Best advanced player spin racquet?

KYHacker

Professional
I would like opinions regarding the following racquets for advanced, aggressive all-court player to use for both singles and doubles. Heavy topspin hitter off both wings.

Head Speed MPA
Wilson PS95S
Wilson Blade 98S
Wilson 6.1 95S
Wilson PS97LS
Prince Tour 98 ESP
Prince Tour 100T ESP
Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP

Currently leaning toward Tour 98 ESP or Blade 98S. Speed MPA also looks like an attractive option due to choice of conventional pattern and spin pattern.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
More important question.
What is YOUR swingspeed compared to the swingspeed of the pro using the racket you want to use?
While most WTA players can favor any spin racket, you'd be hardpressed to see the stronger ATP guys using them.
 

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
As always, "best" is highly subjective. For me it would likely be the PS95S due to its thin beam, smaller head size and more traditional feel.

You should be looking at the things other than string pattern which appeal to you in a racquet and try to combine as many of those as possible into one "spin racquet". That will likely be the best spin racquet for you
 

KYHacker

Professional
High racquet head speed. Low-end of college level pace on shots. That's why I didn't include Juice or Steam racquets as I have tried those in the past and know that those will not be a good choice for my game.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Seems to me, if you have high racket head speed, why would you need to enhance your spin?
Don't you need more control, so you can swing out faster, hit harder, and get better?
Maybe a dense pattern is the call.
But, I'm sure you've tried a bunch of different rackets, so use whatever piques your interest.
 

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
High racquet head speed. Low-end of college level pace on shots. That's why I didn't include Juice or Steam racquets as I have tried those in the past and know that those will not be a good choice for my game.

I'm always looking for more spin and power as long as it can be controlled:)


Check out the Six.One 95S and the Prince Tour 98 ESP
 
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I like the 6.1 95s as it still has the 18 mains but is still pretty spin friendly (though not as spinny as some of the others). It also has pretty decent control and the strings last a little longer too which isn't bad :). It feels pretty good as well it's just a solid racquet choice
 
I like the 6.1 95s as it still has the 18 mains but is still pretty spin friendly (though not as spinny as some of the others). It also has pretty decent control and the strings last a little longer too which isn't bad :). It feels pretty good as well it's just a solid racquet choice

Forgot to mention: the specs are also great so that you can still add a bunch of weight to customize it. Possibly at 12 o'clock to get some more spin (if you want)?
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
"seems to me"......
Big servers and flat hitters looking at longer/smaller headed rackets.
Baseline bashers going for bigger heads.
Young and strong goes stiffer for power boost.
More mindful players look towards more flexible.
Slow court players need lots of shots, so bigger heads.
Fast court players go smaller for more putaway action.
 

KYHacker

Professional
S2W, thanks for the suggestions. Any frame has to meet a pretty high bar-- it has to play better than my customized Radical S frames. Tried PD+ recently and it was just too harsh; less spin than my Radical's but way more power. I have the swing speed and mechanics to control PD+ but it was causing tennis elbow. Best to just put it down.

Why the 6.1S over the Blade 98S? Why Tour 98 ESP over the others. I think I know why, but I always value your opinions.
 

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
The best spin/control racquets I've ever had have turned out to be the Volkl O10 325g's I picked up last year. If there's more spin potential in another racquet out there (more spin potential for me that is), I honestly don't need it.

I customized my O10's after initial outings disappointed, but these frames are crazy good for me now and plenty kind to my arm, too. I also play the C10, which has the mild edge for me in terms of top end power, but my O10's are great for everything and I also prefer their more snappy personality for doubles.
 

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
High racquet head speed. Low-end of college level pace on shots. That's why I didn't include Juice or Steam racquets as I have tried those in the past and know that those will not be a good choice for my game.

I'm always looking for more spin and power as long as it can be controlled:)

S2W, thanks for the suggestions. Any frame has to meet a pretty high bar-- it has to play better than my customized Radical S frames. Tried PD+ recently and it was just too harsh; less spin than my Radical's but way more power. I have the swing speed and mechanics to control PD+ but it was causing tennis elbow. Best to just put it down.

Why the 6.1S over the Blade 98S? Why Tour 98 ESP over the others. I think I know why, but I always value your opinions.

The Six.One is the more solid stick in stock form; it has better feel and it is more precise. The Blade 98S is weird (don't know how else to put it). It feels like the Six.One is what the Blade wanted to be.

