Hubi Hurkacz New Wilson Stick

I agree with the post above, this is mental.

I played with my 18x20 k blade pro stock today and I can hit heavy topspin with very little effort. Played points against a former D2 female college player so very solid hitting partner and she commented how the frame can really spin it.

If I have no issues with an 18x20, Hurk has zero problems with the 16x19. Like anything tennis, 90% of it is getting through the fight within yourself.
 
Mischko said:
Backhand is OK, but it's totally flat anyway. However his forehand is in serious trouble with the Blade. His previous VCP had easy spin, all kinds of loops and trajecories with very easy modulation, balls just dip as the should

But Blades 16x19 were always limited in that sense, they are flat power hitting racquets

When he goes for a flatter forehand, with more or less take back, it goes OK, but when he pronates his forearm and goes for some kind of brush, he hits anything between the bottom of the net and the back fence. When he gets the ball into the perfect sweet spot with acute brush then it goes OK, but he mishits so many. He's then forced to go for a very sharp brush for more control and those are then just slow floating balls

He's missing all kinds of spinny forehands, from sharp angles and low pick ups to cross court passing shots, looked pretty bad vs Ruud

Blade = flat, always has been, so no surprises there

His Tour bite/gut hybrid helps but can't save the day

It's easier to produce nicely centred brush on the second serve, much more energy in the swing too, those looked OK. He seems to have a bit more precision on serves with the Blade, but it's close
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So bad Hurkacz, Massu, Lendl and Wilson labs racket experts doesnt read this forum. :D

We dont really know what racket (layup) he is playing with But whatever they choosed i think his team - over 100 atp titles combined- know what they are doing. And btw Hurkacz forehand was a problem for a longtime. One set it works other its not. It would be great news if it was just equipment .
 
Passingshot78 said:
So bad Hurkacz, Massu, Lendl and Wilson labs racket experts doesnt read this forum. :D

We dont really know what racket (layup) he is playing with But whatever they choosed i think his team - over 100 atp titles combined- know what they are doing. And btw Hurkacz forehand was a problem for a longtime. One set it works other its not. It would be great news if it was just equipment .
Click to expand...
Massu didn't seem to have many answers for thiem
 
McLovin said:
????

Last I checked, Thiem was a 4-time major finalist, losing to Nadal twice at his favorite major, and Djokovic in his favorite major, and winning the US Open.

Oh, and he beat Federer at Indian Wells in the final, and held a 5-2 head-to head lead over him.

99% of the tour would die for a career like that.
Click to expand...
Retweet - Massu was awesome for Thiem. First ballot HOF career - I got a chance to sit with them for a practice at 2019 Indian wells. The racket head speed was insane close up. Guy is and was a legend, 5 slams easy in another era where he didn’t have to overtrain
 
Mischko said:
Backhand is OK, but it's totally flat anyway. However his forehand is in serious trouble with the Blade. His previous VCP had easy spin, all kinds of loops and trajecories with very easy modulation, balls just dip as the should

But Blades 16x19 were always limited in that sense, they are flat power hitting racquets

When he goes for a flatter forehand, with more or less take back, it goes OK, but when he pronates his forearm and goes for some kind of brush, he hits anything between the bottom of the net and the back fence. When he gets the ball into the perfect sweet spot with acute brush then it goes OK, but he mishits so many. He's then forced to go for a very sharp brush for more control and those are then just slow floating balls

He's missing all kinds of spinny forehands, from sharp angles and low pick ups to cross court passing shots, looked pretty bad vs Ruud

Blade = flat, always has been, so no surprises there

His Tour bite/gut hybrid helps but can't save the day

It's easier to produce nicely centred brush on the second serve, much more energy in the swing too, those looked OK. He seems to have a bit more precision on serves with the Blade, but it's close
Click to expand...

I don't know how you come up with some of your opinions tbh.

