Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Wilson Clash v3

[Rohith Kolli]

Racquet Received - Wilson Clash V3 100 Pro 16 x20

I really enjoyed this playtest. Sorry for the late response.

String and tension used for test: Used Yonex Poly Tour Pro at 52lbs
Tennis experience/background: 4.5 Player with some college background. Play about 3-4 times a week regularly now and play leagues and tournaments.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I am pretty tall so I modeled my game behind that. I would say I am an aggressive baseliner but do like coming forward quite a bit. My backhand and net games are my two biggest strengths in my game.
Current racquet/string setups: I currently use the same strings, Yonex Poly Tour Pro at 51 lbs in my Wilson Blade v8 18x20 racket. I like closed patterns for my rackets since I tend to hit a bit flatter. I also like the higher swing weight of the 18x20 string pattern version. This clash was interesting since the boxes were not as big as I was expecting and it was a pleasant surprise.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? I used this racket for 2 weeks fully. In terms of hours, roughly about 15-20 hours. I played a couple matches with the racket as well.

-Groundstrokes: I really enjoyed the groundstrokes with this racket because it was a bit of a change up from my current racket of choice. I was able to hit bigger groundstrokes and had access to more effortless power. However, I did find that the racket felt a bit sluggish on the forehand side. While I was swinging, I felt a little disconnect between the swing and the actual impact of hitting the ball. Overall, groundstrokes were a blast and I really enjoyed my backhand because of the stability.
-Serves: Serves were probably my favorite shot with this racket. I normally have a pretty big serve, but I was able to get even faster serves with this racket and it was a lot more effortless power. I thought it would be a bit sluggish especially since I found the forehands to be sluggish, but I was surprised with how fast the racket was moving through the air. I enjoyed hitting flat serves a lot but I think I found my kick serves had a very good amount of kick compared to my blade.
-Volleys: Volleys with this racket felt very nice on impact. Since this racket was very soft, volleys felt like butter but didn’t give up any stability. The only thing I didn’t like with the volleys were that when engaged in a back and forth at net, it was a bit slow trying to switch from backhand side to forehands side. I really enjoyed hitting overheads with this racket and I found that my overheads packed a lot more punch.
-Serve returns: Serve returns were great due to the big, sweet spot of this racket. It felt like I was able to hit anywhere on the string bed and still get a consistent serve return. I normally stand a bit further back to return serves but with this racket, I felt comfortable shortening my swing and staying up closer to the line. The stability was solid, but I did notice on some, the returns were a bit erratic on fast serve returns.

Power/Control- I felt like this racket gave a lot of free power and it was effortless power. I was able to generate the most amount of power, when I relaxed and let the racket swing through the air. However, the control was a bit erratic and didn’t always go where I was intending to hit. I thought I couldn’t gauge the exact combination of power and control to swing with which was a bit of a challenge to get used to.
Top Spin/Slice- I enjoyed the topspin of this racket especially on my forehand side. I normally hit a bit flat with my 18x20 blade, but this racket made me swing a bit higher and create some more arc on the ball. This felt good cause no matter how high of a net clearance I was hitting with, the ball was always looping back in. I didn’t enjoy the slice as much. I felt like there was not much bite and the racket didn’t really chop the ball. I tried adjusting my swing but something felt a bit off and I was not that big of a fan of the slices I hit.
Comfort- The comfort was off the charts. I thought coming from a blade, I wouldn’t notice much of a difference, but this was somehow even softer. I could barely feel the impact of the ball when I was hitting and even after long hours on the court, I noticed no pain or fatigue in my arms.
Feel- The feel was interesting because I thought given how soft the racket was, I would enjoy the feel, but I didn’t really enjoy it that much. I couldn’t really get consistent feedback from my string bed and was unsure of where I was hitting the ball on my strings every shot. I also couldn’t absorb the impact of fast shot well.
Maneuverability- I thought the maneuverability on most shots was solid. Given it’s a 100 square inch head size, I think it is very easy to swing for its class. I like the balance and think it is spot on for a racket like this. I wish it was a bit more head light, since it was a bit hard to swing on the forehand side at times.
Stability- Given how low the stiffness was with this racket, I thought stability would be an issue but I was pretty surprised. It felt very stable on all shots and I felt very confident with swinging out. The only knock I had with the stability was that on fast serves, it felt like it shook a little bit but that was not that common.

General reaction/comments on overall performance: I really enjoyed this playtest. I used the v1 when it first came out for a few months and have been using a blade since then. Super solid racket and I think it is an upgrade from the previous version which I was not a big fan of. I would say it is comparable to the ezone 100 but softer. Power is comparable but I think the ezone had a bit more stability.

 

[ChipNCharge]

Does the V3 have the same type of paint as the V2? Hoping Wilson changed it, as the V2’s paint chips easily.

