Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Wilson Labs Shift Prototype

My Wilson Shift (300g) Review

String and tension used for test: Maymi Big Spin/Tour Hex at 47/44 lbs. The mains provide lots of spin and are soft, while the crosses are great for control and tension maintenance. In general this is an almost mushy string setup that inspires confidence to take fast swings at the ball.
Tennis experience/background: SR 4.0-4.5. Tennis became my main sport as an adult, after I stopped playing basketball. My partners range from 3.5 to almost 5.0 (my main and favourite).
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Aggressive baseliner + prefered singles player. 1HBH. Flat, hard, deep strokes on both wings. Attacking/first strike tennis, adept of taking control of the point and changing the direction of the ball. I can hit winners from anywhere on the court(including the baseline) and I'm better returning than serving.
Current racquet/string setups: For the last 9 months I've been moving from the heavy 345g RF97A to lighter racquets, 305g and settled on Blade Pro v8 16x19, challenged now by the Shift 300 for #1 in my bag. The rest of my favourite racquets are in my sig, but it's been hard to put the Blade Pro down and now the Shift 300...

Coming from Blade Pro (same string), I couldn't settle on playing the Shift 300 stock for more than a couple of shots, b/c, while a nice racquet, it was too headlight (not enough swing weight for me) and as such no easy power.
But after adding 3g at 12 o'clock plus a double tape head guard and big damper (with an additional overgrip and rubber ring) the SW increased to about 325, while the static weight is 331g, strung and these modifications make a great racquet, imo.

I am happy that I didn't go for the Shift 315g though, as it seems that the 315 version has a too high SW for me, while the 300 model is easy to modify.

How many hours did you play with the racquet? So far, 5 hours (also we had a power outage at the club for the last 3 days due to an ice storm), but I might post additional updates later on.

-Groundstrokes:
This racquet has great power, spin and it's very good at generating angles, plus it's stable and makes it easy to take full cuts at the ball.

Sure I can hit harder FHs with the Blade Pro, if I have time to line up ("BP being easy to swing once you start it- hence you get some easy power"), but I think that on average I hit harder with the Shift 300, due to its maneuverability and never getting tired, or seldom being late.
The forehands also seemed to have more top spin to them and the FH is a very consistent shot, controlled, especially against lower ranked players. Where it shines though, on FH shots, is the angles you can create, IO from both corners of the court or from the center, including against 2 of my coaches.
Also any short ball is punished and put away easily with the FH with this racquet. Very easy to change directions also (and go hard DTL). The spin is the thing that keeps those shots in court and it's almost like shooting fish in a barrel.
It's also easy enough to absorb power with this frame and probably easier to counter punch than with the Blade Pro.

Where this racquet excels though is on the 1HBHs as I was able to hit a decent percentage of winners, even against 2 coaches (mine and a new one), primarily CC, with flat shots and at times also crazy angled. Or inducing an error out of them on that side. Disclaimer: of course they let me attack first/control the point so it wasn't an even contest, yet they liked my CC BHs a lot and even asked how I managed to hit those angled winners.
It's also easy to run around the 1HBH and hit FHs with the Shift 300.
I haven't managed to hit hard enough (and while changing direction in the rallies) DTL 1HBHs though.

Dropshots(especially BH ones) and overheads are also good with this racquet.

-Serves:
Serves are good, both flat and sliced. Consistent and relatively easy to hit the spots. I think that the Blade Pro is better on the serve though.

-Volleys: Volleys are solid with this racquet. It's a maneuverable racquet (despite the thick beam), even with the added weight in the hoop so it was easy enough to put the racquet on balls. It is also stable enough for volleying hard shots.

-Serve returns:
Serve returns are great and I think that they are better than with the Blade Pro and even have more power. It's probably due to the fact that I don't have to abbreviate my swings as much for returns with the Shift as I need to do with the Blade Pro.
Case in point I tried to switch back to the Blade Pro for one return game and a couple of my returns (that were easy with the Shift 300) wouldn't cross the net, b/c I didn't have time to swing properly.
Well, not a good idea to switch racquets in the middle of a set, but after going back to the Shift my returns were decent again.

Power/Control- Like stated above, I hit harder FHs on average with the Shift 300 than with the Blade Pro. It is because of maneuverability of the lighter head Shift (even modded) and the spin it generates.
The 1HBHs are similar to the Blade Pro in terms of power, but seem more consistent (again probably due to the spin).

The control is helped not only by the spin, but amazingly by how easy you can make angles with this racquet and don't miss much.

Very easy power with this racquet. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't feel the need to have "a low to high swing path to control the power" as I usually finish around the body(And almost never over the shoulder. Granted, around the body is still "low to high swing path" lol) and in general I don't feel the need to control the power, with this racquet and string setup (poly/poly hybrid). The mains provide lots of spin and are soft, while the crosses are great for control and tension maintenance. In general this is an almost mushy string setup that inspires confidence to take full swings at the ball, fast. Combine this with a powerful, spinny racquet, that apparently also twists in both directions (hence the name Shift), maneuverable (more so than the Blade Pro) and you have a winner.

Top Spin/Slice- I already mentioned above how the top spin, on one hand, helps tame the power/keep the balls in play, while on the other hand allows one to make crazy angles, even on powerful shots. The slices are also great and although I haven't done too many, I don't remember losing slice exchanges (with the 1HBH I mean, as I don't slice the FH).

Comfort- During play, I did not experience any discomfort using this racquet, only a small twinge in my elbow, for a few minutes after a hard hitting session with a new coach. I'll have to keep an eye on it in the future, but again, it only happened once, briefly. I play with a dampener and with soft poly in the mains and relatively soft ones in the crosses strung fresh at 47/44 lbs.
I'm also a tad surprised that I could play with an L3 in this frame, as opposed to my regular L4, without telling the difference. So, comfortable grip shape.

Feel- For a stiff racquet (as per its specs), powerful and spin oriented, the Shift has a decent feel. I think the Blade Pro wins feel wise. For example I do drop shot returns with the 1HBHs on first serves with the Blade Pro (granted in doubles, in the alley), something that I wasn't inspired to do with the Shift(at least not so far).