Of course, the Blade 16m isn't the most spin-friendly racket on the market, but it isn't a pure flat hitting racket either
Compared to his previous stick, this will be equally or more spin friendly, depending on his final setup from Wilson.

Plus, Hubi did mishit a ton with the Vcore Pro and now he has at least one sq inch more of headsize and some more RA.
His specs on the Vcore were: 359g, 370sw, 59RA. So your previous argument that the Vcore Pro is jarring doesn't apply either here.

If he has a kBlade kind of layup, his new RA will be 65 or up - string pattern will be similar or more open, so he will get more power and spin
Just takes some time to adjust - Zverev spoke to lengths about it in his podcast, where he said he wanted to switch back a couple times for multiple weeks, but then won Paris
 
Passingshot78 said:
But whatever they choosed i think his team - over 100 atp titles combined- know what they are doing.
Click to expand...
to be honest i agree with mischko on this, it looks like he lost that easy spin that he had with the yonex, and he needs all help he can get on that wing. performance wise i have no clue why changed racquets.
furthermore, since they are pros they should know what they are doing, but they are just humans. sampras regretted that he dindn‘t switch to a bigger head, federer should have switched earlier, khachanov switched to head and it didn‘t work, safin to dunlop didn‘t work etc..
 
Hansen said:
to be honest i agree with mischko on this, it looks like he lost that easy spin that he had with the yonex, and he needs all help he can get on that wing. performance wise i have no clue why changed racquets.
furthermore, since they are pros they should know what they are doing, but they are just humans. sampras regretted that he dindn‘t switch to a bigger head, federer should have switched earlier, khachanov switched to head and it didn‘t work, safin to dunlop didn‘t work etc..
Click to expand...
They are humans But opositte to this forum users they have all the data, knowledge and experiance to decide what can work and what cannot
Even if sometimes they arę wrong its because its really hard to know if something will 100% work and if it dont work from the start it may cause doubts in player head.

But the chance they are wrong holding this racket in the hands or analizing hitting data is much lesser than chances of someone not even knowing what racket he is hitting right now :D
 
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sure, but it is an online forum, it is fun to speculate, and sometimes, only sometimes, some forum users are right. people were in disbelief that alcaraz uses a stock pa vs, said it was too light etc.
he won several majors, so it wasn‘t completely wrong lol, but going in to 2025, he reportedly uses heavier specs.
 
Isnt he coming back from a long injury and his loses could be the result of that and not new clothes, rackets and coaches?
 
Honza said:
Isnt he coming back from a long injury and his loses could be the result of that and not new clothes, rackets and coaches?
Click to expand...
its a bit of both - 99% of the time it will take time for switching equipment (particularly racquet, strings and shoes) to settle in and feel fully confident as you did before at that level, but there's absolutely the injury factor with Hubie as well + new coaches etc... its a lot of change all at once, which is fine but may just take him some time
 
Mischko said:
Only logical racquet for Hubi would be RF 01 Pro or at least RF97A in a slightly lighter pro stock version like Dimitrov's, since he played with a 2019 Vcore Pro at 370sw

6.1 95 16x19 would also suit him really well

Those older and pro stock Blades are for fast rhs non stop bashing, with high sw, not sure he can adapt them to his measured redirecting holding counterpunching style

When I played with his old VCP 330g stock I found that it was difficult to really bash full power, it was basically a consistency racquet. I could easily hold deep balls in play in all kinds of rallys, but felt awkward when I really wanted to go for it, or attack with more initiative. I won a lot of matches with it, 15 or so in a row once, but by playing a waiting game with big serves, similar style like Hubi but 20x worse obviously

Blade v5 is the exact opposite in my experience, full fast swing only, lacking in that range and overall playability, I could never gel with that

But the new Pro has a huge range, he can create all kinds of plays, angles and spins with it, and it will take lead at 12 super easily with that massive stiff throat and lower hoop

Weird choice..
Click to expand...
In my opinion, the blade is the closest Wilson you can pick to the vcore pro line. The rf and pro staff aren’t like it.
 
aus89 said:
its a bit of both - 99% of the time it will take time for switching equipment (particularly racquet, strings and shoes) to settle in and feel fully confident as you did before at that level, but there's absolutely the injury factor with Hubie as well + new coaches etc... its a lot of change all at once, which is fine but may just take him some time
Click to expand...

