gino
Legend
This is so true. Those two silo naming conventions are up there. Others with that staying power: prestige, radical, aero, and drive
Should wilson continue the pro staff series?!
- Thread starter Smecz
- Start date
This is so true. Those two silo naming conventions are up there. Others with that staying power: prestige, radical, aero, and drive
McGradey
Hall of Fame
Yeah all pretty great, particularly Prestige.
Icsa
Professional
I hope not. The RF01 is more like a tweener line far from the precision and the classic feel of the Pro Staff.
recreationalplayer
Semi-Pro
I don't disagree but I looked at RF 01 and thought what's going on here. Next couple years will be interesting for the ProS line.
recreationalplayer
Semi-Pro
PistolPete23
Hall of Fame
The Pro Staff will stay. It is nearly synonymous with Wilson tennis in the graphite era. There’s too much history for Wilson to just end the line, even though the Blade is very much the “Pro Staff” for the current generation of players. With the introduction of the RF line, it’ll be really interesting to see how the PS will evolve going forward. I think the PS X v14 was Wilson’s first attempt to adapt the classic box beam PS to be more suitable for the baseline-oriented style of play we see now. But going forward, I would like to see something more creative from the brand that doesn’t compromise the defining characteristics of a Pro Staff.
TheRareCreature
New User
Honestly, I love my 97 V14. I would be intrigued by a V15 to say the least!!!
Hello Guys
I have a question about Future of series Pro Staff:
Should wilson continue the pro staff series?!
Recently it is noticeable that players prefer Wilson racquets more Blade, Ultra, Clash less Pro Staff and Six One...
Even recently we have already received a racquet from Wilson and Federer called Wilson RF pro 01.!!!
Wilson is slowly starting to distance itself from Pro Staff, creating something new, besides, does the Pro Staff concept still have a reason to exist in modern tennis?!
Does it make sense for Wilson to create another version of 15?! What player could maintain this series like Alacaraz Babolat Aero Pure?!
What do you think, will the Pro Staff series survive or are we seeing the end of this series?!
The racquet world is divided in 2. The Pro Staff family on one side (this very peculiar compromise between power and control), and the rest of the world on the other. Thus, yes.
Umm, almost every competitve male junior seems to either be playing with PA98, Blade98, or VCore 98. Blade and PA98 seem to be dominating there. What I don't see is that many juniors using Babolat as compared to what it used to be. Seems like no one is using PD anymore and that it's PA or PA98 if they use Babolat at all. Most seem to have gravitated to Yonex VC98 or VC100. I feel like Babolat and Head might be in trouble in the next few years if they don't change directions. I was just in the local shop the other day and no one is buying PD's anymore.
PistolPete23
Hall of Fame
In Southern California, I see lots of Blades, Ezones, and PAs. It used to be Pure Strikes (thanks Thiem) and PDs (thanks Roddick) everywhere. I see some Head Speeds from time to time, but not nearly as much as the other racquets I mentioned. For Wilson, Blade is the next-gen Pro Staff.
ryushen21
Legend
Pro Staff is a legendary line and a fundamental part of Wilson's racquet lineage and history. They have modernized offerings within the PS lineup to meet the needs of modern players and the modern game. I don't think it would be a stretch to say that Wilson without the Pro Staff wouldn't be the same Wilson.
Smecz
Professional
A lot of truth from you, but if there are no sales or popularity of a given brand or item, there is no chance of survival...
optic yellow
Legend
There are sales though.A lot of truth from you, but if there are no sales or popularity of a given brand or item, there is no chance of survival...
ryushen21
Legend
I don't think their Pro Staff sales are hurting.A lot of truth from you, but if there are no sales or popularity of a given brand or item, there is no chance of survival...
Based on what I see on the courts here the Blade and Pro Staff are carrying most of the weight for Wilson's sales.
Smecz
Professional
It's possible, I don't have sales statistics, but in terms of popularity on tour, it seems average...!!
ryushen21
Legend
I don't have numbers either. But I can tell you what I see in the high school matches my team plays and the tournaments I go to that the Blade carries the entire Wilson line by a big margin. Pro Staff doesn't have as much market share with the young players but the 97, 97L, and 100 are doing well. After that I'd say the Clash and Shift. Ultra and the others make up the rest.
