The most famous player who uses the Astrox 88s is Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. Many other women’s doubles players with the likes of Yuki Fukushima are also using it. In the singles category, Viktor Axelsen was also using it for quite some time.
Pros:
Fast swinging racket, a perfect doubles racket
Cons:
Smash power has been sacrificed a little for speed and manoeuvrability
Playing style this racket is suited for
This racket will suit players who does not heavily rely on heavy smashes all throughout the game. Primarily will suit doubles players very well. This racket will give you confidence while intercepting your opponents shots around the net.
Racket(s) which feel similar to the Astrox 88S
Yonex Arcsaber 11 (the astrox 88S delivers more powerful smashes though it feels roughly similar)
I got myself the 4U G5 model. (4U is the lighter verion, 3U is the heavier. G5 smaller grip handle, G4 is the larger grip). As this review comes very late, you can guess that I have played a lot using this racket.
I have practiced a lot with this racket, also played a lot of matches. The first thing I do to warm up when i get into court is to warm up by hitting a flat drives. The flex on the racket seemed right for me. It was snappy, it felt very good.
Because of its balanced nature, hitting back court to back court clears required a little bit more effort than a racket like Z strike or the astrox 88D. Smashes also felt less powerful because of the lighter head on the racket.
But this is as far as demerits go on this racket. My defensive shots improved a lot. The sweet spot on this racket is very large. Changing the direction on my defensive shots by crossing was effortless. It also boosted my counter attacks, thanks to the fast racket speed.
Drop shots, net shots and all other soft touch shots all worked well with this racket. While the smashes were less powerful, I could hit my half smashes more accurately. All shots which require more wrists felt easy with this racket. As a result, all backhand shots felt very easy.
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