The death of the Blade 98

TennisLogic said:
Once the gold standard, now gathering dust, players, both pro and amateur, are moving on from the Wilson Blade. Once feared, now forgotten. I’m calling it - RIP, Blade. Evolution waits for no racquet.

Game. Set. Match.
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Based on....? You do realize that most pro players don't actually play with the racket that is painted to look like what they sell us commoners.
 
This is interesting...death of the Blade might be an exaggerated hot take, but it's a valid observation - seems like other manufacturers are creating "blade killers" in that their control oriented options have more pop than the blade does - ie, Gravity Tour, TFights, Whiteout, etc., and more powerful options like Ezone 98 and PA98 have pretty dense patterns where control isn't a problem. From a product positioning perspective, the Blade is getting squeezed out from multiple directions.

That said - plenty of top players are still using it, and they benefit from customization tweaks to improve power, and it's still a top seller at the rec level. My guess is that future iterations of the Blade will have to evolve in order to maintain relevancy.
 
Blade_X said:
Blade V6 and before had more than enough power.

Then clash came and everything was affected…. V7 and afterwards.

Shame on you…… WILSON! 65-67 flex must return to Blades ASAP!!!
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Yeah - one of my buddies plays with the 98S (weird to string that one!) v5, stiffer and plenty of power.
 
Every great frame eventually has its day. The Blade recipe is still a good one and I see lots around the clubs. Just because a few players have recently switched away from it I don't think that's telling that the end is imminent because it isn't as the line is still a top seller. That said Wilson can only get so much mileage putting Blade paint jobs on Steams and H22's as younger generations won't be coming up the ranks with those old frames and it doesn't seem like a lot of pros actually use Blades.
 
heavyD said:
Every great frame eventually has its day. The Blade recipe is still a good one and I see lots around the clubs. Just because a few players have recently switched away from it I don't think that's telling that the end is imminent because it isn't as the line is still a top seller. That said Wilson can only get so much mileage putting Blade paint jobs on Steams and H22's as younger generations won't be coming up the ranks with those old frames and it doesn't seem like a lot of pros actually use Blades.
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Correct. Most of the current pro's are sporting paint jobs of the blade (actually using steam molds, H22's and H19's) vs. the current blade. I think the Blade will be fine, now the Prostaff could be dead.
 
The v7 feels amazing, but man is it tough to play with. The SW and flex are so hard to use for long periods of time I just can’t keep up with it. Pure strike or ezone work better for me.
 
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Purestriker said:
Correct. Most of the current pro's are sporting paint jobs of the blade (actually using steam molds, H22's and H19's) vs. the current blade. I think the Blade will be fine, now the Prostaff could be dead.
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Most of the ladies sporting Blade PJ are using Steam, most of the guys with Blade PJ are using a pro stock Blade. Tons of actual Blade mold pro stocks are used on the ATP, more than H22 from what I've noticed. H19 use is very rare. Pro stock Blades don't play like retail Blades. They typically have a little more pop and also vary in stiffness. Recent retail Blades are much more of a limp noodle.
 
You can take my Blade when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

Had been playgin with V6 and V7 for the past several years before they just got too beat up.
Have been loving the 8's I got a hold of.

I've tried the VCore, Ezones, Pure Aeros etc. They just feel too lively for me. To springy.
I just love the Blades muted feeling.

Used to be a lot of Pros using some version of Wilson 6.1, Head Prestige or any paint job with a lot of weight through the late 2010s. Looking for control with at the time relatively flatter strokes compared to today.
Seems the current guys are able to get so much spin on the ball they can play with something that offers more pop and the spin will still keep it in. The big complaint of the new slower balls also has guys looking for more power. So hard to hit guys off the court that players are looking for more risk to get more reward.

I wonder if Keys stuck with the Blade but just adjusted weight, strings or string pattern, would she have been able to get the same results?
 
TennisLogic said:
Once the gold standard, now gathering dust, players, both pro and amateur, are moving on from the Wilson Blade. Once feared, now forgotten. I’m calling it - RIP, Blade. Evolution waits for no racquet.

Game. Set. Match.
Click to expand...

I mean, the blade never won a major on the men’s tour. It’s not like it was ever super relevant anyways

That being said, it’s going to be Wilson’s number one silo for a long time. Wilson has too much market share and this is clearly the best utilitarian retail frame they offer. Shift, ultra, clash, burn are all silos with gimmick molds. Pro staff is the one that’s dying . Blade not going anywhere lol
 
Robert F said:
I wonder if Keys stuck with the Blade but just adjusted weight, strings or string pattern, would she have been able to get the same results?
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Keys afaik did not use a Blade, she mostly used the H19 which is the pro stock version of the Ultra Tour. Then I think before Yonex she was using the H22.
I believe the only pros to actually switch away from some version of the actual Blade mould in recent times are Tommy Paul and now Tsitsipas. They did both improve results immediately which I think is why people think the Blade is suddenly going the way of the Dodo. On the other hand, Hurkacz recently left his Yonex for a Blade.
 
gino said:
I mean, the blade never won a major on the men’s tour. It’s not like it was ever super relevant anyways

That being said, it’s going to be Wilson’s number one silo for a long time. Wilson has too much market share and this is clearly the best utilitarian retail frame they offer. Shift, ultra, clash, burn are all silos with gimmick molds. Pro staff is the one that’s dying . Blade not going anywhere lol
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Didn't Djoker win his first slam/AO with a KBlade? Maybe it was a paint job?
 