So from my experience in competitive tennis out of the three (injury, new equipment, new coach) 99% of the time would be to get fit again and gain trust in my once injured body part. The other two are not that big.

But the important mesage would be, to give him some time. He was never a major winner and wont be, but a very solid player in the rankings between 5 -15. Lets hope he will get back there.
 
Honza said:
So from my experience in competitive tennis out of the three (injury, new equipment, new coach) 99% of the time would be to get fit again and gain trust in my once injured body part. The other two are not that big.

But the important mesage would be, to give him some time. He was never a major winner and wont be, but a very solid player in the rankings between 5 -15. Lets hope he will get back there.
Click to expand...
Yeah for sure, he hasn't really lost much, he's still serving like always etc... and that will keep him competitive while he gets everything dialed in - just a cpl steps behind where he was, he will take a bit of time, but he will be alright in the long term, definitely no Thiem level disaster brewing here for the moment at least
 
Hansen said:
sure, but it is an online forum, it is fun to speculate, and sometimes, only sometimes, some forum users are right. people were in disbelief that alcaraz uses a stock pa vs, said it was too light etc.
he won several majors, so it wasn‘t completely wrong lol, but going in to 2025, he reportedly uses heavier specs.
Click to expand...
Its a huge difference between having an opinion/spaculate and trying to próve that somone made totally wrong choice after just one match impressions or claiming that "only logical" racket is this and that. Its a very arrogant and not the smartest thing to do.

Speaking of Alcaraz: we dont really know why they tried to ad the weight to his racket Maybe its about his arm.issues and not only performance related. And still isn't sure they stay with heavier racket. Teams arę making choices and at the end of the day they know the best what's good for them on specific stages
 
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yourtennisfit said:
I don't know how you come up with some of your opinions tbh.

Of course, the Blade 16m isn't the most spin-friendly racket on the market, but it isn't a pure flat hitting racket either
Compared to his previous stick, this will be equally or more spin friendly, depending on his final setup from Wilson.

Plus, Hubi did mishit a ton with the Vcore Pro and now he has at least one sq inch more of headsize and some more RA.
His specs on the Vcore were: 359g, 370sw, 59RA. So your previous argument that the Vcore Pro is jarring doesn't apply either here.

If he has a kBlade kind of layup, his new RA will be 65 or up - string pattern will be similar or more open, so he will get more power and spin
Just takes some time to adjust - Zverev spoke to lengths about it in his podcast, where he said he wanted to switch back a couple times for multiple weeks, but then won Paris
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree. Considering his new Blade is probably close in weight and swingweight to his old vcp, it's odd to read comments above about comparing it to the retail blade. Roughly +40 kg*cm2 of SW and probably totally different weight distribution than the retail one makes it completely different animal
 
Mischko said:
Backhand is OK, but it's totally flat anyway. However his forehand is in serious trouble with the Blade. His previous VCP had easy spin, all kinds of loops and trajecories with very easy modulation, balls just dip as the should

But Blades 16x19 were always limited in that sense, they are flat power hitting racquets

When he goes for a flatter forehand, with more or less take back, it goes OK, but when he pronates his forearm and goes for some kind of brush, he hits anything between the bottom of the net and the back fence. When he gets the ball into the perfect sweet spot with acute brush then it goes OK, but he mishits so many. He's then forced to go for a very sharp brush for more control and those are then just slow floating balls

He's missing all kinds of spinny forehands, from sharp angles and low pick ups to cross court passing shots, looked pretty bad vs Ruud

