Wilson Blade V9 2024

ClownCar96 said:
I find the blade v9 powerful! It’s so stable and strong. My unstrung SW is 296, it hits some bombs. stringing Lynx tour 1.2 with Hawk touch 1.25 52/50
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Mine came in underspec, and its strung SW is 320 with dampener. My v8 98 was 327 SW with the same mods. I do feel like the layup is a touch stiffer than the v8, which means it needs a little less SW to generate the same ball speed. But neither stick feels like a "power" frame to me -- it definitely prides itself on control over energy IMO. Then again, I don't generate all that much pace with my own technique because I kinda suck at tennis. Advanced players, 4.5 and up, they can definitely hit some bombs with the Blade.

But yes, agreed on the stability. As I mentioned I think in my playtest review of the v9, it's the most stable racket I've ever used at these specs (305g, 98", relatively thin beam).
 
v9's definitely pack some power.

I added 1g @ 12 to my 98 16x19's which brought it to 330 SW (with OG + dampener) and it felt super punchy, a little bit too much for my taste.

I took it off and realised I actually think I prefer it around the mid 320's range, allows a bit more craftiness and RHS whilst maintaining the punch.
 
ClownCar96 said:
In my opinion the V9 needs a crisp main string because it is a somewhat muted racquet (like ez98). Tour bite and Lynx tour play great in this frame, no discomfort
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The only stiff string i ve used until now is 4G. And it played a lot stiffer compared to v8 and v7. V9 definitely flexes less and is a lot firmer on contact. That’s why i am gonna try 4G rough and soft next. And i ll follow your suggestion with lynx tour which is one of my favourite strings and report back. I will definitely not put tour byte….. it’s one of the stiffest at least for me in any racquet i tried it. But till now tour byte soft and hyper g round play pretty excellent on the 16x19. Wasabi for example gave me a little bit irritation on my elbow. We shall see….
 
My god. I finally figured out the kinetic chain for serve and I’m serving bombs with the blade. Obviously it’s the technique that’s contributing the most. Nevertheless, I still praise the blade for helping me find the correct kinetic chain. With my previous racket, Pro Staff 100, it’s just harder to find the rhythm and it didn’t help me learn the serve.
 
Blade_X said:
The only stiff string i ve used until now is 4G. And it played a lot stiffer compared to v8 and v7. V9 definitely flexes less and is a lot firmer on contact. That’s why i am gonna try 4G rough and soft next. And i ll follow your suggestion with lynx tour which is one of my favourite strings and report back. I will definitely not put tour byte….. it’s one of the stiffest at least for me in any racquet i tried it. But till now tour byte soft and hyper g round play pretty excellent on the 16x19. Wasabi for example gave me a little bit irritation on my elbow. We shall see….
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Lynx tour is pretty stiff too, not as stiff as 4g but it’s not soft at all
 
Blade_X said:
Do your self a favour and remove the dampener. I just did it out of curiosity and even with 4G rough the ping sound was not bothering and on sweet spot non existent. I just gained about 15% on feel and connectivity. Just do it.
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This was my experience with the Blade 98 v6. Had Alu Rough in it and the sound and feel without the dampener was awesome.

Tried it with the v9 and didn’t have the same results. It isn’t bad without the damp but I didn’t think it improved the sound much and the feel change was insignificant.
 
Blade_X said:
Do your self a favour and remove the dampener. I just did it out of curiosity and even with 4G rough the ping sound was not bothering and on sweet spot non existent. I just gained about 15% on feel and connectivity. Just do it.
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Yeah I have not played with a dampener in years and that trend began when I was using the v7 blade. That’s one reason I don’t really find these blades too muted. They definitely are muted a bit but I have no problems feeling the ball.
 
I sort of lucked into a good grip shape on my v9. I normally play with L4+OG but my playtest stick is a L3 so I did double OG to get it up to size. That ended up smoothing out the shape but I can still feel the bevels decently enough for my semiwestern. Kinda feels good in hand now? Maybe that’s the hack: size down then use two overgrips!
 
RadicalorBlade said:
Has anyone had the chance to do a hand in hand comparison with the Radical MP 2023?
I'm keen to know which feels and plays better. Key differences etc
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No, but I did compare with the previous Rad MP and the Blade was the clear winner. Better feel, better control, similar power level, and much more stable.
 
