Wilson Clash 100 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 87

Our playtesters immediately noticed the unique feel that the Wilson Clash 100 offered from the baseline. The Clash 100 was one of the very first racquets Brittany picked up after a two-month hiatus from tennis. She said, "I was amazed how quickly and easily I connected with this racquet. The standout feature had to be the feel. It is something I have not experienced before. It's a little hard to explain: The racquet was flexible, yet I still felt connected with the ball (it never got mushy). I was also impressed with how easy it was to tap into the power levels of this racquet. I definitely had a bump in MPH on my groundstrokes, which helped me stay aggressive and put away a couple more winning groundstrokes than normal. There was a small adjustment when it came to point play. This racquet has a higher launch angle, so every now and again the ball would fly off my racquet and land well past the baseline."

"It was really fun to hit with this racquet because I'd make shots that I didn't think were landing in," added Jason. "It has such a unique feel to it — really flexible, but not super soft and mushy. I loved how maneuverable it was, too, which made hitting angles and picking up half volleys a breeze. I knew I was getting lots of power on my shots, but I didn't know I was getting 4 to 6 MPH more than I get with my Babolat Pure Strike, even though the Clash 100 is 0.4 ounces lighter! With the higher launch angle, I could hit with depth more easily, but I was also launching the ball every now and then. This was especially noticeable when I flattened out my shots. However, I was pleasantly surprised on my slice. As light as the Clash 100 is, I was still able to knife the ball pretty well."

Heading across the pond to Germany, the TWE playtesters hit on carpeted indoor courts. Comfort and control were the standout features for them. Zśofia commented, "The Clash 100 was super comfortable from the baseline. I was easily able to get under the ball with the racquet head, which allowed me to tap into the spin potential. I had great control over where the ball was landing, and I was able to be very precise."

Anthony was on the same page, adding, "Right away, I was impressed with the feel. The Clash 100 was comfortable on both my forehand and backhand. I was also impressed that I was able to aim and successfully put the ball anywhere I wanted on the court. This helped me go from defense to offense with ease. I was surprised at how easy it was to generate racquet head speed. I could get under the ball and hit more angled groundstrokes to pull my opponent off the court. This racquet felt like it always adapted to what I needed during a point; the more I played with it, the more I liked it."

The playtesters at Tennis Only in Australia were able to test the Clash 100 on the grass courts. Big-serving lefty Marco said, "I felt plenty of comfort and control on groundstrokes with the Clash 100. In particular, the large sweetspot made it a very easy racquet on the arm. The muted feel took a bit of getting used to, but it added a unique touch to this playtest." His fellow Aussie tester, Hayden, agreed, though he found the racquet slightly lacking in spin access. He said, "Control was the main feature I noticed in the Clash 100, particularly on flatter groundstrokes. I would have liked it to be more spin friendly on the forehand side."

Volleys - Score: 85

Our playtesters all found the Clash 100 to be extremely maneuverable up at net, though they had some differing opinions when it came to the racquet's stability. TWE's Zśofia found the Clash 100 to be very sturdy on volleys. She commented, "I had easy power here to put away the ball and end the point." Likewise, the Clash 100's great feel helped Anthony tap into the racquet's volley potential. He explained, "Because the Clash 100 is flexible, I've got more return of information regarding my volleys, which helped me hit more touch and angled shots. The racquet is also maneuverable — perfect for quick exchanges at net."

Jason noted, "This is the one area where the lack of weight and low swingweight was really apparent. It felt like it got pushed around against bigger hitters, and off-center shots definitely affected the torsional stability. Don't get me wrong, though, when hit in the sweetspot, the ball pocketing and feel were great. Added weight in the hoop would really help here."

"With a slightly lighter weight than I'm used to, I wasn't sure how this racquet would hold up on volleys," continued Brittany. "Sure, the racquet twisted in my hand a couple of times, but I expected that. For the most part, the Clash 100 was able to do its job effectively. I could step in and punch a volley deep to end the point, or I could soften my hands and hit a short drop volley. I don't typically have much finesse up at net, but the feel of this racquet gave me the confidence to go for some drop volleys."

The Tennis Only playtesters had opposing opinions. Hayden was highly complimentary, raving, "My favorite shot to hit with the Clash 100 was the volley. I enjoyed the very crisp feel and excellent control." On the other hand, Marco experienced some ups and downs with his volleys. He described, "I found it a little harder to get volleys to penetrate through the court with the Clash 100. On the plus side, angled shots that required more feel were complemented by the racquet's muted response."

Serves - Score: 80

Serves were the biggest point of contention among our playtesters. Some were happy with the power they received from the Clash 100 on serves, while others were more impressed with the control. Anthony was satisfied in general, saying, "I found that there was just enough power to perform on my serves."

Hayden had nothing but positives in this category. He said "There was good overall power with the Clash 100's serve. The flat serve down the middle on the deuce court and out wide on the ad court were my favorite serves to hit. I was able to hit a nice kick on my second without having to work harder to get extra spin."

Brittany was impressed with how well she served with the Clash 100. She said, "I had a ton of success on my first serve. I could generate a lot of racquet head speed and hit some powerful first serves into the corners at a fairly high percentage. I felt like my serve was penetrating through the court well, which gave my opponents less time to react and resulted in a couple more free points every game. I did have to work a little harder on my second serve to produce a kick, and I wasn't able to get as much spin as I'm used to with my racquet of choice (the Yonex EZONE 100 300g)."

Jason observed, "I was able to get pretty good pop on my serves, and with such great maneuverability, I felt like I could easily replicate my swing for a high serving percentage. As expected, the spin was great and gave my serves some added bite."

On the other hand, two of our playtesters weren't able to tap into the power potential. Spin was easy to come by with this racquet for Marco, but he couldn't get enough oomph to put his serves away. He explained, "I felt in control over where I was placing the ball, but power was a little harder for me to access." Zśofia was in a similar boat. She elaborated, "I struggled a bit to put enough power on my first serves, but the Clash 100 worked really well for a slice second serve."

Returns - Score: 86

The playtesters all tapped into the Clash 100's potential to hit aggressive returns. Marco enjoyed the maneuverability of this racquet and never felt late or rushed on returns. He described, "I felt confident winding up on second serves, and I could access plenty of topspin to get the ball landing in on the other side of the net." Hayden also dialed in his returns with the Clash 100. He said, "I found excellent control on the returns, particularly when I flattened out my backhand."

Zśofia could start the point off aggressively with her return. She said, "Thanks to the stability of the racquet, I felt confident attacking even the more powerful serves. I also had great control of the ball." Anthony couldn't agree more, adding, "This racquet is super head light, maneuverable and stable. It's a great weapon on the return."

"The maneuverability, the power and the spin all made this a versatile racquet on my returns," said Jason. "I enjoyed taking big cuts at the ball any chance I got, knowing that the spin I could produce would help keep the ball in play. On the downside, when I hit a flatter return I tended to launch the ball long."

For the most part, Brittany enjoyed returning with the Clash 100, and she had no trouble getting it into position. She explained, "I was able to step in and start the point aggressively, or at least in a neutral position. However, I would have liked a little more weight here because the racquet could get pushed around when I started returning against hard servers. Like my groundstrokes, I had to get used to the launch angle since my returns would unexpectedly sail long every now and again, but the longer I played with the Clash 100, the less likely this was to occur."

Overall - Score: 87