Wilson Burn 95 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 84

All of our playtesters found plenty of power from the Burn 95 when hitting groundstrokes. "Wow! This Burn 95 packed some punch from the baseline!" began Chris. "I found great pace and spin off both wings with this racquet. I felt like I was hitting my forehand as heavy as ever. It really reminded me of both the old Justine Henin BLX Tour Limited as well as the Steam 96. When I was testing the Steam 96 I wanted to try it at a heavier weight with a more head light balance. The Burn 95 offers those exact specs and played all the better for it. I loved how I could drive my backhand slice with this racquet. The power level was perfect for me when I was just hitting, but I missed the control and feel of my Pure Drive Plus during point play. I had a tendency to overhit a tad more with the Burn 95 and found myself holding back on my shots a little."

Andy was also taking advantage of the explosive power and good spin potential from the baseline. He said, "The slightly extended length provided just enough added leverage and heft to help me easily generate depth and pace. I really liked this on my backhand side for both my topspin and slice shots. On the forehand, the racquet had an explosive feel similar to the Babolat Pure Aero or Pure Drive, but the forgiveness just wasn't quite the same on off-center shots. The smaller spin window didn't allow for mistakes when trying to center the ball on the strings, and I found myself shanking a few too many forehands for my liking. All in all, I loved this racquet on my backhand side but wanted a bit more room for error on my forehands."

Michelle, who enjoys pairing powerful racquets with her big game, loved the Burn 95 when drilling, but she couldn't quite trust it under the pressure of point play. She explained, "This racquet was a complete guilty pleasure for me. It was so much fun to hit with from the baseline, but I needed more control for point play! With the stiffer beam, extra quarter inch in length and a swingweight in the mid-330s, it was easy to generate some serious power and heavy shots. Based on my PlaySight data, my average ball was faster, although I wasn't as consistent with this racquet in hand. Also, I think I shanked a few more balls than usual because of the 95 square inch head size. Aside from that, it didn't really feel like the head was much smaller than my 97 square inch racquet. This racquet felt solid, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The biggest issue I had was overhitting. I definitely wasn't as consistent with this racquet compared to my RF97. I just wasn't as comfortable using this racquet in point situations because I would overhit or attack too big, and there was less room for error compared to my racquet of choice."

Troy also found this Wilson Burn 95 to have a lot of power from the baseline in comparison to other 95 square inch headsize racquets that he has tried. He noted, "With the added pop this racquet provided I had to add some extra topspin on my forehands and backhands to keep from hitting the ball long. Anytime I wanted to flatten out my groundstrokes and drive the ball through the court I struggled a bit with my depth control. On the positive side, the boost in power that this Burn 95 provided allowed me to get good depth on my shots even when I was in a defensive position. I could get easy depth on my slice backhand, although the ball didn't seem to penetrate through the court like it does with my Wilson Six.One 95. With a full set of poly this Wilson Burn 95 began to feel a bit jarring on my right wrist when I was hitting two-handed backhands. I found the comfort of this racquet to be much improved with a hybrid of natural gut in the mains and poly in the crosses."

Volleys - Score: 80

The Burn 95 proved to be a great racquet to volley with, and our team said it was easy to 'point and shoot' at the net. Andy really enjoyed the control, stability and responsive feel of the Burn 95 up at net. He stated, "I felt in total command of the ball, whether I was trying to punch it back deep in the court or go for a shorter, more finesse-type shot. The Burn 95 was easy to maneuver and get into position during quick exchanges, even with the added heft from the extra quarter-inch of length. Furthermore, I liked how solid and stable it felt when I was stretched out wide. This racquet felt great on my volleys and overheads!"

"I had no issues volleying with the Burn 95. I found it to be super stable and pretty maneuverable," said Michelle. "It was powerful up at net, too, so it was fun to be aggressive and put away points with volleys and swinging volleys. If I had to be critical, I would say that the Burn 95 wasn't as maneuverable as other racquets we've tested recently, but honestly, I didn't find that to be a huge issue for my game."

The Burn 95 offered a firm and crisp response at net for Chris. He said, "It seemed wherever I had the strings pointing, the ball zipped away to that target. The feel was a bit stiffer than I like, and I found less comfort outside of the sweetspot. I was impressed by the racquet's stability, and the powerful response made it easy to punch volleys away. Again, I didn't have as much feel on touch shots as I do with my Pure Drive Plus or the AeroPro Drive Plus I occasionally hit."