Blade = flat, always has been, so no surprises there

His Tour bite/gut hybrid helps but can't save the day

It's easier to produce nicely centred brush on the second serve, much more energy in the swing too, those looked OK. He seems to have a bit more precision on serves with the Blade, but it's close
Click to expand...
that's total ******** xD

His new racket should give him MORE free spin and launch angle on his flat strokes (bh and fh). Hurkacz was using an old VCORE PRO 97 customized to 370sw with 59RA. So his new Wilson racket (kblade mold 16x19) will be stiffer (more spin) and will have slightly more open pattern than 97 vcore pro 16x19 so MORE SPIN. Also, his new racket might be lighter on the swingweight so he'll have more RHS so MORE SPIN.

Do you even know what you are writing about?
 
The ground strokes are slightly different. I like Hubi. Watched a lot of his matches. It looks like he’s adjusting his swings to this new racquet.

The highlights with Harris. Goodness. The long rallies with so much heavy hitting. Sometimes you forget how ballistic this sport is.

Would his blade absorb the hard hitting from his opponent or is he feeling a sting up his arm?
 
jarko111 said:
The ground strokes are slightly different. I like Hubi. Watched a lot of his matches. It looks like he’s adjusting his swings to this new racquet.

The highlights with Harris. Goodness. The long rallies with so much heavy hitting. Sometimes you forget how ballistic this sport is.

Would his blade absorb the hard hitting from his opponent or is he feeling a sting up his arm?
Click to expand...
Lead tapes on the hoop will help absorbing pace.
 
Bartobolas said:
Hubi and mental. I lost track of how many times I've uttered those words...
As a fellow Pole I rushed out to see him when he first played qualifiers here at the US Open and have been rooting for him ever since. But Hubi rarely doesn't disappoint. He could be playing brilliantly but in pressure situations, he sadly falls apart.
I was hoping the new coaching team will unlock something in him. Not sure the racquet switch is a good move though.

https://imgur.com/a/KK0EToe
Click to expand...
Omg that's a horrendous looking apparel. Hubi looked like a poor club player on this photo. He should wear a bandana not a cap like De Minaur.

Sorry, just realised it's an old photo.
 
I was actually not too worried about the backhand side from the highlight reel.
But do you not see that his forehand looks ever so slightly unsteady? It’s like his arm is pausing just a split second longer (pushed back more) than with the Vcore Pro.

I’m baffled by the change. I feel like Hubi was right there at making a move. Getting to a slam final. I just thought he needed to be patient about this.
He has a lot of time. But. He can always go back to the Yonex.
 
Passingshot78 said:
Watched some recent Hubi matches and he is on good way to find more confidence in his forehand imo. More offensive and no afraid to hit big from time to time.
Click to expand...
Yeah just taking more time to get confident with the frame and shoes but seems to be doing well now with movement and hitting - if he plays like he did against alcaraz he could do well this year
 
Bartobolas said:
Hubi and mental. I lost track of how many times I've uttered those words...
As a fellow Pole I rushed out to see him when he first played qualifiers here at the US Open and have been rooting for him ever since. But Hubi rarely doesn't disappoint. He could be playing brilliantly but in pressure situations, he sadly falls apart.
I was hoping the new coaching team will unlock something in him. Not sure the racquet switch is a good move though.

https://imgur.com/a/KK0EToe
Click to expand...
more disappointment today :(
 
I honestly want to know what was the main reason for him switching from the Vcore Pro 97 330 V1. If he was looking for extra free power, he could have went with the Percept 97H or even Percept 97D
 
These changes do not seem to be working…racquet + coach…he doesnt have the shots he used to have and is just looking a bit lackluster since the changes. Would like to see a resurgence but he got owned today.
 
Dae18 said:
I honestly want to know what was the main reason for him switching from the Vcore Pro 97 330 V1. If he was looking for extra free power, he could have went with the Percept 97H or even Percept 97D
Click to expand...
97D?

