4 3/8 grip. This racquet is in good condition with a little paint scraping. Some removable lead tape has been applied to inner surface of the frame. I've left it in place. This is a model with a good reputation. There may be a shallow crack around 7 O'Clock on the head (see last 2 photos), or possibly it's just paint chipping. New replacement grip.The excitement and buzz about the Prince Tour Diablo racquets started before anyone outside of Prince even knew what these racquets would be called. We first got a glimpse of a Tour Diablo in the more than capable hands of WTA Tour star Jennifer Capriati as she blitzed her way through the draw at the 2003 US Open. Painted all black, and with the simple words "Experimental" emblazoned on the side of the frame, tennis fans and racquet gurus were freeze-framing their TV screens, trying to get a closer look at this mysterious racquet. Questions about the all black racquets quickly started to brew throughout the tennis community. Within days, the phones at Tennis Warehouse started to ring and our Talk Tennis message board started to receive more and more questions about the Experimental racquets. Die-hard Prince fans wanted to know things like: What is the frame composition? What are the specs? What will the racquets finally look like? When will the racquets be released? When can we get demos?
On January 16th, just three days before the start of the 2004 Australian Open, Prince provided its final answer. On the Prince Web site, the final look and specifications for the Tour Diablo racquets were revealed. What we learned was that the Prince Tour Diablo is available in two head sizes. The Tour Diablo Mid features a 93 sq. inch head and is 27" long, while the Midplus has a 100 sq. inch head and is 27.25" long.
Capriati, currently using the Tour Diablo Mid, was quoted on the Prince Web site as saying, "from its performance to its looks and name, I absolutely love the Diablo. The racquet feels great in your hands and gives groundstrokes an incredibly smooth feel. Also, I love knowing that I can direct the ball where I want and can also put enough pace on it to end the point with a clean winner."
So, would we fall for the devil like Capriati? We strung both head sizes with 17 gauge, multifilament string. One racquet of each head size was strung 2lbs above minimum recommended tension, and one of each 2lbs above mid tension. The use of overgrips and string dampeners was left up to each playtester. We playtested the Tour Diablo racquets for three weeks, here's what we found out.
Groundstrokes
The Tour Diablo Midplus offered our team members a lot of control when hitting groundstrokes. The Midplus also seemed to yield a little more power on slow swings compared to its Midsize brother. Enjoying the generous sweetspot of the Tour Diablo Midplus was Wendi. "From the baseline, the Tour Diablo Midplus was very solid. I didn't have the power issues that I was having with the Mid when caught out of position. The bigger headsize helped me with off-center hits and when I was pushed deep. I was able to generate some good topspin and the control was outstanding." Don was happy to find the appealing specs of the Tour Diablo Midplus to meet his expectations on court. Don said, "on paper, the Tour Diablo Midplus is a better fit for my game. Indeed, it was easier to maneuver, while still delivering a solid, consistent and comfortable response. I liked being able to make quick changes when necessary, or hit a 'buggy whip' forehand on the run. The slightly lighter weight made this possible. Ironically, I felt the Mid had a bit more power than the Midplus, mostly due to its weight. There's just more behind the ball. This was most noticeable when hitting defensive shots. Nonetheless, I liked the feel and quickness of the Midplus, and would choose it for match play. The added sweetspot and livelier stringbed was a good fit for my medium-fast swing."
