Wilson Burn FST 95 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 84

With a hefty swingweight of 331, the Burn FST 95 has enough mass to trade heavy balls or effectively redirect pace. Chris expected the Burn FST 95 to feel stiffer and more powerful than it did, and he was surprised by the response. He explained, "The response was soft, somewhat muted and very controlled. I had great directional and depth control on my shots. I liked how I could take a big cut at the ball without fear of hitting long. I was also able to turn that racquet head speed into spin. The thin beam seemed to promote going for maximum spin; it didn't look like it would get in the way on an aggressive angle of attack, although I still managed to shank a few shots to remind myself of my amateur status! When I did find the strings I was getting a solid level of spin. Both my topspin and slice shots had nice action on them. The spin further enhanced the control, making this a consistent racquet for me to hit."

Singing a similar tune, Michelle offered, "The first time I hit with this racquet I was at a demo day with Wilson, which meant I tried a few different racquets. The Burn FST 95 wasn't my favorite that day, so I wasn't sure what I would think going into this playtest. I typically don't gravitate toward racquets with a softer, muted, lower powered response, but when I started playing groundstroke games with this racquet the results were great. I couldn't miss. I instantly had built in control behind my shots. The accuracy and control were awesome, and they made me want to keep the racquet in my hands longer than I expected. Depth and spin came naturally, and my defensive balls were deep enough to keep my opponents from taking advantage of them. I could also be scrappy and get a lot of balls back, and then when I was ready to step up and put the ball away, I could. I was getting good depth and I wasn't making as many errors. It didn't feel like I had enough power to put balls away, but I was winning points by working the point a bit longer and wearing my opponent down. I was able to accelerate the Burn FST 95 quickly and attack the ball full on, and then I let the control come into play when needed. If I had to pick one thing I didn't love about this racquet on groundies, it was that I didn't feel like my shots hurt my opponents as much as when I'm hitting with my Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph. My shots didn't feel as heavy or penetrating, but the Burn FST 95 seemed to do the trick!"

"From the first time I picked up this Wilson Burn FST 95, I felt right at home with the weight and balance," began Troy, whose current racquet is the discontinued Wilson Six.One 95. "This racquet felt fast and easy to swing when I was hitting groundstrokes, and at the same time it had plenty of mass to hit penetrating shots. I found spin easy to access with the 16x19 string pattern, and I was able to create sharp angles when hitting cross court. I was able to hit penetrating slice backhands as well. The feel of this racquet on contact was very plush and dampened, and it didn't play as stiff as the 71 stiffness rating indicates. My only knock on this racquet was that it the response felt very muted, which was good for dampening the harsh vibrations, but at the same time I sometimes felt disconnected from my shot placement. Overall, control was good, but I would need more time with this racquet to feel completely dialed in."

Control and spin were by far the two standout features of the Burn FST 95 for Karly. She said, "I was controlling points more with placement than I was with power, and my PlaySight data showed my average spin was up a couple hundred RPMs on my groundstrokes. I could hit the targets I was aiming for while adding lots of spin for a more aggressive shot. However, even though the racquet offered noticeably more control than power, I was also surprised with how much pop I got from the sweetspot. I thought the Burn FST 95 was one of the liveliest 95 square-inch frames I've used, although that lively response was also inconsistent depending on where I made contact. When I hit the sweetspot the ball left the stringbed with good pop, but when I hit outside the sweetspot the response felt very dead. The high swingweight also made the racquet feel sluggish, so I focused more on getting the racquet around in time and making good contact from the baseline."

Volleys - Score: 86

Our playtesters agreed that the Burn FST 95 had plenty of feel and stability at net. Michelle had no complaints when it came to volleying with this racquet, saying, "I really enjoyed this racquet at net. The smaller head size was great for precision, and the racquet was easy to wield against hard hitters. I could also create fun angles and touch shots with the softer response. The racquets I'm playtesting usually don't feel stable enough to me because I play with a very stable racquet. This racquet had enough stability and maneuverability for me."

"When I came to net I liked the plush and stable response of the Burn FST 95," began Troy. "There was plenty of stability when I was volleying hard shots hit directly at me, and the plush feel of this racquet allowed me to hit soft drop-volleys with ease. I found it easy to maneuver when at net, which allowed me to react quickly during fast exchanges. This Wilson Burn FST 95 allowed me to have good command over my volleys, and I felt confident hitting close to the lines. While playing doubles I loved the blend of stability, maneuverability, and touch this racquet provided for me at net."

