Yonex tennis rackets

Yonex tells you what each line is for in the name of the range itself

Among the major tennis brands, Yonex is the one that needs the least translation: the name of each line is in its navigation, spelled out completely.

PERCEPT VCORE EZONE ASTREL control spin power comfort

The phrase that answers the most common question, EZONE or VCORE, and it's all from the brand: the EZONE is built to make the ball leave; the VCORE, to make it spin. And the proof is at the extremes of each range: the EZONE goes up to a 115-square-inch head for beginners, and the VCORE goes down to 95 for those who want to bite the ball.

PERCEPT versus EZONE is the same old axis, control versus power, with two differences that can be seen on the spec sheet: the PERCEPT has the brand's tightest patterns and the PERCEPT 97H weighs 330 grams unstrung, the heaviest of the entire brand.

We do not stock ASTREL. It is on the chart because it completes the brand's map, and because it is the natural answer for those who have elbow discomfort. We do not offer it today.

The square head: what ISOMETRIC is, and what Yonex says exactly

It has been the brand's hallmark since 1980, and it is on almost the entire tennis range, not just the high-end: almost all models have it. The Yonex Junior aluminum rackets, nor the junior EZONEs, do not have it.

What it is, geometrically. The hoop of a conventional racket is oval; that of an ISOMETRIC is more square. The mechanical consequence is direct: in an oval, the strings at the ends are much shorter than the center ones, and therefore stiffer. By squaring the hoop, the string lengths are equalized and the uniform response zone is expanded.

What Yonex says, and how to read it. Yonex claims that its ISOMETRIC design enlarges the sweet spot by 7% compared to a conventional round frame. The figure is a measurement by the brand itself, its spec sheet says so with an asterisk, and there is no published independent test.

We say it this way on purpose, and not because we distrust it: it is a claim with authorship. What we are not going to write is "it has been proven that the isometric head enlarges the sweet spot", because that is not documented.

(The same applies to the other two figures from Yonex: 15% more flexibility from its FLEXCON system and 3% more stability from its rigid face. The brand measures all three.)

How to read the name of a Yonex racket

EZONE 100 L line head modifier

The number is the head size in square inches: 95, 97, 98, 100, 105, 107, 110, 115 and 120.

Except in junior, where the number is the length in inches, just like in the other brands.

The modifiers:

How to recognize an older generation Yonex

In Yonex, the generation is not in the racket's name, it is in the reference code: the EZONE 100 carries 08EZ100, the eighth, and the PERCEPT and the MUSE carry 01, because they are new lines. Before, the generations had letters in the name: the EZONE was Xi → Ai → DR → GT, and the VCORE, Si → SV → Pro.

The short rule: if the name has a head number and nothing else, EZONE 100, VCORE 98, PERCEPT 97, it is the current range. If it has letters after the line name, like EZONE DR, EZONE Game or VCore Pro, it is from a previous generation.

Yonex says where each model is made, and it is not the same place

Yonex declares the country of manufacture of each model on its own product sheet, and it is not the same for the entire range.

The pattern is clear: the performance range is made in Japan; the beginner range and the very large heads, in China.

• Japan: the entire PERCEPT line except the Game, all ASTREL, and the EZONEs of 98, 100 and 105 in all their variants.
• China: the EZONEs of 110 and 115, the EZONE α, the entire MUSE line and the Percept Game.

Yonex continues to manufacture its high-end tennis range in Japan, and declares it sheet by sheet.

(Where a product is made changes over time. What holds up is the quality: the high-end range of Yonex is of Japanese production.)

What racket do Yonex professionals compete with

Yonex assigns each player to a specific model on its own product sheet. These pairings come from the brand, not from a blog.

And a fact that says a lot about the brand: Yonex assigns athletes only to its top-of-the-line models. From the rest of the catalog, it does not attribute any.

With the same usual warning, which also applies here: that is the model the player endorses, not necessarily the exact racket they compete with. The professional personalizes their frame, and many play a different mold than the one they advertise. We write "the EZONE 98 is Ben Shelton's model", not "Shelton plays with this racket".

Yonex rackets for children

Yonex publishes the recommended age and height model by model, on its own product sheet.

And there is a difference with the other brands that you need to know: in Yonex the material cut is not in the size, it is in the range. The Yonex Junior series, which we have in 19, 21, 23 and 25 inches, is aluminum in all its sizes, while the EZONE and VCORE junior of those same 25 and 26 inches are graphite. In other brands, the aluminum ends when reaching a certain size; here there is no cut-off inch, there are two ranges.

The length by height chart with the stages of the international regulations is in tennis rackets.

Where Yonex comes from

Yonex was born in 1946 in Japan, and not making rackets: it made wooden floats for fishing nets. In 1957 it moved to badminton rackets, and in 1969 it entered tennis with the T-7000, made of aluminum.

From improving that racket came the pressed oval section body that the brand still builds today in the EZONE: it is the oldest technology that is still alive among Yonex, Wilson and Head. And in 1980 ISOMETRIC arrived.

And to complete

A Yonex is played with tennis balls and held with tennis overgrips. To carry it, tennis racket bags.

If you compare brands, you have the Wilson tennis rackets and the Head tennis rackets, or all in tennis racket brands.

Doubts between an EZONE and a VCORE? Write to us and we will tell you which one fits your game, and which one does not.

Guide updated in October 2026.