Astrox 99 Play (3rd Gen)
Model AX-99PLAY
Price history
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Astrox 99 Play (3rd Gen): the China-made graphite tier Yonex Japan does not sell
The 2025 Astrox 99 outside Japan
The Astrox 99 Play is the fourth and lowest tier of Yonex’s 2025 Astrox 99, and the one Yonex Japan does not sell. Yonex’s global release of August 25, 2025 named the Pro, Tour, Game and Play for a worldwide launch on September 5, 2025; Yonex Japan’s release of the same day announced only the Pro, Tour and Game, and its 2026 catalog lists no Play. The Play wears the line’s black-and-green finish but shares little of its build: Yonex lists graphite in frame and shaft, medium flex, a single weight class and a Chinese factory, and Yonex USA sells it strung.
Graphite instead of 2G-Namd
Yonex presented the 2025 Astrox 99 as its smash racquet for an attacking game, with an enhanced Rotational Generator System spreading weight across the grip end, frame top and joint and a Power-Assist Bumper at the frame top. Its new materials stop above the Play. Yonex’s global release puts 2G-Namd Flex Force and the lighter end cap in the Pro and Tour, and Yonex Japan’s release marks 2G-Namd Flex Force “Pro and Tour only.” Yonex’s spec sheet for the Play lists graphite for frame and shaft, with no CSR, tungsten or joint line, and medium flex; like the other tiers it is 10 mm longer than standard. Yonex’s global product page still shows the series technology panel, 2G-Namd Flex Force and end cap included, beside that spec row.
For recreational players
No player is documented using the Play. At launch Yonex named P. V. Sindhu and Alex Lanier for the Pro only. Yonex USA describes the Play as “designed for recreational players,” the only level wording Yonex gives it; Yonex Japan’s level charts cover the Pro, Tour and Game and leave the Play out. The same Yonex USA text credits the Play with “Namd graphite,” which Yonex’s own spec sheet and both launch releases contradict.
One finish, one size, two generations
The 2025 Play comes in Black/Green (color 530) only, in 4U with grip 5, the single size Yonex lists. The Pro (3AX99-P, made in Japan), the Tour (3AX99-T, Taiwan) and the Game (3AX99-G, Taiwan) share the finish, and each has its own page. The 2021 Astrox 99 Play (AX99-PL), in White Tiger or Cherry Sunburst, was also a graphite, medium-flex 4U racquet; it is a different generation with its own page. Yonex USA’s store sells both generations under one “Astrox 99 Play (Strung)” listing, with the 2021 colors and the 2025 Black/Green as color choices.
Current, and sold strung
The Play is current. In October 2026 Yonex’s global site listed it in stock, and Yonex USA’s store listed it strung at $110, the same price it shows for the 2021 colors in that listing. Yonex Japan does not list it. New stock through Yonex’s regional companies and their dealers is the supply, and nothing about the model is scarce. No verified sales are recorded yet.
Borrowed wording
No counterfeit of the 2025 Play is documented. The previous generation’s finish has been copied: a player’s 2026 blog compared a fake White Tiger Astrox 99 Play with a genuine one and found the fake a few millimeters longer, heavy and lopsided, with a smaller, smudged logo. For the 2025 model the commoner trap is description. Yonex’s own pages lend the Play the series technology panel and Namd wording, and listings that repeat them make it sound like a Pro or Tour. The spec row is the guide: graphite, medium, 4U, made in China.
The bottom of the 2025 ladder
The Play is the entry point to a line whose Pro carried Lanier to a world title, and Yonex keeps it far from that frame. The Pro is Japan-made, stiff, offered in 3U and 4U, with 2G-Namd Flex Force, CFR and Ultra PE Fiber; the Play is China-made, medium, 4U only and graphite. Yonex USA’s 2025 prices run from $290 for the Pro to $110 for the Play, strung. Its closest relative is the 2021 Play, with the same listed materials, flex and size in a different finish; across the range, the Astrox 88 Play of 2024 holds the same place under the 88 S and 88 D.
Yonex’s item code is 3AX99-PL; the 2021 Play is AX99-PL, without the 3. Look for Black/Green with orange accents, a frame 10 mm longer than standard, a 4U label with grip 5 and a China origin: the Pro in the same colors is made in Japan, and the Tour and Game in Taiwan. Yonex lists medium flex and graphite in frame and shaft, and recommends 20–28 lb. A Black/Green 99 described with 2G-Namd Flex Force, CSR, CFR or a 3U weight is another tier, or a Play described from Yonex’s series copy. Yonex’s own test is the hologram sticker, which resists peeling on a genuine racquet and lifts easily with a fingernail on a fake.
This is a current entry-level racquet sold strung, so most buyers will get it new. For a used one, confirm the 3AX99-PL code, the China marking and the 4U label, and check the condition of the string bed. Be wary of listings that credit it with 2G-Namd Flex Force, the lighter end cap or Lanier’s title: Yonex gives the Play none of them.