By the time you’re reading this article, the Australian Open will have wrapped up, and the champions will already be gearing up for the Middle Eastern and early European swings. At the time of writing this, though, Alcaraz has just beaten De Minaur and qualified for his first ever AO semifinal. Rybakina is about to face off against world number two, Iga Swiatek.

If you haven’t heard by now, Yonex has just released some new Vcores, and Rybakina has been the face of the line for years. Unfortunately for Yonex, it seems that she hasn’t switched to the new version as she’s still sporting the old paint job. It’s always a bit of a bummer when your highest-ranked athlete isn’t showing off your flashy new racquet at one of the four Grand Slams, but lucky for Yonex, one of their pros is.

Tommy Paul fell to Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday (no shame in that), and he’s definitely switched things up this year. He’s been teasing the Vcore V8 paint job for months now, and digging a little deeper into his racquet, he seems to have actually switched to the new version from the previous V7.

If you take a look at these two pictures, you can clearly see that Paul’s new racquet doesn’t have the same aero fins that were a key design element to the throat on the previous version. This confirms that he has switched to the Vcore 98 V8, a racquet that has blown me away since I first started testing it in December. It’s very different to the previous one with certain playability improvements, but also some unique characteristics that you should take into consideration if you want to switch to the racquet.

Yonex Vcore 98 V8

On paper, the Vcore 98 looks familiar: it’s a 305-gram, 16x19 with a 98-square-inch head that is shaped very similarly to the previous one. However, the real story lies in the frame’s geometry. Yonex has thickened the throat to 22 mm and the lower hoop to 23.5 mm. While the stiffness has actually dropped to 60 RA, this thicker throat makes the racquet more rigid and resilient on contact. It’s a little bit more stable, but the real boost in playability comes in the form of power.

This is the most powerful 98 I’ve ever tested, full stop. While the previous version flexed quite a bit in the throat, the V8 is rock-solid. Because of that, it has a high launch angle and provides tonnes of easy depth that’s more reminiscent of 100-square-inch tweeners like the Pure Drive and the Extreme MP.

And then there’s the top-end power. If you can generate the swing speed to tap into it, this top-end power or “rip-ability” is staggering. The racquet produces an extraordinarily heavy ball that pushes opponents deep, redirects pace very efficiently, and has turned it into a modern, offensive weapon. The previous Vcore 98 was powerful; this is on a whole different level.

Of course, this much power can be a double-edged sword. Initially, I found myself spraying balls long, and lacking any sort of depth control. The high launch angle means this is not a racquet for flat hitters and it even required me to adapt my swing which is not something I’m used to doing.

This frame rewards a modern, "windshield wiper" swing and requires you to tilt the racquet face down and use a more Western-style grip. Once I did that, I realized that the racquet doesn’t have an inconsistent launch; it’s just consistently high and you rely on spin rather than precision to control it.

And it certainly produces enough spin for control. While some of these updates have made “easy spin” harder to generate, it still has plenty of string movement and snapback especially when you go big. It is quite a hefty racquet, though. With so much mass concentrated in the upper hoop and this thicker throat, it’s lost some of that whippiness and aerodynamic feel of the previous one. It’s not the fastest racquet through the air, but advanced players can certainly swing it quickly and that’s when it produces such a heavy ball.

So who is it for? Well that’s just it: advanced players. This new Vcore has quite a steep learning curve, but once you master it, it gives you so much more than the average 98. It actually reminds me of the outgoing Aero 98 in that regard. The 2023 Aero was one of the most popular racquets ever because of its deadly combination of power and spin — this new Vcore strikes a similar balance, with a bit more power, and a little bit less easy spin.

Speaking of the Aero 98, like I just said, the 2023 version has officially been replaced. Interestingly enough, instead of going for a subtle change, Babolat decided to go big. The 2026 Aero 98 has a completely new mould, which makes it easy to see if any of their 15 top 100 men’s pros have made the switch. (By the way, 15 players in the top 100 using one specific racquet is completely unheard of; that’s how popular the previous Aero 98 was).

And unfortunately, it seems that none of them have converted to the new version, at least not yet. You can see from these two pictures that Alcaraz is still using the 2023; once again, the throat tells the whole story.

Does that mean that the previous Aero 98 is better than the new one? No. Pros are notorious for taking a while to switch up their equipment — Roger Federer played with the same 90-square-inch Pro Staff for almost 15 years before finally switching to the RF 97 in 2014. There are certainly some benefits to this new Aero 98 that make it a little bit easier to use, slightly more comfortable, and probably a better option for the average tennis player.

Babolat Pure Aero 98 2026

The easiest way to describe the change in mould coming from the previous Aero is by saying that Babolat has “Ezone-ified” it. They’ve introduced a new Aero Modular 4 design, which brings a significant structural change to the throat and yoke.

The classic Aero throat has been flattened and thinned out, and the hoop is now more oval rather than very circular, with the yoke sitting slightly lower down the frame. Babolat claims this new shape is 6% faster through the air.

While the specs look identical on paper, the reality of how the frame moves and flexes has shifted toward a faster and more forgiving feel.

The previous Aero 98 was known for its raw, firm, and sometimes punishing response. If you hit the sweet spot, it had a very satisfying and explosive feel, but if you didn’t make perfect contact, it could be quite jarring. The new version uses a slightly more dampened NF2 Tech 2.0, which, combined with the new, flexier throat results in a massive increase in comfort and dwell time. The ball sinks into the strings, giving you a more guidey sense of control that certainly wasn’t there on the previous one.

You do lose some raw feedback in exchange for that more dampened and flexy feel, but the change should be a positive one for most players, especially if you are looking for more comfort. This racquet now directly competes with the Ezone 98. It offers significantly more “soft control”; the ability to hold onto the ball and place it rather than the stiffer “point-and-shoot” control of the last one.

Now let’s talk spin. While the old Aero 98 required a fast and full swing to generate RPMs, the new mould makes spin more accessible at lower speeds. The extra dwell time allows you to grab the ball and shape your shots with more margin.

Power has also changed a lot. In terms of easy depth, the new Aero 98 wins. The larger sweet spot means your off-centre shots still land deep; however, big hitters may lack some “oomph” off the string bed compared to the last one. The softer throat soaks up more of the balls’ energy during fast swings, making it feel less explosive.

The key takeaway with this new Pure Aero 98 is that it’s a more accessible racquet. It’s easier to swing, more comfortable on the arm, and more forgiving for power and control if you’re not perfectly on top of your game. It certainly is a big change, though, and, especially if you loved the previous one, it may take some time to adapt. But, at least you probably have three years until the next one comes out!

Keep an eye on our coming soon page and click Notify Me to be the first to know when a new racket hits our shelves.

If you do want to try any of these new racquets you can always come into the store and demo them, or you can check them out online.