Review: Victor Auraspeed 99 Metallic

Blistering Speed, Serious Precision… and Absolutely No Apologies for the Pink 

Professional badminton players make the game look effortless.

I do not.

Which makes testing Anders Antonsen's newest weapon of choice — the Victor Auraspeed 99 Metallic — a slightly intimidating experience. — and, like all modern signature rackets, it arrives armed with more technology than a small research laboratory.

Victor has equipped the racket with Dynamic Sword, Nano Fortify, WES 3.0, Nano Aerogel and Metallic Carbon Fiber. I assume this means the racket is faster, stronger and possibly capable of entering low Earth orbit. Victor's engineers appear to be very busy people.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere inside the frame there's a tiny engineer quietly judging your footwork, taking notes and occasionally sighing.

I've had roughly three hours on court with the racket so far, which means this is best described as a first review rather than a final verdict. A proper judgement requires more rallies, more smashes and, quite possibly, a brief emotional breakdown or two — ideally delivered with the theatrical frustration of Basil Fawlty discovering the toaster has betrayed him yet again.

The design also deserves a short conversation. Black. A touch of yellow and purple. And then a very confident shade of pink. Not timid pink. Not shy pink. This is the kind of pink that walks into a room, orders a martini, corrects your pronunciation of "Negroni" and refuses to apologise. But frankly, if Anders Antonsen can wield it on the world tour without suffering a crisis of masculinity, the rest of us should probably survive the experience as well.

And once you accept the colour palette, you realise something rather important: It's actually a very good-looking racket.

The Auraspeed 99 Metallic builds upon the Auraspeed 90K Metallic — a superb speed racket that also had the warm, supportive personality of a headmaster who suspects you forged your homework.

It was brilliant. It was also about as forgiving as a tax auditor. So the real question here is not just whether the 99 Metallic is good. The question is whether Victor has managed to make it slightly more… civilised.

Spoiler: it appears they might have.

The Boring Facts

First impression & Design 

Let's address the obvious: The colours.

Black, yellow and pink is not exactly the traditional palette of stoic badminton masculinity. Some players will adore it. Others will glance at it briefly before sprinting towards something aggressively black, as if colour itself were somehow suspicious.

Personally, I rather like it. In a market where many rackets resemble carbon-fibre sports cars having an identity crisis, the Auraspeed 99 Metallic actually has personality.

In hand it feels unmistakably Auraspeed. Light. Fast. Alert. Slightly impatient. But within the first few rallies something interesting becomes clear. It feels a touch more cooperative than the 90K Metallic.

The shaft remains (very) stiff, but it responds with a little more elasticity and feedback. Instead of glaring at you disapprovingly when your timing is imperfect, it occasionally offers a polite helping hand. The likely explanation is the combination of Nano Aerogel and WES 3.0.

Whatever the engineering explanation may be, the practical result is simple: The racket still demands technique.

It's just slightly less judgemental about it.

Control & Precision

When you strike the sweet spot cleanly, the racket is a true delight. Drives whistle across the court with surgical accuracy. Net shots behave obediently. Placement becomes almost unfairly precise.

The shuttle goes exactly where you tell it to go. Which, of course, assumes you told it the correct destination. The racket rewards perfect timing. This is unfortunate, as my timing usually arrives several seconds late.

However. Despite the generous sweet spot, this is not a racket that tolerates sloppy technique. If your timing is late or your contact careless, the quality of the shot declines rather dramatically.

Think of it as the badminton equivalent of a strict but well-dressed coach. It is perfectly happy to help you improve. But it absolutely refuses to do the work for you.

Power & Smash

Let us address the pink racket in the room. This is not built for power and it never pretends to be.

The Auraspeed philosophy has always been about speed, transitions and precision rather than brute-force demolition. Smashes can absolutely be sharp, steep and dangerous. But they do not arrive free of charge.

You must provide the power yourself — preferably with decent timing and something resembling technique.

When everything aligns, the smash feels excellent. Cross-court smashes in particular feel crisp and satisfying. But when the timing is slightly off, the result can occasionally feel… less than heroic.

At one point it almost felt like attempting to smash with a moderately enthusiastic kitchen towel.

Not useless, mind you. Just… emotionally uninvested. 

This is unlikely to appear in Victor's official marketing brochure. But accuracy and honesty matters.

Maneuverability & Feel

This is where the Auraspeed 99 Metallic truly shines. It is ridiculously fast. Not quick. Not nimble. Fast in the way a startled cat is fast. One moment it's here, the next it's already judging your less than impressive splitstep.

Defensive reactions suddenly feel easier. Drives flow naturally. Blocks and lifts appear almost effortless. Here the racket works with you rather than standing in the corner silently judging your life choices.

The Dynamic Sword frame slices through the air with impressive efficiency, while WES 3.0 helps translate defensive shots into quick counterattacks. And this is exactly where the Auraspeed philosophy makes perfect sense.

Defense becomes offense. Speed becomes pressure. Pressure becomes points.  

Somewhere Master Yoda is probably nodding in approval. 

Conclusion: Still Serious. Slightly Less Terrifying

I'll admit I was slightly apprehensive when buying this racket. The Auraspeed 90K Metallic and I never quite reached a harmonious understanding.

After three hours with the Auraspeed 99 Metallic it would be wildly optimistic to claim I have already mastered it. I have not.

But the crucial difference is this: This time I feel like I might. The racket is still technical. It still demands timing.

But it also feels more cooperative, more responsive and slightly less inclined to punish every minor imperfection. The smash still requires effort. But the speed, control and defensive play already feel extremely promising.

The design will undoubtedly divide opinion. The pink elements will not appeal to everyone — particularly those players who believe a serious badminton racket must resemble a piece of coal with strings attached.

But if you can live with the colour palette, the Auraspeed 99 Metallic may turn out to be an exceptionally effective weapon for players who enjoy fast, technical badminton.

And who knows. Somewhere inside the frame there may even be a faint trace of Antonsen magic.

 Unfortunately the footwork upgrade still appears to be sold separately.