Yonex Duora 9 Badminton Racket, perfect women's badminton racket?
First impressions
The Yonex Duora 9 badminton racket is a light, even balanced frame with attractive graphics. The frame is magenta in color with gold graphics to highlight the forehand side of the frame and silver graphics on the backhand side. The Duora 9 is lighter and faster when compared to the Duora 10. The innovative Dynamic Dual Design system - a feature of the Duora series from Yonex boosts power on forehand smashes and clears while increases the swiftness on the backhands. Our team of experts tested the Duora 9 4U5 strung at 25 lbs over a week. The strung weight of the frame was 89.3 gms. The test results were quite interesting.
Smash - 8.0
How well did the Yonex Duora 9 perform while executing the sexiest shot in badminton? Not great. Our experts thought the power on full smashes was less than ideal. Half smahses were crisp. The stiff shaft increased control smashes. Our experts found it interesting that the frame felt slightly heavy compared to other Yonex 4U rackets. Overall the Duora 9 is not the racket for you if you want to add power to your smash. Our experts scored it at 8/10
Drop - 9.0
Badminton is not all about smashes. The Duora 9 was excellent while playing drops. Our team tested several variations of the drop including the cross drop, slice drop, reverse drop and even the backhand drop. The stiff shaft helped with drop accuracy to keep your opponent honest. Our experts thought the Duora 9 is a good frame to add touch to your game. BW team scored it at 9/10.
Clear - 9.2
Clear is the most important and basic shot in the game of badminton. Clears when used effectively can help players open up court space by pushing your opponent deep. Clears with the Duora 9 were deep and precise. The racket almost has a head heavy feel even though it is evenly balanced. Our experts could maneuver the racket with ease. BW experts rated it at 9.2/10
Drive – 8.5
Drives are extremely important, especially while playing doubles. The Duora 9 with its super-slim shaft enhanced playing drives consistently. Power was lacking though. Our experts thought they could control drives better with the Duora 9. They felt that the racket might suit a defensive minded player better than an attacking player. The Duora 9 scored a 8.5/10 on drives.
Defensive Lift - 9
The Duora 9 provided excellent control to execute precise defensive lifts on opponents sharp drops. Our experts felt the stiff shaft contributed to quick snap action resulting in lifts deep into the opponent’s backcourt. Our team scored it at a 9/10.
Net Kill - 9.5
Net kills are not easy to execute. Our experts felt they could execute the net kill effectively with the Duora 9. Infact, in their opinion it was easier to play net kills with the Duora 9 compared to most other Duora frames. They rated it at 9.5/10
Summary
Overall, the Yonex Duora 9 badminton racket marketed by Yonex as the ladies version of the Duora 10 is more suited for doubles play than it is for singles. It is an even balanced frame with a stiff shaft; more of a control frame than an attacking frame. It is ideally suited for player looking to add touch more so than power to their game. Our experts felt that it is one of lighter frames in Duora series of rackets from Yonex. Player considering the Yonex Duora 9 should also consider the following badminton rackets:
Victor Jetspeed 12 F Badminton Racket
Yonex Astrox 66 Badminton Racket
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