Wilson Pro Staff 97 Classic Racquet Review

Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.7

Having played with many iterations of this iconic racquet, our playtesters knew what to expect from the updated Pro Staff 97. And, spoiler alert: their expectations were all met or exceeded when bashing groundies with this updated racquet! Chris was pleased with this Pro Staff's characteristically crisp, clean and solid feel off the ground. He began, "This racquet was not a huge departure from the outgoing model, and even though this update swung a bit heavier, switching between the two was easy. I always had a solid sense of the pace, depth and direction I was getting on my shots because the Pro Staff 97 connected me to the ball well. I liked the level of spin and control I had with my backhand slice and had fun moving that shot to varying targets. When looking to add some pace to the ball, I found ample plow through since our test sample had a healthy swingweight."

"This racquet felt so familiar and solid from the very first ball strike," said Michelle, who has called the Pro Staff RF97 home for the past several years. "I was expecting to feel a bigger difference between the Pro Staff 97 and the heavier RF97, but I was happy to find the racquet's specs were very close, other than the static weight. With that being said, once I had the string setup I like best (Solinco Hyper-G at 56 pounds), I was smiling and striking big balls from the baseline. Everything I could want was available to me, including stability, great control, access to power, a large sweetspot and loads of precision. I felt at home with the Pro Staff 97. Could I switch? I'm not getting any younger, and if I were to play a match tomorrow that would be a serious question I'd have to answer. I will say there was still a noticeable bump up in mass when using the RF97. The Pro Staff 97 is very tempting, and I thought it performed nearly flawlessly from the baseline. Also, while some don't think I slice many balls, this racquet cut through my slices like butter, and I enjoyed keeping the ball flirting with the top of the net, whether it was a defensive stab or a change of pace for my opponents. No doubt about it, I would be happy hitting for hours with this Pro Staff 97, and I plan to keep this one in my bag!"

Troy found plenty of control and precision at the baseline, along with a swingweight that worked great for his game. He said, "There was a decent amount of stability with the previous versions, but also a very maneuverable head-light feel. The feel was even more solid. It felt slightly plusher on contact, and the maneuverability and swingweight shifted more to my favor. For some, this version might feel heftier, but for me that was a good thing. The swingweight was right where I like it so my timing was spot-on. I found easy access to topspin and cross-court dippers from the 16x19 pattern, yet there was also plenty of precision and feel when I was flattening out my forehand or hitting a backhand slice."

Mark, who spends most of his time grinding out points from the baseline, is always looking for a racquet that supports his playstyle, and the Pro Staff 97 did just that. He said, "To put it mildly, the new Pro Staff jelled precisely with my game. The FORTYFIVE Braiding is still present on this fourteenth version, and with an increase in swingweight relative to the prior edition, I felt more connected to my shots. I was able to play better offense and defense from the baseline with this update."

Volleys: 8.7

The Pro Staff 97 performed well for our entire playtest team on volleys. Michelle was especially impressed by how rock-solid it felt here. She said, "This racquet was so stable at net. It was simple to maneuver into place, and it held up to the hardest hitters out there. There was easy access to any volley, and it was fun to transition up to the net with the Pro Staff 97 in hand. Not many racquets out there offer the stability this one possesses!"

Since the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph was released back around 2015, Troy has always loved how it felt on volleys. He compared the two Pro Staffs, saying, "It is pretty obvious that the heftiness of the RF97 makes for a very solid and stable response, but I was surprised how solid this Pro Staff 97 felt when hitting volleys, because at 315 grams it is 25 grams lighter than the RF97. The 97-square-inch head size helped me feel very precise and in command of the ball. The feel on contact was firm and predictable without being harsh or jarring. The increased swingweight gave me better stability than previous versions when facing hard hitters. That said, I still found enough maneuverability for my liking, and if I were to add a leather grip to this racquet, I think the balance and feel would be spot-on."