The Rad MP 23 is more comfortable with that Auxetic tech. Shots r loopier, higher launch with more spin. More ball pocketing. Blade 98 V9 balls shoot out faster. I can swing out more to hit deeper shots where as with my Radical MP I hit short on average. Blade 98 give me a more confident feedback with control that’s why I sold my Radical and Speed MPs.
 
malagabee said:
The Rad MP 23 is more comfortable with that Auxetic tech. Shots r loopier, higher launch with more spin. More ball pocketing. Blade 98 V9 balls shoot out faster. I can swing out more to hit deeper shots where as with my Radical MP I hit short on average. Blade 98 give me a more confident feedback with control that’s why I sold my Radical and Speed MPs.
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Going off this comment, it sounds like there are more benefits from the RADMP23.

Interesting that a faster and further swing made you completely switch. I guess it's all preference.

I need to demo the v9 now!
 
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RadicalorBlade said:
Going on this comment, it sounds like there are more benefits from the RADMP23.

Interesting that a faster and further swing made you completely switch. I guess it's all preference.

I need to demo the v9 now!
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It just depends on what aspects help your game more. Radical is all around good racquet imo more comfortable. it’s tapered beam not constant. Blade V9 is more point and shoot. Produces flatter and faster shots which help me since I already hit too much topspin but without depth and penetration 4.0 players just eat it up all day.
 
malagabee said:
It just depends on what aspects help your game more. Radical is all around good racquet imo more comfortable. it’s tapered beam not constant. Blade V9 is more point and shoot. Produces flatter and faster shots which help me since I already hit too much topspin but without depth and penetration 4.0 players just eat it up all day.
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Do you have the 16x19 or 18x20?
 
So finally i found a pretty good and easy solution for those who found grips of latest blades bigger than older ones. Just stretch it a little bit and cut the leftover. No need to change the basic grip…. it’s very elastic and stretchable. After that it’s almost perfect :)
 
So I got to hit with the new V9 Roland Garros 16x19 98 this weekend...coming from the Pure Strike 16x20 100, definitely less easy power, more flexible, less forgiving, but man it felt really fun to hit with. As I got used to the difference, I found myself wanting to play aggressive and swinging out more from the baseline with confidence, and found it super fun to play with and somewhat addictive. First serves of the flatter/slice variety were pinpoint and really fun to hit, kick second serves were fine but not necessarily a step up from my normal racquet (slightly less kick and power imo). It is a little more muted than I expected it to be, and it could be partially due to the Ocean Blue ALU Power strings I'm using (not as crisp as normal ALU)

I really want to switch this stick after this spring/summer USTA season, since I'm mostly playing 4.5 level tennis and playing at a higher level now where I want more control vs. what a more tweener racquet would provide; my dilemma, however, is that being 52 year old, starting to play more doubles (vs being a primarily singles player), and not someone who generates a ton of power on my own, I feel like to win more I need to keep transitioning to something more forgiving like my Pure Strike, or even something like the Pure Drive down the road. Experimenting with racquets is super fun, but creates dilemmas when I also prioritize consistency and winning ;-)
 
Fighting phoenix said:
So I got to hit with the new V9 Roland Garros 16x19 98 this weekend...coming from the Pure Strike 16x20 100, definitely less easy power, more flexible, less forgiving, but man it felt really fun to hit with. As I got used to the difference, I found myself wanting to play aggressive and swinging out more from the baseline with confidence, and found it super fun to play with and somewhat addictive. First serves of the flatter/slice variety were pinpoint and really fun to hit, kick second serves were fine but not necessarily a step up from my normal racquet (slightly less kick and power imo). It is a little more muted than I expected it to be, and it could be partially due to the Ocean Blue ALU Power strings I'm using (not as crisp as normal ALU)

I really want to switch this stick after this spring/summer USTA season, since I'm mostly playing 4.5 level tennis and playing at a higher level now where I want more control vs. what a more tweener racquet would provide; my dilemma, however, is that being 52 year old, starting to play more doubles (vs being a primarily singles player), and not someone who generates a ton of power on my own, I feel like to win more I need to keep transitioning to something more forgiving like my Pure Strike, or even something like the Pure Drive down the road. Experimenting with racquets is super fun, but creates dilemmas when I also prioritize consistency and winning ;-)
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Side note - it has more power than I expected it to have - definitely more pop than something like a Percept or Radical, but less than a Strike.
 
