Prince TeXtreme Tour 100T Racket Review

The first thing to mention about the Prince Textreme Tour 100T is its crisp and responsive feel. This was the first racket that Prince went back to a traditional grommet system with, following their use of their famous O-Ports which saw elongated holes for strings to move more freely.

This gives the Tour 100T a more back to basics feel, which is emphasised by its Textreme technology which helps stiffen up the feel of the racket. However, it only has a 62 RA stiffness rating, so you get a really nice blend of crisp responsiveness and plush comfort. This makes for a great combination and is something that Prince has nailed with this racket.

From the back of the court the racket feels really lively and the ball will ping off the strings when you rip your ground strokes. It is not the most powerful racket in the world, but it is very easy to swing and feels surprisingly stable for a racket under 300g.

It is nice and easy to swing fast, but also feels reassuringly solid on contact, which makes for a high performing but accessible racket.

It actually feels more like a 305g or 310g swing, but also somehow has the manoeuvrability of a racket under 300g

The 16×18 string pattern is slightly more open than the vast majority of rackets in this segment of the market, but it actually makes quite a notable difference on the court.

The higher launch angle of the Textreme Tour 100T automatically gives you more margin for error and a few more RPMs on the ball, which enhances the control and allows you to feel confident when taking a big cut at the ball. The only downside to this is that at times it does lack a little bit in the feel department.

I tend to prefer a more dense string pattern for playing control and touch shots, and sometimes you do get a bit of an inconsistent response from the racket as the strings are spaced a little further apart than usual.

This is not a major issue, but it is worth noting as it can take a little bit longer to find your range if you are not used to a string pattern this open.

If you like to play aggressive tennis and rip the ball with a lot of spin, but don’t necessarily like the weight that most mid plus rackets come with, then this could be a great option for you. It is easy to add weight with a bit of lead tape to this stick as it is a very solid platform to build on.

This is something I would recommend as although the racket does feel solid on contact if you have time to take a bigger swing, you can get pushed around a little bit by faster incoming balls due to the lack of weight from the Textreme Tour 100T.

One area that the racket did stand out is when approaching the net. It felt very comfortable and arm friendly thanks to the low stiffness rating and when I needed to hit a slice or bunted approach shot, there was a lot of feel to do so.

You can really place the ball exactly where you want and get a lot of spin when you need to whip up the back of low balls around the service line, which helps with confidence when approaching the net.

Volleying with the Prince Textreme Tour 100T felt pretty natural. It is not the weightiest racket out there so of course there were a few stability issues from time to time.

The open string pattern and lack of weight did leave the racket feeling a little bit tinny and there was the odd inconsistent connection when I was absorbing more pace from the oncoming ball.

However, that aside the racket was crisp and responsive and I could definitely place the ball where I wanted to, regardless of whether I was approaching the net or right on top of it.

The racket is very easy to manoeuvre which makes it great for doubles play, and also adds to the appeal of this racket for beginners or improving players that don’t feel so confident up at the net.

There is a lot to be said for a slightly lighter racket that still offers a fairly solid response up at the net, as it can give players that would otherwise be intimidated in the forecourt a bit more confidence even if their technique is not perfect.

You can definitely swing at your volleys a bit with this racket trust they will land in the court one way or another! The head size and sweet spot are both large enough to accommodate off centre or poorly timed strikes, whilst the combination of the low stiffness rating and responsiveness from the Textreme technology gives the racket a unique feel.

The Textreme Tour 100T was a very approachable racket to hit serves with. Its low swing weight and relatively large sweet spot made it easy to swing and offered some easy power when I needed it.

The open string pattern was great for carving out angles with both slice and kick, and the ball seemed to drop in a few times when I thought it was going to sail long.

However, despite there being easy access to power, the level of power available was not insane, and I do tend to prefer a racket that gives me more help on serve. This isn’t really a knock against the Prince, but just a personal preference thing for me.

Again, there were a few inconsistencies of the feeling on contact which tended to come when I was going for big first serves, but this is to be expected from such an open string pattern.

Whilst you can definitely generate a lot of racket head speed for a long period of time with this racket, you can tell it feels more comfortable translating this to spin rather than power.

In general, I tend to like returning serves with rackets that are plush feeling but also have a bit of weight behind them for added stability. With that being said, the Prince Textreme Tour 100T should fall a little outside of my comfort zone in terms of weight. In some ways it did, but in others it was surprisingly responsive.

The open string pattern gave me more spin and control than I am used to on returns, and I didn’t seem to suffer from as many inconsistencies for some reason.

I think when you are hitting different balls with different speeds, spins and trajectories (as you often do when returning), the Tour 100T seems to perform well. However, when you get into draw out baseline rallies it can occasionally show some chinks in its armour.

The lower swing weight did reduce the stability somewhat, but for under 300g I can’t complain too much about how solid the racket felt when returning serve.

It offers a tactile connection with the ball which helps you feel exactly where you want to place your shots time after time. It also felt really crisp when chipping balls back (which is something I do a lot), as the launch angle is a little higher and you can really knife the ball deep nicely.

Overall, the Prince Textreme Tour 100T is a very solid all rounder that is well suited to beginners or intermediate players that are looking for a spin friendly racket that is easy to swing.

If you like to take big cuts at the ball and want a comfortable, yet responsive racket to tame your power, then this is well worth trying out.

Whilst it has its natural limitations due to the lack of weight, it does feel pretty solid and stable off the ground and performs well when approaching the net.

It could perhaps do with a little more weight in the hoop for my liking, but for someone that wants a plush all rounder with great access to spin and a traditional feel, it could be a match made in heaven.