Review: Wilson RF97Autograph vs tour 90s and ps85

[effortless]

Hi so a lot of people have posted reviews of the rf97 but i don't think there has been an extensive comparison with the 90s and ps 6.0 85. I have used the tour 90s extensively in the past since a teenager but switched to the ps 6.0 85 recently because i preferred it.

I love my ps 6.0 85 but being an rf fan i had to buy one because demoing where i live is hard to come by. I had high expectations of the rf97. I had it strung with Federer's setup mains 59 crosses 56. Funnily enough i had no idea that was "Federer's Tension" when i pre ordered it.

There has been a lot of dispute about how similar it is to federer's old racquets. When i picked up the rf97 there is no doubt that it felt like a big bubba in my hand compared to my ps85. On my first hit i traded the leather grip for synthetic because i thought i would prefer it with less weight. I wasn't too impressed on my first hit. It didn't feel like it had enough penetrating power and i lost 6 - 0 in my first set against someone i usually win against. I just found it difficult to hit winners which makes me wonder how people enjoy the lighter version ps97. But i have used the racquet about 4 times since then always with the leather grip back on (no over grip) and also 4 grams of lead at 10 and 2. I am really starting to see the effectiveness of this racquet and this heavier set up is definitely better for my game.

So compared to the 90s and 85s i have found this racquet much easier to defend with. Its easier to bunt a 1hbh topspin half volley from my feet on a deep shot. I was also surprised how good this racquet is for slices which is particularly useful in defensive situations. On the forehand in defence i can be more confident because of the easier power and bigger sweet spot.

On Serve i am finding improved kick serves but little difference with all of the other serves.

Volleys despite what many have experienced, i haven't had an instant connection on volleys with this racquet. I'm finding it very difficult actually because i come in a lot.

I would say overall i probably prefer my ps85 and past 90s for attacking. I feel like the control just isn't as much with the rf97 yet when attacking i can get just as much power with my previous racquets. There probably isn't much difference between them when attacking with ground strokes but the difficulty of volleying means the old racquets win in this domain. For now anyway, i think i might just need a bit of extra time to get used to the volleys.

Overall i prefer this racquet on the 1hbh topspin because i think the margin of error is greater and allows me to swing out more. On the forehand overall i prefer this racquet for defending but not for attacking. Its harder to hit winners because of the increased clearance over the net and slightly less control.

So overall i would say there is probably potential for me to win more matches with this racquet. But nothing beats the feel of the ps 6.0 85. Its so precise, it forces you to be attacking and play creatively. Its fun! It just feels like magic in your hand. You know what i'm talking about fellow ps85 users. So i don't know which racquet i will end up using permanently but i will definitely be using the rf97 for a while and will keep on posting on this thread about new insights.

How similar are the racquets? Well they are more similar than most racquets but the difference between a ps85 and a tour 90 is much smaller than the difference between a tour 90 and rf97. The absence of a box beam is the main difference but there are still quite a lot of similarities weight distribution, feel etc.
I hope you all enjoyed the review.

 

[prostaff_fan]

Thanks..this was useful. I have been using the 90 for the last 2 years and still not convinced whether I should buy the rf97. This review seems more down to earth.

 

[darklore009]

I would have to agree every you said. I did a side by side comparation between the RF 97 and the PS90BLX. The 97 crushes everything that i come into contact, however the power level is way more than my liking. I would have to increase the tension to bring that power level down. I like the 90 for making drop shots because i can easily control it. But I ended up feeling that the 90sq in felt like a 9oz racket now.

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Nice review OP. But haha, you could have saved yourself a whole lot of writing by just saying, the lack of box beam ruined the racquet.

 

[JJK947]

I've been playing the 90s for years since the K90 and just picked up two of the RF97's. I like the feel but it's completely different from the 90's so far. The 90's feel a lot more dense or solid though impact, just in terms of the feedback you get. That's not to say the RF isn't solid, just a differnt feeling due to the increased stiffness. The contrast is even bigger when comparing to my main frame the BLX (2010 black version) which is the most dampened feeling of all the 90s to me. If I were coming straight from the K90 (my favorite) the feel wouldn't have been so different.

I'm having them strung up with a couple different poly hybrids right now so that will be the real test. With full multi (sensation 16) these racquets were basically useless after the first couple hours on everything other than serving and volleying. Everything was flying long off the forehand but I was able to get a ton of pace on my serve and hit some really nice volleys and back hand slices.

 

[Bartelby]

A Pro Staff without box beam and a Prestige Pro without such.

 

[coloskier]

My review on Drak's thread compares the RF97 and the 90. I also started out with the 85 St Vincent back in the 80's. The 85 still has the best feel, the 90 the best control, but the RF97 has the best combination of feel, control, and power. Since I used to play with 14-15oz woodies, the weight has never been an issue. I'm still trying to get my BH back to the 90 level with the 97, but everything else is finally lined up for me and my hitting partners are amazed how I'm just blowing through the ball on the forehand, serve, and return of serve. They are estimating 10-20% more pace on the same ball with the 97 compared to the 90. A lot more spin as well. If you hit with classic strokes, you will have to tweak your swing a bit to take advantage of the wider string pattern/increased spin. If you hit flat you'll have to back off a bit to get the same pace as the 90. The people who are going to hate this racket more than anything else are pushers. They are not going to like having to deal with more power and spin from you. My last two competitive matches have been against pushers that I used to have trouble with, and I blew them both off the court. Both said that they had trouble returning the higher pace and having groundies kick up shoulder high on something that looked much tamer compared to when I hit with the 90.

