Wilson Pro Staff 97 v13 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

On the coast of California, our Tennis Warehouse playtesters enjoyed how easy the Pro Staff 97 v13 made it to swing freely and achieve good spin and control. Chris also found this update to be slightly more user-friendly than versions past. He said, "I found easy depth and good access to spin from the baseline with the Pro Staff 97 v13. I liked the overall response of the racquet and thought it was the easiest-to-use Pro Staff 97 to date. When rallying and doing drills, I was able to hit consistently with good control over the amount of spin I wanted to generate. While it didn't offer a super plush feel, the racquet was comfortable, and the sweetspot felt generous. On my slice shots, there was just enough mass to help me drive through the ball, and I was able to move the ball around the court with lots of control. However, I found this racquet an even better fit for hitting aggressive topspin. I liked the crisp response and the solid bite from the stringbed, and I was getting lots of topspin on my shots."

Jason thought this racquet played similarly to its predecessor. He said, "The playability of the Pro Staff 97 v13 really didn't change much for me. It still feels fast and maneuverable. It's definitely makes it easy to generate lots of spin thanks to the combination of the open string pattern and the racquet head speed I could generate. I did feel like I had to swing out on almost all of my shots to produce the depth and pace I wanted. I enjoyed this racquet much more for rallying. When it came to playing points, it was tougher to win points."

Across the pond on the clay courts of Germany, our playtesters needed some time to get their baseline games dialed in. For Safwane, the Pro Staff 97 v13's control stood out from the start. He said, "It was interesting to play with a racquet that is so control oriented. It made it really easy to find the different areas of the court. I would say that this Pro Staff 97 v13 is quite similar to the previous version in terms of performance, but I preferred the feel I had with this new one. The frame felt perfectly stable, and after a small adjustment period, it was easy to understand how to handle the racquet and take full advantage of its characteristics. It's one of the most control-oriented racquets I've tried in 2020, and it definitely lacks power. To compensate, I lowered the tension to get a bit more pop on my shots, but I still really needed to engage with all my body weight if I wanted to hit a real winner. I would say it's decent spin-wise, but nothing exceptional; you have the access to spin you need, and you can go for a shaped string if you want to increase the spin potential."

Like Safwane, Julie made some adjustments to her string tension to better balance her game style with the Pro Staff 97 v13’s low-powered nature. She said, "This new Pro Staff is the first generation I have had the chance to test, and I don't recall hitting with a frame that felt this stable. Looking at the specs and the racquet design, I immediately decided to drop my string tension from 24 kilograms to 21 kilograms (53 pounds to 46 pounds). I'm certainly glad I did! The sweetspot isn't easy to find, and the low-powered nature of this frame was difficult for me to adjust to, but the lower string tension allowed me to find controllable power and better comfort. My mechanics had to be clean when I played with the Pro Staff 97. The 315-gram unstrung weight and 97-square-inch head size forced me to back up a few steps to find the perfect contact point. No more staying at the baseline and trying to hit everything early and aggressively! The highlight at the baseline was the impressive plow through and control. I loved how I could relax and almost let the racquet do the job of finishing the point on my forehands with pinpoint targeting. This was very beneficial on my slices as well. This stick helped me cut the ball nicely to change up the pace and play random drop shots. I found the sweetspot on almost all of my forehand strikes, but I struggled a bit on my backhands. I like to hit the ball very early and be very aggressive with my backhand, but even after an adjustment period, I wasn't able to finish the point down the line, which is a big part of my game. This Pro Staff 97 didn't quite work for my game style; I need a frame that is a bit more aerodynamic and powerful with greater maneuverability from the baseline. But in terms of stability and control, the Pro Staff 97 is definitely a tough one to beat."

Moving farther across the globe to our crew at Australia's Tennis Only, the Pro Staff 97 v13 made a great first impression. "I felt amazingly connected to the ball with this racquet!" said Jaye. "The feel was definitely improved, and the ball was sinking into the stringbed much more noticeably. I was getting decent levels of spin, and I was able to hit smaller targets. On some points I was able to zone into my own game of tennis, so I could focus on the actual game without having to think about my swing and technique, which is a massive plus for me!"

The excitement continued with Hayden, who said, "Playing with the Pro Staff 97 was honestly such a joy for me. I was having so much fun; I felt like I could play in such a crafty manner and bring out my inner Federer. Forehands and backhands were smooth and clean, and there was plenty of spin and power to grind and be aggressive. I don't tend to slice that much on the backhand, but the maneuverability and racquet head speed I was creating was more than enough to cut under the ball to hit some deep and low slices."

Volleys - Score: 84

Volleys were met with slight differences of opinion. While our playtesters appreciated the feel and control across the board, comments on timing and stability were varied. Julie continued to be impressed with the controlled, stable nature of the Pro Staff 97 v13, but she occasionally struggled with her timing. She said, "I found great pocketing and control at the net. Once again, the stability was not debatable, but the 315 grams felt too hard to maneuver for me. I was able to finish points at net, but with balls coming at me fast in doubles, I wasn't always able to get the racquet into position quickly enough. WhenI had to hit my volleys from below the level of the net the ball often bounced out of the stringbed at a higher launch angle than I intended. This could be partially due to my lower string tension, but it could also be a result of my difficulty maneuvering the racquet. However, I was extra confident coming up to finish the point at net. When the ball came above the level of the net and away from my body at a slower speed, the racquet's control and stability allowed me to place the ball where I wanted."

