Wilson Defyer 98 Pro V1

thenewbig3

thenewbig3

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The 98 inch Wilson Python/Redline/Defyer 98 Pro V1 is also out since today. I wanted to make a dedicated thread to it as it will probably be far better suited for the average *TTW player* compared to the P100 - since TTW players are just higher level of tennis player. :-D

Please note I think this thread is mostly suited for exchanging experience on court and talking about string and spec setups. Talk about the name is getting old. Will be sharing my experience when I get this racket and when I get on court.

PS : @K1Y idea copied to avoid the crap in the old Python thread and focus on the final 98si edition.

Wilson Defyer 98 Pro Racquet | Tennis Warehouse

www.tennis-warehouse.com www.tennis-warehouse.com

 
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Aw i think we should've skipped the reviews, too triggering for the competing factions and already wore out their welcome in the other python thread
 
I think it’s pretty cool we’re getting an actual pro stock racket in the 98. Every review basically says that the 98 has a smaller sweet spot and you need to hit hard and clean to use it….which is what pros can do. Hence why they might like it enough to switch and normal people might now. This feels more to
Me like when people used head PC600s, PT630s, Wilson 6.0 90/95, Yonex RD-7 etc. because those rackets weren’t easy to use, yet we bought them because they were what our favorite players used or they were just fun to use.

If the 98 Pro was super stable and easier to use and had a bigger sweet spot, would it be a better racket for me? Ya of course, but That’s because I’m not a pro or high level junior.
 
Love the look of these, my question is does it perform as well as the PA98 23? And does it lean more towards the Diadem Axis 98?
 
Finally it's here after 1 year being seen in public..W98 P98, RL98, D98.
Long wait and much speculation on everything .. especially the name.
It's name seems to be a disappointment to some..
It's color is causing dismay to others.
However ...now the true measure will decide it's fate..
Performance...
Let's see what the masses decides..
The racket will speak for itself..
Good, bad or indifferent...
Time will tell..
At least it will provide interesting content that the social will capitalize on and makes few bucks
 
I'm looking forward to knowing the twistweight of the retail 98. If it has origins of the Blade, I could see it being lower twistweight than a lot of others, which can be a good thing (you can always boost twistweight if you want).
 
A_Instead said:
Finally it's here after 1 year being seen in public..W98 P98, RL98, D98.
Long wait and much speculation on everything .. especially the name.
It's name seems to be a disappointment to some..
It's color is causing dismay to others.
However ...now the true measure will decide it's fate..
Performance...
Let's see what the masses decides..
The racket will speak for itself..
Good, bad or indifferent...
Time will tell..
At least it will provide interesting content that the social will capitalize on and makes few bucks
Click to expand...

After playing for about a year with it, and a few other frames in between, the frame definitely does things well. It is unique and its own thing, not a copy of babo or yonex.

But, big but, all my units needed a good amount of lead at 3/9 and they came in @ 300 G’s so getting the twist weight how I like it and matched across all frames was very manageable.

I’m currently @ 338 grams so the retail would put me @ 343 all else equal. Doesn’t seem like much, but it changes the swing and a lot of other things like flicks….i like my current specs an lot after several tweaks in all sorts of directions.

Hopefully they bumped up twist weight on the retail so less lead is needed @ 3/9.
 
thenewbig3 said:
Talk about the name is getting old.
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then maybe they should have put an ounce of effort into the name? It’s beyond terrible. Who or what is being defied? Physics? A fat out of shape player able to play over his level? We’re just a bunch of slobs that rely on the racquet to defy what anyone thinks we’re capable of?

I think I’d prefer the defiler. Would you rather defy your opponent or defile them? Maybe even the deflyer as I often kill house flies with my tennis racquets when I see one in the house. I’m not an out of control child looking to defy anything. Im a grown adult that plays a country club sport.
 
thenewbig3 said:
The AC Tennis review is another P98 review that is exceptional enough to be here.
Also Tenncomm has confirmed final P98 and D98 are not really different in his experience.

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Aside from the name and the paintjob. I still want to give this racket a try just to see, but I do hate that they changed the name and the color. Feels like such a fail from Wilson. Glossy black with the snakeskin paintjob and a Python name would have sold millions of rackets on that alone. A weaker crappier name and a reddish orange paintjob just feels insanely idiotic from a marketing standpoint.
 
Curtennis said:
I think I’d prefer the defiler. Would you rather defy your opponent or defile them? Maybe even the deflyer as I often kill house flies with my tennis racquets when I see one in the house. I’m not an out of control child looking to defy anything. Im a grown adult that plays a country club sport.
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Do you like to FX500 or SX300 your opponents? What about VCORE them?.... Just pulling your leg.....