Maneuverability- It is very maneuverable for ground strokes and service returns and also volleys. Definitely easier to swing than the Blade Pro (even after adding weight to the hoop of the Shift) and that makes the Shift, ultimately a winner, in my books .
Maybe it is not as maneuverable on the serves though,

Stability- For a light frame (300g stock and about 315g modded unstrung and 331g strung), the Shift is surprisingly stable. More stable than my Artengo Tour Control TR960 and the PKs in my sig but less stable than the BP v8.
I can't say this is a big surprise for me, as it was (besides power and control) the only other argument to make it a contender against the Blade Pro.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
I'll keep hitting with this frame and it looks that it will probably replace the Blade Pro v8 16x19 as my main stick. My main worry is where to get a second Shift as one is not enough with sweaty hands. It is not ideal to stop in the middle of a hit with a coach to take 2 minutes to replace an overgrip...
Unlike one poster here, I found the Shift 300 to be very similar to Blade Pro, but a feisty and easier to swing cousin (as another owner friend put it).
Maybe Wilson Labs should consider increasing the SW of the Shift 300 to 320 strung?

Overall, this lovely frame excels on most shots (not sure about the serve yet) in terms of power, spin, angles and stability, plus it's easy to swing.
I'm also passing impressions from my friends that I've let it try it and it seems that if you are 3.5, then you better be strong build (otherwise you won't be able to yield it, nor the Blade Pro), but if you are almost 5.0 (and also strong build), you'll absolutely love the the Shift 300, even for club championship matches, much more than the Blade Pro v8 16x19, b/c the Shift 300 is easy to "come over"/swing fast and "one can feel that right away".
Thank you Wilson Labs and TW for this new great addition and for letting me try it! I ended up loving it...
 
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My Wilson Shift 315 review

String and tension used for test: Kirshbaum super smash orange 1.23 @ 45 lbs

Tennis experience/background: I am 60 year old 4.5 level player and also coach

Describe your playing style- mostly defensive/counterpunch style with topspin forehand and mostly slice backhand 1hbh. Hit topspin bh on passing shots mostly.

Current racquet/string setups: Prestige MP 18x20 graphene with poly star energy 18 gauge. I have been feeling this racquet is too underpowered for some time now but it’s hard for me to give up the great control

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
Around 3 hours

-Groundstrokes: I initially brought out the shift to some hitting/rallying sessions with some other racquets just to get a feel for how it hit. My initial impressions were mostly ambivalent nothing felt particularly great or bad. The next time I brought only the shift and played a practice match. With this racquet I was hoping to get more power than my prestige and still good control with the 18x20 pattern. I could not seem to gel with this racquet at all. My forehand felt sluggish and I wasn’t able to hit anywhere near what I am capable of. I normally am not a fan of the pure aero line of racquets but at least with those i can feel a tremendous boost in power that I felt none of in the shift. I figured that my 1hbh probably wouldn’t be great with the larger head size and swing weight and i again couldn’t gel with feel/weight and balance on my 1hbh.

-Serves: serves felt very low powered and weak. felt my RHS was down. The serve was the one shot i was really hoping would have more access to easy power.
Volleys: volleys felt crisp and stable for the most part
-Serve returns: very similar to ground strokes didn’t feel comfortable to take bigger rips at the returns and mostly blocked them back

Power/Control- i was expecting to feel quite a bit more power with this racquet but to me it felt low powered. Control was quite good.
Top Spin/Slice- the weight and balance and beam made it more difficult for me to generate RHS and hence I was getting less topspin and slice than normal

Comfort- felt on the stiff side but nothing uncomfortable or any arm pains
Feel- stiff racquet and full bed of poly probably contributed to a slightly harsher feel than I am used to, wasn’t a super pleasant feeling racquet for me.
Maneuverability- I prefer slightly thinner and smaller head size and very head light so the shift felt somewhat cumbersome to move around quickly through the air
Stability- felt very stable even on off center hits

I honestly never expected to be picked for this play test and it’s the first one I’ve done.
I’m very grateful for the opportunity.
I know that it takes time to adjust to a new racquet and I can rule out many racquets just from the specs - this one on paper was close to what I have been looking for however I just didn’t gel with it unfortunately.
 
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Wilson Shift 300 Review

String and tension used for test: Head Hawk Touch 17g (1.25) @ 54 lbs, no weight added
Tennis experience/background: Playing for about 6 years now, around 4.0, college club player
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): baseliner/counterpuncher, more driving and linear shots. Eastern forehand, two-handed backhand
Current racquet/string setups: Head Speed MP 360, 360+, 2022 w/ Head Hawk Touch usually between 52-54 lbs. Static weights are greater than 330.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 15 or so hours. Singles, doubles, practices, coaching

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: I personally think this racquet gelled well with my strokes as it didn’t have a high launch angle. Compared to my Speeds, the Shift has slightly denser string spacing between the mains and crosses. It went well with my flatter shots and didn’t sail too much. Because of the lighter weight and head light balance, I could bring the racquet around easier and hit some more angled shots.
-Serves: A good racquet for serving but the weight sometimes throws me off. After a brief adjustment period, I can still hit flat bombs or slices out wide or kickers. If anything, adjusting to the light weight allows me to add more racquet head speed and spin. I could hit my spots pretty well too - not too many double faults haha
-Volleys: Surprisingly solid for how light and head light it feels. The weight helps a lot with reflex volleys. I don’t spend too much time at the net but I didn’t find too much difficulty doing what I needed to do with it. Point and shoot. More will be mentioned later.
-Serve returns: Even with the lighter weight, it didn’t mean I could take a swing at serve returns. A short take back and follow through and trying to get it in the sweet spot was sufficient. Usually when I would swing a bit bigger, I would mishit or swing early causing the ball to go wide. Against big servers though, it was lacking in stability.



Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- A decent blend between power and control. I was interested in this racquet at first because it was pretty similar to my Speeds (100 vs 99 sq in, 23 vs 23.5 mm beam, 300 g stock weight). However, I would say it offered more control than power. Compared to my Speeds, I found that hitting with the Shift my shots would land mid court more often and wouldn’t bounce as far. I wouldn’t miss as often though.
Top Spin/Slice- Slice on this frame was pretty nice. The denser pattern kept slices low and skidding off the court. The lighter weight allowed for a bit of extra wrist action in tough situations. Topspin was average I would say. I have an eastern forehand and flatter backhand so I had to emphasize brushing up on the ball rather than going through it sometimes to get the effect I wanted.
Comfort- I thought the Shift was average to a bit less than average in comfort. From the first hit, I thought that the sweet spot was small. Over time, as the strings broke in, the sweet spot opened up but still smaller compared to my Speeds. Off-center shots were somewhat jarring too.
Feel- The feel of this racquet is interesting. Off-center shots feel a bit boardy and the sweet spot has close to just the perfect amount of ball pocketing. When hit in the sweet spot, (it may be in my head after reading the technology behind the racket) but I could feel the racquet flex in multiple directions. This sensation wasn’t too strong but it was just something to note. A slight extra connection to the ball.
Maneuverability- A strong suit of this racquet. Very maneuverable. I had to swing harder to produce the same pace as my Speeds, but I could manipulate it in ways that I could not with my Speeds. This was a decent stick in doubles as I could hit reflex volleys well. Great for coaching too.
Stability- Surprisingly stable for its weight but could be more stable. I found that I was hitting the sweet spot often at the baseline and at the net, but any time it was off-center, the power dropped off and sometimes would get a jarring/vibrating sensation. Against bigger hitters, I would add some weight (or I just need to practice more)

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
Overall I was pleased with this racquet. It’s not something I would switch to though (yet haha). I like the maneuverability but I thought the light weight caused it to suffer a bit in the stability department. Hitting against bigger hitters were more difficult and result in shorter and slower landing balls compared to my Speeds. I thought it would offer more power but maybe I need to play with it more. As of right now, for me to like it more, I would want it to offer a bit more free spin, power, and comfort on off center shots.
NorCal had a lot of rain so I didn’t play with it as much as I would have liked to. I plan to play with it more and weight it up and give more thoughts though (it looks like the rain is finally gone).
 
austintennis2005 said:
My Wilson Shift 315 review

String and tension used for test: Kirshbaum super smash orange 1.23 @ 45 lbs

Tennis experience/background: I am 60 year old 4.5 level player and also coach

Describe your playing style- mostly defensive/counterpunch style with topspin forehand and mostly slice backhand 1hbh. Hit topspin bh on passing shots mostly.

Current racquet/string setups: Prestige MP 18x20 graphene with poly tour energy 18 gauge. I have been feeling this racquet is too underpowered for some time now but it’s hard for me to give up the great control

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
Around 3 hours

-Groundstrokes: I initially brought out the shift to some hitting/rallying sessions with some other racquets just to get a feel for how it hit. My initial impressions were mostly ambivalent nothing felt particularly great or bad. The next time I brought only the shift and played a practice match. With this racquet I was hoping to get more power than my prestige and still good control with the 18x20 pattern. I could not seem to gel with this racquet at all. My forehand felt sluggish and I wasn’t able to hit anywhere near what I am capable of. I normally am not a fan of the pure aero line of racquets but at least with those i can feel a tremendous boost in power that I felt none of in the shift. I figured that my 1hbh probably wouldn’t be great with the larger head size and swing weight and i again couldn’t gel with feel/weight and balance on my 1hbh.

-Serves: serves felt very low powered and weak. felt my RHS was down. The serve was the one shot i was really hoping would have more access to easy power.
Volleys: volleys felt crisp and stable for the most part
-Serve returns: very similar to ground strokes didn’t feel comfortable to take bigger rips at the returns and mostly blocked them back

Power/Control- i was expecting to feel quite a bit more power with this racquet but to me it felt low powered. Control was quite good.
Top Spin/Slice- the weight and balance and beam made it more difficult for me to generate RHS and hence I was getting less topspin and slice than normal

Comfort- felt on the stiff side but nothing uncomfortable or any arm pains
Feel- stiff racquet and full bed of poly probably contributed to a slightly harsher feel than I am used to, wasn’t a super pleasant feeling racquet for me.
Maneuverability- I prefer slightly thinner and smaller head size and very head light so the shift felt somewhat cumbersome to move around quickly through the air
Stability- felt very stable even on off center hits

I honestly never expected to be picked for this play test and it’s the first one I’ve done.
I’m very grateful for the opportunity.
I know that it takes time to adjust to a new racquet and I can rule out many racquets just from the specs - this one on paper was close to what I have been looking for however I just didn’t gel with it unfortunately.
Click to expand...
what's poly tour energy? Is that some new string from Yonex? Or did you mean to type PolyStar Energy?
 
A_Instead said:
Continued from above..

