2020 Blade SW102 Autograph

NRMM

Semi-Pro
I've been playing with the 28" green/black SW104 but I've been eyeing one of those 'older' 104 blade because of the lower flex in the older blade 104s

The 28" SW104 is great so far, taken a few session to get used to it but early preparation is the key. I've only used standard length before and was doubtful 1 inch would be all that different but I was wrong. I could def see how people either love it or hate it -- but it sure is fun to play with. But my biggest concern is arm health because of the high stiffness rating.

Is this the 2015 104 you are using https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/reviews/B104/B104review.html ?
Does it have a noticeable flex? How's the power level or overall thoughts?

The Blade 104 I've been playing is this one - I find it a very good racquet, great controlled power, sometimes a little unpredictable if you can generate your own power easily. In terms of flex it's fine, you don't really notice any stiffness, overall a great easy racquet to play with. I played with the SW104 v6 for a couple of months and I just couldn't adapt hence why I'm now playing with customised 27.6" custom Blade 102
 

bleno567

Professional
I'd really like to get my hands on an unmodified SW 102 to try out, but that $250 price tag is sort of scary to me. Wish you could demo it.
 

kingcheetah

Hall of Fame
I ordered one as I'm a big Serena fan (and racket testing fiend)-- I've hit the SW104 and a leaded up 2013 Blade 104, I hope the frame arrives this week :)
 

Down_the_line

G.O.A.T.
I asked my GF for one of these for Christmas! Even if I hardly ever use it I see it as more of a sentimental thing. Same reason one day soon I'll probably end up getting an RF97A.
 

kingcheetah

Hall of Fame
Tennis spin trio loves the sw102...

I agree with a lot of their feedback, the stability on this racket is incredible. It feels muted, but is more predictable than the SW104 was. It definitely requires disciplined shot selection, and full swings. Serving is very fun as well.
 

2ndServe

Hall of Fame
I agree with a lot of their feedback, the stability on this racket is incredible. It feels muted, but is more predictable than the SW104 was. It definitely requires disciplined shot selection, and full swings. Serving is very fun as well.

is it much better than the 2016? Black and Green SW104 autograph? I have 5 of those and I probably won't make a switch unless the sw102 is much better?
 

kingcheetah

Hall of Fame
is it much better than the 2016? Black and Green SW104 autograph? I have 5 of those and I probably won't make a switch unless the sw102 is much better?
I feel like the tighter stringbed on the center of the 102 is noticeable compared to the 104. The 102 feels more predictable to me.
 

taeri123

New User
What tension is everyone stringing their 102s at? I'm expecting mine this week. I currently play with the Blade 98 V8 16 X19 strung with Babolat VS 54 in the mains, and 4G at 50 in the crosses, or I play with the 18 X 20 strung HyperG 18 at 48 lbs.
 

Hagberg

Rookie
I first tried mine with 25 kg Solinco Confedential. However, it felt like a trampoline and was not playable to me.
Switched to the same recipe I have in SW104 with a full bed of 4G at 25 kg. This tamed the frame to playable power levels. Today, I would drop to 23 or 24 if I were to restring.
 

taeri123

New User
I first tried mine with 25 kg Solinco Confedential. However, it felt like a trampoline and was not playable to me.
Switched to the same recipe I have in SW104 with a full bed of 4G at 25 kg. This tamed the frame to playable power levels. Today, I would drop to 23 or 24 if I were to restring.
I was able to find a demo for $159 strung which will allow me to play test it and sell it if it isn't for me. I have a 4 1/8 grip size, and will put a leather grip on it to lower the swing weight. I love 4G in the crosses of my hybrid because it holds tension, but it takes me a few sessions for it to loosen up to my liking. I have a couple of packs of 4G soft, and may play around with the 23 to 24 range.
 

taeri123

New User
I first tried mine with 25 kg Solinco Confedential. However, it felt like a trampoline and was not playable to me.
Switched to the same recipe I have in SW104 with a full bed of 4G at 25 kg. This tamed the frame to playable power levels. Today, I would drop to 23 or 24 if I were to restring.
I love the 4g in the crosses, It takes me a few sessions to break in the strings before, but they play well for a longtime. I've never used a full bed, but maybe I'll try the 4g in the mains, and gut in the crosses.
 

Hagberg

Rookie
Given that you normally (?) play with Blade 98, you may find gut too powerful in sw102. Be prepared to convert some part of that extra energy into spin to keep the balls within the court.
 

taeri123

New User
Given that you normally (?) play with Blade 98, you may find gut too powerful in sw102. Be prepared to convert some part of that extra energy into spin to keep the balls within the court.
You're probably right. I normally play with the gut in the mains, and 4g in the crosses, so I was thinking that putting gut in the crosses may just cut down on the initial stiffness of using a full bed of 4G. I may use a full bed of 4G and hit on a ball machine for an hour to break it in, which will give me a chance to find my timing with the longer 28 inch frame.
 

kingcheetah

Hall of Fame
What tension is everyone stringing their 102s at? I'm expecting mine this week. I currently play with the Blade 98 V8 16 X19 strung with Babolat VS 54 in the mains, and 4G at 50 in the crosses, or I play with the 18 X 20 strung HyperG 18 at 48 lbs.
I've done 54 and now shifted to 56, I've played both 4g 16l and Solinco hyper g 16l. The key for me is to have a string bed that feels consistent so I can swing fast. If I slow down my swing, it's a disaster.
 

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
I was able to find a demo for $159 strung which will allow me to play test it and sell it if it isn't for me. I have a 4 1/8 grip size, and will put a leather grip on it to lower the swing weight. I love 4G in the crosses of my hybrid because it holds tension, but it takes me a few sessions for it to loosen up to my liking. I have a couple of packs of 4G soft, and may play around with the 23 to 24 range.

