Review: Wilson Pro Staff 97 (315 gram version)

[Murray_fan1]

The more I hit with this stick the more I like it. I have managed to get a good feel for the sweetspot and now have a hard time putting this stick down. It really does everything well. I think this stick just takes a little longer to adjust to. I am really glad I decided to purchase instead of demoing as if I had made a judgement based on my initial playtest I would have never unlocked it's sweet potential.

 

[MasturB]

The more I hit with this stick the more I like it. I have managed to get a good feel for the sweetspot and now have a hard time putting this stick down. It really does everything well. I think this stick just takes a little longer to adjust to. I am really glad I decided to purchase instead of demoing as if I had made a judgement based on my initial playtest I would have never unlocked it's sweet potential.

My 2nd stick came in the mail today. I strung it at 48.5 with Red Devil...

Oh my goodness.

It's weird, this is the first time in the 6 years I've played,t hat I decided not to use a string dampener. And it made all the difference in the world, don't know how.

Everything was going amazing today, was fulfilling my rackets potential at last. I guess without the dampener, I really started to get that pro staff feel I was used to.

 

[atatu]

After I bought my PS 97 I got caught up in the Yonex Ai 98 hype and ended up buying one instead of getting a second PS. Anyway, after a couple of week of trying both of these frames out, I'm going to sell the Yonex and get another PS 97, it's just a better frame for me, more feel, and it volleys a lot better than the Yonex. Hopefully I'll have two PS 97's by the time Christmas rolls around.

 

[Darkstriker97]

Any comparisons to the Six.One 16x18 when this racket is customized and with poly?

 

[Ghost3789]

In the interests of science, are you interested in perhaps sending that frame my way for dissection and analysis - I would report my findings, with pics, on the board.

Any updates?

 

[Soundbyte]

I just picked up a PS97 in a trade. I've gone through a ton of rackets this season and ?settled" on the AI98. I haven't had a chance to try the PS97 yet but I'm interested in the comparisons

 

[alexwawrinka]

Is this PS97 hit a heavy ball ?

 

[JackB1]

I just picked up a PS97 in a trade. I've gone through a ton of rackets this season and ?settled" on the AI98. I haven't had a chance to try the PS97 yet but I'm interested in the comparisons

I am also interested in the PS97 vs Ai98 comparison too. I thought the PS97 was slightly more powerful and the Ai98 was much flexier feeling.

 

[atatu]

I just picked up a PS97 in a trade. I've gone through a ton of rackets this season and ?settled" on the AI98. I haven't had a chance to try the PS97 yet but I'm interested in the comparisons

I think the differences are what you would expect, the Yonex feels a lot more "plush" while the PS 97 has a more raw feel. In terms of spin and power, the Yonex probably has the edge but to me, the PS has much more control and as a result I can volley some much better with it.

 

[skfx]

Ive tried both and Ai98 just stood out immediately as much more easier to play with. Every time I would return to PS97 my game went down a notch and going back to Ai98 felt like transferring from an american muscle car that only does well in a straight line into a Ferrari sort of speak.

 

[JackB1]

Ive tried both and Ai98 just stood out immediately as much more easier to play with. Every time I would return to PS97 my game went down a notch and going back to Ai98 felt like transferring from an american muscle car that only does well in a straight line into a Ferrari sort of speak.

can u elaborate?

 

[parasailing]

So after spending over month playing with the PS 97, I will say it's a good racquet but the journey continues.

I get more power and control from the GSP and only thing the PS 97 offers is better feel, touch, and is a bit softer than the the GSP on mishits.

As for the AI 98, I find it to be the softest of the bunch and really easy to generate racquet speed. I can hit a pretty good flat ball but I ended up selling it due to the flex which I couldn't get use to.

 

[skfx]

can u elaborate?

For an intermediate player, like myself, Ai98 lets you get away with stuff that Wilsons won't pretty much, it's a lot more forgivable and thus makes it easier to play...where as with RF97 you really have to be on point to achieve similar result as Ai98. That was my experience, for somebody who is an advanced player, RF97 would offer more probably.

As for the car analogy, an average driver on a racetrack would fare far better with a more forgiving car than the one that needs your outmost attention and precision or you will spin out of control...

So I guess one should just be honest with one self's ability and pick the right tool for the job is the point.

 

[danbrenner]

I have just play tested both the Auto and 315 versions of this stick. I was convinced that I would like the 315 and that is generally my wheelhouse. But lo and behold it did not hold a candle to the Auto. This frame IMO was designed with weight in mind. You need the weight because it's a low powered thin beam. The 315 just felt dead on defensive shots. The Auto comes alive with the weight behind it. Even on defense you can just aim at your target and the oomph is there. I don't know if I would switch to this stick as I'm happy with my current line up, but I woud be happy to play anyway with the RFA.

 

[Hankenstein]

As i said early in this thread, the 315 frame is to light with the synthethic base grip. It needs a solid leather grip, or add the weight to the grip that is the weight of a leather grip so it gets a good 10 grams extra to the handle-area of the frame.
Stock this frame is to light imo

 

[Isn_fish]

As i said early in this thread, the 315 frame is to light with the synthethic base grip. It needs a solid leather grip, or add the weight to the grip that is the weight of a leather grip so it gets a good 10 grams extra to the handle-area of the frame.
Stock this frame is to light imo

Fully Agree!
I've added pacific calfskin leather and looks like to be pretty close to my wheelhouse for playing singles.
For doubles, I'll keep on playing with RF97.