SirCraigoryy
Rookie
I doubt the Pro Staff line is going anywhere even if significantly less players are using it. As others have mentioned before it's synonymous with the Wilson brand and I believe Head went through the same thing with the Prestige line. As of right now I can only think of Cerundolo and Cilic (who is basically retired at this point) who use it on tour. However, the Pro Staff like the Prestige line is a heritage frame of their brand and it could adapt over time i.e. would be cool to see a Six.One 98 or I can see Wilson producing 4-5 models (Six.One95, Six.One100, PS97, PS97 RFA, PS100) and just doing cosmetic updates.
Then again it's no secret that much of tennis consumerism is heavily trend focused i.e. the Pure Aero VS 2020 to my knowledge did not sell well until Alcaraz picked it up, the Pure Strike line was failing until Babolat were able to get Thiem on board, etc. All this to say Wilson are just one successful junior or player away from the Pro Staff exploding in popularity again but who knows only time will tell.
Then again it's no secret that much of tennis consumerism is heavily trend focused i.e. the Pure Aero VS 2020 to my knowledge did not sell well until Alcaraz picked it up, the Pure Strike line was failing until Babolat were able to get Thiem on board, etc. All this to say Wilson are just one successful junior or player away from the Pro Staff exploding in popularity again but who knows only time will tell.
I think the divisive paintjob this time around didn't help the frame (and arguably the most visible ProStaff user, Dimitrov quickly going back to an all black frame) in terms of sales - I don't mind the look myself, but going so far from the Federer black look (obviously we can consider they knew they wanted the RF line to be black when they introduced the PS in 2023 so moved the ProStaff into its new colour) was probably not the best call
optic yellow
Legend
Noir is the real PS97 v14 sadly.
gino
Legend
Let's hope Lehecka can give the pro staff some air time - if he has a healthy year. Another ask for the Six.One98 is fascinating to me. Seems like a lot of us have ideated that would be a great move. Wilson hopefully is picking up on that need for a legacy mold-derivative stick that is more forgiving
Wilson has some time to find rising star, who has born year 2000-or later, to play with PS. Good option would be a female player like Emma R . Sorry to say, but Roger F is is too old male to sell and promote Wilson PS or RF brands: It difficult to sell any product for consumers with retired face.
Otherwise they need to push panic button and talk Tsisipas, if he could accept bronze paintjob to his Blade.
Otherwise they need to push panic button and talk Tsisipas, if he could accept bronze paintjob to his Blade.
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I actually think moving the ProStaff mold away from the RF and back to the Six One would help a ton with relevancy - so a Six One 97 perhaps and have a tour for Grigor with the RF style box beam (much like in the old days when there was the Six One 95 and the Tour 90), not least given most of the players on tour with ProStaff pjs are on Six One's or even Tour 95s and not RF97s - so something in that direction would make sense.
Smecz
Professional
Yeah, blade rules!!!,once more pro staff now Blade...
Blade missiles currently maintain a strong level, very much adapted to modern times
If it's about Ultra,clash,burn,shift, this ultra and clash is more popular than burn and shift...
Wilson maintains a reasonable level, but Head, Babolat, Yonex, and Tecnifibre are outclassed..
ryushen21
Legend
Yeah, the Blade is definitely the most popular by a long shot.Yeah, blade rules!!!,once more pro staff now Blade...
Blade missiles currently maintain a strong level, very much adapted to modern times
If it's about Ultra,clash,burn,shift, this ultra and clash is more popular than burn and shift...
Wilson maintains a reasonable level, but Head, Babolat, Yonex, and Tecnifibre are outclassed..
What's interesting is I'm seeing a lot players who were using the Clash moving away from it. Most are going to the Blade but some are going Shift if they stay within the Wilson lineup.
I think the Shift is suffering from not having a defined target player. Once Wilson figures that out, the Shift could gain a lot of ground.
