Wilson BLX Pro Staff Six.One 100 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 77

Despite some trepidation with the weight, the BLX Pro Staff Six.One 100 provided plenty of spin. Really enjoying the racquet from the baseline was Mike. He said, "My favorite part of the playtest was hitting groundstrokes. The racquet was really easy to adjust to, and I was able to really be consistent. The lighter weight made it easy to generate spin."

Granville struggled to find a rhythm but liked the maneuverability. He said, "From the initial feel when I picked it up to the first strike of a groundstroke I couldn't help but compare this 100 to the Pro Staffs of old - which it's not. My groundies were landing short and lacked pace compared to my more massive Pro Staff 95s, which forced me to make adjustments to my strokes. Off-center shots offered some extra vibration, and it just lacked that solid feel of the heavier models. On the plus side, the maneuverability is excellent, and I can really whip this thing around. It felt like a fencer's foil rather than a sword - lightweight, yet deadly in the right hands. I could really get some good topspin and slice with the open stringbed."

Chris found the racquet to be very light and fast off the ground. He offered, "I was close to dismissing it as being too light for me, but I soon found I was playing well with it. We strung our test racquet with Solinco Tour Bite mains and Pacific Prime Natural Gut at mid tension, and it really livened up the response. I was able to get more of the depth and pace I usually get from heavier racquets with that string setup. The maneuverable feel made this a great racquet for hitting with spin. The string pattern is pretty open, and I found it to really grab the ball for both topspin and slice. The solid combo of pace and spin made it a great racquet for hitting passing shots and lobs."

Enjoying her ability to move the racquet around, but finding it to be lacking a little plow through, was Karly. She said, "This racquet provided decent power and control, but what I thought really stood out was the maneuverability and spin. The low swingweight and head-light balance made it very easy to swing and I was never concerned about tiring out my arm. I could play longer against harder hitters, which was great! I also loved how spin-friendly the racquet was. Because it was so easy to swing I could really whip it around to generate a ton of topspin. When I was hitting with Jason he mentioned that there were several times when he thought my shots were going long, but instead they would dive down before the baseline because of the spin. Though the racquet was easy to swing, I thought it lacked torsional stability and plow through. When the ball wasn't hit in the dead center of the sweetspot it felt extremely unstable. I also found that because of the lack of plow through I was changing my follow through. For most of my shots I was ending my swing by whipping it around my head to get more momentum. When I slowed my swing speed there was a noticeable difference in depth; I couldn't get any at all."

Volleys - Score: 77

Maneuverability was applauded by all the playtesters, while opinions varied on the stability and solidness of the BLX Pro Staff 100. Chris was quick with his racquet at net, saying, "Maneuverability was excellent, and it allowed me to react quickly, as well as add a little slice or snap at the last instant to change up my shot. I did not have any issues with stability, and the response at net improved for me when I switched from all poly strings to the poly/gut hybrid. I found improved comfort and more pop. I also found more feel on touch shots, though even with a full bed of poly I thought feel was good."

Granville agreed, finding that the great maneuverability and large head made volleys a little bit easier for him. He continued, "However, on the really heavy hit balls I could feel the racquet surrendering to the ball's pace a bit, making for a less than solid shot. When given the time I could punch the volleys away as with any racquet."

Karly found herself hanging back a little, saying, "I didn't care to come up to the net as much with this racquet because of the lack of stability. I thought the racquet felt the most unstable when hitting volleys. If I didn't hit my shots in the center of the sweetspot the frame twisted in my hand a great deal. I had a tendency to stay back on the baseline against players who put a lot of pace on the ball because the torsional stability made it uncomfortable on my arm. However, the racquet was very maneuverable. It was easy to bring the racquet around and quickly switch directions."

Utilizing the feel and touch offered by the racquet was Mike. He said, "This racquet was very solid at net and felt great when I made contact with the ball, allowing me to place the volley wherever I wanted. I could easily adjust to hit touch volleys or drop shots, too. Maneuverability at net was good, allowing me to adjust to pretty much every volley that came my way."