On the flip side, Safwane had no issues with timing, and he relished the crisp, precise response off the stringbed. He noted, "I really liked this racquet at net. Everything seemed so easy! I could go for that half volley drop shot winner or effortlessly hit an offensive volley right on the corner of the court. With its crisp feel, the Pro Staff 97 v13 kept me in control at all times, and I felt very connected to the ball."

Chris also loved the feel at net, but he could have used a touch of added weight. He explained, "The Pro Staff 97 v13 offers a crisp and clean feel at net. I tend to prefer a softer, plusher feel, but I felt connected to my shots and was able to place the ball well. I would have liked some added mass for stability, but the upside of not having it was the racquet feeling very light and fast."

"I really enjoyed the touch and feel of this latest version," Jason added. "Without Countervail, I felt more connected to my shots, and it was very noticeable up at net. When I would go for a touch volley I knew exactly where it would land. The racquet is also quite whippy, so getting it in place for a volley was no issue. The problem came when I hit slightly off-center, and the torsional instability was noticeable."

Stability, feel and maneuverability came together for our Aussie testers. Hayden said, "The volley was one of my favorite shots to hit with this racquet. I really enjoyed being able to stand at the net without getting pushed around by my opponent. I felt like I could plant the racquet and get some clean blocked shots to move them around. Overall, this Pro Staff 97 was comfortable, firm and stable enough to put the ball away."

Jaye continued, "This racquet is plush, solid and comfortable. The frame's flex gave me the confidence to stick my volleys, and I felt like I should move my game up to the net instead of grinding on the baseline."

Serves - Score: 82

While serving came effortlessly to some, other playtesters were longing for a bit more power from the Pro Staff 97 v13. Jaye found he had to be very precise in his strike zone to get the most out of his serve. He explained, "I struggled a bit on serves. I found that the racquet was lower powered and unforgiving toward the edges of the frame. This definitely put pressure on me. I felt like I needed to make contact perfectly, otherwise I would get punished off the return. In saying this, though, the actual feel of hitting the serve was pleasant, and these issues could definitely be alleviated with more practice with this racquet."

Hayden's experience differed slightly. He said, "Unlike Jaye, I had no issues with my serve. I thought the Pro Staff 97 v13 came through contact easily, and I found effortless pace and spin. The 97-square-inch head size made it easy to find the spots I was after, and my kickers were jumping up high on my opponent."

Jason took advantage of the controlled response to place his serves well. He said, "I thought the directional control was really good. The amount of spin I was able to impart on my slice serves was great. The frame was easy to swing, but there was one minor downfall; I just wanted more pop on my serves."

Tapping into sufficient pace wasn't an issue for Chris, and he also enjoyed a good amount of spin. He said, "My serves had solid pace with the Pro Staff 97 v13. Again, getting spin was easy with this racquet. I continued to find ample bite from the stringbed, and my slice serve was working well. I found I could maintain lots of pace and still get enough spin to keep my serves inside the lines. The feel was firm and crisp. I thought the racquet had decent comfort, which was helped by the generous sweetspot."

"Along with my forehand winners, serves were my favorite aspect of this playtest," said Julie. "I always enjoy a racquet with great plow through to help me hit a heavy ball with massive power. I needed to adjust my toss and be more mindful of my mechanics since this frame is not as forgiving as the racquets I've recently been playing with (Babolat Pure Drive, Prince O3 Beast 98 and Tecnifibre TFight 300). The control was outstanding on my first serve; I could place the ball where I wanted with great precision. Spin didn't come so easily, but the plow through was good enough for my second serves to bounce at a decent height."

Serving was the one area where Safwane struggled. He described, "I would say that the serve is maybe where I was a bit disappointed by this racquet. I quickly noticed that to generate some power I really needed to concentrate on hitting the ball right in the sweetspot. I couldn't really hit a strong, powerful serve any time the ball was slightly off the sweetspot. The positive side is that I really felt connected with the ball, and I was able to hit any zone with my serve without too much effort."

Returns - Score: 83

On returns, counteracting pace and being able to load up balls with tons of spin for easy depth were highlights for the playtesters. It was smooth sailing over in Australia when returning serve with the Pro Staff 97 v13. Jaye said, "No issues for me here! Being connected to the ball and having the confidence to swing out gave me the sense that I could start points off on my front foot, especially hitting against Hayden and his big kick serves!"

Hayden concurred, "No issues with returning for me! The maneuverability made it easy to react to my opponent's serve, and I felt like I was able to get into the point pretty consistently."

It was a similar consensus in the U.S., with both players taking advantage of the racquet's maneuverability and precise response. Chris said, "On returns, the Pro Staff 97 v13 felt very fast and easy to maneuver. I was able to tap into plenty of power to help add pace and depth to my shots. I had the best results hitting topspin returns since I was able to generate lots of spin, and the racquet felt the most stable on fast swings."

Jason also tried to be aggressive with his returns. He said, "The Pro Staff 97 v13 was great for taking the offensive and attacking serves. The racquet allowed me to really swing out and go for small targets on my return. The spin helped keep the ball in the court. Even when I had time to take a larger cut on a backhand slice, I thought the racquet performed fairly well. But when I had no time and could only chip or block back a return, my shots tended to land shorter than intended."

Over in Europe, Safwane had no issues going up against big servers. He described, "When it came to returning serves, I found this new Pro Staff super maneuverable, maybe even more than the previous one, and it was very stable too. It was easy to use the power of my opponents’ serves against them, which I really liked."

Julie needed to make some adjustments to keep her timing dialed in. She said, "As with my groundstrokes, I had to take a step back to give myself more time on my returns. This Pro Staff 97 has an impressive amount of stability for blocking the ball and returning aggressively, but I didn't get to swing it quick enough to do so."

Overall - Score: 85