Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro Badminton Racket Review

Rewind to early February 2022. I’m speaking to my contact at Yonex expressing interest in the new 2022 range where they explained what’s new and which items will be withdrawn. Imagine my shock to hear the entire Duora range was being withdrawn and a new Arcsaber was due for launch!

It made sense that Yonex would be retiring the Duora range of rackets. The Duora replaced the Arcsaber range which had been very popular. The Arcsaber 11 was still considered a part of the Yonex range due to its popularity amongst professional and amateur players. So, to remove Duora range and replace with a completely updated Arcsaber 11 Pro was a surprise and a very interesting addition to the popular Astrox and Nanoflare ranges.

This new Arcsaber 11 posed two questions:

• would it really be an Arcsaber and perform as Arcsabers have in the past?
• would the new 11 Pro version prove to be a better model compared to the original?

Lets get testing…

All high-end Yonex rackets arrive unstrung and without a cover. This is a 3U (85-89g) G4 model. I hear there will also be a 4UG5 model later in the year in the UK. The racket is finished primarily mid grey and dark red with black/white decals. I restrung the racket in Yonex BG65Ti at a tension of 27lbs.

On stringing the racket, I noticed a number of differences from the current Arcsaber 11. The shaft and frame are definitely thinner compared to the original. There’s a harder feel on the frame which I take as a positive sign that this racket can withstand higher tensions and hopefully the carbon is stronger. The ferrule is a different design too.

Interestingly the string pattern was different with Yonex designing this racket to accept the same pattern as found on many of their other top-end rackets such as Astrox 100ZZ. Initially I thought this was also a new pattern for the Arcsaber, and then I remembered it was first used on Arcsaber 8DX, but not on any of the other rackets in the range.

This is a stiff flex, even balance racket. The aerodynamic frame feels fast so let’s see how this racket performs.

I was expecting a solid-hitting, even balance, fast frame and this racket as spot on in the way it felt on court.

My preference is for head heavy rackets. Even balance rackets work well for me too. This racket held my attention with its aero-dynamic qualities delivering speed in the swing, the head swinging through so easily I was sorely tempted immediately to re-think whether I should be changing rackets.

I allowed my hands to do the work and enjoyed the punch, stroke of the clear, zero drag on the frame and a nice, clean hit to boot.

Mmm, I’m enjoying this racket.

There’s a delightful feel on drop shots, whether delivering with slice or pushing through, or simply rolling the hands through for the faster delivery.

There’s sufficient weight in the head to know where it’s moving and therefore remain in control. This, with the faster frame allowed the racket to flow so well, although placing personal preferences into the mix, I would rather have had a 3U G5 set up allowing the racket to sit in my fingers slightly better.

Less weight in the head means the racket can be called upon to execute faster, therefore presenting a quicker, snappier alternative in the shot execution. The feel on the stringbed was good and I’m sure would improve again with my usual string and tension set up.

My preferences for head heavy rackets means an even balance racket won’t hit as hard. That’s my personal choice. However, I am pleased to report that Arcsaber 11 Pro packed a really nice powerful smash, with my hands enjoying the faster, lighter frame when delivering stick smashes or simply letting the hands do their stuff.

The flatter game is where Arcsaber 11 Pro shows its class. There’s a confidence with this racket that you could time these shots well all day without the onset of early fatigue.  Ease off the grip pressure and squeeze to fire another fast, flat shot into the mid court. Speed of handling was impressive and there’s enough head weight to punch the flat shot without having to find other ways of adding that little bit more and becoming inefficient. Box ticked…again.

Swing speed is really quick. As expected, Arcsaber 11 Pro performed well in defence without having to overly work the hands. In defence, timing the lift is important. This is easy to execute with Acr11 Pro and there’s enough weight in the head to feel where the racket is moving to, without losing control. There’s also enough weight for a solid platform to confidently block returns. Sometimes the lighter frames lack this.

My hands worked well and picked up many a good smash, with plenty in the racket to counter hit with fast drives, or snap a high return to the rear court.

Arcsaber 11 Pro is very nimble at the net. There’s plenty of control to execute tight net shots combined with that extra speed when called upon for pushes, interceptions and net kills. The key here is being able to play certain shots with the right amount of speed that allows you to stop the racket head in time. This is where the even balance frame scores well, again providing that best of both feel.

Arcsaber 11 Pro is a very good even balance racket. It performs as you would expect a racket with these specifications should and looks great too!

I began this review wanting to ask two questions.

• Has the new Arcsaber 11 Pro performed like an Arcsaber? Undoubtedly.
• Is it an upgrade on the original Arcsaber 11? Definitely!

For me this was considerably better than the original. It feels stronger, is definitely faster, punchier, more powerful and the feel on the stringbed is so much better, providing a tighter feel on the shots.

RRP on this racket is around £170 which is lower than the original Arcsaber 11, previously £175. No doubt the online retailers will discount and I suspect pricing may be closer to £150 when there are sufficient stocks available in the UK. That’s still considerably more than the original, although I believe it’s worth it.

As I spent time with the Arcsaber 11 Pro, I realised I was really enjoying using it. Occasionally I would reach into my bag and use my beloved Astrox 100ZZ for a while as a comparison, before grabbing Arcsaber 11 Pro once again to continue my coaching or review hitting.

Yonex have, in my opinion, thought carefully about this racket and delivered a huge upgrade to a popular racket, which is very hard to get right. This is definitely an Arcsaber, and a super efficient, powerful, fast, strong Arcsaber that many players will gravitate towards. Most players will remember the original Arcsaber range and I’m certain using the name again will prove to be a stroke of genius.

My rating on the original Arcsaber 11 was four stars. This new model is considerably better. I’m delighted to see the return of the Arcsaber and hope this and the Play version become big sellers. I will rate this racket 5 star bronze. It may have squeezed into silver if I’d had a 3UG5 version.

It will be interesting to test the 4UG5 in the future although I’m not convinced we need a different weight and would rather have settled on a smaller grip size with this current weight.

This racket will be a good seller so I suggest you order yours soon to avoid disappointment. The initial batches sent to retailers were sold out in days. That’s not surprising and I hope you don’t have to wait too long before you can test the Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro.

It’s a beauty and should be included on your test list.