Tecnifibre Tempo 298 Iga Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 86

Ready to tap into the magic that drew Iga to this spec, our playtesters were excited to get this Tempo 298 Iga on court. Starting from the baseline, first impressions were that the Tempo 298 Iga swung fast, offered easy spin access and delivered controllable power. Although it was quite the change-up in specs from Michelle's racquet of choice, she appreciated the new dynamics she could draw out of her game using this frame. She explained, "It is worth mentioning that my racquet of choice weighs a bit more than this Tempo 298 Iga, but I have always had a soft spot in my heart for racquets in this spec range. Within minutes of my first hit, I understood exactly why this racquet suits Iga's versatile game. It's fast, and it makes it easy to ramp up power, yet that 98-square-inch head offers a little more control than a 100-square-inch head, and the frame felt firm at contact but never uncomfortable. I loved hitting angles, and especially loved hitting them in doubles. Because I play with such a hefty racquet, I often don't swing it around fast enough to really get balls dipping, and I become more effective going straight through the ball. This Tecnifibre racquet allowed me to increase my racquet head speed, dip balls and get them to jump off the court. I found I could access great pace and depth. If I'm being hyper-critical, obviously a 298-gram racquet wouldn't feel as stable as anything weighing over 330 grams, and I did feel that when hitting against bigger hitters or anyone who could push me off the baseline."

Tiffani settled into the frame nicely, taking advantage of a few standout qualities. She said, "The Tempo 298 Iga immediately stands out on paper due to its unique 298-gram unstrung weight. Most racquets are either 295 or 300 grams, but this racquet falls in the middle. Once on court, I found this Tempo 298 Iga to play like a 300-gram racquet. I was finding easy power and depth, and I was seeing more rotation on the ball than I typically do. That easy access to spin surprised me. This racquet was maneuverable, but I didn't find it really whippy. By that I mean I couldn't get the head around with just a flick of my wrist. I found full swings were required to get the best results with this Iga racquet. I noticed it wasn't as stable when I didn't swing through the ball, and I could feel a flutter in the head. Aside from that, I didn't have any major issues. This racquet has a firmer layup than I prefer, but I didn't notice any arm issues or discomfort. The racquet offered the benefits of a stiffer frame without an overly stiff, uncomfortable feel."

Intrigued at first sight, Kristen found the racquet actually outperformed her high expectations. She described, "From first setting eyes on this racquet, I was excited to get it in hand and get on court. I loved the cosmetic, and the specs were appealing. On court, it played as I expected, but better. I expected it to be packed with a lot of power, which it was, but it was really more of a complete package in that it offered great access to topspin. It was great on slice, it felt stable, and it played with better control than I would have thought given the specs. It is a stiffer frame and not typically what I would gravitate to, but that said, I thought it played comfortably outside of the sweetspot, and it offered enough feel on shots for me to get dialed in on consistency and shot placement. It also swung super fast through the air, so it was easy to be wristy with shots and react quickly under pressure."

Kendal quickly found her groove from the back court. She said, "I really enjoyed this racquet from the baseline. I felt like the weight was just right for generating racquet head speed. I was able to get great topspin and good control when stepping in to drive the ball. I also found that I had a good feel for the ball on the strings. When slicing, the ball stayed nice and low over the net, allowing me to really drive my slices through the court."

Volleys - Score: 87

The sub-300-gram weight didn’t compromise the stability or cause a dip in performance at net; rather, the specs came together nicely to ensure a smooth transition forward. The stiffer layup of the Tempo 298 Iga played right into Kendal's preferences. She said, "I really enjoyed hitting volleys with this racquet. It feels a bit stiffer, which I like in my racquet, especially when at the net. I could place the ball wherever I needed to on the court, whether I was driving the ball or hitting a touch volley."

It was also business as usual for Tiffani, who noted, "Volleying with the Tempo 298 Iga was pretty straightforward. This racquet was easy to get into position, and I could just block the ball back. The ball went where I directed it, and that's about all I can ask for when volleying. I like to keep it simple with my volleys, and this racquet was great for that."