On the other hand, Troy found the stability of this racquet to be a bit of an issue for him when coming to the net. He explained, "I found that when I was facing heavy hitters the Burn 95 lacked stability, and I wasn't getting easy depth in the court on my volleys. If I made contact directly in the sweetspot the power and feel of this racquet were good, but the sweetspot felt relatively small compared to my Wilson Six.One 95. If I missed the sweetspot the response was dead. When hitting the sweetspot cleanly on my volleys I found a predictable response and had plenty of feel to hit touch-volleys. The added quarter-inch length of this racquet gave me a little more reach when I came to the net, especially when poaching during doubles. The Burn 95 just didn't quite have the rock-solid stability that I get at the net from my Wilson Six.One 95 and the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph."

Serves - Score: 87

Power continued to shine when our team served with the Burn 95. All the reviewers found some extra speed on their serves, and they could also generate ample spin. Michelle, who has been working on getting more power on her serves, enjoyed going big on her first serves to set herself up to put the next ball away. She had needed a bit of an adjustment period to get used to the slightly extended length. She reasoned, "I know it's only a quarter-inch, but there were times when I struggled with my timing and really getting the racquet up and over the ball when I served. When my timing was on I could ramp up the power and attack with big first serves. Then kick and slice were easy to find on my second serves. I enjoyed setting myself up for a one-two punch with this racquet -- a decently big serve followed up by a taking the next ball to the open court. This racquet definitely catered to my style of play."

Because the Wilson Burn 95 is slightly longer and lighter than his usual racquet, Troy found easy power when serving. He explained, "I loved how I could get a lot of racquet head speed on my first serves. The slightly extended length helped me get some added leverage, and I could bomb flat first serves. My slice and kick serves were easy to hit, and I could generate plenty of spin, although I liked this racquet the most on flat serves. With the 95 square inch headsize I found plenty of control to hit my targets."

The extra length helped Andy add some nice power and spin to his serves while still giving him plenty of control when he went for smaller targets. He said, "I was able to blast flat first serves past my opponents and get kick and slice serves jumping and diving off of the court. This may have been my favorite shot to hit during this playtest."

Chris' serve also benefited from the Burn 95's powerful response. He added, "I was getting some nice heat on my T serves and lots of spin to help me get wide serves to drop inside the lines. The spin I was getting also enabled me to hit some nice slice serves into the body, which kept my opponents from hitting aggressive returns."

Returns - Score: 77

Returns were just another opportunity for our team to take advantage of their opponents and rip some heavy shots. All of the playtesters appreciated the power they found with the Burn 95, but some of them found a little too much power on their returns. Troy said, "I liked how the mix of maneuverability and power allowed me to be offensive with my returns of serve. I was getting good pop anytime I could take a swing on my returns, which helped me be offensive. The slightly extended length helped me get some added leverage on my two-handed backhand returns, and I found that I could be more offensive on this shot than usual. I loved hitting my two-handed backhand returns cross court while playing doubles. The downside for me was that when I had to hit a backhand chip return I didn't quite get the plow through and ease of depth that I get with my Wilson Six.One 95."

"The Burn 95 felt pretty good on my return of serve," agreed Andy. "It remained nice and stable at impact, while the blend of power and spin made it easy to get the ball back deep in the court and neutralize my opponents' serves. However, this was the one area that I thought the extended length made the racquet a little difficult to wield. The added length gave it a bit too much power,which made it a little tough to get completely dialed in."

Despite the Burn 95's high swingweight, Chris found it easy to get around on returns. He said, "For some reason the Burn 95 felt a lot faster than I expected it to. The solid response made it easy to hit with power and depth. Spin continued to be easy to generate, and I returned well with this racquet."

This is the one shot that Michelle really wished the Burn 95 offered her just a little more control and less power. She explained, "I have a tendency to swing big when returning, and I just wasn't feeling super consistent when returning with this racquet. Granted, I could have changed my strategy and added more spin to my returns instead of trying to attack so aggressively, but I can be a bit stubborn on the court. At times, the sweetspot felt too small on returns, however, it was easy to block back big serves because of how stable the racquet played. When I was just practicing returns this was a fun option and great to hit with, but I just didn't feel as confident in pressure situations; I even switched to a different racquet a few times when playing sets. When it all came together my returns were amazing, but when I was just a little late or going for too small of a target there wasn't a whole lot of room for error."

Overall - Score: 80