Any early feedback with how durable the “plant-based” bumper guard is?

The write-up mentions the spec tolerance is tighter with the V3. Anyone know what it was, and what it is now?

 

[pheonix6579]

Does the V3 have the same type of paint as the V2? Hoping Wilson changed it, as the V2’s paint chips easily.

Any early feedback with how durable the “plant-based” bumper guard is?

The write-up mentions the spec tolerance is tighter with the V3. Anyone know what it was, and what it is now?

Probably a little early to tell, but I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary are a]far as paint chipping/wear. Pretty par for the course so far after about 20 hours on court.

 

[Big_Dangerous]

Does the V3 have the same type of paint as the V2? Hoping Wilson changed it, as the V2’s paint chips easily.

Any early feedback with how durable the “plant-based” bumper guard is?

The write-up mentions the spec tolerance is tighter with the V3. Anyone know what it was, and what it is now?

I never used the previous Clash versions, but I would say that maybe this one I got hit the ground all of one time in the 3-4 sessions I used it and there is a chip on the throat. So yeah, not the best pj quality in my opinion, because I the RF97's I have, I've actually thrown them in frustration a few times and just generally they have more use and wear and tear and while there are nicks and stuff, I don't see any actual paint chips.

 

[ChanterRacquet]

I’m surprised how quickly this thread has made it to the second page after being unpinned by the mods. Especially considering how many Clashes I see in use. Maybe not this forums cup of tea?

Anywho, as a follow up to my review of the 100 v3, and finally getting to play a match with it alongside more rallying, I’m super digging this frame and I am VERY happy with the backhand slice. With other racquets they either float so high the spin and/or wind takes it out or they’re so low I can’t get them over the net. But I can’t miss with this frame. Serve return slices are controlled, over the net but low, and when I kick it up high to lob it still comes down in on court.

Another thing I really appreicate about the frame is the consistent, predictable string bed response. Every shot that doesn’t do what I wanted is attributable to how poorly I setup the shot and never unexpected behavior from the racquet.

And as far as I can tell, one of the most comfortable racquets you can hit with that doesn’t suffer from noodle ambiguity.

 

[A_Instead]

While the clash is a great tool for many tennis players.. it doesn't fit the narrative on here.. meaning 15 grams of lead and 345 swing weight.
Even the great new pure drive thread went dead pretty fast...
Let's see how long the Tecnifibre TFight thread remains active..
Everyone seems to be interested in the 305s..

 

[fed1]

I’m surprised how quickly this thread has made it to the second page after being unpinned by the mods. Especially considering how many Clashes I see in use. Maybe not this forums cup of tea?

Anywho, as a follow up to my review, and finally getting to play a match with it alongside more rallying, I’m super digging this frame and I am VERY happy with the backhand slice. With other racquets they either float so high the spin and/or wind takes it out or they’re so low I can’t get them over the net. But I can’t miss with this frame. Serve return slices are controlled, over the net but low, and when I kick it up high to lob it still comes down in on court.

Another thing I really appreicate about the frame is the consistent, predictable string bed response. Every shot that doesn’t do what I wanted is attributable to how poorly I setup the shot and never unexpected behavior from the racquet.

And as far as I can tell, one of the most comfortable racquets you can hit with that doesn’t suffer from noodle ambiguity.

One of the more underwhelming playtests in a long time, which was a shame because this is a big release for Wilson. Not much chatter/posts amongst the majority of the playtesters which was extremely frustrating especially after these racquets had been well received amongst the online reviewers.

 

[ChanterRacquet]

One of the more underwhelming playtests in a long time, which was a shame because this is a big release for Wilson. Not much chatter/posts amongst the majority of the playtesters which was extremely frustrating especially after these racquets had been well received amongst the online reviewers.

I know I refrained from reading other reviews prior to posting mine, but I think I was only 1 of 2 that got it in on time. And it seemed each time I went to read others’ posted after the deadline, they were all of the Pro version. I’ll have to double check.

 

[AZJ1973]

I ordered 4 Clash 100 and their swing weights are all extremely low.

Measured with the plastic on the grip at 264, 266, 268, and 271. Even adding string and a dampener it would be a struggle to get any of them to 300.

Time to sell. I think I am going to try the Blade 100.

 

[Nadal - GOAT]

I ordered 4 Clash 100 and their swing weights are all extremely low.

Measured with the plastic on the grip at 264, 266, 268, and 271. Even adding string and a dampener it would be a struggle to get any of them to 300.

Time to sell. I think I am going to try the Blade 100.

Did you order clash 100L?

The 100 has a listed swing weight of around 305-310.. what you are stating is absurdly low.

Anyone else faced this issue?