18/20 would give him more free power than 16/19?
 
tele said:
it does have a thicker beam, albeit a lower RA
Click to expand...
The 97d is actually pretty powerful for a 21 mm beam and 18x20. I can’t explain why from trying it but it’s solid and stable. But I can’t compare it to what he was using or using now.

I thought it was odd for him to go to a blade pro when every other player seems to be looking for more free power.

Shapo got Yonex to make him an 18x20 Ezone. Unsure if it’s a 100 or 98 but the drill pattern seems quite close to the gravity pro so he’s probably benefiting from that thicker beam, spin and control.

More power but increased control: thicker beam , spin friendly drill pattern 18x20s or 18x19 or 16x20’s will be very popular going forward I’d like to see the vcore’s go back to a 16x20
 
Yeah but Hubi already struggles with topspin and easy power on his BH so I don't see him with a 18/20 stick.

Imo Hurkacz still struggles not because of the racket, shoes or his new team. His downfall started after the Wimbledon injury and for me that's the main reason of his bad form. He still hasn't recovered from it and he still can't find his old form pre injury. He has zero confidence in his game right now. It's mental problem. Not a racket problem.
 
gino said:
Hubi not a Yonex lifer so Id expect him to round into the blade eventually. maybe just in time for his annual trip to SW19
Click to expand...
He was playing great in Rotterdam just a few weeks ago, so I don't think we need to really be doom and gloom about him just yet - as always it will be up and down coming back from injury and changing equipment (Tsitsipas will have downs too after his honeymoon glow wears off)
 
aus89 said:
He was playing great in Rotterdam just a few weeks ago, so I don't think we need to really be doom and gloom about him just yet - as always it will be up and down coming back from injury and changing equipment (Tsitsipas will have downs too after his honeymoon glow wears off)
Click to expand...

absolutely man. i feel like the blade and hubi are actually a great fit. He should find some nice precision on serve once it gets going. i think hes got nice hands and the wilson layups might accentuate those skills a bit
 
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Dae18 said:
I honestly want to know what was the main reason for him switching from the Vcore Pro 97 330 V1. If he was looking for extra free power, he could have went with the Percept 97H or even Percept 97D
Click to expand...
Guys. Its more than obvious that he had a chance to try Percept frames when they came out cos manufacturers always like players to use current model.
Im also pretty sure if they looked for free power / spin their also checked out Ezones and Vcores.

Other thing is his problem isn't lack of baseline power Its rather over cautiousness. Less controlable frame could even make his problem bigger. Some players need low powered frames to really step on the throttle and generate racket head speed without hesitation.

And speaking of contract money
Hurkacz earned almost 3 milions $ in 2024 which for him wasnt a good year.
I dont know how much money from racket / clothing companies player like him can get but im pretty sure even if we speak only about money: performance is still crucial for his earnings and was number one priority when he decided to change the racket
 
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Passingshot78 said:
I dont know how much money from racket / clothing companies player like him can get but im pretty sure even if we speak only about money performance is still crucial for his earnings and was numer one priority when he decided to change the racket
Click to expand...
it seems obvious he would not have changed if he thought the new racquet would hamper his performance, but it is still plausible was that money was the main reason for the switch.
 
tele said:
it seems obvious he would not have changed if he thought the new racquet would hamper his performance
Click to expand...
agree, but maybe he thought wrong. etcheverry changed back to his percept, khachanov back to wilson after head etc.
 
tele said:
it seems obvious he would not have changed if he thought the new racquet would hamper his performance, but it is still plausible was that money was the main reason for the switch.
Click to expand...
It depends of how much money player like Hubi can make from racket contracts.
 
gino said:
absolutely man. i feel like the blade and hubi are actually a great fit. He should find some nice precision on serve once it gets going. i think hes got nice hands and the wilson layups might accentuate those skills a bit
Click to expand...
Afraid that it unrealized in short time. Last game with De Minaur on IW-25 - showed it. Huby has Only 7 aces, wins on 1st serve (56%) and 4 from 8 games on the self serves. Lets compare with De Minaur, who has 80% on 1st serve. Looks on stats, who from these both Servermen?
 
