Alright, I have been putting this article on the back burner for about a week so I could get some other NCAA articles out, but it is time to introduce you to another great Wilson product! D3Regional talked about the Wilson Burn last week as a new player to Wilson rackets. I, on the other hand, have been a Wilson guy since college which was 35 years ago so needless to say I am dedicated to the brand. I currently use the Wilson K-factor (18×20) and have been very happy with it, but they don’t even make them anymore so I was excited to try something new out. So without further ado, I introduce to you the Wilson Blade 98S (18×16):
My initial thoughts of this racket is how sick it looks. For you scholars out there, it is very aesthetically pleasing. I don’t know what it is, but the matte black finish with a little color to make it pop kinda of makes me feel like a bad ass when carrying it around. Typically I am not a fan of rackets that have crazy bright colors, but the lime green is ingrained just enough for the racket to stand out, but yet keep it within my taste. While the same brand, this racket was very different than the one I use now mainly because the string patten is 16X18 and not like what I am using now 18×20. This is where this particular model of the Blade (98S) differs in that they are going for more spin. Before I delve in to how the racket feels, I will give you the Wilson description of the stick I got directly off the website:
“The Blade 98S adds Spin Effect Technology in an 18×16 string pattern to deliver precision spin and control for the modern, aggressive game. Parallel Drilling and Braided Graphite + Basalt improve performance. The lighter weight provides faster racket speed for players on the rise.”
Ground Strokes: 84 out of 100
After the first few shots with the Blade 98S I tweeted out “Holy Power!” because this racket has a whole lot of it. My forehand and backhand are very different so I will break down each side and how it felt. On the forehand side, I typically hit a very flat and penetrating ball with little margin for error. It took me a few shots to get used to all the extra power the Blade offered me, but once I did it became clear that I didn’t need to generate as much racket speed to produce the results I wanted. By no means is this a knock on the racket, but it was a bit erratic when I tried to hit my normal flat forehand. When I switched to a heavy topspin ball, this is where the stick absolutely excelled. I couldn’t miss even if I tried when hitting with plenty of top spin. Even when it looked like I would have hit it way out, the ball would drop in. The racket became much more consistent in the results and the heavy ball made it difficult on the person across the net from me. Before I talk about the backhand side, let me give you fare warning, my backhand is terrible. I sliced and diced my way through college and only developed a top spin backhand after I graduated. With that being said, I had a lot of similar results as my forehand. My backhand slice was nasty with the Blade 98S. The extra spin that it generated was awesome and it made my slice more of a weapon rather than a neutral shot. Because of my weak backhand, I really struggled with hitting over the ball with this racket and most of my shots went long. This has more to do with my own style of play and not the racket itself.
I must admit that this racket was a blast to hit ground strokes with because of the barrage of power and spin that it generates. If it was match-play I might be a bit more reserved because of the lack of control I had, but practicing base line to base line with no score you will enjoy everything this racket has to offer.
Serves: 89 out of 100
Where my backhand is weak, my serve is the biggest part of my game so it is important for me to find a racket that allows me to use it to the fullest extent. I have the whole arsenal of serves with a big flat serve, great kick serve, and an above average slice serve. Be jealous! Anyways, the Blade 98S really accentuated each of the three serves maximizing the potential for all of them. With the flat serve, more power was easily accessed and my already big first serve became even bigger. The only thing that was a bit difficult was hitting my spots with this serve. I was always getting it in the box, but moving the serve from down the T to out wide caused some errors. I basically was aiming for the middle of the box and having a ton of success getting them in and with a ton of pace, but less success when I tried to vary the location. With the kick serve, the Blade 98S was AWESOME! Like I said, I already had a great kick serve that I use either as a second serve or a great first serve in doubles. The additional spin I created gave the ball extra rotation and it dove down into the box and bounced with a ton of action. The ad-side serve out wide was almost unreturnable as it took my opponent way off the court. It was also a lot easier to control as compared to the flat serve.
Volleys: 91 out of 100
Finally at the net, I was a big fan of the Blade 98S. It was solid on all fronts and I was able to hit just about every volley with ease. I expected this racket to be great in terms of hitting deep volleys to put points away based off what it was like with ground strokes and serves. My expectations were spot on as I was hitting these with ease. What I didn’t expect was with the more touch volley and drop shots. I figured this racket would struggle a bit, but I was wrong. It really responded well and had a level of forgiveness that I predicted the open string patten wouldn’t allow. The racket had a lot of feel at the net and that was comforting knowing I could basically hit any shot I wanted when approaching volleys.
Final Thoughts:
Overall I found the Blade 98S a whole lot of fun to play with in that it produces a lot of difficult shots to play against. The power and spin created were probably the most I have ever played with. My only criticism of the racket is a personal one in that it may not fit my game quite as well as it would others. Because I hit fairly flat with smaller margins of error, I need a bit more consistency from a racket standpoint. I have a feeling that if I were to get the Blade 98 with the 18×20 string pattern I would absolutely love it and actually am already getting a chance to demo it soon. If you are a player who hits a lot of top spin and enjoys attacking your opponents, you will absolutely love this frame and I would highly recommend it. You will generate plenty of net clearance while keeping the ball deep and heavy to cause your opponent plenty of fits on the other end. It is a great racket to exploit other baseline players with and you will also look good with it in your hands!