I am currently looking for a medium flex 3U (but more around 85/86 gr.), head heavy racket. Mainly play singles (early intermediate level - D8/D9 rankings in France) with a defense-oriented game, play a lot at the net and loving it, but when I smash, I like to hammer it down. I have been playing with 4u duoras 55 for 5 years now but I have an old Yonex omega 5 (3u, do not know the rest of the specs) and it really generates powerful smashes compared to the duoras, so I feel like it is time I upgrade my 2017 duoras. I stumbled on this Babolat Satelite Origin Power (link). I am not a fan of this brand but somehow, when looking for a racket with the desired specs, it caught my eyes as it gathers the specs to generate power but... with a short shaft (662 mm) as to remain "manoeuverable at the net". I am very dubious on marketing so I would love to know real-people feedbacks on this racket or your experience with shorter-shafted rackets. Thank you
I'm a Victor fan so TK-F Enhance Edition at 3U would do great for singles and offers high mobility and great smash. Never tried Origin power but I've tried X-Feel Essential. Babolat offers pretty good rackets (very durable IMO). You can look into Astrox 77 3U version as well. Since the price is very reasonable. Playable for both singles and rear court doubles.
Play with a racquet is the best way to learn about it. I've always gravitated towards head light racquets, I've enjoyed Nanospeed 9900 and Nanoray 800 the most. Yonex did something crazy with the Nanoflare 800 though (nanoflare being the most recent head light range and replaced the previous ones). What they have done is made the whole length of the racquet a bit longer, made the handle a bit shorter and made the head of the racquet smaller like in the Astrox100zz. This whole combination makes it feel different, mostly because the sweet spot is maybe .5-1.5cm further up the racquet. It throws me off when serving, defending and when smashing without a lot of preparation. Keep this in mind when buying a racquet with a longer or shorter shaft combination than regular racquets.
A shorter shaft usually means stiffer shaft, because less length means less whipping. It's only more maneuverable at the net for doubles, as doubles players usually grab the racket at the top of the handle or even reaching cone so that they can respond quickly to any incoming shots. Doesn't sound like a suitable racket for singles to be honest, having a normal length racket would provide more reach which should be more suitable for singles games. Depending on your budget, have a look at the Victor TK-30 which is essentially a 'lite' version of the Victor TK-Onigiri.
