Prince O3 Tour 100 (290)

Black/Green

Maybe it’s the name, maybe it’s the unique feel of their rackets. Either way, there’s something special about holding a Prince frame in your hands.

Their story though, starts not in rackets, but in tennis ball machines. Founded in 1970 in Princeton, New Jersey – yes, hence the Prince name – the brand’s first product was also a world-first: a ball-throwing machine, which aimed to help players of all levels improve their game by allowing unaided practice at the court or at home.

One such player was Howard Head, founder of the HEAD sporting goods company, who had taken up tennis following his retirement in 1969. Always one to look for improvement, Head bought a Prince ball machine, and, eventually, the entire company.

Having tinkered with his ball machine in hope of boosting his limited skills, he started to do the same with his racket, landing upon a design for a larger frame that would have a significantly larger sweetspot than anything seen before. A multi-million-dollar business acquisition and a few thousands hours in the lab later, he and his engineers produced “The Prince” and began a tennis boom, allowing amateur players around the world to hit more successful shots and have more fun playing the game.

Since then, Prince rackets have been beloved by amateurs and pros alike, with stars such as Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati, and Bob and Mike Bryan having wielded the famous “P” over the years, along with too many club players to count.

Their modern range includes the iconic Tour, the Phantom, the Beast, the Legacy, and the Vortex, with a selection of weights and headsizes to choose from, and options boasting the feel-enhancing O3 grommet technology. If you’ve never tried a Prince racket, trust us, you’re missing out.

Control rackets usually have closed string patterns – essentially, more strings per area – to increase ball contact and give you more control over your shots. They tend to have thinner beams to allow more flex and often utilise material technologies to make you feel more connected to the ball.