Playability: Easy racket to use, fun to play with. More performance based than the Clash. Similar to the Ultra but much healthier to use. (IMO the Ultra lost its way after the 2.0 line. Perhaps the Ultra should sunset and let the Shift take its place) The Shift 300G also offers more spin with control. Performance right in the middle between the Clash and Ultra. It will suite Intermediate players fine. If you need to add much weight, then go with the 315.
Groundstrokes: Swings light, a good trait or bad or indifferent depending on your requirement. (I will add 2 grams at high noon simply to bring up the swing weight for heft) The Shift tends to favor those who take the ball slightly early. Its not a dedicated “spin” racket yet permits a decent dose of spin with not much effort. Flatter shots don’t fly. I didn’t have to focus on adding spin to keep the ball in. I could amp up the spin without much effort, but I liked that I didn’t have to focus on spin to keep the ball in.
The Shift is more predicable than the Clash. Less Pop, but more power and control. I didn’t have many issues hitting deep balls with penetration. While I can hit bigger balls with other rackets.. There is no shame in the Shift.
It suited my forehand pretty much without many adjustments. Backhand, my weakest side I seemed to revert to slice more often than not. But that’s me, not the Shift.
Sweet spot size was fine, not small, not to big either. Balls hit middle to lower part of the string bed seemed to feel better and offered greater depth. Balls in the top section of the head where mostly I hit it seemed ok. 3 grams at noon will help with that.
The 99 inch head played more like a 100 inch racket than it did a 98 inch head racket. Offering a “99” is marketing IMO. Niche head size offers additional opportunity for promotion and separation from others.
The 16x20 string pattern is a nice feature. That extra cross firms up the string bed a little and offers a little more control. I didn’t see any lack of spin production with it compared to a similar 16x19.
Serves: My serve has been whack lately as the season is early. I prefer heavier rackets to serve with as they help with follow through, pace and ball penetration. The Shift 300G was noble at serving. I could really whip it through the contact zone very easily and twist my wrist to hit a variety of serves with pace with ease. I really liked how I could easily change pace and variety of serve without much focus. Some rackets just don’t offer a range. I could easily hit very wide and up in the box serves on the deuce side. The mobility helped with that. I will add slight weight at noon to help with heft and tip rotation someday.
Volleys: Approach tennis is a lost art IMO, effective volleys can be that one or two shots in a match that can determine the outcome. Shifts easy mobility enable easy volleys even when ones foundation was not perfect. Sure, it didn’t volley as well as a racket with more weight. But with a little training and focus on proper volleying technique the Shift would check that box
Serve returns: With its high mobility and ease of swing the Shift can be positioned very rapidly for proper returns. Both offensive and defensive returns. I did not know notice much wobble against any opponent. I did like how I can step in and take a wimpy second serve and direct the ball to any location I wanted to. It wasn’t as launchy as the Clash
Power/Control: I rate the power to control ratio to be good. The Shift 300G enables the user to hit a ball with pace with amble control. Its not a rocket launcher, it’s not a Blade. and it not a Clash either where one must scratch their heads after some shots. Lower tension with poly in the 40’s work very good in the Shift. Good ball pocketing. I read on other reviews that higher tension was not to favorable in the Shift. Someday I will try a hybrid string set up. If my wife decides to annex from me, she will go full multi. I can see the Shift handling those string set ups as well. Its sting flexibility will be better than the Clash. It’s not a rocket launcher. It has decent pop with the balls coming out of the string bed. It doesn’t produce a overly heavy ball but depth was fine.
Top Spin/Slice: Top spin came easy, while not a spin only model (which is a good thing as its opens it up to a bigger audience) spin application came very easily. The added main seems to help with control while not limiting spin. Backhand slice which I tend to overuse as it becomes a bailout shoot for me and the Shift 300G was fine with slice. I didn’t notice any floating. If any errant shots did come off the string bed., that’s on me.
Comfort: A absolute requirement of mine. I cannot use any racket that effects my sleep with either hand, wrist, arm and top or bottom elbow pain. In most rackets the silent stiffness catches up to me. (Meaning there is no indication of pain or soreness while playing). Shift. NO issues. I was happy about that as it was fine even using in the chilly weather and balls that felt like bricks with my stroke technique.
Feel: It’s hard for me articulate feel objectively as feel is such a personal and subjective trait. It has that Wilson feel. It didn’t feel harsh or brassy with the tensions and string that I used. It didn’t feel hollow. Neutral is best the description. I doubt “feel” was a design requirement Wilson was trying to achieve. It’s doesn’t have a Blade feel, nor Clash. It has its own identity which is OK by me.
It’s dampened. Not overly muted. I liked the feel with my typical strings/tension and TW worm dampener
Maneuverability: I liked how easy the Shift 300G was to swing on all shots, Serve, forehands, backhands, overheads, chips, cuts, volleys etc. Almost too easy to swing as I was early on my forehands and serves initially… buts that’s me not the Shift. I welcome that its swing weight is lower in stock form and always can be increased very easily and not expensive.
The Shift’s maneuverability will lend itself to be enjoyed by many more players as IMO must players prefer a racket that is easy to swing which translates in to easy to use.
Stability- I did not notice any issues with wobble. I hit the ball pretty clean which helps. For its weight range its find. I also don’t play against players who hit serves at 120 mph nor groundies in the 90’s. If stability becomes an issue with you with the 300G, then I suggest you try the 315G.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
I always give praise to any manufacture who actually introduces new rackets lines. Wilson seems to do that the best.. I call it innovation. And another example of that from Wilson is the Shift. It’s a cool racket. Nothing like it. A good thing..
While I doubt the Shift 300G will be used on either Tours but that’s not Wilsons intent with the Shift 300G. Its made for those nonprofessional tennis players who inspire to be the best and the Shift is a worthy option to meet that requirement. Will they sell a lot of Shifts.. Yes I think they will. It’s a noble and worthy approach. It could bring more market share to Wilson and should not impede much on any other Wilson line. Likely it will pull from the Class. Yet at the same time create a new segment with in Wilson’s line up to capture shares..If you wanna be a Champion and be the best you can be.. Purchase a Shift in any format and hit the courts and play like there is no tomorrow. DM me if you need too.. Time to end now cause I am rambling.. and I’d rather be playing.
Click to expand...
I have many of the same experiences and thoughts of the 300. Appreciate your comment about tension sensitivity as I did not have a good experience with HyperG soft 17g at 52. Once I shifted to a pocketing hybrid setup based on Confidential and HDMX. I'm enjoying the abilities the racquet affords me, coming from a very control oriented frame and 328 SW.
 
cd3768 said:
Wilson Shift 300 Review

String and tension used for test: Head Hawk Touch 17g (1.25) @ 54 lbs, no weight added
Tennis experience/background: Playing for about 6 years now, around 4.0, college club player
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): baseliner/counterpuncher, more driving and linear shots. Eastern forehand, two-handed backhand
Current racquet/string setups: Head Speed MP 360, 360+, 2022 w/ Head Hawk Touch usually between 52-54 lbs. Static weights are greater than 330.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 15 or so hours. Singles, doubles, practices, coaching

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: I personally think this racquet gelled well with my strokes as it didn’t have a high launch angle. Compared to my Speeds, the Shift has slightly denser string spacing between the mains and crosses. It went well with my flatter shots and didn’t sail too much. Because of the lighter weight and head light balance, I could bring the racquet around easier and hit some more angled shots.
-Serves: A good racquet for serving but the weight sometimes throws me off. After a brief adjustment period, I can still hit flat bombs or slices out wide or kickers. If anything, adjusting to the light weight allows me to add more racquet head speed and spin. I could hit my spots pretty well too - not too many double faults haha
-Volleys: Surprisingly solid for how light and head light it feels. The weight helps a lot with reflex volleys. I don’t spend too much time at the net but I didn’t find too much difficulty doing what I needed to do with it. Point and shoot. More will be mentioned later.
-Serve returns: Even with the lighter weight, it didn’t mean I could take a swing at serve returns. A short take back and follow through and trying to get it in the sweet spot was sufficient. Usually when I would swing a bit bigger, I would mishit or swing early causing the ball to go wide. Against big servers though, it was lacking in stability.



Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- A decent blend between power and control. I was interested in this racquet at first because it was pretty similar to my Speeds (100 vs 99 sq in, 23 vs 23.5 mm beam, 300 g stock weight). However, I would say it offered more control than power. Compared to my Speeds, I found that hitting with the Shift my shots would land mid court more often and wouldn’t bounce as far. I wouldn’t miss as often though.
Top Spin/Slice- Slice on this frame was pretty nice. The denser pattern kept slices low and skidding off the court. The lighter weight allowed for a bit of extra wrist action in tough situations. Topspin was average I would say. I have an eastern forehand and flatter backhand so I had to emphasize brushing up on the ball rather than going through it sometimes to get the effect I wanted.
Comfort- I thought the Shift was average to a bit less than average in comfort. From the first hit, I thought that the sweet spot was small. Over time, as the strings broke in, the sweet spot opened up but still smaller compared to my Speeds. Off-center shots were somewhat jarring too.
Feel- The feel of this racquet is interesting. Off-center shots feel a bit boardy and the sweet spot has close to just the perfect amount of ball pocketing. When hit in the sweet spot, (it may be in my head after reading the technology behind the racket) but I could feel the racquet flex in multiple directions. This sensation wasn’t too strong but it was just something to note. A slight extra connection to the ball.
Maneuverability- A strong suit of this racquet. Very maneuverable. I had to swing harder to produce the same pace as my Speeds, but I could manipulate it in ways that I could not with my Speeds. This was a decent stick in doubles as I could hit reflex volleys well. Great for coaching too.
Stability- Surprisingly stable for its weight but could be more stable. I found that I was hitting the sweet spot often at the baseline and at the net, but any time it was off-center, the power dropped off and sometimes would get a jarring/vibrating sensation. Against bigger hitters, I would add some weight (or I just need to practice more)

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
Overall I was pleased with this racquet. It’s not something I would switch to though (yet haha). I like the maneuverability but I thought the light weight caused it to suffer a bit in the stability department. Hitting against bigger hitters were more difficult and result in shorter and slower landing balls compared to my Speeds. I thought it would offer more power but maybe I need to play with it more. As of right now, for me to like it more, I would want it to offer a bit more free spin, power, and comfort on off center shots.
NorCal had a lot of rain so I didn’t play with it as much as I would have liked to. I plan to play with it more and weight it up and give more thoughts though (it looks like the rain is finally gone).
Click to expand...
I'd really be interested in a update with -2lbs of tension.
 
austintennis2005 said:
My Wilson Shift 315 review

String and tension used for test: Kirshbaum super smash orange 1.23 @ 45 lbs

Tennis experience/background: I am 60 year old 4.5 level player and also coach

Describe your playing style- mostly defensive/counterpunch style with topspin forehand and mostly slice backhand 1hbh. Hit topspin bh on passing shots mostly.

Current racquet/string setups: Prestige MP 18x20 graphene with poly star energy 18 gauge. I have been feeling this racquet is too underpowered for some time now but it’s hard for me to give up the great control

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
Around 3 hours

-Groundstrokes: I initially brought out the shift to some hitting/rallying sessions with some other racquets just to get a feel for how it hit. My initial impressions were mostly ambivalent nothing felt particularly great or bad. The next time I brought only the shift and played a practice match. With this racquet I was hoping to get more power than my prestige and still good control with the 18x20 pattern. I could not seem to gel with this racquet at all. My forehand felt sluggish and I wasn’t able to hit anywhere near what I am capable of. I normally am not a fan of the pure aero line of racquets but at least with those i can feel a tremendous boost in power that I felt none of in the shift. I figured that my 1hbh probably wouldn’t be great with the larger head size and swing weight and i again couldn’t gel with feel/weight and balance on my 1hbh.

-Serves: serves felt very low powered and weak. felt my RHS was down. The serve was the one shot i was really hoping would have more access to easy power.
Volleys: volleys felt crisp and stable for the most part
-Serve returns: very similar to ground strokes didn’t feel comfortable to take bigger rips at the returns and mostly blocked them back

Power/Control- i was expecting to feel quite a bit more power with this racquet but to me it felt low powered. Control was quite good.
Top Spin/Slice- the weight and balance and beam made it more difficult for me to generate RHS and hence I was getting less topspin and slice than normal

Comfort- felt on the stiff side but nothing uncomfortable or any arm pains
Feel- stiff racquet and full bed of poly probably contributed to a slightly harsher feel than I am used to, wasn’t a super pleasant feeling racquet for me.
Maneuverability- I prefer slightly thinner and smaller head size and very head light so the shift felt somewhat cumbersome to move around quickly through the air
Stability- felt very stable even on off center hits

I honestly never expected to be picked for this play test and it’s the first one I’ve done.
I’m very grateful for the opportunity.
I know that it takes time to adjust to a new racquet and I can rule out many racquets just from the specs - this one on paper was close to what I have been looking for however I just didn’t gel with it unfortunately.
Click to expand...
-try to take note on how the racquet flexes on the different shots
-i really believe that "knowing the way the racquet flexes" is the key to understanding this racquet!
-i get/got power and stiffness on the blocking, SHORT SHOTS, IME
-i get/got comfort, lower power, more cradling-sensation on the LONG SHOTS, ie. baseline shots
-i described my experience of both these shots (long, short), the results of both, and the feeling i got from the different shots on my racquet review post
 
Wilson Shift 315g Review.

String and tension used for test: Wilson Sensation at 60/60 lbs. Since the strings are soft, I enjoy using them at a high tension.

Tennis experience/background: 4.0 I have been playing several times each week. Both singles and doubles competitively.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Strong All court player. Pending on the opponent I adjust my style. I have a server around 100+mph.

Current racquet/string setups: I use a Wilson Six.One 95 and Wilson NXT 60lb.

How many hours did you play with the racquet? 10 hours. I have been doing mainly drills and hitting. Looking to post an update once I’ve played matches with it.

Groundstrokes:
The racquet is solid. It reminds me of many headlight frames. It has nice power and easy to maneuver. It glides through easy.
Overall it felt like the racquet could help with rallying, but need to play with big hitters to test the stability.
From what I could tell, the frame provides a nice balance between spin and pace.

Serves:
Serves felt consistent and I could generate racquet head speed. Placement was ok. There was a good amount of spin.

Will update after playing longer matches as I'm trying to evaluate the endurance.

Volleys: Considering the frame is head light, volleys were nice. Overheads were ok. I had some overhitting, but that meant I was rarely hitting the net.

Serve returns: Serve returns were good. Opponents were serving medium speeds, and it felt great. Will try to see if I can get deeper. Felt as if I was using a Pure Drive.

Control: Control was ok. With the string setup, shot placement was solid. It doesn't feel to heavy to swing, letting me time my shots as usual.

Top Spin/Slice: Topspin was good. With it being headlight, spin was easy to generate. Slices are good as well.