 

[EasternRocks]

JackB1,
I will be able to provide a decent comparison of the Pro Staff 97 and the AI 98 now. I only have about 5 hours of play with the AI 98 so I can't really go too in depth, but I have a general feel of the frame now and I can at least pick apart some easy differences.

 

[JackB1]

JackB1,
I will be able to provide a decent comparison of the Pro Staff 97 and the AI 98 now. I only have about 5 hours of play with the AI 98 so I can't really go too in depth, but I have a general feel of the frame now and I can at least pick apart some easy differences.

OK? do tell....

 

[EasternRocks]

Will post later tonight or tomorrow

Edit: Here it is. Again... please keep in mind that I am <10 hours with the AI.

The biggest difference b/w the two frames is probably the feel of the string bed upon contact of the ball. The 97 is going to give you a more stiffer, thud feel while the AI is going to give you more of a softer, more muted feel. I am going to attribute this to the difference in flex. Although I am used to a more solid, thud feel (GSP user for a couple years), the one thing I disliked about the 97 was the unpredictability of the string bed. I might be harping on a complaint that has been vocalized quite often, but I found consistency within the string bed to be lacking. (I tried numerous string setups, and eventually tried full poly to try and relax the power. It worked, however, I lost the feel and put away power of the racquet that I never was able to find a balance between power and control with the racquet.) I also find that a stiffer frame gives you less dwell time on the frame thus the ball pocketing can be affected. However, there is a trade off here with power. I find that the stiffer, thud feeling frames are all a bit more powerful. Thus, when I have used stiffer frames in the past, they have all been dense patterned frames. The AI 98 has superior control to the 97 and I am able to hit my targets and spots more frequently and with more accuracy. I have barely done any serving with the AI so I can't comment there. Volleying is again a tough ask to do a detailed comparison at this point. One thing is for certain... I am still trying to adjust to the feel of the AI as well as the beam construction. I have never used a frame that has an aerodynamic beam.

Overall, these observations are the only sure-fire things I can really claim between the 2 frames. Sorry for not being able to really delve deeper, but I don't want to write about a racquet when I really haven't played a single match with it yet.

If you ask specific questions, I can try to answer them the best I can (if I can)

 

[Hop]

Fully Agree!
I've added pacific calfskin leather and looks like to be pretty close to my wheelhouse for playing singles.
For doubles, I'll keep on playing with RF97.

I was thinking of replacing the Synthetic Leather grip on the PS97 exactly with
Pacific calfskin leather (I can get only the black one in Europe- is yours the black one?).

Can you, please, tell me what was the difference in the weight between the Pacific and the Wilson Synthetic Leather?
It will be even better if you can tell me the specific weight of both.

 

[JackB1]

Will post later tonight or tomorrow

Edit: Here it is. Again... please keep in mind that I am <10 hours with the AI.

The biggest difference b/w the two frames is probably the feel of the string bed upon contact of the ball. The 97 is going to give you a more stiffer, thud feel while the AI is going to give you more of a softer, more muted feel. I am going to attribute this to the difference in flex. Although I am used to a more solid, thud feel (GSP user for a couple years), the one thing I disliked about the 97 was the unpredictability of the string bed. I might be harping on a complaint that has been vocalized quite often, but I found consistency within the string bed to be lacking. (I tried numerous string setups, and eventually tried full poly to try and relax the power. It worked, however, I lost the feel and put away power of the racquet that I never was able to find a balance between power and control with the racquet.) I also find that a stiffer frame gives you less dwell time on the frame thus the ball pocketing can be affected. However, there is a trade off here with power. I find that the stiffer, thud feeling frames are all a bit more powerful. Thus, when I have used stiffer frames in the past, they have all been dense patterned frames. The AI 98 has superior control to the 97 and I am able to hit my targets and spots more frequently and with more accuracy. I have barely done any serving with the AI so I can't comment there. Volleying is again a tough ask to do a detailed comparison at this point. One thing is for certain... I am still trying to adjust to the feel of the AI as well as the beam construction. I have never used a frame that has an aerodynamic beam.

Overall, these observations are the only sure-fire things I can really claim between the 2 frames. Sorry for not being able to really delve deeper, but I don't want to write about a racquet when I really haven't played a single match with it yet.

If you ask specific questions, I can try to answer them the best I can (if I can)

Thanks ER. I agree there is a difference in the ball feel off the stringbed.
Not sure I understand what adjustments are needed due to the aerodyna,ic design? Are you saying the Ai98 is too quick through the air and your timing is messed up?

 

[EasternRocks]

Thanks ER. I agree there is a difference in the ball feel off the stringbed.
Not sure I understand what adjustments are needed due to the aerodyna,ic design? Are you saying the Ai98 is too quick through the air and your timing is messed up?

I feel like the AI 98 gives me better ball pocketing and the ability to direct the ball where I want it to. There is more of a point-and-shoot ability with the AI over the PS. Toward the end of my month stint with the PS, I really realized a lack of control with my preferred string setup. Trying to tinker with strings to rein in the power proved to be futile because I really don't like full polyester.

I mean by the beam construction. It is not a flat beam like the Speed Pro I have recently switched away from.

However, it definitely is quick through the air and I'm adjusting to the frame in terms of timing.