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Thursday, April 27, 2006

Prince O3 White and the nOn-symmetry

I have been using the Prince O3 White for 2 weeks now.
Just a couple days ago, I hit 3 aces, 4 down-the-line passing shot on the right side winners and two inside-out cross court winners during a couple of intense doubles sets.

I usually get about 1 ace per two sets against the same opponents. So hitting that 3 aces in two sets really got me pumped up about the O3 White. (We have played together for years, so they know my serves very well)

The down-the-line passing shots and inside-out cross court, were not something uncommon for me using the Yonex MP-5i HS, but it has not been consistence since I switch to this new racket. So, to be able to do that again with the new racket, pin-point to my intentions, was really refreshing to me. I realized that I am at one with the racket now, after only 2 weeks.
Prince O3 White vs. Yonex MP-5i HS
Prince O3 White is definitely a little stiffer than the Yonex.
Slightly lighter, well very slight, 0.1 oz. lighter. The Yonex is 11.4 oz. while O3 White is 11.3oz. However, it feels a lot lighter during play so it means that the swing speed is better.
Slightly shorter, since the HS is the extended version.
O3 White is a little more powerful… I had to increase the speed of my top-spin a little to fix that problem. I also string the racket with 17 gauge string to improve the top-spin and feel as well.
Stability (against torque)… equally great on both rackets.

So the verdict is that, the O3 White is better for my game is two major factors.
Firstly, the slightly more powerful stick help with my play as far as less exhausting on defensive plays and a little more put away power.
Second, the head speed is a lot better. This changes everything, more energy can be transfer to the ball.
Interesting Fact:
The Prince O3 systems use the large “O ports” to free up the string.

They system claim to create more movement/adjustment to create a larger sweet spot (should be sweet zone, because scientifically, the sweet spot has to be a point). So the system only work when the strings have significant movement. Meaning, it’s just another regular racket, unless you hit the ball hard.

Thanks to the “O-port” system, the racket is NOT symmetrical! The string have to alternate in both direction in order to string a racket… so to make that happened, the “O-ports” had to shift one slot, to receive the returning strings.

Aerodynamically, it should have an effect to the swing. It should have a weight balancing issue as well.

However, I have been using the racket without noticeable trouble… well, I have not heard of any complain from Sharapova or Coria (despite his tour results).

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