Wilson Burn 100 S Review

Groundstrokes - 78

Our playtesters hit the courts and quickly unlocked the best qualities of the Burn 100S -- loads of power and spin. Unfortunately, that power and spin came with one downside, a lack of comfort due to the stiffness of this racquet. Chris found it very easy to rally with depth and pace. He was impressed with the power and spin he could hit with this racquet, and said, "Flat shots launched off the stringbed with rocket like pace. Thankfully, the access to spin was solid, so I wasn't hitting that many flat shots. All the spin added heaps of control. I was able to take a good rip at the ball and let the spin make the ball drop inside the lines. I especially liked the spin I was getting on my cross-court forehand. I was finding some new angles, and I could hit that shot with more pace while still staying consistent. My backhand slice was very effective with this racquet as well. I could put enough spin on the ball to keep it very low. I also liked the power level when I was pushed onto my back foot, as I could keep shots deep and stay in the point. The downside to all of the free power was a very stiff feel. The racquet played very crisply, and I could feel the 74 RA of the hitter I was using impacting the tendons in my wrist. I was playing great and I loved what I could do with the ball when using this racquet, but found I had a sore wrist at the end of most hitting sessions. Bummer."

With her flatter hitting style, Brittany doesn't always enjoy open string patterned racquets, but she was surprised at how easy this racquet was to use. She said, "My overall adjustment period was much shorter compared to other Spin Effect racquets from Wilson, but it did take a couple hitting sessions before I felt completely comfortable hitting my backhand. Right off the bat, I noticed extra spin and depth on my balls compared to my regular racquet. A look at my PlaySight data showed I was getting more net clearance (2-plus feet) and more average RPMs, especially on my forehand. My groundstrokes were bouncing higher with more spin, which was giving my opponents trouble. I had a decent amount of control and was able to go for my shots more. However, I couldn't completely flatten out my ball as the launch angle would cause my balls to fly out. My biggest negative would have to be the stiffness. The racquet was very stiff, and I could feel extra vibrations when hitting outside the sweetspot."

"After 10 minutes of warm up I went directly to point play, and I have to say that the new Burn 100S felt very stable," began Mark. "Having used the Steam 99S for a while, I was shocked that I had some difficulty getting over the top of the ball to bring the it back down into the court. Access to spin was not spot on for me, which made this racquet a hit or miss. Around 90 percent of my groundstrokes generally go where they are supposed to, but I was a bit vexed with this racquet."

Tiffani noted that power was the most noticeable aspect of the Burn 100S. She explained, "For me, it was the power that stood out first. I didn't notice the spin so much until I started to adjust my strokes to accommodate the power level. Initially, I was less than consistent, to put it kindly. Once I focused on using topspin to reel in the power I noticed that I was getting more spin than I typically do, especially on my forehand side. I did continue to miss on the backhand side more frequently because I tend to flatten out that shot. One issue I had with this Burn 100S off the ground was the stiffness level. I had to be sure to be fully loose and warm before hitting out because if I missed the sweetspot I could feel quite a bit of shock to my wrist."

Volleys - 80

The Burn 100S felt firm at the net, and it held up well against big hitters. It was maneuverable enough to hit quick volleys and it packed enough punch to win a point with a well-placed volley. Brittany found the Burn 100S offered a crisp response at the net. She offered, "I found great stability whether I was punching the volley deep in the court or lunging to hit a short volley. I would say this racquet had slightly less than average maneuverability because at times I found myself a tad late when volleying. I found myself punching volleys deep in the court to end the point when I came to the net."

The stability Mark experienced off the ground carried over to his volleys, and this is where the Burn 100S really shone for him. He said, "It did not take long to get used to the slightly different angle of the ball off the wide open string patterns. I was right at home at net and found the most success with this racquet there."

Tiffani got plenty of pop at net and agreed that the Burn 100S felt stable. She added, "Like from the baseline, I noticed how the ball popped off the stringbed. I didn't have much time to feel the ball, though, and felt this racquet was best for a point-and-shoot volley."

The power of this racquet continued to impress Chris at net. He commented, "There was enough inherent pop in this racquet to help me dig out deep volleys. I was able to turn defense into offense many times, and I even hit winners from some tough situations. The response was very crisp, and this racquet had a very direct feel to it. Basically, I could get the ball to zing away to wherever I had the strings pointing. Cutting under my volleys produced lots of slice to help cut an angle or to get the ball to skid low. Again, comfort was an issue. If my opponents ripped their shot and I caught the ball off-center I could feel some racquet shock."