Comfort: The racquet felt very comfortable with the stated string setup. If I experiment with poly, I will likely feel discomfort when having mishits. Also will need to update on how the comfort may lessen as I add lead.
The good thing about the racquet being headlight is that it saves from having to apply lead in the handle to have this effect, which can feel too dense.

Feel: The feel was good. It was headlight, so there was less time for the ball to dwell on the strings. Having tighter strings helped in this area a bit.

Maneuverability: The racquet has excellent maneuverability. It helped with generating topspin. Also was solid for put away volleying.

Stability: Overall, the frame felt stable, but need to test against more flat hitters. In the future, I was thinking to add lead in two different locations. At the 12 to make the frame more balance, and 3 and 9 o clock for a larger sweet spot.


General reaction/comments on overall performance:
It was a great pleasure to be part of the playtest. Thank you again TW and Wilson.

I recommend this racquet for all levels due to the strengths and the weight
 
@Pronate
“Stability: Overall, the frame felt stable, but need to test against more flat hitters. In the future, I was thinking to add lead in two different locations. At the 12 to make the frame more balance, and 3 and 9 o clock for a larger sweet spot.”

Flat hitters aren’t a good test of a racquet’s stability. Hitting with players who generate a lot of topspin and penetration on the the ball is a better test of a racquet’s stability.
 
time_fly said:
I am not a playtester, but there's a good chance that I have a Shift 300g and its unstrung specs are 299g, almost 11pt HL, and 270 SW. The swingweight in particular is surprisingly low; the lowest I've measured since getting a Briffidi SW1 device. Fortunately as a not-a-playtester, I would be able to stick lead all over it immediately.
Click to expand...
A second Shift 300g I just measured is 299g, 10.5 pt HL, and 275 SW. So the specs are remarkably consistent, just not quite what I would have wanted in terms of balance and swingweight. Looks like the lead fairy will be visiting again. If this is how the prototypes are, I think the final version of the lighter Shift should be 305g with the extra 5 grams in the tip relative to these prototypes. Then it will be about right. I don't mind the weight of the 315g version, but I'm more of a 16 mains kind of player so I hope they get the 16x20 to a more mainstream spec.

Aside from the absurdly light swingweight the racquet plays well. I appreciate the firmer feel on flat swings and better dwell time when hitting spin.
 
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Fintft said:
I think that the grips run a bit large: i.e. L3 feels like an L4.
Click to expand...
I initially felt this too, but found out that the stock base grip is very loosely wrapped (at least it was on mine). I re-wrapped it while pulling on the grip very tightly as I was doing so, trimmed the excess at the end, and now it feels like a normal L3.
 
Fintft said:
My Wilson Shift (300g) Review

String and tension used for test: Maymi Big Spin/Tour Hex at 47/44 lbs. The mains provide lots of spin and are soft, while the crosses are great for control and tension maintenance. In general this is an almost mushy string setup that inspires confidence to take fast swings at the ball.
Tennis experience/background: SR 4.0-4.5. Tennis became my main sport as an adult, after I stopped playing basketball. My partners range from 3.5 to almost 5.0 (my main and favourite).
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Aggressive baseliner + prefered singles player. 1HBH. Flat, hard, deep strokes on both wings. Attacking/first strike tennis, adept of taking control of the point and changing the direction of the ball. I can hit winners from anywhere on the court(including the baseline) and I'm better returning than serving.
Current racquet/string setups: For the last 9 months I've been moving from the heavy 345g RF97A to lighter racquets, 305g and settled on Blade Pro v8 16x19, challenged now by the Shift 300 for #1 in my bag. The rest of my favourite racquets are in my sig, but it's been hard to put the Blade Pro down and now the Shift 300...

Coming from Blade Pro (same string), I couldn't settle on playing the Shift 300 stock for more than a couple of shots, b/c, while a nice racquet, it was too headlight (not enough swing weight for me) and as such no easy power.
But after adding 3g at 12 o'clock plus a double tape head guard and big damper (with an additional overgrip and rubber ring) the SW increased to about 325, while the static weight is 331g, strung and these modifications make a great racquet, imo.

I am happy that I didn't go for the Shift 315g though, as it seems that the 315 version has a too high SW for me, while the 300 model is easy to modify.

How many hours did you play with the racquet? So far, 5 hours (also we had a power outage at the club for the last 3 days due to an ice storm), but I might post additional updates later on.

-Groundstrokes:
This racquet has great power, spin and it's very good at generating angles, plus it's stable and makes it easy to take full cuts at the ball.

Sure I can hit harder FHs with the Blade Pro, if I have time to line up ("BP being easy to swing once you start it- hence you get some easy power"), but I think that on average I hit harder with the Shift 300, due to its maneuverability and never getting tired, or seldom being late.
The forehands also seemed to have more top spin to them and the FH is a very consistent shot, controlled, especially against lower ranked players. Where it shines though, on FH shots, is the angles you can create, IO from both corners of the court or from the center, including against 2 of my coaches.
Also any short ball is punished and put away easily with the FH with this racquet. Very easy to change directions also (and go hard DTL). The spin is the thing that keeps those shots in court and it's almost like shooting fish in a barrel.
It's also easy enough to absorb power with this frame and probably easier to counter punch than with the Blade Pro.

Where this racquet excels though is on the 1HBHs as I was able to hit a decent percentage of winners, even against 2 coaches (mine and a new one), primarily CC, with flat shots and at times also crazy angled. Or inducing an error out of them on that side. Disclaimer: of course they let me attack first/control the point so it wasn't an even contest, yet they liked my CC BHs a lot and even asked how I managed to hit those angled winners.
It's also easy to run around the 1HBH and hit FHs with the Shift 300.
I haven't managed to hit hard enough (and while changing direction in the rallies) DTL 1HBHs though.

Dropshots(especially BH ones) and overheads are also good with this racquet.

-Serves:
Serves are good, both flat and sliced. Consistent and relatively easy to hit the spots. I think that the Blade Pro is better on the serve though.

-Volleys: Volleys are solid with this racquet. It's a maneuverable racquet (despite the thick beam), even with the added weight in the hoop so it was easy enough to put the racquet on balls. It is also stable enough for volleying hard shots.

-Serve returns:
Serve returns are great and I think that they are better than with the Blade Pro and even have more power. It's probably due to the fact that I don't have to abbreviate my swings as much for returns with the Shift as I need to do with the Blade Pro.
Case in point I tried to switch back to the Blade Pro for one return game and a couple of my returns (that were easy with the Shift 300) wouldn't cross the net, b/c I didn't have time to swing properly.
Well, not a good idea to switch racquets in the middle of a set, but after going back to the Shift my returns were decent again.

