Before diving into this Yonex Astrox 88D Game (2024) review, let’s clear up any confusion.
This review is of the newest 3. Generation 88D Game launched in early 2024. Yonex likes to release a few variations of each series for different skill levels. In this case, there’s the Play for beginners and the Tour and Pro for advanced players. In the middle between them is the Game edition, which I’ll be diving into today, for intermediates like myself.
The Astrox 88D is marketed as a pair alongside the sibling, the Astrox 88S. The 88D is intended as a power racket for the rearcourt, whereas the 88S is also a power-based racket but with far less power and marketed as “THE” racket for the frontcourt. Both are only available in the lighter, 4U weight class suitable for doubles games.
Last year, I tested the second generation of the Astrox 88D Game after having a hard time getting my hands on it. I found it to be forgettable among a sea of similar options, so I was curious to see how this new generation would stack up and what had changed in terms of feeling on court.
In this written review for intermediate players, I’m sharing my experience after having had it on court for ten hours with my usual Yonex BG80 string strung at 10.5 KG.
I’ve also prepared a video comparing it to other similar rackets.
Table of Contents
The Yonex Astrox 88D Game (2024) review
Let’s dive into the review!
Power
Many of us intermediate players love power and since this is a power-based racket, let’s start there.
Where the previous second generation had loads of power, this new third-gen has been dialed back a touch and you have to work that bit harder with your technique to generate the same amount of power.
This can be tricky for us without excellent stroke technique since Yonex has made the sweet spot slightly smaller. That also means things get slightly more difficult when you hit the shuttle outside that area.
I didn’t find it as difficult as I had expected to generate good power in power smashes, but since my technique isn’t great, I tend to use half-smash and stick smash more to avoid hitting the net.
Here, I found it nicely easy to generate quick power and surprise opponents with a few quick hits in a row to catch them off guard and win the rally, provided you connect with the shuttle on the sweet spot.
The same was true on my weak backhand, where it wasn’t difficult to generate power, but not as easy as on the previous generation.
Midcourt + defense
On the other hand, less head weight and power means faster swings and that’s useful in the midcourt and defense.
In doubles, we’ll often get stuck in fast drive duels and here I found the new Astrox 88D Game faster and easier to move into position between shots when they’re raining down on you.
For players like me who enjoy defense and moving opponents around the court to build the rally, rather than one-shotting a power smash in the floor, this feels fun!
Blocks are also fun with the 88D Game and I still found it relatively easy to simply put the racket on incoming power shots and let it bounce off to fly nicely over the net.
The smaller sweet spot does take some adjusting to block shots cleanly, though. Not to mention that you’ll need to connect with the shuttle more precisely when defending fast shots like drive exchanges, which gets tricky when the shuttles are flying fast.
Net play
With less head weight, you have slightly more control on net shots compared to the previous generation.
But for me, net game wasn’t a walk in the park as the head weight makes it easy to add too much power and offer opponents an easy kill.
POSITIVE
It feels faster and more agile in defense and the midcourt.
NEGATIVE
The sweet spot is smaller, which means it’s a tad more challenging to connect with the shuttle.
The verdict
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Yonex Astrox 88D Game: the verdict
Summary + the beasty score
Overall, I like this new generation of the Yonex Astrox 88D Game a lot more than the previous one and it feels more suitable for doubles where things go faster and it isn’t as common to hit through your opponents in one shot to win the rally.
Where it was difficult for me to recommend the previous generation of this racket, I could see myself potentially switching to this one eventually. I’m often challenged deep in the rearcourt when I’m under pressure.
To me, the biggest issue with the Yonex Astrox 88D Game 3rd generation is that its sweet spot is that bit smaller than what I’ve been used to.
It’s easy to connect with the shuttle outside of the sweet spot and land a semi-faulty shot when shots are flying fast, like they often do in doubles games.
Yonex Astrox 88D Game (2024) Specifications
| Flex | Medium |
| Balance Point | Head Heavy |
| Weight / Grip | 4U G5 |
Recommended strings
| Yonex’s recommended strings | Control Players: N/A Hard Hitters: N/A |
Best player types for Yonex Astrox 88D Game (2024)
Next, let’s see who the Yonex Astrox 88D Game 3. generation (2024) is suitable for.
You’ll like the Yonex Astrox 88D Game (2024), if…
- You’re an intermediate player, due to the medium stiff shaft
- You enjoy playing the rearcourt in doubles or prefer the extra head weight to help generate power (as opposed to an all-around or fast racket)