Serves - 83

Our playtesters were rewarded when it came to serving with the Burn 100S . Most of them agreed that this racquet excelled at finding pace and lots of spin to get the ball jumping off the court. Tiffani's favorite shot to hit with the Burn 100S was her serve. She said, "I noticed the easy access to spin here more than any other area of the court. Throw in the effortless power, and the Burn 100S is a winner on serves. I even threw in an ace during this playtest, and I may not see one of those again for years."

Chris also loved serving with this racquet. He said, "I found effortless pace. There was so much power that I could sustain a high level of pace throughout a tough match -- even when I was getting tired. I liked the fact that I could add some spin to my first serve to either pull it away from my opponents or to inject a little height into the bounce to catch them off guard. All of that spin helped me to serve aggressively with my second serve, too. Just like my groundstrokes, the added spin allowed me to add pace without sacrificing consistency. I wasn't as accurate as I am with my Six.One 95S, but I was able to clear the net with good height and get the ball to drop well within the lines."

"My favorite shot to hit with this racquet was the serve," echoed Brittany. "There was plenty of spin, and both my first and second serves were jumping up higher off the ground and out of my opponent's strike zone. I found myself hitting a variety of serves consistently, but I loved serving down the T on the ad side because my serve was spinning away from the returner. I could even flatten out my first serve and get some decent pace into the body. I was hitting second serves as first serves because they were just as effective and took less effort."

Having an opposite experience was Mark, who noted that the serve was another shot that gave him some trouble. He said, "As with my groundstrokes, I had a hard time getting over the ball, and my serve percentage was lower than I would have liked as a result."

Returns - 79

Our team needed a bit of an adjustment period to get their returns aligned with the Burn 100S. "As much as I enjoyed ripping topspin returns I really enjoyed chipping and charging with this racquet," said Chris. "Being able to get some added spin on the ball definitely opened up some options. I found great pace, but unlike the Juice 100S, I had no control issues. This was such a fun racquet to return with, and I could absolutely blast a shot or knife a low slice. Not to beat a dead horse, but the fun was somewhat spoilt by the uncomfortable response."

Everything was there for Mark's service return to be effective, but he still wasn't feeling the chemistry with this racquet. He noted, "Perhaps I just needed some extra time to unlock the magic from the Burn 100S because I struggled more than expected with my return as well."

Tiffani was able to dial in her return. She explained, "The trick to returning with the Burn 100S for me was to pick my shot and then move my target a few more feet inside the lines. I liked the power level and felt the racquet was quite stable for its weight, but the racquet's response could be a bit flighty for me since I don't use much spin to control the power on my returns. I was successful when I played it more conservatively on returns."

Also needing a little time to fine tune her return with this spin friendly racquet was Brittany. She said, "It took me a little time to get used to returning with this racquet. At first I was spraying balls everywhere as I was trying to hit the ball too flat. Adding some spin and aiming toward bigger targets helped eliminate this issue. Overall, I didn't feel 100 percent dialed in on returns but could be effective when I needed to be."

Overall - 78

Technical Specifications Length 27 inches 69 centimeters Head Size 100 square inches 645 square centimeters Weight 11.3 ounces 320 grams Balance Point 13.35 inches 34 centimeters 1pt Head Light Construction 23.5mm / 25mm / 24.5mm / Composition Carbon Fiber Graphite String Pattern 18 Mains / 16 Crosses

Babolat RDC Ratings Score Grade Flex Rating 73 Range: 0-100 Swing Weight 327 Range: 200-400

Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester Profiles

Chris: 4.5 all-court player currently using the Wilson Six.One 95S. Chris uses a full-western forehand grip, has a fast swing style and hits a one-handed backhand.

Brittany: Open level player with a semi-western forehand and a two-handed backhand. She currently plays with the Yonex EZONE Ai 100.

Mark: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a one-handed backhand. He currently plays with the Wilson Steam 99S.

Tiffani: 4.0 level baseliner with a semi-western grip on the forehand and hits a two-handed backhand. Currently playing with the Donnay Formula 100.

Review date: February 2015. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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