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Yonex Glan Z – 3 Things We Like About It

YONEX NANORAY GLANZ 1
The Nanoray Glaz was designed for older players who need additional power from their racquet.
The “3 Things We Like About It” product review series was created to give customers a brief summary of the three most important features of new products in our southwest Calgary store. All products in this series are available in-store and online at the time of publication.

The Yonex ™ Nanorary Glan Z was released in Canada in April of 2015. It was created for doubles players who need a little help from the racquet in the power department. Specifically, it was created for older players who may not have the swing speed they once had. As a result, we expected this racquet to be a “little old ladies” doubles racquet.

Much to our surprise, however, it’s not. Instead the Glan Z turns out to be an excellent racquet for players of any age who want to improve the depth of their backhand clear shots.

Technically speaking, this racquet was created to offer power and consistency at lower swing speeds. Both the isometric shape of the head and the Vertical-A Concept grommets work to enlarge and maximize the power of the sweet spot. At the same time, the aerodynamic head shape combined with a thinner profile lower frame and a wider profile tip give the Glanz optimum repulsion, especially at lower string tensions.

VERTICAL-A CONCEPTSo when you think about it, it becomes obvious. It really doesn’t matter what level the player is at; their backhand swing speed is always slower than their forehand swing speed. That just a biomechanical reality. So when Yonex designs a racquet that offers more power at slower swing speeds, of course they end up with a racquet that improves power on the backhand.

This improvement is just one of the things that we like about the Glan Z. What we also like are the weight and the balance. Unlike many high performance racquets which are so light that they contribute to the development of tennis elbow in recreational badminton players, the Glan Z averages a sensible 83 grams. In the balance department, meanwhile, the Glan Z is head light, which makes it perfect for clearing and dropshots.

Overall, this racquet is best-suited to defensive players who need a little help on their backhand clears. Infused with the new REXIL FIBER material and built based on the Torque Power Theory, the GlanZ sends the shuttlecock even further than other racquets in the Nanoray series. It is available in Brilliant Black. Demos are available in-store right now.

Racquet Selector For a full list of racquets in this category, please check out our ONLINE RACQUET SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, weight, balance and more.
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VCORE TOUR F 93 “Best Performance Frame”

YONEX VCORE TOUR F 93 TENNIS RACQUETYONEX USA MEDIA RELEASE
3 MARCH 2015

The VCORE Tour F 93 has been selected as the racquet with the best high-performance frame in Tennis Magazine’s 2015 Racquet Guide, published in its March/April issue.

Testing was comprehensive, with many samples of each racquet sent to a panel of diverse playtesters, ranging from tennis coaches, former players, and racquet technicians. With racquets strung to the respective manufacturers’ standards, playtesters examined the racquets in areas such as power, control, comfort, manoeuvrability and playability. Playtesters also received evaluations from playing partners, students and customers to form a well-rounded opinion on the racquets.

“This frame is about precision and control,” praised the review, “Nowhere was that more evident than at net, where the small head size, easy handling and superb feel at contact made for great volleying.” The slightly larger VCORE Tour F 97 also received a mention in the category of high-performance frame.

Read the full review on Tennis Tuesday here: http://issues.tennistuesday.net/02-24-2015/p/8

Members of Team Yonex ™ are seeing remarkable results with the VCORE Tour F. In the recent Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, rising Croatian tennis talent Borna Coric (VCORE Tour F 97, POLYTOUR SPIN) played an outstanding match against Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray, which the teenager seized in straight sets.

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Racquet String Gauge Guide

Racquet string comes in a variety of gauges. Below is a brief summary that hits some of the high points.

GUIDE TO STRING GAUGES
15 GAUGE
Ultra thick string. Highly durable. Great for high school tennis programs and loaner racquets where durability matters more than playability.
16 GAUGE
Most common gauge for tennis. Most common gauge for pre-strung tennis racquets. Reasonably durable. Capable of generating sufficient spin to satisfy most tennis players. Is sometimes used by squash players seeking maximum durability.
17 GAUGE
Suitable for tennis, squash and racquetball. Preferred by tennis players who like to generate extra spin. Additional stretch offers additional power. Popular gauge for tennis players who use polyester strings. This is also the most common gauge for squash and racquetball.
18 GAUGE
Suitable for tennis or squash. Extreme touch and spin, but not very durable. Excellent ball pocketing for added power. Like natural gut, 18 gauge is a bit of a status symbol for tennis players.
19 GAUGE
Suitable for squash. Extreme touch and spin, but not very durable. Excellent ball pocketing for added power. Not recommended for frequent string breakers.
20 GAUGE
Thick badminton string. Typically used by schools and community centres in program racquets. Sometimes used by players looking for exceptional durability.
21 GAUGE
Most common gauge for badminton string. Not suitable for anything other than badminton.
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VCORE Si 100 “Best for Feel”