I don't think the current Pro Staff has much in common with the old ones besides it being a control-focused racket by Wilson with PWS. The old ones had so much less technology with a smaller head size and thinner box beam. Even the paintjob is a world away from what it used to be. I'm not an angry old man who is yelling at the clouds wanting the "glory days" back, but I would like to point out that the current Pro Staff is a Pro Staff in name only. I understand the heritage behind keeping the new Pro Staffs, but current Six.One 95 and the re-issue of the original Pro Staff are the only Pro Staff that Wilson really needs to keep selling. I would rather they bring back iconic older frames than blaspheming the name of legendary rackets while trying to add new technology to uncompetitive frames for the modern game. The PS85 and 95 are great frames, but in the era of poly strings and topspin, the serve-volley playstyle that those rackets were designed for is just not as relevant as it should be. The history behind it and the classic feel make them phenomenal frames that should still be offered as a novelty and for history's sake, and I personally enjoy having a friendly hit with them, but in a match against someone my level, I would be unable to win with them. Even the modern Pro Staff has a lot of the same drawbacks without the benefits of feel and nostalgia.
In short, Pro Staff sales are falling, and I think that only the heritage frames should be kept as "Pro Staffs", and then Wilson should kill the rest of the line in favor of the Blade. Doing anything else would be a disservice to the incredible name that the Pro Staff has created, as the current iteration has fallen so far from what it is supposed to be.
In short, Pro Staff sales are falling, and I think that only the heritage frames should be kept as "Pro Staffs", and then Wilson should kill the rest of the line in favor of the Blade. Doing anything else would be a disservice to the incredible name that the Pro Staff has created, as the current iteration has fallen so far from what it is supposed to be.
gino
Legend
Did you ever main the pro staff 97 or RF97?
gino
Legend
It’s hard to agree with removing the 97 from the pro staff lineage, simply because it’s one of the only available Wilson molds with major wins in the last decade. It’s also won more singles majors than the 6.1 95 - which is my favorite racquet ever so I have a reason to defend it.even if they don’t have any current tour endorsers, keeping it apart of the main offerings checks out. As someone who used a 6.1 95 for over a decade - I feel like the PS/RF97 was a hybrid between the h22/6.1 95/pro staff 90
Since 2015, 3 majors from RF and 7 finals and Ons with 3 additional major finals. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas has made 2 major finals with the kblade, but that’s a 15 year old unavailable frame. Moreover, the steam has done well with Haleps two major titles and Raducanus double tourney major. Point being, the pro staff 97 is Wilson’s most winning major mold of the past decade, objectively speaking.
We’ve baked this out, now let’s reduce it down - if the PS97 isn’t worth keeping around, why would the “casual hitters” like the PS85, PS90, or 6.1 95 be?
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Sorry to disagree.
Pro Staff main characteristic is the box beam construction, that has been kept constant over the years. If I switch from my jurassic Wilson Sting Midsize (the "mom" of the PS, 1983) to a PS97 v14 I can truly feel at home, despite the huge difference in size. Even with the PSX I also feel at home.
The boxed beam construction gives an highly rigid torsional and longitudinal flex (90° from what the usual RA flex is measured) which is not found in elliptical frames. And specifically this hard flex gives the very special touch and surgical precision. At the same time it gives also a low launch angle. In general elliptic frames are longitudinally quite floppy, and IMHO this is the feature that gives high launch angles.
Personally I'm an evoluted S&V. I play S&V but I can also play from the baseline. I like to have a precise stick with some added power. Classic control racquets are a bit dead for me; most of the "modern" elliptical frames are completely unpredictable and I'm not able to use my intuitive "old man forehand" like I do with a Pro Staffish box beam stick.
Worth mentioning
- The PSX is an amazing evolution of the box beam. It keeps its roots in the tradition, it has high control, but allows a quite easy spin access and and offers tons of additional free power.
- The RF01 Pro despite having dropped the box bean shape, has kept high torsional and longitudinal stiffness and because of that it plays almost like a PS and offers additional power, too.
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Icsa
Professional
Nope. I wish it was. But the RF is far apart from the Pro Staff line with its inconsistent string bed and lack of feel.
