Atomic Strike 1.25 mm - Reel

Amazing products

Dear Reader, I first hit with the TenX XCALIBRE about a week ago. I came across the brand last year in a Tennis Nerd review and was taken by the idea of an independent Australian racquet manufacturer/distributer. I kind of forgot about it until I played against a really nice guy at a local tournament early this year who was using the XCALIBRE. He spoke very highly of the feel and in particular, the effect of Uniflex technology. I jumped on the TenX website and made an enquiry. It was a pleasant surprise to receive a phone call from Paul Bennett, the company's managing director. We chatted about my tennis, then my son's tennis and then the virtues of the racquets. He explained that the company vision was to offer pro stock racquets, something I was familiar with but had never thought accessible to recreational players. There was no option to demo the racquets but Paul suggested I try the XCALIBRE, based on my being a long-time Wilson pro-staff user and Head prestige pro prior to that. The racquet did not disappoint. I purchased 3 racquets and each had been weighed. The weight was documented on the wrapping and each was within a gram or two of the 315g target. I replaced the stock grip with a leather one, strung with a Big Banger Polyester main and Wilson sensation multifilament synthetic cross. The feel was outstanding. I noted a slight power deficiency with off centre hits on my one handed backhand and topspin serve. This has improved with regular hitting and I assume is a function of an altered sweet spot or perhaps having strung a little to tight at my first go. The narrow constant beam with a bit of flex is beneficial for my one handed backhand and definitely feels nostalgic, like catching up with a long lost friend. The pro staff has become stiffer over time and neither my backhand nor my volleys have enjoyed this. The XCALIBRE has rounded out the feel in my strokes. Every shot feels great rather than one generation of pro staff feeling great on the groundstrokes and less so on the volleys or vice versa. I also plan to add 4g of lead tape to the head. I note that the factory racquet is slightly handle heavy relative to the racquets I have used in the past and this is intentional to accommodate customisation. This is a great and welcome move as customising other factory racquet has left them a little head heavy. Great vision. Definitely worth a look for serious players. Happy hitting.

A string that does all the work for you.

The most powerful I've had in a poly whilst still maintaining great control and spin. An absolute must try for those for have a control oriented racket looking for a little more pop on there poly!