Wilson Hits Homerun with Wilson Steam 99S (mini review)

[corners]

Originally Posted by JGads

Anyone else having a really tough time getting kick serves to really kick? Going in I thought this thing would be epic at spin serves and kickers and sloppily weird at heaters, and to my surprise it's been the opposite - the heaters are easily cracked and surprisingly accurate, spin serves are decent but not wild... But the kickers are doing almost nothing off the bounce. My only big gripe so far.

Otherwise, Been demoing this frame and like it a lot. Everything's just easy so far, the swing, the depth. I can rally all day long and believe this to be a grinder's dream stick, more so than a put-away killer of the ball. Superb tweener stick.

The snapback effect has maximum effect on groundstrokes, minimum impact on serve. This has to do with the fact that on serve the ball has zero spin on it when struck.

[JGads]

Originally Posted by corners

The snapback effect has maximum effect on groundstrokes, minimum impact on serve. This has to do with the fact that on serve the ball has zero spin on it when struck.

Makes sense.

Now, any explanation for kickers not kicking? I thought they'd jump all over the place but are very tame thus far.

Otherwise, super fun and easy frame on all shots. Wicked slices and angles. The 99S gets a thumbs up for me. Now, if only the strings can last longer than four hours...

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by JGads

Makes sense.

Now, any explanation for kickers not kicking? I thought they'd jump all over the place but are very tame thus far.

Otherwise, super fun and easy frame on all shots. Wicked slices and angles. The 99S gets a thumbs up for me. Now, if only the strings can last longer than four hours...

I am having the reverse issue! My second serves are massively better with this frame and double faults have been cut in half (when "going for it" on seconds), but flat serves I have not yet found the range on and probably miss 3 out of 4 right now. It seems I am "off" just a touch on depth as many of them are missing the back service line by maybe 6". The pace off the strings is great though. Perhaps this is just a case of getting a tad more pace on the flat serves than before, such that even if they are hit at more or less the same angle down, they are carrying a tad long?

[jonestim]

I loaned the demo to my hitting partner. He was much more consistent with it and his shots were getting good pace and spin and staying in. He was quite impressed with it and had fun.

On the other side of the net I actually found the balls easy to deal with. They were faster, but with good bounce. I have more trouble with low balls and these were easier for me to return. We had longer rallies with him loosing less points due to hitting long but loosing more points because I was returning them better.

[JackB1]

played 2 sets tonite with my regular hitting partner and he mentioned that my groundstrokes definitely had more spin than usual. He said the ball seemed to get on him quicker and he felt like he had less reaction time. He also said many balls that he let go because they looked like they were going out stayed in.

[syke]

Originally Posted by JackB1

played 2 sets tonite with my regular hitting partner and he mentioned that my groundstrokes definitely had more spin than usual. He said the ball seemed to get on him quicker and he felt like he had less reaction time. He also said many balls that he let go because they looked like they were going out stayed in.

Same experience...

Got a number of free points, because they looked like they were going out.

[jonestim]

Originally Posted by JackB1

He said the ball seemed to get on him quicker and he felt like he had less reaction time.

I would also agree on this, but tonight I was playing outdoors on a slow hard court. I have been playing for the last few months indoors on a quite fast surface so I was able to handle it. Had we been playing inside on the faster surface I don't know if I would have.

[g4driver]

I've had two 99S frames for a couple of weeks now. Now, on the 4th and 5th string setups now, and WC B5E / WC Silverstring taken over as my new favorite setup at 52 lbs. The strings move right back in place very well. I was skeptical of this combo, but is works for me.

Just ordered another reel as I used my last 1/2 set of B5E today with the MSV Soft Hex. Soft Hex doesn't feel as soft as B5E/Silverstring, but I hit the the Soft Hex within hours of stringing when I normally wait a day to let the strings drop tension naturally overnight before hitting.

I didn't care for the Tonic Gut / Yonex Poly Pro Tour 125 setup, as it never felt right. I keep going back to the full Poly Pro Tour frame until I cut both the gut/poly and Yonex Poly out, and tried the Weiss Cannon setups. The frame 99S does hurt my arm when I try to play my normal routine of Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues am before leaving town Tuesday evening, so I have actually stopped playing any doubles with the 99S and only use it for singles.