Blade_X said:
So finally i found a pretty good and easy solution for those who found grips of latest blades bigger than older ones. Just stretch it a little bit and cut the leftover. No need to change the basic grip…. it’s very elastic and stretchable. After that it’s almost perfect :)
Click to expand...
Do you think it's the diameter or the shape? I was thinking it was too rectangular and was going to add some strips of tape to make it slightly more round. Maybe I'll do the tape and stretch the grip!
 
Fighting phoenix said:
So I got to hit with the new V9 Roland Garros 16x19 98 this weekend...coming from the Pure Strike 16x20 100, definitely less easy power, more flexible, less forgiving, but man it felt really fun to hit with. As I got used to the difference, I found myself wanting to play aggressive and swinging out more from the baseline with confidence, and found it super fun to play with and somewhat addictive. First serves of the flatter/slice variety were pinpoint and really fun to hit, kick second serves were fine but not necessarily a step up from my normal racquet (slightly less kick and power imo). It is a little more muted than I expected it to be, and it could be partially due to the Ocean Blue ALU Power strings I'm using (not as crisp as normal ALU)

I really want to switch this stick after this spring/summer USTA season, since I'm mostly playing 4.5 level tennis and playing at a higher level now where I want more control vs. what a more tweener racquet would provide; my dilemma, however, is that being 52 year old, starting to play more doubles (vs being a primarily singles player), and not someone who generates a ton of power on my own, I feel like to win more I need to keep transitioning to something more forgiving like my Pure Strike, or even something like the Pure Drive down the road. Experimenting with racquets is super fun, but creates dilemmas when I also prioritize consistency and winning ;-)
Click to expand...
Sounds like a great hit! Definitely a fun racquet! Do you happen to know the specs?
 
ClownCar96 said:
Do you think it's the diameter or the shape? I was thinking it was too rectangular and was going to add some strips of tape to make it slightly more round. Maybe I'll do the tape and stretch the grip!
Click to expand...
It feels like the edges are more pronounced. And in the end as you said less squared and i cannot grap it with more palm surface like in the past. Specially on serve it was twisting a lot. I will also try the older basic grip sublime down the road of testing :P
 
Blade_X said:
It feels like the edges are more pronounced. And in the end as you said less squared and i cannot grap it with more palm surface like in the past. Specially on serve it was twisting a lot. I will also try the older basic grip sublime down the road of testing :p
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That was a great tip to just re-wrap the grip nice and tight. It did the same with my OG. Comparing it to my other v9 it definitely made it smaller. I added a couple strips of painters tape to make it a little more round as well.

Also I strung it fresh with ALU Lime and boy does it like nice…I couldn’t resist after watching Tennis Guys video. I don’t have much experience with ALU but hope I can find an hour or two of magic before cutting it out!
 
Fighting phoenix said:
Yeah - all unstrung - 310 balance point, 292sw, two Roland Garros matching from TW. Bit of a luxury (aka holicism) to purchase a pair I haven't committed to switching to lol. Glad I did though since I had the opp to get the Roland Garros once at a matching spec that I like.
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Great spec!!
 
I think V8 and V9 grip shape are definitely different compared to previous versions. They feel larger and more flared. Had V5 and played the CV version for a while.

The only V7 I have left is a blade pro - that also feels pretty different to the new blades (less flare, more rectangular at the top?)
 
ClownCar96 said:
That was a great tip to just re-wrap the grip nice and tight. It did the same with my OG. Comparing it to my other v9 it definitely made it smaller. I added a couple strips of painters tape to make it a little more round as well.

Also I strung it fresh with ALU Lime and boy does it like nice…I couldn’t resist after watching Tennis Guys video. I don’t have much experience with ALU but hope I can find an hour or two of magic before cutting it out!
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If you want sth as round as possible just put hydrosorb pro basic grip on it. As for alu powers 4 hour playability to me it’s an urban legend. People just search excuses to not really spend money on it. It can have a kinda huge drop in the first 4 hours but then it holds more than those plastic feeling shaped strings. And i am not a huge fan of it. I am a 4G guy.
 