Chris found a strong emphasis on control with the Tour Diablo Midplus from the baseline, saying, "although the amount of control I had was excellent, I would have liked a little more weight and zip on my groundstrokes. I tended to hit my cross court shots too short with this racquet, occasionally dumping them in the net. I did not have this problem when switching back to the Mid, where I found my usual weight and depth of shot. After making a slight adjustment, I was having more success with the Midplus, but still struggled a little when returning a ball that was hit deep to me with little pace. When my opponent hit deep with pace I really enjoyed counter punching with this racquet. Its light weight and maneuverability is a real plus on low pick-ups and half volleys from around the baseline. When I had more time to set up I found it easy to generate a lot of spin. I was able to move the ball around the court and find some nice angles. I found a lot of useful spin for lobs, and I hit some nice topspin lobs off both the forehand and backhand sides." After a slight adjustment period, Josh got down to some consistent hitting with the Tour Diablo Midplus. "I found more success using an eastern forehand grip and taking the ball low with this racquet," said Josh, adding, "when I used a semi-western grip the spin was great, but my shots tended to fall short. I found a better groove once I relaxed a bit and concentrated on my follow-through." Granville enjoyed the response he got from the racquet, saying, "the Tour Diablo Midplus offers a lot of feel. Soft enough to feel the ball and the racquet meet, strong enough to give you crisp feel and response. It makes the right sound too, "Thwap." I was hitting with good depth and pace and remarkable accuracy. The Tour Diablo Midplus seems to sit squarely on the fence between power and control. There was more power than I thought I could put on the ball when hitting out for a winner, while I also had enough touch to feather the backhand slice deep crosscourt or down the line. I will add that at times the racquet seemed to give me a cleaner hit, offering just that extra bit of pace. The extra pace made the difference between a clean winner down the line and my opponent grabbing a reaction volley or just getting the racquet on it. Every trip out was really a pleasure with this racquet."
Volleys
The headlight balance, large sweetspot, thin beam, and maneuverable feel of the Tour Diablo all combined to produce a slam dunk performance for our team at net. Don continued to enjoy his time with the Tour Diablo Midplus when he moved up to net, saying, "this was a fun racquet at net. It was quick, yet stable, and I felt I could get to almost any ball. I was able to hit deep, penetrating volleys or pull back, and execute the dropper. Retrieving overheads seemed easier, thanks to the racquet's mobility." Wendi also found the Tour Diablo Midplus to be a good fit for her net game. "This racquet was fun at net. I found the feel to be very responsive off the strings and it provided me with great touch. The maneuverability was a definite bonus, the racquet felt so comfortable in motion. Good control and deep volleys, as well as great touch volleys were the highlights of the Tour Diablo Midplus."
Chris found the Midplus up to the task of handling heavy hitting opponents. Chris said, "I volleyed well with the Tour Diablo Midplus. It felt very maneuverable at net and the sweetspot was generous. I found the racquet to be solid, even when up against a strong passing attempt, and I never felt any undue racquet twisting or torque. There was just enough punch to put away high volleys, but I mostly enjoyed the control I was getting. I had some good pick-ups from returns hit low to my feet and found some nice touch for angles and volleys to the open court."
Josh found some good maneuverability and feel at net, saying, "the Midplus is very maneuverable and I was able to hit a few nice drop volleys at different angles. However, I missed the comfort and stability of a heavier racquet." Granville said, "solid, crisp and maneuverable, with a buttery feel, this racquet has all the elements of a performance classic. Simply getting the racquet in position to contact the ball offers terrific feel and response. A 4.0+ player will find all the ammunition he/she needs to face almost any opponent."
Serves and Overheads
The open 16/18 string pattern of the Diablo Midplus offered good access to spin as well as a lively, yet controlled feel. Enjoying the feel of the Midplus on serve was Chris. "I'm not sure if it was the larger headsize, the lighter weight or a combination of both, but I was really able to crank some solid first serves with this racquet. I was generating nice racquet head speed and enjoying a little extra pop, which accompanied my faster swing. I rarely try to beat my opponent with pure pace on the serve, but I was having such good results with this racquet that I was quite successful going for the heater. There was one point in particular when I hit an ace down the 'T' which was easily the most satisfying serve I've hit in the last 18 months." Josh found more control than power on the serve. He said, "compared to the Midsize, I was able to generate more spin on my second serve. Serves were easy to control and I could kick the second high and wide to open up net opportunities. My first serves felt average. I had to put every ounce of my body behind each first serve to match the pace I was hitting with the Midsize." Wendi was as happy with the Midplus as she was with the Mid, saying, "I experienced most of the same results with the Midplus as the Mid on my serve. I just wanted to keep serving. Great motion and I felt like the racquet cut through the air well. I found enough pace on my serves to get me excited. I was able to place my serves with consistency. On my overheads I was very successful, and again, the Midplus felt great to swing."
