Wilson Pro Staff 97 LS Review

Groundstrokes - 83

The Pro Staff 97 LS felt super maneuverable and easy to swing for all our playtesters, and they were generating tons of racquet head speed and topspin on their groundstrokes. Chris found a surprising level of stability from this lightweight racquet, but there were times when he wanted a little more heft. He explained, "The sub 11-ounce weight and close to even balance of this racquet gave it an interesting blend of maneuverability and stability from the baseline. I found it quick and easy to get into position. Accelerating through contact was never an issue and that complemented the Spin Effect technology very well. The sweetspot felt pretty generous, and I found easy access to both depth and pace. Outside of the sweetspot the stability obviously dropped off a little, but this racquet felt more solid than its light weight would suggest. I liked a softer co-poly string in this racquet because there wasn't the mass to absorb the shock on those off-center shots. I was able to hit plenty of topspin with this racquet, but I hit with more confidence and control with my Six.One 95S. The same was true when I was hitting slice. The added weight of my regular racquet has me hitting a heavier slice, but the amount of spin I was getting with both racquets felt pretty similar. I liked the way this racquet came through contact on my one-handed topspin backhand. I found it easy to drive deep, roll with spin or hit an angle."

Jason was getting lots of topspin on his groundstrokes, but like Chris, he wanted more heft so his other shots would travel through the court a little easier. He critiqued, "I found the racquet very easy to swing. I definitely noticed the lack of mass, though, and it showed in my shots. I just wasn't getting the depth and pace I'm used to, and it was especially noticeable against bigger hitters. But what the racquet lacked in power, it made up for in spin. Well, at least topspin. I wasn't really able to knife my backhanded slices, and they tended to float on me a bit."

On the other hand, Tiffani was ecstatic that she finally found a "Spin" racquet that worked well for her, attributing it specifically to the unique 18x16 string pattern. She said, "I just had my Eureka! moment with Spin Effect technology! This has been by far my favorite spin racquet playtest. With this tighter 18x16 pattern I can see the effects of Spin Effect without having to change my game or strokes. With other more open string patterns I would spray balls when hitting flatter shots. I really got a sense of how much more control this string pattern had when taking balls on the rise, which I couldn't do when testing the 16x15 Spin Effect patterns. The Pro Staff 97 LS had all the benefits of Spin Effect -- easy depth, lively stringbed, more than enough spin -- but with a control level that suits my flatter hitting style."

Mark also really liked the blend of attributes the Pro Staff 97 LS offered from the baseline. He said, "I warmed up for 10 minutes with the Pro Staff 97 LS and then jumped right into points against a big hitter. Although the racquet was quick through the air, it did not feel unstable through contact. I loved this racquet from the ground because it exhibits a great blend of maneuverability and stability. The backhand slice dug in, and I felt like I could hit an effective shot from anywhere in the court."

Volleys - 82

Although there was some instability against harder hit shots, the Pro Staff 97 LS performed nicely for our testers at net, where they enjoyed the maneuverability and feel. Tiffani was having a lot of success hitting her volleys and overheads. She said, "I was happily surprised at how effective I was at the net with the Pro Staff 97 LS. I enjoyed the feel on softer volleys and the lively, yet controllable, response when trying to punch volleys. As with other racquets in this range, I sensed some instability if I didn't hit the volley with authority."

Mark echoed Tiffani's sentiments, saying, "I was, once again, surprised at how stable this maneuverable racquet was at net. Whether it was a hard passing shot that stretched me out to full extension or a subtle half volley shot, I was dialed in."

Jason isn't a natural volleyer, so he was a little more conscious of the racquet's instability around the net. He explained, "I probably would've scored it higher if I were a cleaner volleyer. However, because I don't always hit my shots in the sweetspot I definitely noticed the torsional instability up at net. The two things I felt this racquet helped me with was touch volleys and overheads. I liked how quickly and easily I could get the racquet into position."

Chris loves coming forward in the court and was having some nice success knifing volleys deep during the playtest. He said, "I liked punching volleys deep with pace with this racquet. Adding some tip speed to volleys helped keep the racquet feeling stable and seemed to enable me to best use its swingweight. On block volleys the racquet lacked the weight to feel truly solid, but I felt well connected to how much depth I was going to get on each shot. The string pattern allowed me to add a lot of slice to my volleys by simply cutting under them. The added spin helped me find some sharper angles. It also helped me hit low skidding deep volleys that were tougher to return."

