Wilson Blade 98s v9 Review

Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.1

From the baseline, the Blade 98S v9 offered incredible amounts of spin potential, which was nicely offset by the racquet's excellent feel and easy-to-use nature. Chris found good reliability with both his slices and topspin drives, but he struggled to control shots with a flatter trajectory. He explained, "As with any Wilson racquet with a Spin Effect string pattern, trying to maximize both topspin and slice on groundstrokes was a pretty addictive experience. Thanks to the easy maneuverability of this racquet, I could generate a lot of racquet head speed to help me get the ball rotating rapidly. On my slice backhand, I was able to make the ball break either left or right depending on which side spin I went for to accompany the slice. My topspin groundstrokes had plenty of hop. The flip side with this racquet was that all bets were off on flatter shots. I struggled to control the depth of my flat shots and had trouble dialing in my targeting."

Mark was able to make the most of this Blade 98S v9 on his topspin-heavy forehand, but he found more issues with his flatter one-handed backhand. He said, "Light and lively, with just enough mass and a proper balance point to keep things stable is how I can describe the Wilson Blade 98S v9 from the baseline. I was very confident with my forehand in terms of speed, spin and directional control, but the Blade 98S v9 did sometimes feel a little light when I was hitting one-handed backhands. Spin-wise, I felt the 18x16 pattern was similar to what I get from a 16x20 in terms of a net-clearing launch angle and the easy creation of spin, which I really liked. Because my cross-court forehand probably coaxed the weakest replies from my opponents, it became one of my favorite shots to hit from the baseline with the Blade 98S v9."

As one of our most spin-heavy players, Jason was able to take full advantage of the Blade 98S v9 from the baseline, shaping shots to devastating effect. He noted, "I really enjoyed this Blade 98S on my groundstrokes. I noticed a slightly higher launch angle compared to most other racquets, but it wasn't too extreme compared to other Spin Effect racquets I've used in the past (Steam 99S). I was getting easy depth on my shots and definitely easy access to spin. It’s no surprise, but most of my misses tended to be long."

Although Oak loved the Blade 98S v9 during his first hit, he was ultimately left wanting more. He described, "I had such a honeymoon phase with this Blade 98S v9. I will say I'm not the biggest fan of the Blade line historically, but they have been trending in the right direction for me personally over the last few years. I was initially quite happy with this frame and the unusual feel of its 18x16 string pattern. But the more that I've hit with this racquet, the less sure I am about it. I typically like 18-main racquets for their control, faster rebound rate and overall improved spot targeting. With fewer cross strings in the stringbed the pocketing is distinctly deeper, and the more open spacing allows for more string movement. While I could generate excellent spin, the hitting sensation was so unusual that I really struggled to find a groove with it. My normal bread-and-butter shots, like my flat two-hander, just felt so different, and they required a lot more spin and weight transfer than I'm accustomed to. The 3-points head-light strung balance of the frame is interesting, and it produces a heavy ball when it’s combined with the 18x16 string pattern but not always the most stable experience. I did like the constant 21-mm beam, which had good feel through the air and was complemented nicely by an RA that didn't feel too soft or too springy. This is a frame that I think would need to be customized to a desired spec because in stock form it just plays too strange for me."

Volleys: 8.0

The Blade 98S v9 was a good fit for most of our playtest team's volleys, although two of our testers found themselves wishing for a bit more stability. Oak found success with shorter, more angled volleys, opting to use touch instead of power most of the time. He said, "Volleys had good feel, but the Blade 98S v9 did tend to get pushed around ever so slightly. I wanted more stability throughout contact when at net. I do think that customizing this frame would be beneficial. Angled volleys tended to work a little better for me at net. Overheads were more difficult to wield than I would've liked, and that's never a shot you want to be tentative on."

Jason liked the Blade 98S v9's feel at net, but he found himself wanting more mass coming through his volleys. He said, "I thought it felt pretty quick and maneuverable, so getting the racquet quickly into position was not an issue. I would've appreciated a bit more pop and stability on my volleys and overheads, so I'd just add a smidge of tungsten tape to the hoop."

