Yonex 3rd Gen Astrox 88S Pro Badminton Racket Review

On today’s video I am reviewing the 3rd generation Yonex Astrox 88s Pro.

As you can see this is sort of metallic silver, black and like an aquamarine decals. It’s a stiff flex head heavy racket, but I would say the head weight is more towards this part of the racket than it is, distributed at the top end.

This is a 4u g5 version and the UK there’s also a 3u g4, but in other countries there will be possibly the full range with the 3u and the 4u and the different grip sizes. As you would imagine with these rackets now and Yonex there is also a Tour version, the Game version and the Play version.

So how does this racket play?

Well I found it really good fun to play with. It is weighty enough that you can feel the head and you can control it, but not to the extent that it may be considered a bit of a hindrance or a fatiguing racket.

I found it great for all the sort of net work, when I’m doing a lot of feeding there or when I’m feeding for defence. It’s been absolutely superb for that.

It’s also really powerful too. So there are some people who just can’t swing a really head heavy racket and get the best from it. So this may be the answer for you. If you are looking for something where you need to feel the head weight, but you just don’t like the really heavy duty rackets, then this may fit in your category really well.

This is also very very different from the 2nd generation and more in keeping with the 1st generation in respect of the head shape itself. And so it’s almost gone back to the original head shape. I also feel that there’s a sort of change here in the aerodynamics, and the carbon feels very different to that used in previous versions of this racket and probably more in keeping with that we found in the Arcsaber 11 Pro.

It’s got a sort of sharpness to it, a sleekness to it, and that all helps very nicely in the actual hitting of your shuttle. So for me I found it very very maneuverable. I’d say it’s a little bit heavier than the Arcsaber 11 Pro, so if you wanted something a little bit lighter then maybe that will be your go to racket.

But for me I do like a little bit of head weight and I found this to be a really good friend. I have used it for quite some time now, it is strung in Exbolt 68 at a tension of 28lbs and it strung up beautifully as you would imagine it would do, and has performed admirably for every task I’ve set it. So much so that this has been a constant companion in my bag since it was launched in March 2024.

So if you are looking for that kind of head heavy racket which is great in defense, great around the net as well, but you want some head weight for the rear court then this may be your go to racket, and I’d strongly recommend you give it a test at one of your centres as soon as you can.

Fantastic racket and I can’t imagine this not being in my bag for some time to come.

There will be a further video to review this against the 88D Pro, and also to review it against the previous version, the second generation version. So watch out for more videos and if you like these videos why not press the subscribe button and come and join us.

So there you go, Yonex Astrox 88s Pro 3rd Generation Badminton Racket.