Earlier today I added 5 grams of lead and upgraded to a Wilson Pro Hybrid grip that weighs 20oz cut to fit, compared to 12 oz stock Sublime grip that comes with the frame. Net increase of 13 grams per frame (all in the handle) so each weigh in at 336 grams and feel much more solid. Hit about 30 minutes tonight with a buddy, and the additional weight makes this frame feel better to me.

[Ross K]

It's a combo of the ultra wide open pattern and hitting with alot of spin/power. It's death on strings in a stick like this.

Originally Posted by g4driver

I've had two 99S frames for a couple of weeks now. Now, on the 4th and 5th string setups now, and WC B5E / WC Silverstring taken over as my new favorite setup at 52 lbs. The strings move right back in place very well. I was skeptical of this combo, but is works for me.

Just ordered another reel as I used my last 1/2 set of B5E today with the MSV Soft Hex. Soft Hex doesn't feel as soft as B5E/Silverstring, but I hit the the Soft Hex within hours of stringing when I normally wait a day to let the strings drop tension naturally overnight before hitting.

I didn't care for the Tonic Gut / Yonex Poly Pro Tour 125 setup, as it never felt right. I keep going back to the full Poly Pro Tour frame until I cut both the gut/poly and Yonex Poly out, and tried the Weiss Cannon setups. The frame 99S does hurt my arm when I try to play my normal routine of Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues am before leaving town Tuesday evening, so I have actually stopped playing any doubles with the 99S and only use it for singles.

Earlier today I added 5 grams of lead and upgraded to a Wilson Pro Hybrid grip that weighs 20oz cut to fit, compared to 12 oz stock Sublime grip that comes with the frame. Net increase of 13 grams per frame (all in the handle) so each weigh in at 336 grams and feel much more solid. Hit about 30 minutes tonight with a buddy, and the additional weight makes this frame feel better to me.

What are your thoughts and impressions re the full PPT set up in the 99s?

[Dberger820]

A quick review comparing the 99s to the 2013 Aero Pro Drive:

I had used the Head Radical Pro for a few months until the new APD came out and was instantly won over by the Bab. I could hit every shot better with the Bab, only missing the solid plow of the radical. Over the past two months of using the APD I have started getting a few small pains after hitting for about two hours. I don't get pains while playing matches due to the amount of downtime between points, just during constant drilling. The one issue I was having coming to the APD was controlling the huge amount of power the frame provides. When I can, it's almost always a winner or would force my opponent into a forced error. If I am off my game with this racquet then I lose very quickly hitting lots of balls long.

I received a demo of the 99s which I got merely to see what all the hype was about. I honestly pulled it out of my bag and chuckled because I thought of how big of a marketing ploy this was, but how it worked enough to get me to give it a try. I started warming up and couldn't hit the ball in a straight line for about two minutes. Felt like an idiot and almost dumped it back in the bag. Decided to give it a bit more time and I am beyond happy that I did. Once I got warmed up and brought up the speed of my swing the racquet seemed to wake up. It became an absolute beast from the baseline. For two hours the only ground strokes I hit long were framers when I was trying to hit ridiculous spin. Speaking of spin, I didn't see a huge difference compared to the APD other than all my shots were landing in. Needless to say that is enough for me. I hit a relatively flat shot so the added spin was just enough to boost my confidence immensely and allow me to swing out. That is something that was always in the back of my mind when ripping a shot with the APD and I would pull back to make myself swing softer. The pro I was drilling with was having an amazingly hard time keeping up with me in a rally and I was backing him up a solid 5-6 feet behind the baseline. After one 15 shot cross court rally he really got into it and began pounding the ball back. This racquet simply enabled me to absorb the pace and send it right back at him. Not bad for a 4.0 against an open level teaching pro. Again, the confidence to hit out is through the roof

As far as the other aspects of the game, I saw no noticeable difference between the two sticks. But the confidence to swing out on both sides of my groundless is enough to make me jump one bandwagon onto the next. Plus how incredibly solid the Wilson feels in comparison.

BTW, the Steam came to me with syn gut that I had to straighten the mains after every rally. I cannot even fathom how amazing this stick is going to be when I get a proper poly in it. I have a sinister smile on my face just thinking about it...

[Dberger820]

Also, there is absolutely no pain when hitting the Steam as there was with the APD. The frame specs say it stiff but you can feel the flex when hitting the ball. Not nearly the flex that the Radical has which takes awhile to get used to. This flex felt more like a soft cushion grabbing the ball, giving it a smooch, then sending it on its way. Very comfy.

