Before diving into today’s review of the Yonex Astrox 88S Game, let’s clear up a couple of confusing things.
First, this unbiased review is of the newest 3rd generation launched in 2024. Yonex likes to release a few different variations of each series for different skill levels.
In this case, there’s the Play for beginners, the Tour and Pro for advanced players, and the Game edition, which I’ll be diving into today, for intermediates like myself.
The 88S is marketed as “THE” front court racket for doubles, launched along it’s counterpart, the 88D for the rear court. Yonex categorizes it within their power-category, but among their least powerful rackets and closer to being even balanced than a beast with power.
Before deciding to stick with my beloved Arcsaber 11 Play, I hesitated to test the previous generation of the Yonex Astrox 88S Game because I figured it wouldn’t have enough power for my liking.
Then came the 3rd generation update and my curiosity got the better of me as I knew it was likely to have a touch more power compared to the Arcsaber 11 Play. That might be handy since I often struggle to generate enough power and length on clears when I’m under pressure.
As usual, I’ve had it on court for ten hours to feel out how it plays before sharing my experience here. To keep things consistent, I got it restrung to my preferred string, the Yonex BG80, which is a power (repulsion) string.
In this review, I’ll try something different and compare the racket to my usual Arcsaber 11 Play throughout the review as they can come across as similar.
Let’s dive into the good stuff!
Table of Contents
This is also available on video.
The Yonex Astrox 88S Game review (3rd gen, 2024)
Power
While this racket is closer to being even balanced than a full-on powerhouse, it was easy to feel the difference in power compared to the Arcsaber 11 Play.
While power smashes didn’t feel as different as you’d expect, I found it more effortless to generate quick power on half-smashes and stick smashes along with basic backhand shots like drives or drops that would save some situations.
Clears felt a touch easier as well, particularly when under pressure, but most of the differences I noticed were in the midcourt area so let’s dive into that next.
Midcourt + defense
Instead of being super powerful, I found the Astrox 88S Game useful on shots around the midcourt where you don’t have as much time to produce a big swing, but still want to add power to surprise your opponent and cause an error or open up for a kill a few shots down the road.
Things like fast drive duels or cross-midcourt shots.
On the other hand, coming from the Arcsaber 11 Play, I found it SO easy to use slightly too much power on precision shots in the sides so they’d go out of the court instead of landing between the doubles and singles line.
Throughout a doubles game, that tends to make the difference between losing and winning for us low intermediate players who don’t focus on winning through smash shots.
I also noticed it being easier to send blocks back over the net when attacks were raining down and you’re under pressure without much time to think.
However, I found that the extra head weight made it feel that bit slower. Meaning I had to be more focused on where I had the racket placed as I felt like it took that millisecond longer to react on fast shots, which determines if I’d hit the sweet spot or not (fortunately they’ve increased the sweet spot on this 3rd gen).
Net play
Net play feels as if it comes down to practice dialing in your shots, so there isn’t much to comment on here.
The Arcsaber 11 Play feels like you have more control whereas the 88S Game gives a touch more power.
POSITIVE
The power is great for quick and snappy midcourt attacks without swinging the racket much.
NEGATIVE
You’ll barely notice its power on a full power smash (compared to the Arcsaber 11 Play).
The verdict
I could see myself eventually upgrading to the Yonex Astrox 88S Game, but it wasn’t the perfect racket for me.
I found myself getting lazier in terms of how much I moved around the court to be in a good position for different stances as I knew the extra power would back me up when needed it. That meant I didn’t need to be as well positioned for a big swing as the power came more effortlessly.
I also felt more tempted to smash, which wasn’t a great idea as my technique isn’t dialed in and it resulted in a bunch of faults while hitting the net.
Since many of us low intermediate players lift and clear too often, this can be a useful racket as the less effort required to generate power (compared to the Arcsaber 11 Play) gives you that bit more time to react when your opponents send attacking shots back at you.
Overall, the extra power felt more useful for snappy midcourt shots, interceptions, and stick smashes than being a huge difference on other overhead shots.
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Aske
Yonex Astrox 88S Game: the verdict
Summary
The Astrox 88S Game 3rd generation is a badminton racket meant for intermediate frontcourt doubles players.
I particularly liked the touch of power it gave me on stick-smashes and midcourt shots.
The added power (compared to the Arcsaber 11 Play) was useful on blocks and other defensive shots when you’re under pressure.
I found myself struggling to clear from backline to backline when things were burning and I needed it the most (which makes sense as it’s not meant as rear court racket).
The price varies a lot between countries. If you’re able to get it for less than $100, it’s a good deal provided you like the sound of it’s features.
Yonex Astrox 88S Game (3rd gen) Specifications
| Flex | Medium |
| Balance Point | Slightly Head Heavy |
| Weight / Grip | 4U G5 |
Recommended strings
| Yonex’s recommended strings | Control Players: N/A Hard Hitters: N/A |
Best player types for Astrox 88S Game
The Yonex Astrox 88S Game felt suitable for intermediate players, but let’s compare it with the Arcsaber 11 Play and which players seem best suited for each one.
You’ll like the Yonex Astrox 88S Game, if…
- You’re getting tired fast (since that extra power can help you get out of trouble as you don’t have to move around as much to use technique to generate the same amount of power)
- You’re worried about being rotated to the rear court and be able to generate enough power on overhead and backhand shots
- You like a touch of power in your game without compromising too much on soft shots and shots at the net
You’ll like the Arcsaber 11 Play, if…
- You wanna force yourself to improve your defense + tactical skills
- You’re almost at the low-mid intermediate level, but not quite there yet (as the shaft is slightly more flexible)