Serves - 83

The shot our testers may have enjoyed hitting the most with the Pro Staff 97 LS was the serve, where they all found excellent spin, control and consistency. Although the specs of the Pro Staff 97 LS are not what Mark typically prefers, it may be changing his mind. He said, "I generally prefer the heavier racquets, particularly on serve, but the Pro Staff 97 LS helped quell that notion. I noticed I was able to swing faster through contact, which translated into some pretty heavy and effective serves."

Jason was making lots of first serves and putting his opponents quickly on the defensive throughout the playtest. He praised, "Even though I wasn't able to hit hard serves, the serve was still one of my favorite strokes to hit with this racquet. I was able to not only hit with a lot of spin, but more importantly, I was hitting a high percentage of my serves in. I also found that I could place my serves with pretty good accuracy."

Tiffani was getting noticeably more spin on her serves, but this was one area she felt a little weight could've helped the racquet's performance. She said, "I could see more hop on my serves. Although I did feel that the ball just flew off the strings, I did wish that it translated into a bit of a heavier ball. I was getting that extra spin, but sometimes the ball would hang in the air just asking for my opponent to crush it. I really like this racquet, though, and I may want to add a bit of weight in the hoop to up the plow through."

Chris was using the ample spin to put his serves anywhere he wanted in the service box. He explained, "I served well with this racquet, and I also noticed both Mark and Tiff were serving well with this racquet when I was playing against them. What I liked about it was the easy access to both pace and spin. I found my accuracy to be solid. All the spin I was finding helped me to get the ball to dip inside the box and stay on target."

Returns - 80

The fast feel and extreme spin potential of the Pro Staff 97 LS had our playtest team returning serves with confidence, although a couple of them noticed some instability against bigger servers. Chris had most of his arsenal of returns working, but he felt the racquet twisting a little when he went to the chip return. He explained, "The fast feel of this racquet worked well on returns. As at net, I found my best results when I was hitting through the ball. I found I could put the racquet's swingweight to good use and hit a solid shot. The only time the racquet felt like it was getting pushed around was when I was just blocking the ball back and didn't generate much tip speed. As from other areas of the court, I was able to generate a lot of spin. I wasn't getting as much control as I enjoy from my Six.One 95S, but it was up there. I was returning aggressively and felt confident with this racquet."

Tiffani was going for her shots and making them on the return of serve. She said, "The Pro Staff 97 LS continued to surprise me. This racquet swings fast and leaves open the option to hit with spin, but I am most comfortable hitting flatter returns. With the Pro Staff 97 LS I could hit those flat shots with confidence. I felt good being aggressive with my shot placement on returns as well as taking defensive stabs at serves when needed."

Given the low weight of the Pro Staff 97 LS, Mark was blown away by its performance. He said, "I confess that the specs do not add up in my mind to being stable against excessive pace, spin and depth. But sometimes it is nice to be wrong! I returned with this racquet like it was an 11.7 ounce beast."

Jason was the one tester who struggled returning with the Pro Staff 97 LS. He just couldn't get over the lack of mass and the instability of the racquet. He critiqued, "When I went up against hard hit first serves the 97 LS felt like it was on the losing end of the collision between racquet and ball. There just wasn't enough mass in the hoop for me to be able to get depth on my returns consistently."

Overall - 82

Technical Specifications Length 27 inches 69 centimeters Head Size 97 square inches 626 square centimeters Weight 10.8 ounces 306.17 grams Balance Point 13.1 inches 33.27 centimeters 3pts Head Light Construction 23mm / 23mm / 23mm / Composition Carbon Graphite String Pattern 18 Mains / 16 Crosses

Babolat RDC Ratings Score Grade Flex Rating 67 Range: 0-100 Swing Weight 314 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 95 S. Chris uses a semi-western forehand grip, has a fast swing style and hits a one-handed backhand.

Jason: 4.0 baseliner with a semi-western forehand and two handed backhand. Currently using a Yonex EZONE Ai 100.

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

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

Review date: October 2014. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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