[anhuynh16]

I am a believer in this stuff now. The wilson HQ team came down to my club and they did that spin effect computer stuff, and my results came out to around 83ish mph with around 1300 rpm..

[g4driver]

Originally Posted by Ross K

What are your thoughts and impressions re the full PPT set up in the 99s?

Ross, sorry for the delayed reply.

This YPPT string job was strung at 56 lbs full bed. Compared to the Babolat Tonic Gut 16 / PPT, it had more power and I felt much more confident swinging with for placement or power. I was really disappointed in the gut/poly combo and this was surprising given I like the same gut / poly same combo in my Wilson Pro Opens. The YPPT did seen to drop tension much quicker as a full bed compared to the Tonic/Poly, but this biggest complaint I had was self induced. I would suggest 48-52 lbs instead of the 56 were I started.

Serves: with PPT clearly better both flat down the T, spinning anywhere, while serving wide to the Ad court is my favorite with the frame.

Backhand: both 2HBH or one handed slice. Clearly better with the Steam 99s than my Pro Opens and better with PPT Higher net clearance on the 2HBH and nice touch for the 1HS.

Forehand: lost some control with this frame compared to my Pro Opens, but better with the Yonex full bed than the other setups excluding WC B5E/Silverstring.

Drop shots:better with gut hybrid but not terrible with the YPPT

I have hit the same full bed of Yonex Poly Pro Tour in both a Yonex 98D / 100S and RDiS 200. The RDiS 200 was my favorite of those three frames. The 100S was again stiffer than my elbow liked.

[dmcb101]

Our club in Wisconsin just got the Steams in. One of my fellow co-works already has one and I heard him pop a string today. He told me it was about 5 hrs of play on the 4Gs. I told him he is going to need 13G string, ha ha.

On a serious note I think these racquets will sell like hot cakes, which is great as I endorse the company!

[teamprovan]

My 14 and under girl started play testing the 99s today. Academy is switching from Prince to Wilson Sponsorship so we are going to see if they have anything that can beat her Bab PD GTs. Tried the Prince but the frames were breaking and the frames lost power and stiffness so she went back to the BABs.

I strung with her standard string Tour Bite 17 at 51 Lbs. and OMG the ball was all over the bubble. They were playing super tie breaks when I gave it to her to try and she could only win a point on an ace but could not keep in a ground stroke to save her life. Went from top court to bottom fast. Took it away and gave back her 3 year old Bab and right back to the top court with no more losses.

I gave the 99s to one of the top pro's and asked him to try it. Same thing as my kid, balls flying long with little control. He said the thing felt like the strings were way to loose maybe 5 to 6 Lbs.

Went back and cut out the strings and put in the same at 57 Lbs. She played for 30 Min on a ball machine and said she liked it but needed to play a lot more because she said she had to be sure she turned the door knob big time or the ball would sail on her. Volley's she had to swing thru a bit more but liked what came off the racquet after making the adjustment.

Later she played with a young Pro player who is just starting lower tour events. He is a big hitter of course so it was a good test for the 99s. She like it and said she was just getting into a groove and felt like she could hold her own when snap 30 min. in the strings were gone. The 2 center mains broke dead center in the string bed.

She has always been hard on string using only one racquet per 2 set match. If a 3rd set is needed then she grabs a fresh stick. How ever 30 mins of soft hitting and 30 min of all out killing the ball and I could hear my wallet screaming in my back pocket.

Tonight I restrung with the 4G 130 that the club had and ordered some 4G 141. I also added some weight under her hand because she likes the Babs at about 6 1/2 points HL and about 11.7 oz.

She was also trying the Juice 100 but she thinks after I matched the balance and weight to her Babs and gave it the same 51 lbs. Tour Bite she said it was a lot like her Babs but not as good any where on the court.

I will update on the 99s and see how the 4G 130 after it breaks most likly before morning break.

[JackB1]

if anyone's interested, I posted my full review of the Steam 99s here: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=453865

[dmcb101]

Originally Posted by teamprovan

My 14 and under girl started play testing the 99s today. Academy is switching from Prince to Wilson Sponsorship so we are going to see if they have anything that can beat her Bab PD GTs. Tried the Prince but the frames were breaking and the frames lost power and stiffness so she went back to the BABs.

I strung with her standard string Tour Bite 17 at 51 Lbs. and OMG the ball was all over the bubble. They were playing super tie breaks when I gave it to her to try and she could only win a point on an ace but could not keep in a ground stroke to save her life. Went from top court to bottom fast. Took it away and gave back her 3 year old Bab and right back to the top court with no more losses.