Blade 98 is still very popular in my country (Russia). I'm a 3.5 player and have two V9 blades 98. I played v9 16x19 for half a year, then switched to v9 18x20 with the addition of 10 grams lead to handle. It's not easy to play, but it's a lot of fun.
 
eric42 said:
Most of the ladies sporting Blade PJ are using Steam, most of the guys with Blade PJ are using a pro stock Blade. Tons of actual Blade mold pro stocks are used on the ATP, more than H22 from what I've noticed. H19 use is very rare. Pro stock Blades don't play like retail Blades. They typically have a little more pop and also vary in stiffness. Recent retail Blades are much more of a limp noodle.
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I know, I own one and a blade pro. They are different.
 
Robert F said:
I wonder if Keys stuck with the Blade but just adjusted weight, strings or string pattern, would she have been able to get the same results?
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Apparently she said, among other factors, that switching to a specifically lighter racquet made a huge difference for her in a large variety of circumstances on court

Something about being able to get her hand through the ball faster when something or other happens

But most of the competitive Wilson frames depend more on swingweight for power than some other equivalents from other manufactures (say an EZone), so I can see just getting a lighter version of her old frame might not have worked well.

Obvs the Ezone did
 
eric42 said:
Most of the ladies sporting Blade PJ are using Steam, most of the guys with Blade PJ are using a pro stock Blade. Tons of actual Blade mold pro stocks are used on the ATP, more than H22 from what I've noticed. H19 use is very rare. Pro stock Blades don't play like retail Blades. They typically have a little more pop and also vary in stiffness. Recent retail Blades are much more of a limp noodle.
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They have now released the Prostock Blade. With so many pros loving the Steam, why'd they get rid of it? It was also a popular racket with rec players and hackers.
 
Robert F said:
They have now released the Prostock Blade.
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Not exactly. A pro stock Blade and Blade Pro are two very different things made from totally different molds. Pro stock racquets painted to look like Blades can be made from Blade, H22, H19, and Steam molds. They are all totally different racquets. The Blade Pro is a publicly-released racquet made with H22 mold, but is still not exactly like pro stock H22's in feel/flex. The pro stocks can vary a bit in the layup. When we refer to "pro stock Blade" we are normally talking about a pro stock made with a Blade 98 mold, not H22, H19, or Steam molds.
 
Purestriker said:
I know, I own one and a blade pro. They are different.
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I was referring to pro stock Blades (which all use some version of a previous retail mold) being different from retail Blades - even if they both came from the exact same mold. Blade Pro doesn't factor in here, it's not a pro stock Blade. It's something totally different.
 
FlatShot_V said:
I'm using my v5 again now and I think I haven't played this well in a long time. Just sent the second one to my stringer after an amazing session

Poly 46lb mains and multi 44lb crosses

juL80qE.jpeg
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Find me grommets and i am switching back. CV grommets for but are heavier than V5s….
 
eric42 said:
I was referring to pro stock Blades (which all use some version of a previous retail mold) being different from retail Blades - even if they both came from the exact same mold. Blade Pro doesn't factor in here, it's not a pro stock Blade. It's something totally different.
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I know. I own an H22 and a blade pro and I know how the are different. I picked up the H22 from my coach who was a former pro player who was sponsored by Wilson.
 
Purestriker said:
I know. I own an H22 and a blade pro and I know how the are different. I picked up the H22 from my coach who was a former pro player who was sponsored by Wilson.
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I was talking Blades and pro stock Blades, not H22 or Blade Pro. Mixing H22/Blade Pro talk in a thread about Blades confuses lots of people
 
Purestriker said:
Yeah, I don't know that I have seen many pro stock blades. But understand what you are saying.
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Out of curiosity I looked at who in the ATP top 100 is using a (pro stock) Blade vs. H22. Blade ain't dead yet.

Blade
Tsitsipas (just now formerly)
Humbert
Hurkacz
Korda
Sonego
Jarry
Carballes-Baena
Goffin
Mensik
Bonzi
Djere
O'Connell
Dzumhur
Diallo
Gaston
Kovacevic

H22
Khachanov
Martinez
Halys
Tien
Seyboth Wild
 
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Robert F said:
Outside of Hurkacz and Karen, not a lot of big starts or up and comers on the list.
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Karen uses H22 which might as well be a Radical Pro compared to a Blade. Totally different racquet. So it's actually worse than what you're saying haha.
 
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