The Tour 98 ESP is the best ESP option from Prince I have tried. It still offers decent control and response, which I found lacking with the other models.

Now that I think of it though, you could try the PS97LS modified, as its specs otherwise seem quite similar to your Radical S.
 

smalahove

Hall of Fame
I own the following:

Prince Tour 98 ESP - customized to Rebel 95 specs (330sw, 7 pt HL): best Prince spin pattern racket, great for producing heavy moonballs. Super on clay.

Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP: supernice racket that I wanted to like, but unf. it is too lively. I tried lead and leather (grip). Not to far off the 2015 Pure Drive I tried today.

Wilson PS 95s: what a great feel holding this thin box beam racket. The 16x15 pattern feels completely different to any other 16x16 or 16x15 pattern rackets I've tried. Very low powered. I'm using it leaded up. Great spin generation, but demands you play a higher trajectory (than with a tight pattern).

Wilson 6.1 95s - my fav of the bunch. Don't let the numbers fool you. It feels nothing like a 317 sw, 11,5 oz racket. The Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP has a heavier static and sw, but feels like a toy in comparison. The 18 mains lets me really put pace on flat shots, when needed.
 

Lukhas

Legend
The Blade 98S is weird (don't know how else to put it). It feels like the ProStaff97LS is what the Blade wanted to be.
My own opinion right there. Both are light, rather stiff, control oriented. But to me the LS is just "fuller" feeling, stable, more HL balance, more satisfying sweetspot. Balanced enough to play stock at 3.5 (unless you meet "that one guy" that blasts every damn ball), and so light and well made that it's apretty decent platform racquet.

Otherwise I agree with you.
 

KYHacker

Professional
Well, I hit with Blade 98S some tonight. I don't see how the Ps97LS could feel fuller. Blade98s felt like a tank. Reminded me of my 6.1 95 16x18 but a little easier to swing. Had old RPM Blast at 50 in it. Frame was very powerful. Almost too much power. Would definitely need about a month to get strings and tension and stroke mechanics fully aligned, but I could hit big, big shots. Served REALLY big. As big as PD+. Frame is a little clumsy, but great potential. Not as whippy as expected.

May try Tour 98 ESP tomorrow. It definitely felt easier to swing and had much lower swing weight than the Blade.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Sounds like you never bothered to check specs of rackets before you try them. Your "expected" feels are completely out of line. Blade98 is stiff, head heavy, light in weight, closer to PD's than any other Wilson.
 

Lukhas

Legend
I don't see how the Ps97LS could feel fuller.
What I meant is that it doesn't feel as hollow. EDIT: The 2013 versions are a bit better in this instance thanks to the foam filled handle and whatever Amplifeel actually is, but a Blade is well, a Blade.
 
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RalphJ

Banned
I use a Blade 98 16x19 and I wouldn't recommend it (even though I prefer it over every other racquet). I like the Six.one 95s best out of all the Spins.
 

KYHacker

Professional
Sounds like you never bothered to check specs of rackets before you try them. Your "expected" feels are completely out of line. Blade98 is stiff, head heavy, light in weight, closer to PD's than any other Wilson.

Nope, it actually felt like the specs that I had measured on the Prince machine. I was a surprised because I thought it would feel like what the play testers commented. I hit the Silver version. Nothing like the comments in the review regarding unstable feel. It felt like a Blade, but with PD power and spin.

I actually played a set with the Savage Banana tonight. They had one on demo at the club where I play my singles league. It felt like a feather compared to the Blade-- which was expected given the difference in swing weight. Less power and more control than the Blade. Way more spin as well. Noticed that I didn't need to change my swing mechanics to generate more spin and could still flatten it out pretty well too. Felt very natural. A little light in swing weight, but could get wicked racquet head acceleration.
 

RollTrackTake

Professional
I would like opinions regarding the following racquets for advanced, aggressive all-court player to use for both singles and doubles. Heavy topspin hitter off both wings.

*Head Speed MPA
Wilson PS95S
*Wilson Blade 98S
*Wilson 6.1 95S
Wilson PS97LS
Prince Tour 98 ESP
*Prince Tour 100T ESP
Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP

Currently leaning toward Tour 98 ESP or Blade 98S. Speed MPA also looks like an attractive option due to choice of conventional pattern and spin pattern.