I gave the 99s to one of the top pro's and asked him to try it. Same thing as my kid, balls flying long with little control. He said the thing felt like the strings were way to loose maybe 5 to 6 Lbs.

Went back and cut out the strings and put in the same at 57 Lbs. She played for 30 Min on a ball machine and said she liked it but needed to play a lot more because she said she had to be sure she turned the door knob big time or the ball would sail on her. Volley's she had to swing thru a bit more but liked what came off the racquet after making the adjustment.

Later she played with a young Pro player who is just starting lower tour events. He is a big hitter of course so it was a good test for the 99s. She like it and said she was just getting into a groove and felt like she could hold her own when snap 30 min. in the strings were gone. The 2 center mains broke dead center in the string bed.

She has always been hard on string using only one racquet per 2 set match. If a 3rd set is needed then she grabs a fresh stick. How ever 30 mins of soft hitting and 30 min of all out killing the ball and I could hear my wallet screaming in my back pocket.

Tonight I restrung with the 4G 130 that the club had and ordered some 4G 141. I also added some weight under her hand because she likes the Babs at about 6 1/2 points HL and about 11.7 oz.

She was also trying the Juice 100 but she thinks after I matched the balance and weight to her Babs and gave it the same 51 lbs. Tour Bite she said it was a lot like her Babs but not as good any where on the court.

I will update on the 99s and see how the 4G 130 after it breaks most likly before morning break.

Wow. It sounds like your daughter is on a great track for tennis success. Might I ask which Academy she trains at? I am a teaching pro here in Wisconsin and one of our players plays at Sanchez Casal Academy in Florida in the summer months. Glad to hear you kept trying different string set-ups as this racquet is supposed to compare to the Babolats.

[teamprovan]

We are at the Center Court Academy in Chatham NJ. The full time Academy is new this year for the 2 and a half years before this year she was the only full time JR. at the club. The club owner told me she had a lot of talent soon after she changed sports to tennis at age 10 so we went full time 1/2 way thru 5th grade because with the late start we had some catching up to do. Now just starting her second year in the 14s she is top 3 in the East. I geuss she has cought up but now it is time to see if she can go to that next level.

[dmcb101]

Originally Posted by teamprovan

We are at the Center Court Academy in Chatham NJ. The full time Academy is new this year for the 2 and a half years before this year she was the only full time JR. at the club. The club owner told me she had a lot of talent soon after she changed sports to tennis at age 10 so we went full time 1/2 way thru 5th grade because with the late start we had some catching up to do. Now just starting her second year in the 14s she is top 3 in the East. I geuss she has cought up but now it is time to see if she can go to that next level.

Wow that's great that she could commit full time to learning tennis. 14's is still pretty early to tell the type of success someone will have in the future so I bet she has time. I teach at a regular club here in Wisconsin but aspire to work with young juniors looking to take their game to the next level. Hope all goes well with your daughter and I wish her the best of luck.

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by g4driver

Ross, sorry for the delayed reply.

This YPPT string job was strung at 56 lbs full bed. Compared to the Babolat Tonic Gut 16 / PPT, it had more power and I felt much more confident swinging with for placement or power. I was really disappointed in the gut/poly combo and this was surprising given I like the same gut / poly same combo in my Wilson Pro Opens. The YPPT did seen to drop tension much quicker as a full bed compared to the Tonic/Poly, but this biggest complaint I had was self induced. I would suggest 48-52 lbs instead of the 56 were I started.

Serves: with PPT clearly better both flat down the T, spinning anywhere, while serving wide to the Ad court is my favorite with the frame.

Backhand: both 2HBH or one handed slice. Clearly better with the Steam 99s than my Pro Opens and better with PPT Higher net clearance on the 2HBH and nice touch for the 1HS.

Forehand: lost some control with this frame compared to my Pro Opens, but better with the Yonex full bed than the other setups excluding WC B5E/Silverstring.

Drop shots:better with gut hybrid but not terrible with the YPPT

I have hit the same full bed of Yonex Poly Pro Tour in both a Yonex 98D / 100S and RDiS 200. The RDiS 200 was my favorite of those three frames. The 100S was again stiffer than my elbow liked.

Thanks, interesting stuff. One last qsn if I may: how many hours performance/life did you get here?