Power/Control- Like stated above, I hit harder FHs on average with the Shift 300 than with the Blade Pro. It is because of maneuverability of the lighter head Shift (even modded) and the spin it generates.
The 1HBHs are similar to the Blade Pro in terms of power, but seem more consistent (again probably due to the spin).

The control is helped not only by the spin, but amazingly by how easy you can make angles with this racquet and don't miss much.

Very easy power with this racquet. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't feel the need to have "a low to high swing path to control the power" as I usually finish around the body(And almost never over the shoulder. Granted, around the body is still "low to high swing path" lol) and in general I don't feel the need to control the power, with this racquet and string setup (poly/poly hybrid). The mains provide lots of spin and are soft, while the crosses are great for control and tension maintenance. In general this is an almost mushy string setup that inspires confidence to take full swings at the ball, fast. Combine this with a powerful, spinny racquet, that apparently also twists in both directions (hence the name Shift), maneuverable (more so than the Blade Pro) and you have a winner.

Top Spin/Slice- I already mentioned above how the top spin, on one hand, helps tame the power/keep the balls in play, while on the other hand allows one to make crazy angles, even on powerful shots. The slices are also great and although I haven't done too many, I don't remember losing slice exchanges (with the 1HBH I mean, as I don't slice the FH).

Comfort- During play, I did not experience any discomfort using this racquet, only a small twinge in my elbow, for a few minutes after a hard hitting session with a new coach. I'll have to keep an eye on it in the future, but again, it only happened once, briefly. I play with a dampener and with soft poly in the mains and relatively soft ones in the crosses strung fresh at 47/44 lbs.
I'm also a tad surprised that I could play with an L3 in this frame, as opposed to my regular L4, without telling the difference. So, comfortable grip shape.

Feel- For a stiff racquet (as per its specs), powerful and spin oriented, the Shift has a decent feel. I think the Blade Pro wins feel wise. For example I do drop shot returns with the 1HBHs on first serves with the Blade Pro (granted in doubles, in the alley), something that I wasn't inspired to do with the Shift(at least not so far).

Maneuverability- It is very maneuverable for ground strokes and service returns and also volleys. Definitely easier to swing than the Blade Pro (even after adding weight to the hoop of the Shift) and that makes the Shift, ultimately a winner, in my books .
Maybe it is not as maneuverable on the serves though,

Stability- For a light frame (300g stock and about 315g modded unstrung and 331g strung), the Shift is surprisingly stable. More stable than my Artengo Tour Control TR960 and the PKs in my sig but less stable than the BP v8.
I can't say this is a big surprise for me, as it was (besides power and control) the only other argument to make it a contender against the Blade Pro.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
I'll keep hitting with this frame and it looks that it will probably replace the Blade Pro v8 16x19 as my main stick. My main worry is where to get a second Shift as one is not enough with sweaty hands. It is not ideal to stop in the middle of a hit with a coach to take 2 minutes to replace an overgrip...
Unlike one poster here, I found the Shift 300 to be very similar to Blade Pro, but a feisty and easier to swing cousin (as another owner friend put it).
Maybe Wilson Labs should consider increasing the SW of the Shift 300 to 320 strung?

Overall, this lovely frame excels on most shots (not sure about the serve yet) in terms of power, spin, angles and stability, plus it's easy to swing.
I'm also passing impressions from my friends that I've let it try it and it seems that if you are 3.5, then you better be strong build (otherwise you won't be able to yield it, nor the Blade Pro), but if you are almost 5.0 (and also strong build), you'll absolutely love the the Shift 300, even for club championship matches, much more than the Blade Pro v8 16x19, b/c the Shift 300 is easy to "come over"/swing fast and "one can feel that right away".
Thank you Wilson Labs and TW for this new great addition and for letting me try it! I ended up loving it...
Click to expand...
Agree on this very much so although I found to prefer the BP on return of service for returning first serves with pace. I need to add some lead to the 300 and see how I like it!
 
BBender716 said:
Agree on this very much so although I found to prefer the BP on return of service for returning first serves with pace. I need to add some lead to the 300 and see how I like it!
Click to expand...
I couldn't hit much with it, before adding 3g at 12 o'clock, a double head protection tape (thick beam) and a big dampener, pushing the SW to an estimated 325 (with overgrip and rubber ring as well) and the static weight to 331g strung.
But with those 3g added, it is the best racquet I own atm and I prefer it to the Blade Pro v8 (same static weight, but a SW of about 335), including just now after a 2h hit against my coach. Asked her opinion and she felt the same.
 
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I played a practice match last night with the Shift 300g and was on fire with it. In theory we had a 7.0 vs. 8.0 mismatch with me and another strong USTA 3.5 against two guys from our 4.0 team, and we underdogs took it 6-4, 6-3. I don't expect I will play that well with the Shift every time, or that it was the racquet that made the difference. But if nothing else, it showed I am capable of playing my best tennis with this stick.
 
I am Shift 99 315 player now :)

Its the best racket i have ever played, and i played all!

I chose this shift after measurement of 10 rackets:
317.9g (with plastic) 291 sw 30.8cm balance

I strung with Luxilon Adrenaline 23/22 kg .

Its a dream. My slice and doublehanded backhand cant be better. Serve is very nice. volleys are also fine.

Only my forehand and my smash is weaker as with a 300g racket, but its training. i cant swing so fast and its my first heavy racket.

I ordered 2 more shift 99 315 with sw 290... i think this sw is perfect, and if not i can lead it up at 12 after some training time...

i sold my 2 300g shifts, both feel like toys after playing the 315 two sets against a strong opponent.

i play on clay most time and its so crazy, because its a 18/20... but i can generate more topspin, fast topspin as with other rackets that have 16/19.... cant believe and explain... and i also have this wonderful control
 
Fintft said:
I couldn't hit much with it, before adding 3g at 12 o'clock, a double head protection tape (thick beam) and a big dampener, pushing the SW to an estimated 325 (with overgrip and rubber ring as well) and the static weight to 331g strung.
But with those 3g added, it is the best racquet I own atm and I prefer it to the Blade Pro v8 (same static weight, but a SW of about 335), including just now after a 2h hit against my coach. Asked her opinion and she felt the same.
Click to expand...
Just added 4g at 3 and 9 and 2g underneath the butt cap. Will see how it does tonight.
 
