Prince Textreme Warrior 100 ESP Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

As expected, the Prince Textreme Warrior 100 ESP's open string pattern dominated the overall feel of the racquet. Heavy topspin was easy to come by, but it did present some control issues during the first couple of hitting sessions. Brittany found success moving the ball laterally. She explained, "This racquet is the definition of spin and power. Right off of the bat, the most notable characteristic was the high launch angle. My groundstrokes were coming off the racquet and landing deep in the court. I hit a flatter ball off both wings, and this caused the ball to sail long if I wasn't consciously adding spin to my strokes. On the other hand, the extremely open string pattern made for some fun angles. I could pull my opponent off the court with a shorter, angled groundstroke or hit a dipping passing shot at their feet if they came to net. Slices also tended to launch on me, so I had to really make sure I was cutting through the ball to keep it low."

Chris experimented with his swing style to unlock consistency. He said, "I found the best results when hitting topspin with the Textreme Warrior 100 ESP if I used a compact backswing with a long follow-through. Such a swing allowed me to accelerate through the ball and maximize the racquet's spin potential without having to worry about generating so much power that I would overhit. When hitting with topspin, the ball exited the stringbed with a high, loopy trajectory that gave my shots lots of net clearance and depth. On my slice shots, I found I could use a fuller swing. Mixing in some sidespin with backspin was lots of fun, and I could get the ball to do crazy things. The sweetspot felt very big and lively on this racquet, and comfort was never an issue, even with a stiff co-poly string installed."

As a player who thrives when she can flatten her strokes and take time away from her opponent, Tiffani had a much different hitting experience with this racquet. She described, "The first thing I noticed when I picked up this Warrior 100 ESP was how open the string pattern is. It looks like you could drive a Mack Truck through it. Seriously, though, it's one of the most open string patterns I can recall. It creates quite a high launch angle, which is not typical of my shots. I had to get used to watching the ball arc extremely high and trust the spin would bring my shot down inside the lines. Because I tend to hit a fairly flat ball, I had to remind myself to brush up to add more spin or else I would send the ball long. It's definitely easy to hit loopy topspin with this racquet, but since that's not my typical style of play, I saw my consistency drop."

Jason was on the playtest team for the original version of this racquet, so he had the opportunity to compare the different generations directly. He said, "This is very similar to the original Warrior ESP from way back when. No surprise, I was getting insane amounts of spin on my shots as well as easy depth. What has changed from its predecessor is the feel. This new version feels more responsive and firm. The downside with this racquet is the same issue all the other extremely open string patterned racquets have: the lack of depth control. I had to be careful to not only add tons of topspin to my shots but also not swing with 100-percent power for fear of launching the ball long."

Volleys - Score: 82

Maneuverability was the biggest takeaway for our team at net. Aside from that, the Textreme Warrior 100 ESP's additional weight also produced better stability compared to the previous version. Chris let the racquet do the work for him. He said, "I volleyed well with the Textreme Warrior 100 ESP. I did not have to put much effort in since the racquet was very forgiving. Hitting deep volleys with pace was a snap. When looking to drop the ball short, I tapped into the racquet's spin potential to get some very aggressive spin on the ball. I found I could make it bounce on my opponent's side of the court, then backtrack in my direction. Again, comfort was impressive, and the open string pattern made the stringbed feel very forgiving."

The racquet gave Jason great depth when he hit the sweetspot. He said, "Luckily, hitting the ball long isn't much of a concern up at net, so I actually had fairly good success with this racquet on my volleys. I felt like it was very whippy and easy to get the racquet face in position. It might be due to the open string pattern leading to less weight in the hoop, but I noticed a significant drop in performance when I made contact outside the sweetspot."

Tiffani gained confidence at net throughout her time spent on court. She said, "I appreciated the higher launch angle a lot more at the net. Whether it's technique, being slow to the ball or a combination of both, my half volleys often find the net. With this Textreme Warrior 100 ESP, I was shocked at how many of those actually went over the net. I had the same experience taking a stab at balls at full reach, and I was happy to see the ball float over the net into play. This racquet was also easy to maneuver and offered good pop on volleys to help me end points quickly."

