Prince O3 Tour Review
The Prince O3 Tour racquets are made for advanced competitive tennis. They will also appeal to aggressive hitters with intermediate skills and other players who love the touch and precision of a control-oriented players' frame. Prince offers the O3 Tour in three head sizes: a standard-length MS 95 and MP 100; and a half inch long OS 107. The MS 95 and OS 107 are new for 2006. 

On the court, the O3 MS 95 Tour offers the most traditional feel. It feels weighty and precise with outstanding feedback. The larger head sizes also hit with precision and good stability, but still a step removed from the MS 95 in terms of control. Touch was excellent on all three frames thanks to their relatively dense string beds and thin beam frames.

Traditional players' frames often maximize touch and feel at the expense of comfort. With the O3 Tours, you get both. Credit the unmistakable O-Ports that surround the perimeter of the O3 Tour frames. The O-Ports upsize the sweet spot and give the string bed a cushioned feel.

The swing-friendly design of the O3 Tours helps get the head speed these racquets need to hit with power and spin. The O3 Tour MS 95 rated the best for maneuverability. The balance of the longer OS 107 was not as natural. It still handled well and received good maneuverability ratings once our intermediate play testers acclimated to the additional length.

Last year’s O3 Tour MP 100 earned a reputation for outstanding spin capability. The 2006 models are even better. The OS 107 was the most spin friendly of the three. Players also liked the MS 95 for the way it could readily pick up head speed and translate it into spin.

Though the O3 Tours are not powerful racquets by design, the effect of the O-Ports does give them a surprising amount of power for their modest dimensions. Players that buy O3 Tours should still be prepared to rely on their skills to create powerful shots.

The least powerful O3 Tour MS 95 was a nearly unanimous favorite among our advanced play testers. It also rated highly with our intermediate evaluators, but many of them had mixed results when using it in competition. Some of those same intermediates were more competitive with the OS 107, thanks to its larger sweet spot and more generous power.