Li-Ning AxForce 80 review: the attack racket that doubles players should not ignore

Overview

When testing AX99 Tour LCW I said collab rackets often have unreasonable premium. After Long’s hard-won Tokyo men’s singles silver I wanted AxForce 80—first time I wanted a pro’s racket because of the athlete. For various reasons I have not bought it yet; AxForce 80 now appears on many international courts—not only Long’s. Still I borrowed one—part of the wish fulfilled. Thanks to my friend for arranging. Specs: 4U G5, with base and shrink wrap, strung with overgrip 95.8 g, balance 290 mm, 6.6 mm shaft medium-firm, box frame, 76 holes, 9–3 grooves, 26 lbs BG66U. Many know how it looks; simple clear design suits my taste—honest, steady, fine smooth premium paint. Colour scheme is reasonable—not rich but emphatic; gold water label highlights. Should be head-heavy but without cutting base balance is 290 mm. Among box frames AxForce 80 frame is quite thin—almost like Duora Z-Force II if you do not weigh carefully. Typical strong head-heavy attack but 4U swing is not sluggish. Versus Dragon Tooth and 99 Pro head-heavy is weaker; swing speed like Dragon Tooth with slightly lower subjective swing weight. Among big three flagship attack rackets I feel AxForce 80 is not strong wrist-breaker trait—male advanced singles players with certain power should prefer 3U. Current 4U suits most amateur doubles. To avoid my 5U Onikiri embarrassment and limited appeal to female players I skip lighter version prediction. AxForce 80 took time to adapt—threshold not shaft stiffness or head weight but weird bed. Recent 66U strings feel mushy—warmup upper-hand hits felt off sweet spot, weak feedback. After a while damping is very good—demanding players can use higher tension hard attack strings. AxForce 80 shaft is best Li-Ning shaft I have played—blue and Li-Ning firm level with excellent elasticity. Even before sweet zone familiarity, active clears reach back line easily with head weight and shaft bend with clear direction. Not stunning at first—I judge a slow-warm racket worth continuing. After match I found AxForce 80 surprisingly suits doubles. Right head weight, decent swing speed, crisp spring output—balanced reliable racket when pace is not extreme. Versus speed rackets AxForce 80 is not light agile—but on receive flat drive, speed plus direction output gives confidence to meet exchange, change rhythm or wider angle to shift situation. Small power or borrowed shots feel crisp spring—shorter opponent reaction—sometimes scores on receive-kill split or active line change. Aggressive net push players on receive—the solid waist-and-middle push feel will not disappoint. Sometimes I can slack in AxForce 80 doubles. With strong direction, similar-level opponents controlled by half-power drops, point kills, flat lifts, net drops, hooks. Low swing weight—backhand and lower shots not hard; when slowing pace you can lift high—receive drop or kill and place back well—especially when opponent lacks rear cannon—rhythm control forces errors. Attack satisfies most players but maybe half to one tier below Dragon Tooth. Current tension not high—full smash has unload feel but sound and speed are good. In forearm swing you feel shaft load and release to shuttle head—more impressive than head-heavy press is M40X elastic recovery burst. With 66U full smash sound is great but power slightly short—floor-pin success felt “loud thunder small rain”; hard thick string would add confidence. Aside from star halo AxForce 80 deserves top-tier flagship performance. Moderate entry difficulty, fair value—worth considering. Doubles match surprised me—no maladaptation, no “pure singles racket” feeling. For Li-Ning flagship trial with both singles and doubles AxForce 80 is not a wrong pick.