You don’t see Prince frequently on the tour due to marketing budgets, but they still produce good racquets. Here is the Prince Ripcord XS Review.
Introduction
The Prince Ripcord XS is a control racquet in the vein of popular frames like the Yonex Ezone 98 and the Babolat Pure Drive 98. It has a stiffer feel and response which will give you good depth and a 16/18 string pattern for some launch and spin potential. It follows the pattern of these racquets coming at 305 grams unstrung and has a solid swing weight that does not make the racquet too much of a log to swing. The Ripstick 98 will swing faster and be more spin-oriented but has the aggressive o-ports, which can be a deal-breaker for some.
Below you have the specifications.
Specifications
These specifications are from but when I measured my demo racquet on the Metortune machine. I got pretty much spot on the same specifications, so the quality control was solid for this one. It competes with the Wilson Ultra Tour 98, where the extended length can make the swing weight higher. Some will like that and some won’t.
| Head Size: 98 in² / 632.26 cm² |
| Length: 27in / 68.58cm |
| Strung Weight: 11.4oz / 323g |
| Balance: 12.59in / 31.98cm / 7 pts HL |
| Swingweight: 325 |
| Stiffness: 67 |
| Beam Width: 25mm / 23mm / 21mm |
| Composition: Textreme/Zylon/Graphite |
| Power Level: Low-Medium |
| Stroke Style: Medium-Full |
| Swing Speed: Medium-Fast |
| Racquet Colors: Blue |
| Grip Type: Prince ResiTex Pro |
| String Pattern: 16 Mains / 18 Crosses Mains skip: 8T,8H One Piece No Shared Holes |
Playability
This racquet plays pretty much as expected. The power level is high, you are easily getting free depth. The 25 mm beam in the hoop sends the ball over with some interest, but the thinner profile beam in the throat makes it friendly also towards one-handed backhand players. The racquet moves fast through the air and is easy to whip around to control the ball with top spin.
I felt like you had to make sure you use a lot of spin to get the ball in since the power level is high. I would say higher than the Ezone 98 and more similar to the Pure Drive 98. At times I struggled to hit my targets with my Toroline TF Snap string at 49/47 lbs. The ball would sail a little on me if I wasn’t careful. That is why I would string this one a little higher.
The downside with stringing at a higher tension is comfort, but the racquet did not strike me as harsh so unless you have a history of arm issues, I think you can easily go up to 51/49 (23/22) or perhaps even a little higher. Toroline strings can be lively, so maybe a deader string can help you control the ball better.
I did like how the Prince Ripcord XS played. It had a pleasant sound on impact, I could take big cuts at the ball thanks to maneuverability and I did not feel like the string pattern would make the ball launch on me. On volleys, I had good touch and it was easy to move the racquet around at the net.
Serves came through fast thanks to the maneuverability. It was perhaps my favorite shot with the racquet. Serves and one-handed backhands, two strokes that seem to do well on aerodynamic racquets with a higher stiffness.
I think I need to tweak the string setup a bit because my main peeve was that I did lack some consistency at times. That could be a string situation. So here is a general recommendation that I try to stick to. If I like a racquet but there is one thing bothering me, there is usually a way to solve it, so give it more time. There won’t always be a way to solve it, but many players give up prematurely on good racquets.
Pros and cons
++ Power
++ Maneuverability
— I felt like I needed to add extra spin on my shots to hit my targets consistently (might be string thing)
Who is it for?
Aggressive players who like to take charge of points early and dominate their opponents. Baseline grinding is not the way with the RIPcord. You need to take big cuts and go for glory.
For doubles players it can work, but I tend to prefer a larger head size for doubles (Ripcord 100, for example).
Summary
Lots to like here. Some tweaking to be done. I will update the post if I learn new things about this racquet after trying different strings. If you are looking for a powerful 98 sq inch racquet, then the Prince Ripcord XS should be on your checklist. It has several things going for it and not many going against it.
Prince is like an alligator lurking in the river. You don’t think about them too much, but suddenly they are there and grab your attention fully. That is probably a poor metaphor, but they do come up with interesting products despite lack of buzz and player representation.
It’s available to buy at these links from our partners (USA, Canada), (code TNERD10 for a 10% discount) or Tennis Only (Australia).
Next up from them is the Prince Tours 2026. We tried the prototypes and the first impressions were positive. More to come on that.