I've played/owned several of these. As with all racquets, each has it's strengths & weaknesses.
Wilson PS 95 - you said you have the racquet head speed and if you really can swing out all match and supply the power this is my fav. The feel and crazy spin are great and the placement is decent for a 16x15. I found that when I eased off the gas my shots weren't deep enough in the court. When going for angles it wasn't as much of an issue. Touch & volleys worked well for me right off the bat. If i were 10 years younger or in better shape I'd play this racquet.
Blade 98S - pretty solid all around. 18x16 launch angle is lower than the 16X15's and placement is a bit more predictable. For me the weight makes it very maneuverable yet still has decent plow stock. More power than the PS 95S, but I still needed good racquet head speed to hit winners or force errors. I put the Blade a notch above the Prince 100T ESP because I prefer the crisper/stiffer feel of the Blade. That being said I though it was arm friendly for the month or two I played with it.
Prince 100T ESP - Easily the most arm friendly of the selections you listed. I could play all weekend with this racquet and not feel a twinge of elbow pain. I found it had more power than the Blade 98S. The swing weight is somewhat low for me so when I added lead to the hoop I got some good thump on my shots. If I slowed down my strokes with it in stock form I got a high trajectory spinny moonball at times. I struggle with keeping my backhand slice from floating with this racquet more so than the others but I'm sure if I spent enough time working on that shot it would't be an issue. Overall control was ok. I did find it was a little too muted but I could get used to it if I wanted to. If I get severe TE again, this is on my shortlist.
Head Speed MPA I wanted to love this racquet. I had tried out the Graphene Speed MP and liked it a lot. I saw the new updated version so I grabbed a demo hoping to find my GOAT stick. I'm not sure if I got an off spec stick or what but I did not like it as much as the Graphene Speed MP. It felt stiffer and after a few hours with it I felt some elbow discomfort. Strung as a 16x16 I put a full bed of poly (Head Lynx) in at 52lbs. While it retained the maneuverability of the previous version, the 16x16 pattern obviously changed the playing characteristics with a higher launch angle and not as precise control. I simply did not like the feel. Where the Graphene Speed Mp feels lively the Speed MPA felt dead or board-like to me. So I restrung it as a 16x19 with a hybrid poly mains/syn crosses. The response off the stringbed still felt dead. Plus somehow, in my crazy mind, it felt a more sluggish and I wasn't getting enough net clearance! The lack of feel and stiffness led me to pass on it. Maybe too much graphene is a bad thing.
6.1 95 S I tried this out for a weekend on a business trip. This one is the most substantial weight & swing weight wise of the bunch. When I made clean contact I was hitting some nice shots but I'm not good enough to hit clean with this regularly. Feel was good. Of all the spin sticks I've tried this had the least excessive spin. When I watch Chris play on the TW playlists I can see why a player of his ability and game style likes the racquet. If your skilled enough to wield it, you can make magic from the baseline, net, serve whatever you want.
 
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KYHacker

Professional
Ok. So I've narrowed the field to 3 contenders:
Blade 98S (most powerful)
Tour 98 ESP (most natural feeling)
PS95S (in between; lowest powered)

I normally string my Radical S with 17g poly at 52. What would tension adjustment be for these frames. Would use 15L or 16g poly.

Thinking that Blade 98S would around 54. Tour 98 ESP at 56. PS95S at 54.
 

cknobman

Legend
Interesting choices.

Having tried a lot of spin racquets myself I ended up with the 6.1 95s.

Feels most like a players stick offering easily the most control while giving a little extra spin.

The extremely open string patterns are too much for my taste while the blade 98s is not enough weight and not head light enough.
 

bobombom

Rookie
I found the PS95 to launch balls way too frequently. A perfectly struck shot had a ridiculous amount of spin and power, but the launch angle was noticeably very high, and I found many of my balls were landing just out.

I also tried the PS 6.1 95S, which was a bit more tame than the 95. Not nearly as plush, but still a nice racquet.

To be perfectly honest, I was getting close to the same spin production with a normal 6.1 95 16x18. There may be slightly more spin with the new racquets, but it didn't add enough for my game to warrant a purchase. Not to mention, I couldn't hit flat shots to save my life. Also, string breakage is another issue in and of itself...
 

Stratsworth

Rookie
I would like opinions regarding the following racquets for advanced, aggressive all-court player to use for both singles and doubles. Heavy topspin hitter off both wings.