 

[Ombudsman]

One of the more underwhelming playtests in a long time, which was a shame because this is a big release for Wilson. Not much chatter/posts amongst the majority of the playtesters which was extremely frustrating especially after these racquets had been well received amongst the online reviewers.

It’s been a tough stretch for us along the east coast who depend on indoor courts, experiencing back to back to back snow events. We did have an unusual 60 degree day, when I took out the ball machine. My facilities’ indoor bubble collapsed during the first storm, opened for a couple weeks, and now closed again with a broken heater.

I definitely want to get out more as I’ve really enjoyed my time with the new Clash. Haven’t used my 98v1 at all. I have the v3 Pro and the SW is low, so I added 3g of head tape and it feels more robust. If the heater is fixed, have Live Ball sessions booked the next 6 weekends.

May try the Gosen Sidewinder at some point. Don’t usually play co/poly but this is supposed to be soft…and it’s a matching red/orange

 

[ChanterRacquet]

It’s been a tough stretch for us along the east coast who depend on indoor courts, experiencing back to back to back snow events. We did have an unusual 60 degree day, when I took out the ball machine. My facilities’ indoor bubble collapsed during the first storm, opened for a couple weeks, and now closed again with a broken heater.

I definitely want to get out more as I’ve really enjoyed my time with the new Clash. Haven’t used my 98v1 at all. I have the v3 Pro and the SW is low, so I added 3g of head tape and it feels more robust. If the heater is fixed, have Live Ball sessions booked the next 6 weekends.

May try the Gosen Sidewinder at some point. Don’t usually play co/poly but this is supposed to be soft…and it’s a matching red/orange

I’ve had so much less pain with the v3 Clash (5 sessions over 4 days is unheard of for me!) that I’m exploring hybrids again and I enjoyed Multifeel mains and YPTAir crosses instead of my usual full bed of MF, so if you can get your hands on Air it seems to be elbow friendly, though that may not be why you don’t usually play copoly, just guessing on my part.

 

[Ombudsman]

@ChanterRacquet Yes, the comfort is outrageous.

I don’t play co/poly because of arm issues. I stay mainly with multis and specifically Technifibre x1 or NRG2. Only reason I’m considering the Sidewinder is 1) heard Clash plays well with shaped strings and 2) it’s soft (153), and 3) let’s be honest, it’s a matching red/orange.

 

[Mike T]

Wilson Clash 100 V3 review update. First stringing I used TW provided Luxilon ECO Power 17/1.25 at 55 pounds. The review was posted 2/7/25. I had it strung with the second string set provided by TW, Wilson NXT Comfort 16/1.30 the same day. After reading numerous posts that stringing the Clash in the 44–50-pound range produces excellent results, I had it strung @46 pounds.
Power and control improved greatly. Power was easy and can be dialed up or down at will. Small targets and passing shots are simple to execute.
Topspin and slice are enhanced. Topspin keeps the ball in when I thought I had hit the ball out. You can work the base line with accuracy and shots you think are going to be out will be just in. Slice comes easy with little effort. The ball is low over the net and placed with accuracy.
Comfort is exceptional and the feel of the ball on the strings let me know when I connected well. Off center shots created no discomfort.
With serve, this combination has improved my serve and I have developed a kick that I did not have before.
When the strings go... they go. After about 15 hours the racket with this string becomes much less predictable and less playable. One day it was playable, the next not so much.

 

[Nadal - GOAT]

Wilson Clash 100 V3 review update. First stringing I used TW provided Luxilon ECO Power 17/1.25 at 55 pounds. The review was posted 2/7/25. I had it strung with the second string set provided by TW, Wilson NXT Comfort 16/1.30 the same day. After reading numerous posts that stringing the Clash in the 44–50-pound range produces excellent results, I had it strung @46 pounds.
Power and control improved greatly. Power was easy and can be dialed up or down at will. Small targets and passing shots are simple to execute.
Topspin and slice are enhanced. Topspin keeps the ball in when I thought I had hit the ball out. You can work the base line with accuracy and shots you think are going to be out will be just in. Slice comes easy with little effort. The ball is low over the net and placed with accuracy.
Comfort is exceptional and the feel of the ball on the strings let me know when I connected well. Off center shots created no discomfort.
With serve, this combination has improved my serve and I have developed a kick that I did not have before.
When the strings go... they go. After about 15 hours the racket with this string becomes much less predictable and less playable. One day it was playable, the next not so much.

I always assumed multifilament showed be strung at 50+ at least preferably closer to 55. Don't they spray at low tensions?

What are your thoughts on gut/poly hybrid with gut mains on clash? How do you think they will play? I play with gut/poly in Pure Aero and they generate good depth and top spin while lasting a long time. You think I can expect similar performance from them on clash?

 

[mmazzinin1]

They do not spray. In the Clash v1, i string at 48/49 lbs and it is good