Volleys

Offering a solid feel at net, combined with an easy to maneuver weight and balance, the MicroGel Extreme turned in another impressive performance when our testers pushed forward. Finding the racquet to be a useful tool at net was Granville. "Another solid volleying racquet with excellent feel, touch and comfort. This one offered a large and forgiving sweetspot. There was really nothing I couldn't handle with this racquet in my hand. The lighter weight added maneuverability with little, if any, loss of power or punch." Hitting his share of winners at net was Jason. "This racquet offered a very solid feel at net. High, floating balls were easy to put away with a quick snap of the wrist. It offered a nice, firm feel for the punch volleys, while torsional stability was solid."

Ryan also enjoyed the solid response of the racquet when volleying. "This racquet was very solid at net. Maneuverability was superb. I really liked the point of impact with this one. I was getting great pop off the stringbed and good depth. All in all, just a nice, solid feel." Finding a generous feeling sweetspot was Spencer. "As I grew more accustomed to the more circular shape, the sweetspot felt more spread out as well. Maybe this was only mental, but I felt there was less twisting and torque when hitting off-center volleys. I found about average maneuverability at net with better feel and forgiveness."

Enjoying the mobile feel of the racquet was Chris. "This racquet was nice and maneuverable at net. I played quite a bit of doubles during this playtest and was very happy with the performance of this stick. The feel off the stringbed was clean and crisp, and I felt well connected to the depth and direction of my shots. The racquet felt pretty solid - even when the hitting got heavy. I was impressed by the stability and comfort from this racquet, given its light and maneuverable feel."

Serves

The MicroGel Extreme offered excellent access to spin and lots of control for our testers on serve. Enjoying the response of the racquet was Spencer. "I thought this was a good control-serving racquet. It was easy to generate spin for kickers out wide, while also being being able to keep opponents on their toes with a variety of placement. The power was average when trying to flatten out my serve with some pace, but overall a very comfortable serving stick." Chris found a very similar response from the racquet. "As from other areas of the court, I found plenty of spin when serving. I was able to consistently work the ball out wide with slice and topspin. I was finding my targets and felt comfortable mixing up serves to keep my opponent guessing. The pace I was generating wasn't exceptional, but I thought this was an easy stick to serve well with."

Granville also found his targets consistently with the MicroGel Extreme. "While very comfortable with excellent targeting, I did see a slight reduction in power with the lighter weight (lighter than I'm used to). That being said, I could still place the ball where I wanted with good pace." Finding lots of spin when serving with the racquet was Ryan. "This racquet was great on serve. I think this is the one area I noticed the circular head shape the most. It seemed like I was able to generate a lot of spin - more than a Babolat Pure Drive, which offers a very similar spec. Pace was still decent, but not as good as with the Pro version." Jason was also grooving on the spin friendly response of the MicroGel Extreme. "My serves were nice and consistent. I actually liked hitting my second serves more with this racquet. I got great spin on my second serves, and I was able to place the ball better as well. I would've liked to get more power off my first than I did, but that can easily be corrected by dropping the string tension a few pounds."

Serve Returns

When returning serve, our testers agreed that the MicroGel Extreme offered a mobile yet stable feel. Successfully hitting a variety of returns was Jason. "Being as maneuverable as it is, it was easy to move the racquet to where I needed it. I could even get some returns back on serves into my body. Blocking shots back was not as impressive, though, with some of the shots ending up short or in the net. Taking a full swing at slower paced second serves was not a problem and a joy to do." Chris also enjoyed the maneuverability of the racquet. "This is where the easy access to racquet head speed really paid off. I was able to take aggressive cuts at a lot of serves and really go after my returns. I was also impressed with the directional control when punching a return low and cross court during doubles play. I definitely felt like I had a lot of options when returning with this one."

Finding a solid and control oriented response was Granville. "The MicroGel Extreme was very solid on serve returns, allowing me to 'feather' the slice returns as needed. Alternately, I was able to get on top of the ball and drive it when needed. Even this lighter spec is still over 11 ounces, so it was stable, with minimal torque on off center hits." Ryan struggled to find the groove when returning with the MicroGel Extreme. "Hitting returns was the one area that was a bit tricky, as the racquet twisted a decent amount, making it difficult to return with deep shots." Having better results was Spencer. "Decent maneuverability and the large round sweetspot helped make returns pretty easy. I didn't feel I had any type of advantage, but could get the ball back solidly enough to where my opponent couldn't just put away the next shot. For the most part, my returns were good enough to get me into a rally that wasn't strictly defensive."

Overall

The MicroGel Extreme is an ideal fit for today's aggressive game. It offers excellent access to spin, provides maneuverability that is lightning fast from all areas of the court and features a slightly extended length for some additional pop. We found a firm yet comfortable response at impact and good directional control on all shots. The stringbed offers plenty of bite and responds well to the use of modern co-polyester strings. For a livelier response, a nylon multifilament string ups the power of this racquet considerably. All in all, an impressive stick that should be a must hit for young guns as well as those looking for a solid blend of maneuverability, control and moderate power at the 4.0+ level.

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Review date: June 2007.

All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse.