Modding my brand new Ultra Tour platform frame

[travlerajm]

My UT felt really nice today. I was hitting the ball well with both of the frames I tried out today (the UT and my Solinco), with both frames weighted almost identically with sw in low 360s (Solinco is currently 27-1/8” but feels similar).

The Solinco is strung with kevlar/poly and so is much spinnier, but the UT with the poly/15L nylon hybrid had lower launch angle which allowed me to naturally hit with more penetration, which seemed to give my opponent more trouble.

I feel ready for my singles match tomorrow. Opponent tomorrow is 4.5, but he was 5.0 level pretty recently, so I will need to play well.

UT feels sweet at 363sw, 12.8” balance, 13.13 oz. I like the strings much better now than when fresh, as that slipping sensation is gone.

 

[ae11]

I just purchased a brand new Wilson Ultra Tour. $99 feels like a good deal.

The first thing I notice is that this just might be the most handsome racquet I've ever held in my hand. That peacock blue trim on glossy midnight looks smooth! I'm almost afraid to mess up the paint job with my added tape.

My new frame arrived strung with 16g Wilson syn gut. I like the dense 18x20 pattern with more open edges, drill pattern looks identical to a Prestige mp.

After removing the plastic and dampener, it measures in at 11.2 oz., 12.9" balance, and 310 sw. Seems like great specs for a platform.

The feel when bouncing the ball on the stringbed is really firm and pleasant - feels like the racquet is flexing uniformly along the length.

I was originally planning to extend it 1/4", but the bounce of the stringbed feels so nice that I think I will mod it up in stock length first.

I've been experimenting a little with different hybrid lately. I liked Evolution 1.25 mains crossed with 18g syn gut on crosses on my BLX 6.1 18x20, but didn't like that the racquet changed shape over time as the stringbed wore (it initially was 1mm overlength right after stringing, then it shortened 2mm to about 1mm underlength as the 18g syn gut wore into flattened ribbons and stretched out). I'm going to try Evolution mains with 15L syn gut crosses this time to see if I can get more stable hoop length). I will try this in my UT at about 50 lbs.

Target specs: 13 oz., 12.8" balance, 360 sw. Will add the hoop weight spread out in the 10 and 2 regions.

it does have a good looking paint job but isn't this the one whose paint would chip if as much as a fly passed by?

 

[travlerajm]

it does have a good looking paint job but isn't this the one whose paint would chip if as much as a fly passed by?

I haven’t seen it chip yet. But I do have lead tape and Gorilla tape all over it, so time will tell whether the finish is pulled off by the adhesives or not.

 

[travlerajm]

I need to update:

I played first 9 games of my singles match with the standard length UT. I led 5-4, but we were trading breaks; I was playing return games well, but had lost my last 2 service games. I switched to my Solinco at that point, which was weighted identically and slightly longer, but main difference is it had much spinnier grippier string setup (kevlar /poly ) and it helped with rolling cross court short angle forehands, which I needed against this opponent. He was lefty with huge forehand who ran around his backhand. So finding that small target with margin needed spin. The spin also helped my serve and confidence to pull trigger on DTL groundies.

After getting up 4-1, my opponent adjusted, and came back against my counterpunching. He won second set 7-5.

It was a dramatic ending. After my opponent hit 5 straight aggressive forehand winners to go up 7-5 in the super tiebreak, I did U-Turn on strategy and I started coming to net every point. I miraculously came back from double match point down at 9-7 to win 11-9.

I came home and swapped in some kevlar/poly into my Ultra Tour. I like the kevlar/poly stringbed much better. Lots of bite and lighter so I can add more weight at 10 and 2. But I was still missing the extra length on serves. So today I re-extended my Ultra Tour back to 27.25”.

But now with a lighter-weight better-bite stringbed, I’m hoping it will feel just right this time. Will test out in practice singles this afternoon.

364sw, 13.2oz, 12.8” balance.

 

[travlerajm]

Played a practice set. I nailed the specs this time.

The 1/4” extended Ultra Tour felt crisp and controlled on just about every shot, strung with Kevlar/poly at prestretched 56 lbs, with extra weight in the 10 and 2 zones, above the handle and along the handle.
Forehand felt nice and secure. 2hbs has extra pop. Volleys felt crisp. And the extra length helped give my serve some movement.

I think this frame has now moved up to my new number one favorite in my cache

 

[Gee]

Played a practice set. I nailed the specs this time.

The 1/4” extended Ultra Tour felt crisp and controlled on just about every shot, strung with Kevlar/poly at prestretched 56 lbs, with extra weight in the 10 and 2 zones, above the handle and along the handle.
Forehand felt nice and secure. 2hbs has extra pop. Volleys felt crisp. And the extra length helped give my serve some movement.

I think this frame has now moved up to my new number one favorite in my cache

Glad you found your ideal setup with the UT. Update your signature as well ;-)

 

[travlerajm]

Update:
I have been using the 27.25" UT at 364 SW as my main racquet for past week, and really loving it. I had league match last night against crafty high 4.5 guy who was previously undefeated for the season, and I was able to relax and dominate him with the confident precision in my passing shots and great control of depth on my rally balls. I've noticed that the UT is slightly denser pattern in the middle than my Pro 7. Tapping a racquet on the stringbed gives a lower sounding pitch on the UT (as i strung it at lower tension if I recall correctly, but the feel is actually crisper and more precise at net with the UT. Yet my spin-friendly kevlar/poly lets me put plenty of junky spin on the ball when needed.

 

[travlerajm]

Update:
My specs have drifted up to 367sw (13.24 oz. and 12.8” balance, 27.25” length) as my strings settled in and kevlar mains lengthen a tad.

But my game has been as dialed-in as ever. My forehand has truly reached new heights, and given me more confidence in my overall game. My UT feels like an extension of my hand on forehands - a feeling I’ve never really experienced before in 30+ years of tennis life. I rolled through the rest of my 4.5 singles league regular season (non usta). So I am #1 seed for playoffs, which start next week. No usta matches to prove it at the moment, but I think I’d probably get bumped up pretty quickly if I played usta at the level I’ve been playing for the past month.

 

[emhtennis]

What is your string setup?

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

 

[travlerajm]

What is your string setup?

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

Prestretched 16g kevlar mains, prestretched Babolat pro xtreme crosses, 56 lbs.

 

[Power Player]

TJ what was the stock SW on your UTs? I am hoping the 2 I grabbed will be around 320 or so. I want to get the SW up to 333 or so without adding much to the static weight. That way I can keep it real close to my Blades.

 

[travlerajm]

TJ what was the stock SW on your UTs? I am hoping the 2 I grabbed will be around 320 or so. I want to get the SW up to 333 or so without adding much to the static weight. That way I can keep it real close to my Blades.

Mine was 310sw strung with the 16g factory-strung syn gut.

 

[travlerajm]

double post

 

[mad dog1]

Mine was 310sw strung with the 16g factory-strung syn gut.

Wow. That’s really low.

 

[Power Player]

Yeah that sounds low. This is why I always find an RDC machine and use it. I don't trust any other method.

 

[mad dog1]

Yeah that sounds low. This is why I always find an RDC machine and use it. I don't trust any other method.

Low isn’t an issue for trav since be loads up his sticks with 50# of lead anyways.

 

[tomato123]

The silver lines and letters on the UT is a super nice cosmetic, very classy and “high end” looking.Too bad that was the first thing to disappear from the hoop after a few lead tape applications... but still looks great at the throat.

 

[travlerajm]

Wow. That’s really low.

Even at the low weight, I still could have used a few extra grams of customization room at the bottom of the handle. I’d like to add a second overgrip to make it more comfy for my elbow, but don’t have room unless I re-attach the extended butt with staples instead of the Gorilla tape that added a couple of grams.

 

[Power Player]

Low isn’t an issue for trav since be loads up his sticks with 50# of lead anyways.

This is true. I remember trying this move on a 309 SW Yonex Xi 98. I finally went to an RDC and my SW was 365. I was crushing the ball, but my serve was hot garbage and my swing speed was way too low..lol.

This is why I will probably start with 4 grams across the top of the UT and hope for the best.

 

[travlerajm]

Update:
I started to get a flare-up of golfer’s elbow in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been playing with kevlar for 30 years and never had issue before. The cause of the problem was pretty obvious, because I had made two recent major changes in the past several months. First, I had switched my forehand technique from a relaxed-at-contact wrist to a locked-at-contact wrist. My forehand has jumped up an entire NTRP level since making the change (from below par for my level to above par), but my new form of my neo-forehand is clearly putting more stress on the elbow. The second major change was going from 26.75” frames over the last decade to 27.25”. The extended-length spec was clearly exacerbating the development of the elbow issue.

So I re-modded my UT back to standard length to give my elbow a break. I’m in the middle of league playoffs and playing great, but this was necessary for my elbow health.

I’ve played twice this week with my standard-length UT at 361 sw, 12.8” balance, 13.05 oz. I still have month-old kevlar/poly with about 30h of play on it, and it still plays great with great control, so no need to cut it out and replace.

Luckily I feel really confident with my UT like this. I am giving up some in serve margin, as the slightly-extended spec definitely makes it feel easier to land a kick serve in the box consistently. But I think I gain confidence on other shots with the standard length UT. I think my forehand is cleaner and more confident, my slice forehand is crisper, my drop shot touch is better, and my lob depth touch is better.

My elbow is already starting to calm down after the two sessions with the standard length.

I am now in the semi’s of my 4.5 singles league playoffs (after going undefeated during the regular season), and I am hoping to ride my standard-length UT to the finish line.

 

[Dragy]

My forehand has jumped up an entire NTRP level since making the change (from below par for my level to above par), but my new form of my neo-forehand is clearly putting more stress on the elbow.

I believe in the long run elbow health has dominant impact on your rankings. So definitely solve it, be it techniques, equipment, or combo.

 

[travlerajm]

Update:
I’m back with the UT as my main racquet and playing amazing tennis with it, now strung with kevlar/zx.

Pinpoint control on groundies, crisp overheads, and good movement and pop on serves.

Here are some views of the latest iteration. Used future look:

 

[1HBHfanatic]

@travlerajm
-dude, kudos for the innovation
-but that's some seriously fuggly mods!!
-on the other hand!?, NO ONE will ever have a similar racquet than yours ...

 

[travlerajm]

@travlerajm
-dude, kudos for the innovation
-but that's some seriously fuggly mods!!
-on the other hand!?, NO ONE will ever have a similar racquet than yours ...

Gorilla tape ain’t pretty, but it’s remarkably practical. No worries about my double layer of lead tape flying off at an inconvenient time during the match. And my Gorilla patches above and below handle are easy to tweak on the fly if needed.

 

[n8dawg6]

Update:
I’m back with the UT as my main racquet and playing amazing tennis with it, now strung with kevlar/zx.

Pinpoint control on groundies, crisp overheads, and good movement and pop on serves.

Here are some views of the latest iteration. Used future look:

youve created a monster

 

[1HBHfanatic]

Gorilla tape ain’t pretty, but it’s remarkably practical. No worries about my double layer of lead tape flying off at an inconvenient time during the match. And my Gorilla patches above and below handle are easy to tweak on the fly if needed.

-do you have pennys under that gorilla tape (on the buttcap)??
-btw, i once had all my fishing-weights pop off, (from the bottom of my racquet) right after i hit the ball!!

 

[travlerajm]

-do you have pennys under that gorilla tape (on the buttcap)??
-btw, i once had all my fishing-weights pop off, (from the bottom of my racquet) right after i hit the ball!!

No pennies on this one. I used to tack on layers of lead tape to the end of buttcap for final balance tuning. Now I just use gorilla because it’s more durable with better adhesive and only costs pennies to replace anyway.

last year living abroad without my lead, I used coins and electrical tape.

 

[1HBHfanatic]

...........................
last year living abroad without my lead, I used coins and electrical tape.

-haaa, i remember that one!! from your previous post

-i am all about the lead tape
-lately I've been trying silicone,, but i gotta tell you, it is messsy and hard to ,"undo" if not happy with result!!

 

[esm]

Update:
I’m back with the UT as my main racquet and playing amazing tennis with it, now strung with kevlar/zx.

Pinpoint control on groundies, crisp overheads, and good movement and pop on serves.

Here are some views of the latest iteration. Used future look:

Wow - what can I say? I reckon this looks pretty amazing, the amount of precision work gone into it. Seriously wondering how that’s work on my 2.75 level
can I ask if there is something on the top of the last mains to “open it up a little more”?

 

[travlerajm]

Wow - what can I say? I reckon this looks pretty amazing, the amount of precision work gone into it. Seriously wondering how that’s work on my 2.75 level
can I ask if there is something on the top of the last mains to “open it up a little more”?

I screwed up while stringing crosses and broke the zx after damaging the zx in the gripper. I tied off at most convenient spot.

 

[travlerajm]

Update:
Been playing some of the best baseline tennis of my life got last 6 weeks with my UT. Strung with kevlar/zx.

I pulled the trigger on a second new UT V2.0 today. I’ll be traveling to South America soon for a work project, and I’m leaning toward bringing a pair of UTs with me for the red clay circuit.

Major Decision! Do I go with both at 27”? Or do I extend one to 27.25” ? Tough to decide.

 

[Slowtwitcher]

Update:
Been playing some of the best baseline tennis of my life got last 6 weeks with my UT. Strung with kevlar/zx.

I pulled the trigger on a second new UT V2.0 today. I’ll be traveling to South America soon for a work project, and I’m leaning toward bringing a pair of UTs with me for the red clay circuit.

Major Decision! Do I go with both at 27”? Or do I extend one to 27.25” ? Tough to decide.

Didn't the extended version hurt your elbow?

Unrelated to that, I'm surprised you're only stringing the Kevlar at 56lbs. Does it still snap-back at that tension?

 

[aaron_h27]

Update:
Been playing some of the best baseline tennis of my life got last 6 weeks with my UT. Strung with kevlar/zx.

I pulled the trigger on a second new UT V2.0 today. I’ll be traveling to South America soon for a work project, and I’m leaning toward bringing a pair of UTs with me for the red clay circuit.

Major Decision! Do I go with both at 27”? Or do I extend one to 27.25” ? Tough to decide.

I like 27.25 b/c i use gut/poly and the hoop shrinks a little

 

[esm]

Major Decision! Do I go with both at 27”? Or do I extend one to 27.25” ? Tough to decide.

Genuine q - can the 27.25” UT #2 be easily reversed/converted to UT #1 spec, if you don’t like it once you get to your new destination?

 

[travlerajm]

Didn't the extended version hurt your elbow?

Unrelated to that, I'm surprised you're only stringing the Kevlar at 56lbs. Does it still snap-back at that tension?

I did run into an elbow issue earlier in the year. I think the cause was multi factorial:
1. Debuted a new forehand technique that involved using an old school manual wrist lock at contact (like Hewitt /Nalbandian ), abandoning my old elbow-friendly fh that used relaxed wrist at contact.
2. Started messing with extended frames.
3. Didn’t bother to cut out the poly strings when I received pre-owned racquets and used them for my extended experiments.
4. Was testing frames as long as 27.6” length with full poly.
5. Using grips a size too small in hindsight.

I ended up going with my 27.25” UT for the second half of my singles league season, playing great, but the damage was done and my elbow was a mess. I returned my UT to standard length for playoff tourney, and continued to roll.

Going back to standard on my UT with kev/poly returned my elbow health to more stable levels. And kev/zx even better. While not fully healed, I still have underlying desire to have that extra turbo boost on serves that the extended length gives me.

On the kev/zx tension, the reason I was previously using uber high tension on mains was to counter massive tension loss during break-in period. But my new prestretch method works better - I don’t even notice a break-in period, so I don’t need the higher tension. I now prestretch the zx manually 20-24” as before, but use hammer on the kev mains after tying off one side, but before tying off on other side - I walk off slack from tied-off side toward drop weight tensioned side, re-level drop weight, and hammer again several cycles until drop weight no longer requires re-leveling. This achieves break in prior to hitting. Then tie off after break in.

 

[travlerajm]

Genuine q - can the 27.25” UT #2 be easily reversed/converted to UT #1 spec, if you don’t like it once you get to your new destination?

Good question. Answer is yes.

The staples are gone. But the plastic butt cap has dents from the staples that mate into the staple dents on the pallet, helping to secure the butt cap into original position.

The ultra tour also has the rounded edges on the bottom of the buttcap that give it a nice lip to be grabbed by the 2” wide transparent packing tape that I wrap tightly around to secure the butt cap. I also like to add a few wraps of tape around the pallet before re-installing the butt cap so that it mates on the pallet with a tighter more snug fit, so no chance of coming loose.

 

[travlerajm]

Update:
The zx pro black cross in my kevlar/zx stringbed snapped in the sweet spot last week when I played in really cold weather with temp in mid 30s. It’s extremely rare for a zx cross to break before it saws through the kevlar mains. But I think the cold temp shrunk the plastic zx and stretched it tighter. I also was using several small scraps of recycled zx for the crosses, and I’d been playing on wet and dirty courts for past month.

Anyway, yesterday I wanted to get in one last hit for 2020. I had only an hour to restring my UT. So I quickly laced in Evolution mains with 17g Gosen OG micro nylon crosses, 52 lbs, without bothering to prestretch at all.

This combo turned out to play really nice in mid 40s temp on wet court (heavier balls due to water).

I had previously tried evolution mains with 15L nylon crosses, and found the spin lacking. But this poly/nylon hybrid with 18g nylon crosses in dense UT was completely different - felt really great for both spin and control. Comfort nice too. It had a grabby feel in the UT. I had used this stringbed combo at a bit tighter tension before in my 6.1 95 18x20 and liked the way that it wears with the 18g cross flattening into a ribbon instead of notching the main.

 

[wassamara]

Update:
Been playing some of the best baseline tennis of my life got last 6 weeks with my UT. Strung with kevlar/zx.

I pulled the trigger on a second new UT V2.0 today. I’ll be traveling to South America soon for a work project, and I’m leaning toward bringing a pair of UTs with me for the red clay circuit.

Major Decision! Do I go with both at 27”? Or do I extend one to 27.25” ? Tough to decide.

which country in SA?

 

[travlerajm]

which country in SA?

I’ll be based in PY. But depending on travel restrictions and risk levels, I may visit other countries too.

 

[wassamara]

I’ll be based in PY. But depending on travel restrictions and risk levels, I may visit other countries too.

Ok. If you swing by SP-Brazil, send a PM!

 

[Dufur719]

I’ll be based in PY. But depending on travel restrictions and risk levels, I may visit other countries too.

If by any chance you come to uruguay send a pm!!

 

[travlerajm]

If by any chance you come to uruguay send a pm!!

Uruguay might be real possibility soon, due to low covid numbers.

 

[Stratotanker]

Can you weigh and balance them now, with your unique mods, and then just convert that into a more permanent setup with lead (under the bumper where applicable, in the buttcap, etc.) when you've got it settled? It seems like that setup might have some longevity concerns, maybe?

 

[Dufur719]

Uruguay might be real possibility soon, due to low covid numbers.

Nice! Let me know if that happens! Would be great to hit with you!

 

[grungebob]

after hearing many reviews about this racquet in 2021, i found a very used, chewed up one for $40 one on resale with some old black strings that took the whole summer to break. i liked it enough that i would buy a couple more for very cheap after that, but ended up liking that first one the most. i actually liked it already from the go, so i didn't want to mess with the balance, but i watched a tennis spin video where he recommended adding 4 inches to 12, so i tried that. still liked it, so i took the advice in the video and added four inches to the bottom of the grip. i kept that for a while, but then added to 3 and 9 and my swing for my backhand got thrown off and would finish short, so i took that off. i then switched to four inches at 10 and 2 each and then equivalent lead in the buttcap and have stuck with that since.

all my others after that first one though never felt as good, so it seems like the chewed up bumper guard on the super old one (still my favorite) probably made it more head light, so i added leather grips to my other two to make them more headlight. hopefully that does the trick.

 

[grungebob]

was originally planning to extend it 1/4", but the bounce of the stringbed feels so nice that I think I will mod it up in stock length first.

How were you going to achieve this?

 

[travlerajm]

How were you going to achieve this?

You can extend by adding a spacer between buttcap and end of racquet. Then reattach buttcap.

 

[Irvin]

You can extend by adding a spacer between buttcap and end of racquet. Then reattach buttcap.

The staples usually are about 1/4” from the bottom of the racket, probably a little higher. If you place the new staples in the same relative position on the butt cap they will be 1/4” lower on the racket making for a much weaker bond.

 

[travlerajm]

The staples usually are about 1/4” from the bottom of the racket, probably a little higher. If you place the new staples in the same relative position on the butt cap they will be 1/4” lower on the racket making for a much weaker bond.

I don’t use staples.