I pretty much agree. Perhaps not really 100%, but it's very near to a PS, but with some added free power
RF Pro is 300% a Pro Staff. RF97A Pro Staff to be even more precise, reworked and modernized. It plays almost identically, spins, depth, ball trajectories, power, everything. Stiff and massive throat, a lot of weight in the handle, leather grip even, high stiffness both frontal and torsional, mid/upper hoop too - super easy to pick up a low junk ball - just like RF97A, or drive down a high ball, responsive, very high power levels, generous spin and dip, easy depth and blocking, and identical trajectories, very slightly lower
Calling RF 01 Pro inconsistent or lacking feel is a total fail, IMO. Dunno what your level of tennis is, but yeah, no. The exact opposite methinks.
I found it super easy to hit super consistently practically from the 1st ball, power hitting through the middle, just holding 20+ balls with total ease. That's actually what we all remarked on. Feel is spot on, better than RF97A, which had a bit of a metallic stiff ping coming from the throat or bridge, especially noticeable on volleys, and also had a tiny bit of ringing after a shot, could tire the arm slightly more because of that
The one meaningful difference is that it's kind of between 6.0 and 6.1. If 6.0 is a total attack racquet, like RF97A or the current PS97 v14, think Federer, or Alcaraz, or Kyrgios etc, forehand starts with tip of the racquet forward, light tip of the racquet, point and shoot attack. Can do defending and grinding but really not ideal for that. Difficult to imagine Bautista Agut consistent holding style with it, or Delpo's, he could also hold balls eternally, etc
RF 01 Pro is slightly less "attack only" than RF97A or PS97 v14, is easier to hold and move balls around with, reminds of some PS90s in that sense, works fine with lower tension or looser older strings. Still not ideal for that RBA Spanish consistent style, with frontal neutral stance and forehand off the outer leg, without the full drive through. So I'd say between 6.0 and 6.1, but leaning toward 6.0, you have to step into the ball nicely with it and swing through
Calling RF 01 Pro inconsistent or lacking feel is a total fail, IMO. Dunno what your level of tennis is, but yeah, no. The exact opposite methinks.
I found it super easy to hit super consistently practically from the 1st ball, power hitting through the middle, just holding 20+ balls with total ease. That's actually what we all remarked on. Feel is spot on, better than RF97A, which had a bit of a metallic stiff ping coming from the throat or bridge, especially noticeable on volleys, and also had a tiny bit of ringing after a shot, could tire the arm slightly more because of that
The one meaningful difference is that it's kind of between 6.0 and 6.1. If 6.0 is a total attack racquet, like RF97A or the current PS97 v14, think Federer, or Alcaraz, or Kyrgios etc, forehand starts with tip of the racquet forward, light tip of the racquet, point and shoot attack. Can do defending and grinding but really not ideal for that. Difficult to imagine Bautista Agut consistent holding style with it, or Delpo's, he could also hold balls eternally, etc
RF 01 Pro is slightly less "attack only" than RF97A or PS97 v14, is easier to hold and move balls around with, reminds of some PS90s in that sense, works fine with lower tension or looser older strings. Still not ideal for that RBA Spanish consistent style, with frontal neutral stance and forehand off the outer leg, without the full drive through. So I'd say between 6.0 and 6.1, but leaning toward 6.0, you have to step into the ball nicely with it and swing through
Icsa
Professional
I'm not the only one having this experience with the RF01Pro, but if you prefer, I'm happy to call it my experience only and maybe the racquet variance. After playing 30+ hours with the RF01Pro I have, I can say that (for me) the RF97 is way more precise and versatile in all situations of a tennis match. With the RF01Pro, I had to keep the contact point strictly in the center of the string bed, to get some goodness out of it, and some extra power, but I'm not Roger Federer to do this always in a match when I'm rushed or in a tough situation. Any unfortunate contact outside the small sweet spot is fraught with peril. Most racquets would punish you with vibrations or harshness outside the sweet spot, but you can still control the ball. With the RF01, you lose power and/or get unexpected launch angles - i.e. point lost.
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Let’ put in this way: If PSv14 would be important product for Wilson, they would have been fixed QC issues. Now weight variation is same lavel than cheapist Burn -series. Sorry to say this, cause I love PS series.
The QC issue is not present in Blade or Blade Pro, which are now critically important products for Wilson.