Shadowcash said:
Afraid that it unrealized in short time. Last game with De Minaur on IW-25 - showed it. Huby has Only 7 aces, wins on 1st serve (56%) and 4 from 8 games on the self serves. Lets compare with De Minaur, who has 80% on 1st serve. Looks on stats, who from these both Servermen?
Click to expand...

Well actuall serve stats shows Hubi serve (even) better with Wilson
I compared hardcourt serve stats from 2024 to 2025 cos its only surface he played this year yet


All stats are better with Wilson except one whitch is equall
-1 serve in % is better
-1 serve points won % is identical
-2 serve points won % is better
-Aces to Double faults ratio is better
-Aces to Service games played ratio is better
-% of service games/points won is better




Screenshot-2025-03-11-15-05-00-245-com-android-chrome.jpg




Screenshot-2025-03-11-15-04-55-546-com-android-chrome.jpg
 
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Passingshot78 said:
Well actuall serve stats shows Hubi serve (even) better with Wilson
I compared hardcourt serve stats from 2024 to 2025 cos its only surface he played this year yet


All stats are better with Wilson except one whitch is equall
-1 serve in % is better
-1 serve points won % is identical
-2 serve points won % is better
-Aces to Double faults ratio is better
-Aces to Service games played ratio is better
-% of service games/points won is better




Screenshot-2025-03-11-15-05-00-245-com-android-chrome.jpg




Screenshot-2025-03-11-15-04-55-546-com-android-chrome.jpg
Click to expand...
I really would throw last year's hardcourt results out the door. He played with knee and Achilles issues for the second part of the year and had meniscus surgery to withdraw from the Olympics. He came back way too soon and had to retire at Wimbledon and Cincy, only to end the year losing early at his final three tournaments. He visibly lacks confidence with the Wilson, and I'm not sure why you'd ditch a racquet that took you to a career-high ranking just last spring.
 
lacoster said:
I really would throw last year's hardcourt results out the door. He played with knee and Achilles issues for the second part of the year and had meniscus surgery to withdraw from the Olympics. He came back way too soon and had to retire at Wimbledon and Cincy, only to end the year losing early at his final three tournaments. He visibly lacks confidence with the Wilson, and I'm not sure why you'd ditch a racquet that took you to a career-high ranking just last spring.
Click to expand...

Ok Lets forget 2024.....Also 2023 hardcourt serve stats are worse than 2025 so far
Except of little better aces to df ratio and aces to service games ratio

Hurkacz visibly lacked confidence many times in his career and im afraid It have nothing to do with racket. When he is confident he can play very well no matter what racket he use He showed that in Rotterdam with Wilson.

Screenshot-2025-03-11-18-30-26-553-com-android-chrome.jpg
 
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cyanide43 said:
Massu didn't seem to have many answers for thiem
Click to expand...
Thiem would have won way more without Massu's Mangulations
Instead, ended up at the same Troll level of pre-tirement Massu
who retired @ age 33, Aug 13, 2013 pre-planned using Gematria :)

Hubi was close to magic with the Yonex just mentally a softy
with awesome defensive abilities that contradicted his beast serve.
Hubi mobility is insane vs Kokkinakis yet both have similar FH and BH
but Koki hits better FHs if anything else.

Hubi will be better with a PA98, Radical MP(Fritz) or even Skinner stick
so things dont come back so often as they do now for him.
He does not have the brain to play like Meds as he ends up just
trolling for dear life yet serving bombs to survive.

He needs to end points quickly and dominate everything properly
after all if Raonic could do it with no BH and poor mobility just by
using superior +1 then Hubi has no excuse.
 
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