In this post, I review the badminton racket specially created for the legendary badminton player, Tai Tzu Ying, whom her fans fondly call her, "TTY", the Victor Thruster TTY.
As far as I can remember, Tai Tzu Ying has been with Victor all her playing career, and as Victor is a Taiwanese brand, it made perfect sense for Victor to produce a flagship model racket for its star flagship player.
Tai Tzu Ying or 'Xiao Dai' (小戴) as her fans affectionately call her, is a singles maestro, often referred to as the player with the best deceptive game and shot variety in women’s singles. We all know that staying at the top of the world rankings for as long as she has is no mean feat!
Many of you will have seen the interviews I’ve done with TTY which shows her super funny and chatty side, especially when it comes to her playing equipment. So this post is a good opportunity to take a deep dive into her current racket.
Before this Victor Thruster TTY badminton racket, TTY had played with the Thruster F Claw and the Thruster F in blue. They are all head-heavy rackets and being a singles player, this made sense for TTY. Out of the three rackets I've just mentioned, I’ve only tried two of them: the current Thruster TTY and the Thruster F Claw.
I remember the Thruster F Claw for being quite head-heavy. It is certainly not the easiest racket to play with, especially for doubles. However, for singles, it is pretty good as the racket head weight helps carry the shots back out and provides extra racket face stability. So the main question is, now that Victor has named this new generation Thruster TTY after Tai Tzu Ying, is it actually as good as the actual TTY herself?
Review of Appearance & Materials Of Victor Thruster TTY Badminton Racket
In terms of looks, the purple and white go incredibly well with each other, and Tai’s motto of “believe in yourself” is present on both the shaft and at the top of the racket frame but I’m surprised the words in Chinese aren’t present on the racket itself. Also, many of you may notice the slightly more traditional racket frame shape of the Thruster TTY. Many modern rackets have a somewhat more square or isometric shape, but the Thruster TTY still has the traditional egg shape, showcasing a taller racket frame.
And speaking about the frame, you will also find what Victor describes as a Tri-Formation frame where 3 different types of racket frame shapes are present. Starting with the sleeker sword shape at the very top, followed by a more rounded recessed frame in the middle, and ending with a more boxy frame at the bottom.
I also noticed that on the European model of the Thruster TTY, the grommets have raised letterings on them while the Asian or Taiwanese variants do not. Not that you’ll see it easily as it's a white grommet on a white racket. Also, the European variant comes with a stock grip whereas the Taiwanese variant comes with a completely blank free core handle and buyers are supplied with a separate grip instead.
In terms of the Free Core handle, the Thruster TTY features the Power Ring, which is the red cap within the semi-transparent cone cap. Also, the Thruster TTY doesn't have single pass grommets on the top of its racket frame and only has shared grommets. This is uncommon as most modern flagship rackets have a few rows of single-pass grommets at the top. We’ll find out if this changes how the racket feels later.
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Specifications & Measurements Of Victor Thruster TTY Badminton Racket
In terms of specs, the Victor Thruster TTY badminton racket has a shaft diameter of 6.7mm which is identical to the Thruster F Enhanced, both are by far some of the thinnest shafts I’ve measured for Victor badminton rackets with only the Drive X 10 Metallic (review here) having an even thinner shaft.
Continuing with the Thruster TTY’s shaft length, it is 20.7cm long which is the shortest shaft length for Victor rackets I've measured on my channel. In comparison, the Thruster Ryuga Metallic has a shaft length of 22cm. In terms of the racket frame, the Thruster TTY has a frame height of 24.2cm and a frame width of 18.4cm. This makes the Thruster TTY slightly taller than usual for its frame size which I think also provides a slightly larger sweet spot.
In terms of frame thickness, the Thruster TTY measured 10.6mm thick at around 3 o'clock and 9 o’clock regions, and the frame thickens to around 11.4mm at 10 o'clock and 2 o’clock regions. The recessed profile area for the Thruster TTY, is also unique as it is two-thirds recessed, instead of the usual full or half recessed.
Finally, the Thruster TTY has a Free Core handle which measures 17cm. I also believe the Thruster TTY is only available in 4U G5 spec and is rated to 31 lbs for stringing tension. I had mine strung to my usual tension of 27lbs by 29lbs for testing.
Additionally, here are some swing weight measurement numbers on a couple of configurations with the Thruster TTY.
Playing Feel & Performance Of Victor Thruster TTY Badminton Racket
I would consider the Thruster TTY to be a medium-stiff feeling racket. I like that it gives a solid feel and control when you hit the shuttle. You all know I’m a fan of the Free Core handle as I think it makes rackets easier for us amateurs to play with. However, the Free Core handle does, in my opinion, make the racket feel slightly softer with the additional flex, although the shorter shaft in this instance makes the Thruster TTY feel pretty sharp and reactive with less whip compared to rackets with longer shafts.
You'll get plenty of easy power with the Thruster TTY, as this racket was developed and marketed as TTY’s racket. Everyone knows that TTY is a singles player and I would also imagine this racket to be aimed at singles players too. The good amount of head weight on the Thruster TTY doesn't surprise me and as someone who likes a bit of head weight, the Thruster TTY was pretty pleasant to play with. But don’t expect it to be identical to an ultra-nimble, super fast, head-light racket like the original Auraspeed 90K since the Thruster TTY has a bigger head which certainly makes it a tad slower than the fastest rackets.
Also, perhaps due to the longer racket head, I felt that the sweet spot contact point on the Thruster TTY was slightly different to what I was normally used to. I only felt this when I changed rackets but after a while, I quickly got used to the hitting feeling and was able to adjust fairly comfortably.
In terms of head heaviness comparison, I felt the Thruster TTY to be head lighter than my usual Yonex Astrox 88D Pro (review here) but I then realised Victor’s racket matrix showed the Thruster TTY to be slightly head lighter than the Thruster F Enhanced which I don’t necessarily agree. If it was up to me, I would’ve swapped their positions, with the Thruster TTY just that little bit head heavier compared to the Thruster F. From what I can see on my specs measurements spreadsheet, based on numbers, the Thruster TTY and the Thruster F do share many similarities and you all know that I rate the Thruster F very highly.
In summary, the Victor Thruster TTY badminton racket is a nice racket with a lot of easy power and a nice solid-hitting feel. It is not the fastest racket out there but it is pretty for singles. It also has a pretty stable racket face with a good response to off-timed shots so it is a pretty handy racket to have in your bag for those off days too. And finally, it could also make you feel like you’re playing like TTY on court too and that’s a bonus! Who wouldn't want to have the skills and techniques that TTY has?
So what do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below and I’ll see you in the next post!