Head Speed MPA
Wilson PS95S
Wilson Blade 98S
Wilson 6.1 95S
Wilson PS97LS
Prince Tour 98 ESP
Prince Tour 100T ESP
Prince Tour Pro 100 ESP

Currently leaning toward Tour 98 ESP or Blade 98S. Speed MPA also looks like an attractive option due to choice of conventional pattern and spin pattern.

I preferred the 6.1 95S out of the eight or so spin racquets that I've hit with. Great racquet and almost bought a couple (went with the Blade 93 instead).

Haven't played with the new 98S, but did hit around with the previous iteration and didn't mesh with it. The current model seems to be an improvement. The PS97LS wasn't bad, and I liked it more than the 98S. Needs to be weighted up, though.

So you prefer the PS 95S over the 6.1 95S? Are you hitting with the latest PS 95S with the updated PJ?
 

Sander001

Hall of Fame
Ok. So I've narrowed the field to 3 contenders:
Blade 98S (most powerful)
Tour 98 ESP (most natural feeling)
PS95S (in between; lowest powered)

I normally string my Radical S with 17g poly at 52. What would tension adjustment be for these frames. Would use 15L or 16g poly.

Thinking that Blade 98S would around 54. Tour 98 ESP at 56. PS95S at 54.
If you're using 1.35mm polyester on an 18x16 frame, I think stringing in the 50's is way too high.
 

KYHacker

Professional
Pulled the trigger on 3 demo Tour 98 ESP frames. Going with Ytex October-Twist at 56. 16g poly. Was also considering Isospeed Baseline 15L.

Is 56 too high for a 16g poly in this frame? I was at 57-59 with 15L back when I tried the Juice 100S a year or so ago.
 

mikeler

Moderator
Pulled the trigger on 3 demo Tour 98 ESP frames. Going with Ytex October-Twist at 56. 16g poly. Was also considering Isospeed Baseline 15L.

Is 56 too high for a 16g poly in this frame? I was at 57-59 with 15L back when I tried the Juice 100S a year or so ago.

56 may be too LOW. I like poly at 60 in the racket listed in my signature.
 

Soundbyte

Hall of Fame
Polys should ideally be strung between 40-55 lbs. Obviously theres no magic number, but the trend has been for lower and lower tensions. I tell people to start off with poly at 45 lbs, then go up or down 5lbs on their next restring depending on what they are looking for. Most people I tell this to end up at 40 lbs.
 

mikeler

Moderator
Polys should ideally be strung between 40-55 lbs. Obviously theres no magic number, but the trend has been for lower and lower tensions. I tell people to start off with poly at 45 lbs, then go up or down 5lbs on their next restring depending on what they are looking for. Most people I tell this to end up at 40 lbs.

You lose all control in the open patterns unless you string it tight with poly.
 

Soundbyte

Hall of Fame
Volandri used to string at 11kg, and he was an ATP pro. The notion that you "lose all control in open patterns unless you string it tight" is absurd.

Tension isn't as all influential as everyone makes it out to be. Read Technical Tennis if you want a physics approach to tennis. The point of my initial post was that the trend in tennis now, as opposed to 20-30 years ago, is to go lower with the tension.

Back in the day, everyone strung 65-80 lbs with gut and synthetics. Now, as rackets, strings, and stroke mechanics have changed...there has been an industry wide trend in lower tensions. People tend to think you can't lower than 50lbs or whatever is printed on the frame, but that's not true. Just like anything else, you should try different things and see for yourself
 

KoaUka

Rookie
^^^
With standard pattern racquets like 16x19 or 20 I get that, but op is talking about newer esp patterns like 16x16, 14x14 etc. Low tension in those patterns doesn't work the same
 

jonestim

Hall of Fame
You lose all control in the open patterns unless you string it tight with poly.

I agree. I string my non-spin racquets in the 40s; from a low of 42 lb in a 93" Diablo Mid to 48 lb on a 100" POG LB. In my Tour 100T ESPs I had to go up to 58 - all constant pull.
 

KYHacker

Professional
Sounds like I am in the right ballpark then as I normally string my very open pattern Radical S at 50-53 depending on string stiffness. Using same string as I am playing in Rad but bumping up 4 lbs to 56 which should be roughly equivalent to 50 in my Rad.
 
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