Chris had a much better time at the net, deploying his signature touch and craftiness to great effect. He said, "I was impressed by the comfortable and plush response of this Blade 98S v9 at net. It offered a ton of control when strung with Luxilon Savage, and the open string pattern gave the firm string a surprising amount of plushness. I found it easy to carve under the ball to generate lots of spin and make volleys die quickly before my opponent could chase them down."

Mark found the Blade 98S v9 easy to trust and utilize, leading to plenty of success at net. He explained, "Getting set up for a volley on time was no problem at all with the Blade 98S v9, and unless the passing attempt was huge, this update was plenty stable. The longer ball dwell time and a connected feel complemented both the quality and disguise of my volleys. That said, due to the racquet's lighter weight, I did notice that my half volleys required a little extra effort to prevent them from sitting up or landing short."

Serves: 8.6

Serving proved to be one of the Blade 98S v9's strongest areas of performance, with each tester noting the exceptional action that they were getting on their serves. Mark said, "Because I’m used to playing with heavier or longer racquets, it did take 20 or so minutes of serving to get used to how light and fast the Blade 98S v9 felt over my head. I played a lot of doubles with the Blade 98S v9, and my lefty serve aimed near the T on the deuce court and out wide on the ad side were the most effective and easiest serves for me to hit consistently."

Likewise, Chris was able to lean on the frame's spin capabilities to shape serves. He noted, "Hitting with spin was again the key to my success with the Blade 98S v9. I rarely hit flat serves, but I loved the amount of spin I could get on my slice serves, and found this to be the shot where I could consistently tap into the spin potential of this racquet. Both my first and second serves had good action on them, and I was hitting to various targets with confidence."

From the start of the playtest to the end, Jason had a very good time serving with the Blade 98S v9. He said, "This racquet was great on serves. I wasn't necessarily hitting my biggest serves with it, but the combination of power and spin I was able to achieve made my serves very effective."

Serving proved to be the highlight of the playtest for Oak. He noted, "Serves were a lot of fun with this racquet. I got great spin and movement on the ball, but the pocketing was harder to take advantage of, and I wanted more mass through the ball on my serves. I liked opting for slice serves and kicks out wide on the ad side. That said, I was getting surprisingly good pace and action on my serves, making it my favorite shot to hit with this Blade 98S v9, even if it was a little harder to reliably aim at times."

Returns: 7.9

The Blade 98S v9 left our team feeling a little divided on returns, with most testers noting mixed results. Ultimately, Oak wanted more control from the Blade 98S v9 on returns, and he was left looking for more reliability across the board. He said, "Returns were pretty good, but perhaps not as precise as I would've wanted. Spot-targeting is essential for me when I’m returning serves, so not being able to power the ball through the court was limiting for me."

Jason seemed to have the best experience with the Blade 98S v9 on returns, and he was able to attack his opponent's serves with confidence. He explained, "I was pleasantly surprised with my returns. The last Blade I tested, the Blade 100 v9, is similar to this racquet in many ways, but I struggled to get depth on my returns with it. Not so much here. The higher launch angle really helped with getting the necessary depth on defensive return shots, but being offensive was even better. I could really attack, but I had to be conscious about adding topspin so my shots would land in."

On the other end of things, Mark had some trouble relying on his returns, noting the racquet's lack of stability at times. He said, "This was the one part of the playtest where the Blade 98S v9 sometimes felt a little unstable. I was able to keep the ball low over the net and away from the player at the net when returning serves indoors or on a calm day outdoors. However, I was having a harder time making solid contact in windy conditions, and some of my returns were a little erratic."

Chris wasn’t able to return consistently with the Blade 98S v9, saying, "All could go very right with the Blade 98S v9 on returns, or it could go very, very wrong. I hit some great returns when I was able to generate the spin I wanted. When the serve proved tougher than anticipated, or I caught the ball a little too flatly, I struggled to find my targets, or even the court. Again, comfort was impressive, and the racquet has a plush stringbed feel even when strung with a firmer co-poly."

Breakdown Summary