

Most of my play earlier than this playtest was with a Blade 98 v8 18 x 20, which is a heavier, extra headlight body, so replicating these photographs from muscle reminiscence despatched this ball flying in direction of the again fence.

Nonetheless, after the primary dozen photographs and never making an attempt to hit the felt off the ball, I began to get a really feel for it.

Given the 16 x 18 sample, I anticipated a excessive launch angle, however the Tour 100 290 does not balloon the ball in any respect, and the strings aren’t that broadly spaced across the ‘candy spot’.

The slice, specifically, felt good, which once more shocked me given the racket was 100 sq. inches and 16 x 18, but conserving the ball low with an honest tempo was not an issue.

This was in all probability helped by the additional mass within the hoop, which put a bit extra oomph behind the ball moderately than a loopy-type shot.

My different fundamental takeaway was the Tour 100 offers a superb linked really feel to the ball, and the Diablo strings paired with the smooth body gave a really satisfying sound on influence.

The Textreme Tour 100 290 is a strong feeling body from the baseline general. It isn’t a whippy racket, however you’ll be able to nonetheless swing it quick, and regardless of its low static weight class, it does not get pushed round by heavier incoming balls.

Any downsides? That is private, and your mileage might differ, however I discovered my forehand on the run the place I am making an attempt to whip the ball cross-court after which recuperate grew to become unreliable. That is in all probability attributable to the load distribution within the body, which takes some extra changes.

What You Can Count on

Serving

The extra I take into consideration racket critiques, the more durable it turns into to speak about particular photographs, as they’re very private.

None extra so than the service as you management each side of it from begin to end. Subsequently a racket I believe is nice for my serve may be horrible for yours. And far of it relies on what racket you’re transitioning from.

Nonetheless, all gamers searching for spin and slice will discover it with the 16 x 18 string sample, and I believe most gamers will discover one thing they like when serving with this racket.

At 100 sq. inches, it does most issues effectively – energy however not extreme, management however not the final word precision and spin is plentiful.

Volleys

Up on the web, the Textreme Tour 100 290 performs effectively. The racket I examined had a good bit of mass within the hoop, so it was very secure, and punchy volleys had some actual chew.

On the flip, the manoeuvrability of the body wasn’t the perfect for these fast response kind volleys, however in case you had been in place early or wanted somewhat bit of additional stability when on the stretch, then your volleys had been in good condition.

What You Can Count on

Returning

Returning serves ATS Textreme Tour 100 290 labored effectively. Once more the 316.5g strung weight and 327 swing weight meant stability was not an issue.

Blocked returns labored effectively, and I felt I may nonetheless get an honest piece of the ball even on these off-centre stretch returns.

Within the hoop at 10 and a couple of, Prince combines TeXtreme with Twaron for his or her ‘anti-torque system’, which in all probability helped. I measured the twist weight of this body at 15.15, which is comparatively excessive for a sub 300g racket, and some extent increased than the 2019 model of this body.

What You Can Count on

Who is that this Racket For?

Just like the Head Boom MP I reviewed not too long ago, the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 290 is a racket with which many gamers of various talents can choose up and play respectable tennis.

I believe it is extremely effectively suited to a higher-level feminine participant (it’s no shock Iga Swiatek used the earlier model of this body in inventory type), as the perfect description I may give is that it is a lighter participant’s body.

Most rackets within the 290g vary are sometimes stiff layups with decrease swing weights, whereas the Textreme 100 is available in with a softer 62 RA and a 318 swing weight (in case you get one near spec).

You additionally get that blended beam width that begins at 23mm, strikes to 20mm, after which again to 22mm. This offers you a body that blends the ‘tweener’ kind spec with the thinner beamed participant body.

With my outlier specs and better swing weight, I used to be virtually enjoying with a customized model of the Tour 100 290, which implies I benefited from added stability and better shot weight (‘plow’, because the People, typically say).

Primarily based on how my racket performed, I may see fairly a couple of gamers including result in their body to deliver the inventory specs nearer to this one.

At inventory specs, the Textreme Tour 100 290 will probably be a great racket to demo for intermediate male gamers, robust feminine gamers and people searching for a strong base to customize from.

Comparable Rackets

Ultimate Ideas

The Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100 290‘s slick cosmetics, coupled with the superb thud acoustics it makes throughout influence, make it a really enjoyable racket to play with.

On the time of penning this evaluate, I hit with it for about 12 hours, and regardless of pondering I used to be ‘accomplished’ with the evaluate, it has turn out to be a racket that I hold choosing as much as play with, due to its ease of use, comfy but strong really feel and the actual fact it does most issues effectively.

Whereas the racket did not ship on the promise of a quick feeling and pace the web, it gave me loads of controllable energy, good stability and an important really feel.

Execs

Cons

Any questions concerning the ATS Textreme Tour 290? Have you ever used any rackets within the Prince Textreme Tour Line? Let me know within the feedback.

And you probably have tried the 290g model that was ‘on spec’, I would have an interest to listen to your ideas on stability, manoeuvrability and so forth. Do they differ from my expertise?