Serves - Score: 79

Most of the team really liked the spin, power and stability the Pro Staff BLX 100 provided on serve. Karly finally found the stability she was looking for, saying, "While I thought the racquet was unstable in other areas, I thought it was the opposite for serves. I didn't have any issues with the instability when serving, and it was actually my favorite thing to do with this racquet. Because it was maneuverable I could generate a ton of spin, and I felt like I had a lot of control with the direction of my serves. It was really easy to swing, whether I was going for a kick serve with a lot of spin or a powerful flat serve. Overall, I didn't really have any complaints serving with this racquet."

Mike said, "Generating power was not very hard with this frame. The lighter weight made it straight forward when it came to racquet head speed. Swinging freely with the frame allowed me to get some freebies on my serve. Again the maneuverability was a plus, offering easy access to spin. The racquet also felt stable and solid."

Chris was very happy with the spin and kick that he was getting with this racquet on serve. He offered, "I felt very consistent even when being aggressive. My pace was surprisingly good for a racquet this light. I know I can get more from this racquet with the addition of a little weight, but even in stock form I was serving well."

Struggling on serve and wishing for a bit more weight was Granville. He said, "It feels like I should be able to hit the ball 175 mph, as the weight just opens up so much racquet speed, but it's apparent at impact that there is simply not enough mass to really drive the ball with great pace. My slice serves out wide remained intact and effective, but I just couldn't hit those heaters down the middle. Lower stringbed tensions may relieve some of my pent up frustration!"

Serve Returns - Score: 78

Our team found that a solid and fast swing was required to get the most out of their serve returns. It was mostly positives for Mike. He said, "Most returns were solid. They felt great and really soft, most likely due to the Amplifeel technology, which made it really arm friendly. The only issue I had was with depth, but overall returns were solid."

Karly felt like she was being pushed around when she was returning. She said, "Again, the instability and lack of plow through made it uncomfortable and hard to produce my own power. I felt really inconsistent controlling the depth if I slowed my swing speed slightly. If facing a tough serve where I could only stick my racquet out to make some contact with the ball, there was no power to my return. I had to focus on making sure I had enough racquet head speed so I wasn't immediately put on the defensive."

Chris advocated a fast swing for some heavy returns. He said, "If you like to take a good rip on the return then you'll probably enjoy this racquet as much as I did. I could really whip this racquet around very quickly. I liked how I could snap my wrist at full stretch and send a sharp cross court return that immediately turned defense into offense. While that wasn't the most consistent approach to returning a tough serve, it sure was fun! At times I was tempted to take too much of a risk and would overhit my shot. However, for the majority of the time I found a solid blend of control, power and spin."

Granville agreed with Chris about the whipping ability of the BLX Pro Staff 100. He explained, "Maneuverability is a big part of the serve return equation, as I could get this racquet around on either side with plenty of time. I either needed to be ahead of the ball, weight moving forward and hitting out front to take the offensive with this racquet, or sit back and slice and dice to wear my opponent down with consistency."

Overall - Score: 79

Technical Specifications Length 27.25 inches 69.2 centimeters Head Size 100 square inches 645 square centimeters Weight 10.7 ounces 303 grams Balance Point 13.225 inches 34 centimeters 3pts Head Light Construction 19mm / 22mm / 21mm Tapered Beam Composition Basalt String Pattern 16 Mains / 18 Crosses

Babolat RDC Ratings Score Grade Flex Rating 65 Range: 0-100 Swing Weight 304 Range: 200-400

Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester Profiles

Chris: 5.0 all-court player currently using the HEAD Youtek IG Prestige Midplus. Chris uses a full-western forehand grip, has a fast swing style and hits a one-handed backhand.

Mike: 5.0 baseliner with a semi-western forehand and two-handed backhand. His current racquet of choice is a customized Prince Triple Threat Warrior.

Granville: 5.5 all-court player currently using a Wilson K Factor Six-One Tour 95. Granville is an aggressive player who uses an eastern forehand grip and goes continental on everything else, hits with a flat swing and a one-handed backhand.

Karly: 4.0 baseline player currently playing with the Wilson nCode nTour. She hits with a semi-western forehand grip and uses a two handed backhand.

Review date: June 2012. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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