Having tested this racquet in singles and doubles play, Michelle found plenty of options when moving forward. She said, "At net, the Tempo 298 Iga was super maneuverable and stable, and it made it easy to execute almost any volley. It felt firm, but still allowed me to play with angles and drop balls. The ball almost felt like it sat on the stringbed, so I could manipulate any shot I wanted. Swinging volleys were great too since the racquet cut through the air fast and effectively without lag."

"I loved this racquet at net," Kristen added. "It was super quick to get in position, stable on contact, and I felt like I had great touch and plenty of oomph for putting away shots."

Serves - Score: 87

With the Tempo 298 Iga's user-friendly maneuverability, it's no surprise that our playtesters fell right into sync when serving. Kristen described, "Stepping up to serve with this racquet was seamless. It was easy to swing overhead, which gave me the racquet head speed I needed to mix things up, flatten out serves and tap into spin."

Tiffani had a similar experience, saying, "I almost immediately fell in love serving with this racquet. I noticed more power, and even more spin, on my serves than usual. I wasn't expecting that considering its relatively low weight and 98-square-inch head size. This racquet came through the hitting zone easily, and it made serving easier. I wasn't quite at the Pure Drive level of power, but I was loving the boost I got on my serves."

This racquet continued to impress Kendal. She noted, "Serves were great. I got awesome pronation on my swing. I got great pop on my flat serves and great spin on my kick serve."

Compared to Michelle's racquet of choice, the Tempo 298 Iga felt less cumbersome overhead, allowing for explosive ball movement and ease of placement. She elaborated, "I enjoyed serving with this racquet. In full transparency, if there's an area where my racquet of choice becomes a bit taxing at times, it would be on serve. Don't get me wrong, I love the plow through, but some days it’s nice to swing something a bit lighter and faster. With this lighter racquet, I could also manipulate more movement out of my serves, which meant I could kick easier, slice easier and target my spots with a bit more confidence. Similar to what I did with my groundstrokes, I found it more fun to get movement on the ball rather than straight pace. I felt confident serving with the Tempo 298 Iga."

Returns - Score: 83

Speed was a key theme on returns, where our testers took advantage of the the easy depth and spin to push their opponents off base. The versatility that Michelle was able to draw out of her game with the Tempo 298 Iga proved helpful on returns. She said, "I quickly realized that based on what this racquet had to offer, I needed to work on finding angles and pull balls off the court rather than drive them powerfully through the court. If I tried to tee off on returns the way I would with a heavier racquet, I was making more errors than I wanted, but angling dippers and adding height to the ball really seemed to work in my favor. Again, this was an amazing racquet in doubles. I could impart speed and spin and felt like I was dipping balls nearly perfectly at my opponents' feet no matter how fast they closed the net. This allowed me to drop the return low and have them pop it up. Then I could angle again off the court, and if that didn't win the point, my partner was there to close out the next defensive ball. The Tempo 298 Iga held up well and was stable against bigger serves."

Tiffani embraced the ability to take full swings on returns. She explained, "Like with groundstrokes, I found a full swing was better when I was returning. Sometimes I use a shortened backswing on returns so I can get the racquet around in time, but with this racquet, the shortened swing revealed some instability. This racquet came around my body quickly enough that it wasn't an issue, so I felt confident hitting both offensive and defensive returns."

Always a fan of a racquet that allows her to play an aggressive return game, Kristen felt right at home returning with the Tempo 298 Iga. She said, "I was impressed with how controlled (yet powerful) my returns were. I could slice back serves effectively, with the balls landing deep at the baseline, and I could easily tap into a more aggressive return game and pick my spots, which I love!"

Kendal was able to turn a weakness into a strength when returning. She said, "I'm not the best returner, but I was able to place my shot wherever I wanted on the court. I was also able to chip and charge a lot."

Overall - Score: 86