Don quickly found the groove with the Tour Diablo Midplus, saying, "I enjoyed serving with this racquet almost as much as with the Mid. I could swing it faster, but didn't feel I was hitting as heavy a serve as with the Mid. Still, I liked the slightly lighter weight over a long playtest session, and could hit even better slice and topspin serves." Granville found the Tour Diablo Midplus to be comparable to his regular racquet on serve. "This racquet is comparable to my venerable Wilson Pro Staff 6.1, offering great feel and adequate power. No extra MphÕs on the "heaters" but plenty of spin potential and accuracy to put the ball on target. The soft flex gives a very nice slice, and the racquet is well-weighted for a follow-up volley."
Returns
For the most part, our team found a good blend of maneuverability and mass from the Prince Tour Diablo Midplus on returns. Chris found the same great response from the Tour Diablo Midplus when returning serve as he had when counter punching from the baseline. Chris said, "this racquet worked well for me on the return. I found I could use the pace provided by the server and concentrate on placement and consistency. The racquet felt very maneuverable, yet it didn't get pushed around - even when returning a heavy ball. All of my returns were working well with the Tour Diablo Midplus. Off the backhand side I was able to float the ball deep with slice, or if I had time, drive the ball with topspin." Wendi said, "the Tour Diablo Midplus was very solid on the return. It is so maneuverable that it just feels right on every swing. I was able to catch my opponent off guard by coming back with a well placed, hard return."
Granville found such a solid connection with the Tour Diablo Midplus when returning that he could even tell what the racquet was thinking. "It's always a great feeling to know your racquet wants to get the ball back over the net," said Granville, adding, "such is the case with the Tour Diablo Midplus. It is massive enough for the reflex returns to get over the net, stable enough to give you the best chance at a return when you are stretched wide, and soft enough to allow you to really hit out when the offensive opportunity presents itself." Josh found better results going for more of a defensive return with the Tour Diablo Midplus, "I had a difficult time returning serve consistently with the Midplus," said Josh. "I practically had to kiss my biceps on every follow-through from the forehand side to muster a deep return. I reverted to slicing every return on the backhand side to ensure depth and control. I definitely started the majority of my return game on the defensive." Having a better time returning was Don. He said, "returning serves with the Tour Diablo Midplus provided more options than the Mid. I was able to take a backswing against almost all serves. I really enjoyed returning second serves, where I could wind up and be aggressive without fear of the ball flying. When I was forced to block back a rocket serve there wasn't as much stability or power as the Mid, but I just focused on chipping low so the ball didn't sit up for my opponent."
Overall
Such is the consistent response of the Prince Tour Diablo Midplus that in most situations our team found plenty of room for creative shot making. Offering a generous sweetspot and a spin-friendly string pattern, our team found a consistent and controlled feel for baseline rallies. When moving up to the net, our team found a good blend of maneuverability and feel, combined with enough mass to punch away a winner. While the Tour Diablo Midplus brings a lot to the table straight from the cover, the 11.7 ounces strung weight leaves plenty of room for customization. As is, all-court players should definitely take the Tour Diablo Midplus for a test drive. Specs

Length: 27.25 inches, 69 centimeters
Head Size: 100 square inches 645 square centimeters
Weight: 11.7 ounces 320 grams Balance Point: 12.375 inches - 31 centimeters 10pts Head Light
Construction: 19 mm Straight Beam
Composition: Graphite / Titanium / Tungsten / Carbon
String Pattern: 16 Mains / 18 Crosses
Flex Rating: 62
Swing Weight: 316