First of all: The YONEX ASTROX series stands for top-heavy rackets designed for offensive and powerful play. Compared to its competitors in this model series, the new ASTROX 99 PRO stands for maximum power with extreme swing weight, making it the ultimate in the heavyweight class.

What has changed in the new YONEX ASTROX 99 PRO? The string pattern has been adjusted from 68 to 76 grommets, which reduces the string spacing and improves the “concentrated sweet spot.” In addition, the shared grommets on the top have now been replaced with individual grommets. To balance the weight even more towards the racket head, the traditional end cap with the YONEX logo and the inscription “Japan” has been replaced by a so-called “Lightweight End Cap.” This is lighter and the YONEX logo appears in a more elegant silver look. The ‘Japan’ is now located on the shaft as “Made in Japan.” For the first time, the ASTROX 99 PRO also features the “Power Assist Bumper,” the flexible “Repulsive Composite Material,” and the promising “CFR Material” (Carbon Fiber Rubber) in the frame. All for a good cause: more power for hard smashes supported by an ultra-slim shaft.

As always, the appearance is not unimportant. The designers at YONEX have really gone to town here. Never before have we at BADLAB seen such an explosion of color on a YONEX racket. From the orange and black eyelets to the green eyelet tape on the bumper at the head of the racket. All colors were produced on a shiny black frame with silver-gray elements as a background and playfully decorated. The color combination is meant to symbolize the violent impact of a meteorite on a planet, causing an eruption and spewing lava from the core. It's an impressive idea that this force strikes the opponent's side in the form of a smash. But enough about the material and appearance, let's move on to our specialty, the practical test.

As with the previous model, our first impression of the new ASTROX 99 PRO in practical testing was that it is more like a sword than a foil. Although we chose the slightly lighter U4/G5 version, our experienced testers from the BADLAB “racket team” quickly realized after the first few rallies that this was not an all-round racket, but a head-heavy racket in a class of its own. Some testers, who prefer lighter rackets with more flexible shafts, quickly reached their limits.

The evaluation was again carried out in the categories: “Power,” “Forgiveness,” “Feel/Ball Control,” and “Handling,” all on a scale from 1 point (barely applicable) to 5 points (fully applicable).

Since some members of our “BADLAB racket team” prefer models from the ASTROX series and have also played with top-heavy, stiff badminton rackets such as the YONEX Duora Z-Strike or the YONEX Voltric Z-Force 2 in the past, they were immediately impressed by the spectacular combination of swing power for long clears and a solid feel when smashing. . Without a doubt, the new YONEX ASTROX 99 PRO delivered a full 5-point maximum rating from our testers in its signature discipline of “power for long clears and hard smashes.”

In the “handling” category, the practical test clearly showed that the YONEX ASTROX 99 PRO has not found its calling in this discipline. Most testers agreed that its extreme top-heaviness requires too much physical and technical effort for quick handling during drives, defense, and short play to score points with the BADLAB “racket team”: 3 points.

Due to the power concept with the extremely small racket head, the BADLAB “racket team” suspects that the YONEX ASTROX 99 PRO does not perform well in the “forgives inaccurate hits” category. Nevertheless, it scored above average in this category, as some of our experienced testers were very skilled at hitting accurately with rackets with small heads: 3.5 points.

In terms of “feel and ball control” the test team was once again required to use a lot of technique. If you have this, the new YONEX ASTROX 99 PRO delivers a lot of power for attacking play and a very good feel thanks to its concentrated sweet spot. The racket is hard, especially at slow swing speeds, which increased control for our testers. At higher swing speeds, however, it becomes more flexible, allowing the shaft to generate more snapback power, which was rated very positively in the practical test: 4.0 points.

Conclusion: With its consistently top-heavy design and stiff shaft, the new YONEX ASTROX 99 PRO is not an easy-to-play all-rounder like the ASTROX 77, nor is it a tailor-made option for different types of doubles players like the ASTROX 88 or the popular ASTROX 100 ZZ. The new ASTROX 99 PRO is a radical specialist tool for singles players with a clean hitting technique. So it's no surprise that the new ASTROX 99 PRO is played by world-class players such as Shi Yu Qi, Alex Lanier, and Toma Christo Popov, as well as the current top-ranked German player Matthias Kicklitz.

Overall assessment by the BADLAB “racket team”: The new YONEX ASTROX 99 PRO is an uncompromising, top-class hard-hitting machine with extreme swing weight. This badminton racket enables powerful, precise shots with excellent feedback and control. The ASTROX 99 PRO is perfect for singles players who need a less fast reaction mode for their game than in doubles. In our opinion, anyone who has the physical prerequisites and good hitting technique should definitely try out the new ASTROX 99 PRO! For those who would like to try out a simpler version of this racket, YONEX offers the ASTROX 99 TOUR, GAME and PLAY.

Tip: The recommended strings for control players are the YONEX AEROBITE and for hard hitters the YONEX EXBOLT 68/65, which has been specially designed for the racket in green and orange