Just bought 2 BP from two different shops and got identical rackets, with 0.2g margin.
The QC issue is not present in Blade or Blade Pro, which are now critically important products for Wilson.
Just bought 2 BP from two different shops and got identical rackets, with 0.2g margin.
I think other's experience suggests that there has been no significant improvement on QC for the Blade/Blade Pro
tele
Hall of Fame
n=2
Agree, too small number of samples. Let's call this good luck, although in QC there is not such a thing called "luck"
With my PS14's , n=3 and variation is -6g to +6g, which is totally in another space.
When reading PS thread in this forum, there can be seen a larger variation in weight than is BP-thread.
Anyway, you got my point ?
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tele
Hall of Fame
I think I got your point, but I would say the jury is still out on whether the pro staff has worse quality control than the blade.
Julian.Peter
New User
They should and hopefully they will. There is still a big market, people care for Pro Staffs, there is actual interest. See how well received the Pro Staff X was and also the 97 v14 is still popular. It will not become their bestseller anymore but for sure they sell more than the Ultra line etc.
A lot of players age 40+ grew up with Pro Staffs and have a big loyalty to this line. It is part of a lot of people tennis identity. Also Roger will stay in the hearts if players for decades and as he is still an idol for many players, there will be I retest in Pro Staffs as his name is more associated with it than the new RF line.
I even know a 12 years old kid wishing to play a Pro Staff because of Roger and also the sleak design if the pre V14 black rackets.
So there is interest and they should make Dimitrov the Pro Staff face as Rogers endorses the new RF line and Dimi is their most successful Pro Staff player on tour, also a very charismatic person and big sportsman with similarity to Roger regarding on court behaviour, being smart and respectful with opponents and the whole court environment. He is a Pro Staff player, a nice guy, top 10 players, hopefully will win some titles again if not injured, one hander which is important for Pro Staff marketing especially to club players on lower levels where the one handed backhand is much more common than on higher levels.
Put Dimi in the cardboard, have a traditional black paintjob for v15, don't mess around with any modern technology and keep the Pro Staff a crisp, direct feeling, traditional all court player's racket and it will continue to be successful. It will not sell as good as the Blades and Clashs, but it will stay important and there definitely is a good market share for Pro Staffs.
They could even grow if more people would focus and improving their technique instead if going the easy tweener way and would feel the magic of a Pro Staff swung properly, hitting the sweet spot and putting pressure on opponents with pinpoint precision in all court attacking style the way tennis should be played. ;-)
A lot of players age 40+ grew up with Pro Staffs and have a big loyalty to this line. It is part of a lot of people tennis identity. Also Roger will stay in the hearts if players for decades and as he is still an idol for many players, there will be I retest in Pro Staffs as his name is more associated with it than the new RF line.
I even know a 12 years old kid wishing to play a Pro Staff because of Roger and also the sleak design if the pre V14 black rackets.
So there is interest and they should make Dimitrov the Pro Staff face as Rogers endorses the new RF line and Dimi is their most successful Pro Staff player on tour, also a very charismatic person and big sportsman with similarity to Roger regarding on court behaviour, being smart and respectful with opponents and the whole court environment. He is a Pro Staff player, a nice guy, top 10 players, hopefully will win some titles again if not injured, one hander which is important for Pro Staff marketing especially to club players on lower levels where the one handed backhand is much more common than on higher levels.
Put Dimi in the cardboard, have a traditional black paintjob for v15, don't mess around with any modern technology and keep the Pro Staff a crisp, direct feeling, traditional all court player's racket and it will continue to be successful. It will not sell as good as the Blades and Clashs, but it will stay important and there definitely is a good market share for Pro Staffs.
They could even grow if more people would focus and improving their technique instead if going the easy tweener way and would feel the magic of a Pro Staff swung properly, hitting the sweet spot and putting pressure on opponents with pinpoint precision in all court attacking style the way tennis should be played. ;-)
Smecz
Professional
True right,but sale on spinning idols, and now the only one like that is Dimitrov, who has his best years of playing behind him...
It's hard to see...
Some kids using the PS X right now at our club, with no idol. Daddies let them test an they like it.
