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Yonex has made a great deal of progress in the tennis industry since their first step in 1969. The company is known for their vast amount of technological development in their racquets, including the Isometric square head and Elastic TI. Using their latest and greatest technologies, the RQiS 1 Tour, currently used by Ana Ivanovic, offers players a great deal of feel and control on the court. The unique Cup-Stack Carbon Nanotube construction in the racquet frame enables the right amount of flex to stay with the ball and quick counter-force to make the full energy available for a powerful return. With a 95 square inch headsize and an 11.3 oz. unstrung weight, the Yonex RQiS 1 Tour offers a comfortable, spin-friendly control racquet for intermediate to advanced players.

Groundstrokes

At the baseline, the RQiS 1 Tour was about control and spin. The open string pattern allowed for easier spin generation and the thin beam width helped produce a faster racquet head speed. Although I was able to hit plenty of spin on my shots, the power level of the racquet was low. I had to bring my backswing further back in order to get the ball deep into the court. My slice shots skidded across the court and stayed low. I found a good amount of control in the RQiS 1 Tour, but the low power from the racquet took a lot of effort to get the ball over the net and deep in the court. Although it has a 95 sq. in. frame and a 16×18 string pattern, the racquet offered a controlled response from the baseline, able to hit angles from all parts of the court. It took some time getting used to the RQiS 1 Tour due to the low power, but the amount of spin that I could generate is a great feature of this racquet.

Volleys

At the net, the RQiS 1 Tour proved to be a maneuverable frame with its headlight balance. On reaction volleys, I was able to make contact in time to get good directional control on the volleys. The 95 sq. in. headsize offered an ample sweet spot that had a great solid feel to it, as well as a little pop to finish points. The RQiS 1 Tour maintained its control orientation; I was able to hit great angles on my volleys or short drop volleys with great feel and touch. The open string pattern also helped in getting a good amount of spin on my volleys. The heavy weight of the RQiS 1 Tour made the frame stable with a solid response on faster paced balls.

Serves

On my serves I found the same controlled and spin friendly response from the RQiS 1 Tour. I was able to place my serves well, but the low power from the racquet required me to work harder. My first serves were definitely lacking in power and I tired from trying to produce my own. The spin I could place on my second serves was good, but not as much as I could’ve placed on my groundstrokes. I got a comfortable feel and response while serving, although, as I mentioned, my arm became tired from swinging the RQiS 1 Tour. The RQiS 1 Tour took a while for me to get used to, but was well worth the effort.

Serve Returns

The RQiS 1 Tour performed decently against a variety of serve types with good maneuverability and solid weight to back it up. The maneuverability helped with handling spin serves as well as preparing to rip through slower paced serves. Returns were precise and controlled, but the downside is that I had to take a long backswing in order to get any power on my returns. The 95 sq. in. headsize allowed me to deflect some of the harder and faster serves with some sense of direction and depth without being punished for it. The RQiS 1 Tour provided a solid and comfortable response while returning, and I was able to get a fair amount of spin on my returns with great placement.

Overall

The overall performance of the Yonex RQiS 1 Tour was thrilling and a bit tiring. I found a great deal of spin generation from the baseline and at the net. I was able to place the ball deep or get a good slice on a short shot. With its solid weight, The RQiS 1 Tour was quite stable and provided a comfortable response at the net and on serves. Maneuverability made the racquet easy to swing. The only drawback is the low power level. The extra work to produce my own power was tiring and frustrating at times. The RQiS 1 Tour is definitely a control-oriented tennis racquet; it is geared toward advanced players with long swings who are looking for a spin-friendly and maneuverable frame. If that sentence describes you, the RQiS 1 Tour should absolutely be on your demo list.

Reviewed by: Michael Tan

To purchase the Yonex RQiS 1 Tour click here.
To demo the Yonex RQiS 1 Tour click here.