The change from Port technology to Prince's standard grommets was most noticeable for Brittany at the net. She explained, "Up at net, the racquet was very maneuverable and easy to get into position. I also enjoyed the feel. This update doesn't have the Port technology, so it felt a little more responsive off the stringbed. I mostly made sure my hands were out in front and just simply punched the volley back deep to end the point."

Serves - Score: 84

What was the Textreme Warrior 100 ESP's most impressive attribute on serves? You guessed it. Big. Time. Spin. Our playtesters spun the ball into their targets consistently with the Textreme Warrior 100 ESP in their hands. Tiffani described, "Serves were hands-down my favorite shot to hit with this Textreme Warrior 100 ESP. It's rare for me to find a racquet that boosts my confidence on serve. I really enjoyed hitting both flat and slice serves with this racquet. I found it easy to produce pace, and I was hitting slice better than I normally would. I was also able to get more free points off serve than usual."

Jason served up mixed results. He said, "This racquet is a spin monster on serves. I slice the majority of my serves, so it was a real asset for me to be able to impart so much spin on my shots. I was pleasantly surprised with the pop I was getting as well. No, it's not the most powerful racquet, but it possesses sneaky power. The problem was my consistency. I was missing serves more often than usual, and when I did, I noticed they were going long."

Brittany settled in nicely and was encouraged by what the racquet offered. She said, "I had a lot of fun experimenting with my serves, and that is not something I normally do. I could consistently generate racquet head speed and hit some first serves with good pace. With the 14x16 string pattern, I could play around with different spins and hit a variety of slice and kick serves to keep my opponents guessing. I will note that I didn't feel like I was hitting the heaviest of serves, and if I wasn't careful, the ball could pop up right into my opponent's strike zone."

Chris found serving with heavy spin effective, but he ran into some hiccups with flat serves. He explained, "My best serves with the Textreme Warrior 100 ESP were serves hit with spin. While the open string pattern allowed easy access to pace, I didn't find it as directionally accurate as a more dense pattern on flat serves. I was able to better find my targets when hitting topspin or slice serves. I found I could generate so much spin with this racquet I was able to hit both first and second serves with lots of pace and still get them to drop inside the lines."

Returns - Score: 77

Our team was split when discussing the Textreme Warrior 100 ESP's return game. At times, this racquet offered up a penetrating shot, but it did challenge our team in the control department. Jason found himself locked in, and he trusted his shortened swing path for effective returns. He said, "I didn't struggle with control as much here as I did with regular groundstrokes. I think having less time to take full cuts at the ball helped keep me from launching it long. I found it to be very maneuverable and was able to find some good angles off my returns."

The open pattern didn't mesh with what Brittany looks to do with her return. She said, "With all the power and spin, there are bound to be some downsides. And with the Textreme Warrior 100 ESP, this included control and precision. It was most noticeable when it came to returning serves. I never felt fully comfortable taking big cuts at the serve and opted for safer, low-risk shots up the middle. I was missing more returns than normal, and they were mostly landing deep past the baseline. I had to really dial back the power and hit a more neutral ball to start points."

Similar to serving, Chris could use spin as a weapon during a return. He described, "Spin was my friend when it came to returning successfully. When I had plenty of topspin or slice on my returns, I could hit aggressively and keep my shots on target. If I happened to hit my return too flatly, I risked hitting long due to the high launch angle and lively response from the stringbed. Either way, the sweetspot felt huge, and the racquet offered easy power."

Sometimes the mechanics of a player's swing simply do not complement a racquet's design. In this case, Tiffani had a difficult time finding a consistent result. She said, "I struggled the most with the return. It's the flattest shot in my repertoire, and I had to be careful with my shot selection. If I swung too big or got ambitious with my shot placement, I often missed. My best tactic was to aim down the middle and be sure to use a shortened swing. On the upside, this racquet was easy to get into position and felt comfortable."

Overall - Score: 81