I got to demo the Shift 300. Strung with a fullbed of NXT Power which I’m not familiar with (though very familiar with multis in general as that’s what I play). Not sure how much of the review is the string and how much is the racquet.

Easy to swing, haven’t measured but guessing swingweight 315-320. Very stable, resisted twisting and super effective, solid volleying. Very powerful, I really had to hold back to keep the ball in. Lots of spin, crazy amounts, but forearm was sore afterwards so thinking some of the spin is just the extra spin I had to put into it to keep the ball in. But seriously head height + kick on forehand ground strokes. Flatter backhand a little dicey due to the power. Tempting but played very differently from my AuxEMP (multifeel mains, forten sweet crosses, 16g).

Would be interested in a Clift / Claft / Shash / Shish with a flex of 62-63. Maybe the V2 Clash is something I need to try as apparently it’s stiffer than the V1. Thinking Shift at RA 68 is too direct for my style.
 
ChanterRacquet said:
I got to demo the Shift 300. Strung with a fullbed of NXT Power which I’m not familiar with (though very familiar with multis in general as that’s what I play). Not sure how much of the review is the string and how much is the racquet.

Easy to swing, haven’t measured but guessing swingweight 315-320. Very stable, resisted twisting and super effective, solid volleying. Very powerful, I really had to hold back to keep the ball in. Lots of spin, crazy amounts, but forearm was sore afterwards so thinking some of the spin is just the extra spin I had to put into it to keep the ball in. But seriously head height + kick on forehand ground strokes. Flatter backhand a little dicey due to the power. Tempting but played very differently from my AuxEMP (multifeel mains, forten sweet crosses, 16g).

Would be interested in a Clift / Claft / Shash / Shish with a flex of 62-63. Maybe the V2 Clash is something I need to try as apparently it’s stiffer than the V1. Thinking Shift at RA 68 is too direct for my style.
Click to expand...
Poly
 
c0ppo said:
I'm getting some arm pains with my Shift 315. Using hyper G strung with 21/22kg. SW is 328.
Love the racket, but as I've mentioned previously, I have a sensitive arm. Gonna give it a 2-3 weeks, and if the pain persists or gets worse, switching again to gravity :(
Click to expand...
I also have very sensitive arm and may I ask - has Gravity proved to be the most arm friendly for you?
 
Mischko said:
Gravity but also Blade v8 16x19, very comparable, comfortable allround racquet, but both are low powered
Click to expand...

GPro is really under powered when compared to Shift. But it has better feel (subjective), and is really soft on the arm/shoulders.
I enjoy GPro way more than I enjoy Shift, but I play way better tennis with Shift.
 
c0ppo said:
GPro is really under powered when compared to Shift. But it has better feel (subjective), and is really soft on the arm/shoulders.
I enjoy GPro way more than I enjoy Shift, but I play way better tennis with Shift.
Click to expand...
What kind of stringing did you use on Shift?

I'm playing with Radical but am looking for sth more comfortable for the arm. Previously I've enjoyed Gravity a lot. Will be testing Shift next week, cant wait for that!
 
Sonam1234 said:
What kind of stringing did you use on Shift?

I'm playing with Radical but am looking for sth more comfortable for the arm. Previously I've enjoyed Gravity a lot. Will be testing Shift next week, cant wait for that!
Click to expand...
I switched from the radical to the shift - with the radical, a full bed of poly gave me arm issues and I had to switch to a multi hybrid. Since using the shift, I’ve found a full bed of poly strung around 47-50lbs to be just fine. I’ve preferred softer polys in it like MSV swift or toroline wasabi, but stiffer polys like Alu power and head Lynx tour are great in it as well (just don’t want to push my arm too much)
 
Sonam1234 said:
What kind of stringing did you use on Shift?

I'm playing with Radical but am looking for sth more comfortable for the arm. Previously I've enjoyed Gravity a lot. Will be testing Shift next week, cant wait for that!
Click to expand...

Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution 1,20mm
Hyper G, 1,15

22kg
 
Fighting phoenix said:
I switched from the radical to the shift - with the radical, a full bed of poly gave me arm issues and I had to switch to a multi hybrid. Since using the shift, I’ve found a full bed of poly strung around 47-50lbs to be just fine. I’ve preferred softer polys in it like MSV swift or toroline wasabi, but stiffer polys like Alu power and head Lynx tour are great in it as well (just don’t want to push my arm too much)
Click to expand...
I'm currently using Alu power rough strings 23-24kg on Radical. Awesome spin! Awful to arm! I'd like to use the same strings on a more forgiving racket..
 
Aestheticsaboveallelse said:
Do you prefer over 97p?
Click to expand...

Different racquets. The Shift is more of a power racquet (in comparison), much thicker beam, and stiffer (overall - although it feels very comfortable when hitting spin and after my customisation). The 97P would have a bit more feel, different flex profile, you have to craft your point (construct the point) rather than overwhelming your opponent. To me they are both great racquets, but they have different strengths and weaknesses that make them hard to compare (in a way). Just as an example, when serving with the 97P, I would hit an effective serve... which would be returned (more often than not) and we would have to play out the point... which I very much enjoyed and the 97P was/is a very capable racquet. With the Shift... my serves seemed to be much more potent (I hit many more aces or un-returnable serves), and the points seemed to have been shorter.

I have a larger collection of racquets... and they are both in there. I have not played them back-to-back using the same strings, so ultimately hard to judge from memory. Furthermore, due to the larger collection, sometimes it takes me a while to get back to a racquet as I try to rotate them around and use them all. Since playing with the 97P, I have acquired and played with the G360+ Extreme Tour, Extreme Pro, Dunlop Srixon SX300 Tour (100sq. in. version - 2019), Yonex '23 VC95, Babolat PA98 '23, and the Babolat PSVS. I have also revisited the Volkl PB10 MP (325g), the Angell Custom TC95 18x20, TC97 18x20, ZUS 96 Custom 16x19, Phantom 93P 18x20, Wilson 6.1 95 Amplifeel 18x20, Wilson Blade Pro v7 16x19, and the Head G360+ Gravity Pro.

All of these racquets are great in their own way... and are all still part of my collection (as is the 97P - which is a great racquet).

Sorry for the very long and winding answer. Hope this helps... and I know... I have a problem :oops: ;)
 
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