So by now, I'm sure everyone has seen
Wozniacki and
Hewitt sporting new White/Red and Red/White
Yonex frames this year. After Wozniacki's initial trial with Yonex where she tested an all black painted frame at a charity event in Belarus at the end of 2010, there was initial speculation that she would be using the same technology that
Ana Ivanovic has been using in her
E-Zone Prototype model. Turns out she was actually playtesting the all new technology. At an official press event at 4:00pm on January 16 (Melbourne time) Yonex announced the V-Core line. As a self-confessed racquet and Yonex geek, I was immediately curious as to what Yonex could possibly do that was new that they hadn't done already. Honestly, when looking at the different ideas that go into each Yonex frame, it's amazing just how many
features are packed into a seemingly simple frame.
So taken directly from Yonex, the new racquets are designed to allow a player to control their shots in 3 aspects, depth, side to side, and height (presumably by controlling the amount of spin to ensure it actually lands in). This sounds great and all, but how can a company possibly make the claim that they are going to make a racquet that can control where the player hits their shot. Well, they can't exactly, but they can give you a number of tools that help you hit the shot you want much more consistently. That is exactly what Yonex has done with the technology that goes into these V-Core racquets, the 3D Vector Shaft.
So from the information here, it appears that the 3D Vector Shaft essentially uses deeper cuts into the corners of the throat area of the racquet. Makes sense from a naming perspective if you think of the throat as the "Core" of the racquet since it is what dictates a surprising number of properties like flex, stability, and power. By making the cuts deeper, the overall throat area of the frame becomes stiffer, which will help to reduce the torque typically associated with hitting off center. Another benefit is that a stiffer throat will flex less, lessening the amount of incoming energy that is absorbed, so you get a quicker response off the stringbed for extra ball speed.
I'm sure most people are interested in what frames will be coming out and what is in the hands of the pros. Yonex has chosen to once again stay with a relatively small family of frames, featuring three models this time. The racquets are named simply after the headsize and grommet design. The more "Player Stick" options of the line are the V-Core 95D and 98D. The D signifying Drive, which means that the grommets are made with less clearance between the string. This limits the amount of stringbed deflection for a solid feel at impact. The tweener option, and Wozniacki's new frame, is the V-Core 100S, which is designed to be more spin friendly. The larger headsize, slightly more open string pattern, and larger grommets all add up to a larger sweetspot and a bit more stringbed deflection, resulting in greater forgiveness for the topspin players that naturally swing with a lower margin of error. While I may not believe that Hewitt actually switched to a 95 as he has been using a 90 for the better part of his career, the frame he is listed with offers up nice potential for strong players. In a unique move, the 98D has dropped a bit of weight, down to around 10.8 ounces compared to the 11.1 ounces of the RDiS100 MP it replaced. Oddly enough, David Nalbandian has not made the switch from his RDiS100 but lesser known Juan Monaco has switched from the RDiS200 to the 98D. The Drive models feature a Red with White accent scheme, while the Spin model of Wozniacki basically inverts the colors around the hoop. Check out some initial pics and specs here, hopefully we will have a few for more pictures and testing soon.
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