Blade_X said:
If you want sth as round as possible just put hydrosorb pro basic grip on it. As for alu powers 4 hour playability to me it’s an urban legend. People just search excuses to not really spend money on it. It can have a kinda huge drop in the first 4 hours but then it holds more than those plastic feeling shaped strings. And i am not a huge fan of it. I am a 4G guy.
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Yes I’ve kind of wondered if all the negative talk about ALU is mob psycholology. No polys I play are optimal for more than 2-3 sessions to your point…
 
V9 16x19 vs. V9 100? I'm temped to order the 100... does it make things easier? Or do you lose too much precision and control?
 
ClownCar96 said:
V9 16x19 vs. V9 100? I'm temped to order the 100... does it make things easier? Or do you lose too much precision and control?
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I am trying to decide between v9 104 and v9 100. I demoed the v9 100 and loved it (it was strung with ALU power at 53lbs). The v9 100 had an excellent combination of power and control with very good maneuverability.

Have not play tested the v9 104, but I play with a Prince Phantom 107g. From feedback I've received, the 104 is harder to control than the 100 and the lighter swing weight might require some customization. Interested in any feedack you've heard. Good luck with your choice.

regards
 
ClownCar96 said:
V9 16x19 vs. V9 100? I'm temped to order the 100... does it make things easier? Or do you lose too much precision and control?
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100 makes things easier for sure. But the trade off is it’s a bigger frame and a little less nimble than the 98. The 98 has a real focus to it while the 100 lets you get away with mistakes a little more.

The 100 is the best defensive racquet I have ever used. Not only does it get the ball back but lets me put it in tight spots that many times result in winners.

For a 100 the precision and control is really good. It’s not as precise as a blade or pro staff but it’s not a frame you have to loop into big windows either. It’s just very well balanced for about any style of player.
 
I measured 20 Blades v9 16x19 !
Only one has a swingweight of 294 unstrung !

19 rackets under 285.... this is a pity!

i paid 60 Euro for this measurent service and want to buy 3 rackets... but now i only have one racket with swingweight over 290

are all these rackets out of normal specs, or is the medium sw from TW way too high?
 
zykoniko said:
I measured 20 Blades v9 16x19 !
Only one has a swingweight of 294 unstrung !

19 rackets under 285.... this is a pity!

i paid 60 Euro for this measurent service and want to buy 3 rackets... but now i only have one racket with swingweight over 290

are all these rackets out of normal specs, or is the medium sw from TW way too high?
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Weird, I bet their tool isn’t calibrated or is just coming in low. I had a shop with a prince tool and they were 6-8 low on everything compared to my Briffidi. I’ve measured 6 different 16x19 V9s so far and ALL have been above 292 with a high of 296.
 
Power Player said:
100 makes things easier for sure. But the trade off is it’s a bigger frame and a little less nimble than the 98. The 98 has a real focus to it while the 100 lets you get away with mistakes a little more.

The 100 is the best defensive racquet I have ever used. Not only does it get the ball back but lets me put it in tight spots that many times result in winners.

For a 100 the precision and control is really good. It’s not as precise as a blade or pro staff but it’s not a frame you have to loop into big windows either. It’s just very well balanced for about any style of player.
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I couldn’t resist, picked one up!

BTW my v9 16x19 was insane today with ALU Lime @42 lbs. felt so good. I usually don’t string that low, I’m not sure what happened, if I forgot to change it to 50 but my ERT 300 said it was 42. At any rate, it was sweet. Lots of free power and great feel!
 
ClownCar96 said:
I couldn’t resist, picked one up!

BTW my v9 16x19 was insane today with ALU Lime @42 lbs. felt so good. I usually don’t string that low, I’m not sure what happened, if I forgot to change it to 50 but my ERT 300 said it was 42. At any rate, it was sweet. Lots of free power and great feel!
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It feels great at low tensions. I think that’s why I think mine feels great and others think it’s muted. Doesn’t need to be strung tight imo.
 
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