One last thing.... DO NOT raise your string tension because it is a 97 and not a 90. This racket thrives on strings in the high 40's-low 50's when it comes to ball pocketing. There is a reason Fed went from 57/54 at Cinci to 54/52 at USO. I'm at 52# both mains and crosses (VS Touch Black 16 mains, Solinco Tour Bite 18 crosses)

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

I may have a chance to hit with the RF97A in the near future. Will definitely look forward to it and compare it to my 90's and 85.

 

[BreakPoint]

My review on Drak's thread compares the RF97 and the 90. I also started out with the 85 St Vincent back in the 80's. The 85 still has the best feel, the 90 the best control, but the RF97 has the best combination of feel, control, and power. Since I used to play with 14-15oz woodies, the weight has never been an issue. I'm still trying to get my BH back to the 90 level with the 97, but everything else is finally lined up for me and my hitting partners are amazed how I'm just blowing through the ball on the forehand, serve, and return of serve. They are estimating 10-20% more pace on the same ball with the 97 compared to the 90. A lot more spin as well. If you hit with classic strokes, you will have to tweak your swing a bit to take advantage of the wider string pattern/increased spin. If you hit flat you'll have to back off a bit to get the same pace as the 90. The people who are going to hate this racket more than anything else are pushers. They are not going to like having to deal with more power and spin from you. My last two competitive matches have been against pushers that I used to have trouble with, and I blew them both off the court. Both said that they had trouble returning the higher pace and having groundies kick up shoulder high on something that looked much tamer compared to when I hit with the 90.

One last thing.... DO NOT raise your string tension because it is a 97 and not a 90. This racket thrives on strings in the high 40's-low 50's when it comes to ball pocketing. There is a reason Fed went from 57/54 at Cinci to 54/52 at USO. I'm at 52# both mains and crosses (VS Touch Black 16 mains, Solinco Tour Bite 18 crosses)

Well, as the saying goes - "There's no free lunch."

Isn't it the extra stiffness of the RF97A that gives it so much more power over the 90? I guess the bigger stringbed of the 97 also adds to the power but usually a larger stringbed with the same string pattern results in a loss of control as a trade-off for the added power. Are you feeling the additional stiffness in your wrist or elbow yet?

 

[magnut]

some of you should get the radar out to see how much more power your actually getting. I think you might be surprised.

 

[effortless]

Everyone seems to be going on about how powerful and heavy the rf97 is but i have a somewhat different perspective.

Firstly, in terms of power, yes the rf97 is overall more powerful than the 90s and ps85. However, i don't think it always gives you more pace of shot on every type of shot. I feel that i can get equal or even more pace of shot with the ps85 and 90s when trying to put easy balls away because they have more control which allows me to swing out more. Its when you are on the back foot that the power of the rf97 is evident. When you don't have time to get behind a ball and get set up the rf97 allows you to hit balls with much more depth and pace.

I think the weight of the rf97 is overly exaggerated. The specs of the racquet don't lie so to me the racquet feels the same weight as the 90s. I also feel like the rf97 needs to be weighty to feel like the 90s. I know people say that smaller head size racquets are easier to manoeuvre and i agree. But i don't think that actually makes it feel heavier, it just feels more clumsy and less precising.

 

[kingcheetah]

Well, as the saying goes - "There's no free lunch."

Isn't it the extra stiffness of the RF97A that gives it so much more power over the 90? I guess the bigger stringbed of the 97 also adds to the power but usually a larger stringbed with the same string pattern results in a loss of control as a trade-off for the added power. Are you feeling the additional stiffness in your wrist or elbow yet?

Hey BP, I got the chance to try the RF today for a couple of hours and here are my thoughts:
It is a stiffer frame, but it wasn't unbearable for me with luxilon savage at 24kg. Then again, I'm young and accustomed to poly, so it isn't anything my body isn't used to.

The power is definitely different-- even bouncing the ball on the court before a feed, I noticed it and said "whoa, this things got some punch to it" It's not the same feel as the Pro Staff 90, by any means. However I do think it is a solid racquet at net, and I was able to hit my spots on serves in a similar manner to when I used to hit the 90. I think because of how stable the RF is, if a player has good timing, the control will be fine as the mass provides power and a decent RHS combined with the open string pattern will lead to sufficient spin.

 

[BreakPoint]

Hey BP, I got the chance to try the RF today for a couple of hours and here are my thoughts:
It is a stiffer frame, but it wasn't unbearable for me with luxilon savage at 24kg. Then again, I'm young and accustomed to poly, so it isn't anything my body isn't used to.

The power is definitely different-- even bouncing the ball on the court before a feed, I noticed it and said "whoa, this things got some punch to it" It's not the same feel as the Pro Staff 90, by any means. However I do think it is a solid racquet at net, and I was able to hit my spots on serves in a similar manner to when I used to hit the 90. I think because of how stable the RF is, if a player has good timing, the control will be fine as the mass provides power and a decent RHS combined with the open string pattern will lead to sufficient spin.

Thanks for the feedback! Sounds like your experience with the RF97A is similar to most others so far.

 

[kingcheetah]

Thanks for the feedback! Sounds like your experience with the RF97A is similar to most others so far.

Yes indeed-- to me it swings pretty similarly to a six one, but feels/hits very differently.