YONEX VCORE Si 100 TENNIS RACQUET 3
YONEX VCORE Si 100 TENNIS RACQUET 3
YONEX USA PRESS RELEASE
8 MAY 2015

Yonex ™ VCORE Si 100 Named “Best for Feel” in UK’s Tennishead

The VCORE Si 100 was named “Best for Feel” in the June issue of UK tennis magazine Tennishead’s 2015 Racket Reviews.

The review praised the racquet’s strong focus on spin, and its potent sweet spot due to the dense feel of the string pattern. It also praised the frame’s specific engineering towards both spin and power. “There’s no better feeling,” lauded the article.

With a unique grommet pattern that increases string movement, the VCORE Si puts that extra edge of spin needed to shock opponents on the court.

Angelique Kerber has sealed two recent victories at the Family Circle Cup and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with the racquet.

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What’s in Your Bag?

Tecnifibre Air Endurance Rackpack
Tecnifibre Air Endurance Rackpack
Last night, my squash team (Extreme Slammers) played our last match of the regular season. We beat the other team 5-0 and, as a result, are now moving on to the playoffs. This means that I will be playing the two most important matches of my season next week.

My tradition at this time of year, is to go through my squash bag in order to A) make sure that I have everything I need for the playoffs and B) to get rid of the extra weight that I no longer need.

So since I have to do this project tonight anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to create a list of what is in my bag insofar as it might be helpful to new players who are trying to decide A) what they should have in their squash bags and B) what size bag they will need to purchase to get through their squash season.

Without a word of exaggeration, this is what I find in my bag as I empty the contents on the floor.

Racquet Compartment
– 3 squash racquets
– 1 i-Mask squash visor

Central Compartment
– 1 pair squash shoes
– 1 pair running shoes (explained below)
– 1 three ring binder (my training log)
– 1 shower kit (containing body wash, hair gel, brush and hand sanitizer)
– 1 first aid kit (they are not always around when you need them, so I carry my own)

Clothing Compartment
– 4 pairs black shorts
– 2 face towels (for sweat management)
– 1 shower towel

Accessories Compartment
– 12 new squash balls
– 5 used squash balls
– 11 head bands
– 1 wrist band

Side Compartment 1
– 1 pen

Side Compartment 1
– 7 quarters (for coin-op lockers)
– 3 loonies (for coin-op lockers)

I should mention at this point that my squash bag doubles as a gym bag, which is why I also have running shoes in there. Rather than carrying one bag for squash and another for indoor/treadmill running, I just carry everything in my squash bag. That way, if I show up for a match and my partner doesn’t, I have the right shoes to do a 5K on the treadmills upstairs.

Do I need to carry all of this stuff? Yes, I do. I often go straight from the store to the court, so I need shorts in my bag. The same is true for towels and headbands. I keep a stack of towels and headbands in my closet and fill my bag with extras as needed. Since I am usually going back to work after playing, I need to be reasonably clean.

The only thing I consider optional is the first aid kit. However, I am around squash teams a lot and we seem to have need of the kit once a month or so. Without fail, the kits at the facilities are either behind locked doors or out of the essential stuff, so I choose to carry my own.

What you will not find in my bag is a full shower kit. After a match, I will wash what I need to wash and I will usually fix my hair, but I don’t work in an office environment and I don’t wear a suit and tie, so I don’t need a full shower kit like many squash players.

Every player, of course, has their own circumstances that will determine what they need to have in their bags. What I have learned from being around squash players for the past 30 years, though, is that most new players carry bags that are too small. They think they can save $10 or even $20 by buying a smaller bag. Then once they start playing regularly they realize that they have to throw out the one they just bought because it’s not big enough. So they end up wasting $75 or $80 instead.