Mark was pleased with the Pro Staff 97's playability at the net. He described, "Hard passing shots or tricky half volleys were pretty easy to deal with. The Pro Staff 97 provided rock-solid stability, allowing me to let the racquet do most of the work at net."

Chris echoed his fellow playtesters, and he noted the crisp, clean feel of the racquet. He said, "I was able to find my targets consistently, and my touch volleys were working well. I also liked the blend of power and control when I was punching volleys deep. I was confident hitting volleys aggressively and found I could maintain consistency even when I upped the pace."

Serves: 8.7

Our team found a good cadence when serving with the Pro Staff 97. As with previous versions, the spin and precision are the traits that really shine for Troy on serve. He explained, "I wouldn't say that this racquet provides easy power when it comes to serves, but the increase in swingweight made me feel like my serves were coming off the racquet heavier, with more penetration through the court. The precision that the Pro Staff 97 possesses made me feel like I could hit my targets consistently, and I felt confident hitting the corners of the service box. When going for my kick and slice serves, I found a good amount of bite on the ball and felt like I could get the ball jumping off the court relatively easily. Where I really noticed the increase in swingweight was on flat first serves. The combination of the mass and the stiffness of this frame really seemed to help me get that pancake effect on the ball and get some nice pace."

Mark's favorite shot to hit with this racquet was his serve. He said, "The Pro Staff 97 delivered a nearly perfect combination of weight, stiffness and balance. I could comfortably place my serves with decent pace and spin on the ball."

I like racquets that plow through contact, and the fairly high swingweight of the Pro Staff 97 helped it do that," said Chris. "My first serves had lots of pace, and I felt like I was hitting a decently heavy serve. Access to spin was solid on second serves, and I was able to hit with good pace while still finding my targets."

For Michelle, serving with the Pro Staff 97 was great since it was a bit easier to maneuver than her heavier RF97, yet it still allowed her to hit targets precisely with power. She said, "I'm not hitting loads of spin lately, so I prefer hard, flat serves whenever I can get away with it, but I will say, I had no issues kicking second serves or pulling the trigger on a slice serve. Because this racquet felt so familiar, I really didn't have anything to complain about. The ball penetrated the court, and body serves were fun to hit as well since I could handcuff my opponent and look for a return to attack."

Returns: 8.6

Stability reigned supreme for our playtesters when it came to returning with the Pro Staff 97. Michelle likes to take big cracks off the return and start the point on offense, and this racquet helped her do exactly that. She described, "This racquet plowed through returns, and I felt in command when returning. It was easy to keep my backswings short, but I could also take bigger swings and step up to attack my targets. My favorite returns were those low-percentage, all-or-nothing, big-swinging, down-the-line returns from both sides of the court. I also loved that no matter how far I was pulled off the court or had to reach for a return, I could stab the ball back and get it deep into the court, giving me time to recover and reset the point on the next shot."

"My favorite returns to hit with the Pro Staff 97 were deep drive returns," added Chris. "The stability of this racquet helped me use the incoming pace of the serve and redirect it with a powerful return. My slice returns were working well too. I had the option of knifing through the slice to drive it low or to chip it deep to buy time to recover to the center of the court."

Troy experienced a very solid, stable and smooth feel on contact when returning. He said, "I could block back hard hit serves with relative ease and get the ball deep in my opponent's side of the court. When I had the chance to be aggressive with my forehand return I could put my opponent in a defensive position early in the point. My favorite returns to hit were the slice backhand and the backhand chip lob in doubles. The Pro Staff 97 had easy plow through on my slice return, and it was also stable and precise when I hit that chip lob return deep into the corners of the court. Once again, I think a little bit of handle weight or a leather grip would have me feeling completely dialed in."

"Since I loved volleying with the Pro Staff 97 and my return of serve definitely resembles a half volley, I was happy returning with this racquet," said Mark. "I was not taking too many topspin cuts at the return, but the swingweight being in the low 330s did complement my chip approach to the return of serve."

Breakdown Summary