Putting weight anywhere on the frame can only increase swingweight. Adding a leather grip will lower the balance point, which may make it seem like the racquet swings a bit easier because it will tend to pivot closer to your hand, but the reality is the swing weight will go up slightly.

That being said, I've played with the SW104 for the past few years and I'm currently playing with about 25 grams added to the bottom of the handle. It has lowered the balance point by about 2 cm and that feels better to me.

I use a full bed of thin poly strings in my SW104 and a lot less tension than both of you are using!
 

taeri123

New User
Putting weight anywhere on the frame can only increase swingweight. Adding a leather grip will lower the balance point, which may make it seem like the racquet swings a bit easier because it will tend to pivot closer to your hand, but the reality is the swing weight will go up slightly.

That being said, I've played with the SW104 for the past few years and I'm currently playing with about 25 grams added to the bottom of the handle. It has lowered the balance point by about 2 cm and that feels better to me.

I use a full bed of thin poly strings in my SW104 and a lot less tension than both of you are using!

Yep, I meant use the leather grip to off set the swing burden of the longer racket. I currently use a leather grips and put about 12 grams of total weight the hoop, so my rackets are pretty balanced, but have heard that the 102 can be a little burdensome due to the lag. I'm 5'4, so I'm hoping to benefit from the a longer racket.
 

taeri123

New User
I got this racket yesterday and it's amazing. I wasn't sure about it at first, it was already stung and the strings were dead. I strung it up overnight with Tour Bite Soft 18 at 50 lbs since I'm playing in a tournament tomorrow, and didn't have time to break in the 4 G. I didn't have any leather grips sitting around, so I added a bunch of weight to the handle.

I don't think the racket is more powerful than the Blade 98 on ground stokes, but the power is more more easily accessible, and I'm getting a crazy amount spin. The best thing about the racket is the power and control on my serves, and being able to crush my overheads.
 

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
I got this racket yesterday and it's amazing. I wasn't sure about it at first, it was already stung and the strings were dead. I strung it up overnight with Tour Bite Soft 18 at 50 lbs since I'm playing in a tournament tomorrow, and didn't have time to break in the 4 G. I didn't have any leather grips sitting around, so I added a bunch of weight to the handle.

I don't think the racket is more powerful than the Blade 98 on ground stokes, but the power is more more easily accessible, and I'm getting a crazy amount spin. The best thing about the racket is the power and control on my serves, and being able to crush my overheads.

A lot of the newer racquets have a lot more free power than my SW104, but when you swing hard and make good contact like on a serve or overhead, the ball really moves. It gives me the impression of fundamentally being a low powered, highly control oriented design where ball speed comes from heft and length.
 

Hagberg

Rookie
Inspired by this discussion, I decided to resurrect my SW102 and play with it for fun at tonight's practice. I have been playing solely with extended Gravity Pro for 6 months so SW102 does not fell hard to swing as a consequence. It actually went pretty well and I didn't miss much anything despite the increased free power. More spin than Gravity and more pace too in my current state of messed up elbow. And those serves....
Right now, I feel I could totally play with SW102.

But... At least I need a full bed of 4G to tame it.
 

taeri123

New User
Inspired by this discussion, I decided to resurrect my SW102 and play with it for fun at tonight's practice. I have been playing solely with extended Gravity Pro for 6 months so SW102 does not fell hard to swing as a consequence. It actually went pretty well and I didn't miss much anything despite the increased free power. More spin than Gravity and more pace too in my current state of messed up elbow. And those serves....
Right now, I feel I could totally play with SW102.

But... At least I need a full bed of 4G to tame it.
The Tour Bite Soft was way too lively, especially strung at 50. I'm going to cut the Tour Bite out, and switch to the 4G at 52 and see how it goes.
 

TXAK

Rookie
Anyone looking for another SW102 3/8 this racket is just not the same as the SW104? The SW104 pockets better.
 

2ndServe

Hall of Fame
When I play with a racquet skipping two mains at the top, the stringbed stiffness feels a bit tighter than the stringbed stiffness when I play with a racquet skipping one main at the top. Maybe it's in my head.

How does skipping the top cross or two top cross affect the launch angle? Does it make it fly too high?
 

mark b.

Rookie
Just wondering. I've read the reviews and in my opinion, I wouldn't be able to tame the full 28 inches of this frame. I've cut racquets down in the past but would shortening it to 27.3 kill the power and stability?
 

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
Just wondering. I've read the reviews and in my opinion, I wouldn't be able to tame the full 28 inches of this frame. I've cut racquets down in the past but would shortening it to 27.3 kill the power and stability?

Cutting the racquet down that much would lower the swingweight by about 30 units, so you'd lose a fair amount of power. I don't think the SW104 is that powerful, at least the way I have mines weighted with 25 grams in the handle. Lots of racquets like the v8 Blade 98 16x19, seem to have more pop even at their lower stock static weight and lower swingweight.

I did for a while try to choke up a bit when volleying with the SW104 and it definitely blunts the power. There isn't that much mass in the hoop.
 

2ndServe

Hall of Fame
Not surprised that the drill pattern of the production SW102 ended up being the same as the drill pattern of the SW104 - not surprised that they didn't keep the drill pattern of the prototype SW102.
So the sw102 and sw104 are basically the same?
 

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
So the sw102 and sw104 are basically the same?

They both have Countervail and feel relatively the same. The SW102 has slightly more open string spacing, probably to give back a little bit of power lost from the small decrease in head size, and to add a small amount of spin capability.
 
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