The stability of the Burn FST 95 was Karly's favorite feature when volleying with it. She said, "The RA rating was pretty high, and it had a stiffer feel than most racquets, but it wasn't uncomfortably stiff. It felt firm and solid, it didn't flutter in my hands when I made contact with the ball, and power came easy at the net without losing any control. I enjoyed its combination of power and precision because it allowed me to put the ball away more quickly than I could from the baseline."

"The same controlled feel I found from the baseline dominated my experiences at net with this racquet," stated Chris. "I had good feel on my touch and placement volleys, and there was enough power to help me punch volleys away. I also liked the fact that the Burn FST 95 was fast and easy to maneuver. Impressively, it felt pretty darn solid, too. To say I enjoyed this racquet at net would be an understatement, and I was looking to get in at every opportunity."

Serves - Score: 83

Although playtesters were a bit split on the power level when serving with the Burn FST 95, everyone agreed that the racquet offered good spin and precision. The maneuverability and the spin potential of the Wilson Burn FST 95 had Troy feeling confident while serving. He said, "This Burn FST 95 is about a half ounce lighter than my Wilson Six.One 95, and I felt that this boosted my racquet head speed. With the maneuverable feel, I was getting good pop on my flat first serves. This racquet was giving me good precision and spin, which allowed me to hit some heavy kick serves to the corners of the service boxes. The control allowed me to consistently locate my targets in the service box. I would have to rank this Wilson Burn FST 95 right up there with the Head Graphene XT Prestige Pro as one of my favorite racquets to serve with."

Although this racquet offered much more control than power on groundstrokes for her, Karly recorded her fastest serve on PlaySight with the Burn FST 95. "Power came naturally with serves. On contact the ball jumped off the racquet with tons of pop and pace. However, all the easy power also meant I had less control. I wasn't making my first serves consistently and had to hit more second serves than usual. Luckily, the racquet still offered great spin potential, which made it easier to serve the ball in with an aggressive kick."

Great control and great spin, but a tad underpowered summed up Chris' serving experiences. He said, "I think I could get back some power by adding weight to the tip and stringing it lower and/or using a more powerful string. I served well and felt like I could take command of the point when first serves found their targets. I just wasn't getting as many free points as I do with my Babolat Pure Drive Plus."

"I didn't completely gel with this racquet on serve," commented Michelle. "Karly mentioned that she was getting ample power on her first serves and Troy was getting great spin, but I just didn't find either. I felt like I was trying so hard to get some power behind my first serves and good movement on my second serves, and the result was at best mediocre. Although I did appreciate the precision, I just felt that my serves weren't effective with this racquet. I had to change my strategy and pick my spots rather than trying to overpower my opponent."

Returns - Score: 86

Our team could take big cuts on their returns and start points off offensively with the Burn FST 95. The blend of control, power and precision made this a great racquet for Chris to return with. He said, "Its fast feel and the high level of control had me swinging with confidence. I liked how I could take a good rip at the ball and not worry about overhitting. Again, spin was easy to generate. The racquet also felt plenty comfortable even when my contact with the ball wasn't 100 percent clean."

Michelle said, "I tend to take big swings at my returns, and this racquet rewarded me because I could get it moving quickly and attack, but it also helped add control when I was going too big. I really felt like I had a plethora of return options. I could be aggressive or dip balls back cross court to put myself in an offensive position at the start of the point. There was a comfortable, stable response, and even when I hit outside the sweetspot I wasn't in trouble with my return."

The stability and plush feel are what stood out for Troy with this Wilson Burn FST 95 when he was hitting returns. He said, "The stability of this racquet was evident against big servers, and it allowed me to plow through the ball with ease. This racquet provided enough mass to help me get good depth on my returns. The Wilson Burn FST 95 carved through the ball when I was hitting backhand slice returns, and I could effectively get the ball deep at the opponent's feet. Because the Wilson Burn FST 95 felt plush, I found a favorable sensation on contact even when I didn't time my returns perfectly. I enjoyed returning serves with this racquet and felt that it performed similar to my Wilson Six.One 95."

Karly, however, struggled with her returns because of the sluggish feel and high swingweight of the Burn FST 95. She explained, "I had to focus on getting into position faster, which was tough when hitting against harder servers. I also had to make sure I made contact in the sweetspot, otherwise my shots felt dead. However, when I was able to set up in time and make good contact, I could use its precision to take the offensive."

Overall - Score: 85