Blade 98 or Graphene Speed Pro?

[tennis816]

I have been playing with the Blade 98 for years but recently demoed the Head Graphene Speed Pro(Djokovic) and loved it.

Could someone tell me which one is better, list the pros and cons of each racquet, or give a brief summary.

Thanks!

 

[El_Yotamo]

Considering what you called the speed pro, you must think djokovic uses it. Well nope, but that for another day unless you want to know what he really uses. If that makes you want the speed pro less now, then stick with your blade. If you really liked it for itself and not because of fake paint jobs, then I would compare them side by side. Play a set with one and then another with the other (obviously not in a tournament). See which you like more of that works. Also I'm guessing that you're using the 98 18x20, yes? If so, that racquet has more control, but really lacks on spin. I think that if you see Andy's review of the 2015 blades, it's a great reflection to the 2013 ones. The speed pro will offer more spin. But again, it is your choice so see for yourself would be the best way. Good luck.

 

[estigma2001]

i tried the speed pro and the sweet spot is small but i think it's a personal decision

 

[RalphJ]

I can't serve with the Speed Pro. And it doesn't respond well with lead tape (at the butt). I don't know of a way to de-polarize it.

 

[thebigz]

The Speed is way stiffer than the Blade and the sweetspot felt smaller than 100 like said above. It has more spin but I got TE after a week hitting with that racquet

 

[RalphJ]

Both racquets are arm toxic in their current form (the Speed a whole lot more) due to their headheaviness. But tail weighting the Blade works wonders and feels awesome. Tail weighting the Speed makes it completely unplayable, and feels like a chunk of metal with no feel. Its weird

 

[parasailing]

I disagree that the Speed Pro is bad for the arm. It's not a plush racquet but it's not arm toxic like OP mentioned. What tension do you guys string this racquet at? I string it around 46 to 48lbs with a co-poly and and find it to be a good starting point. If you string this higher then yes it doesn't feel harsh on the arm.

As far as power, this racquet had plenty and offers great control. I have tried the Blade 98 and find that it has a tinny feel when you hit out side small sweet spot. Now the Blade 98 2015 model, that make be something else.

 

[Memo]

I've been using GSP for the past 4month playing 3-4 times a week and I string @48 with no elbow issues. It did hurt at 52-55. Yesterday i got a demo for Blade 98 16x19 (18x20 wasn't avail) and played with it in the afternoon as well as today in the morning. It came with a synthgut @53 and I dont really like it that much (pretty sure because of string setup). It took me a while to get used to the serves but after a few sets i was serving bullets, better than GSP. I'll keep playing till saturday but cant make a proper comparison since blade is a 16x19 so i def get more spin but more control in the GSP.