In my mind DEFILE has absolutely terrible meanings depending on the context. Looks into it more careful and you will never throw this term around again.

TERRIBLE NAME I agree.
 
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Hi
Please can anyone help. I am a decent player

I have the blade v8 18x20 strung with lux element and weighted up to 345g fully strung with some weight at 3 and 9 and a tiny bit at 12 and some weight in the handle to offset. I really like it. I just would love a bit more power and a bit more spin. I also sometimes think it is a bit too headlight. I have one handed backhand.

I bought the python/defyer 98. I’ve hit with it 3 times so far. I added some weight at 3 and 9 but it’s still lighter overall than my blades (332g). I haven’t liked it as much. It’s not bad perfectly playable but feels a bit too raw/harsh not as plush/smooth, a bit tinny. Doesn’t feel as stable or controlled. Doesn’t seem to give a huge amount more power to justify the loss in other things. Maybe slightly higher launch angle and spin than my blades. I think I’m going to get rid of it. Don’t like the colour either.

Should I try the v10 blade? Should I try the 16x19? Should I try a different string to element? Should I add more weight to the head? I’m in a bit of a racket mess, I hit with a vcore 98 once and think that I even liked that more than the python but I didn’t get a chance to add weight to that to where I’d be comfortable
 
Fbr1978 said:
Hi
Please can anyone help. I am a decent player

I have the blade v8 18x20 strung with lux element and weighted up to 345g fully strung with some weight at 3 and 9 and a tiny bit at 12 and some weight in the handle to offset. I really like it. I just would love a bit more power and a bit more spin. I also sometimes think it is a bit too headlight. I have one handed backhand.

I bought the python/defyer 98. I’ve hit with it 3 times so far. I added some weight at 3 and 9 but it’s still lighter overall than my blades (332g). I haven’t liked it as much. It’s not bad perfectly playable but feels a bit too raw/harsh not as plush/smooth, a bit tinny. Doesn’t feel as stable or controlled. Doesn’t seem to give a huge amount more power to justify the loss in other things. Maybe slightly higher launch angle and spin than my blades. I think I’m going to get rid of it. Don’t like the colour either.

Should I try the v10 blade? Should I try the 16x19? Should I try a different string to element? Should I add more weight to the head? I’m in a bit of a racket mess, I hit with a vcore 98 once and think that I even liked that more than the python but I didn’t get a chance to add weight to that to where I’d be comfortable
Click to expand...
If you aren’t swinging significantly faster than when you use your heavier Blade V8, you probably won’t get enough benefit out of the D98P

This aspect is user specific. Enabling higher swing speeds is suppose to be the main feature of this frame. And that require adjustments coming from a heavier blade
 
Not sure which one to pre-order. It seems like the 98" version needs weight but appears to be more unique in plyability than more userfriendly 100". If you already pre-ordered, which one did you order? What was the deciding factor?
 
mhkeuns said:
Not sure which one to pre-order. It seems like the 98" version needs weight but appears to be more unique in plyability than more userfriendly 100". If you already pre-ordered, which one did you order? What was the deciding factor?
Click to expand...
What’s your current racket? And what’re you looking for? That will help guide you.
 
ChrisJR3264 said:
What’s your current racket? And what’re you looking for? That will help guide you.
Click to expand...
Well, that’s the problem. I like to play with different sticks and have found the following sticks as my favorites:

Gravity Pro (*the original version)
Pure Strike 97
Wilson H19 18x20
Pure Drive 2025

It’s kind of all over the place, so I’m asking other racketaholics on their choices, I’ve been resisting clicking on the order now button for the 98 Pro, which is the version I’m more leaning towards. But, 100" seems to be getting better feedback... Decisions...

Btw, I don't mind the red paint at all. I think it looks nice. The name, though...
 
mhkeuns said:
Well, that’s the problem. I like to play with different sticks and have found the following sticks as my favorites:

Gravity Pro (*the original version)
Pure Strike 97
Wilson H19 18x20
Pure Drive 2025

It’s kind of all over the place, so I’m asking other racketaholics on their choices, I’ve been resisting clicking on the order now button for the 98 Pro, which is the version I’m more leaning towards. But, 100" seems to be getting better feedback... Decisions...

Btw, I don't mind the red paint at all. I think it looks nice. The name, though...
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I have a feeling the racketholics will say both hahah
 
Couldn’t resist. Just placed an order for the Wilson Defyer 98 Pro. I have not been this excited for a racket purchase in a long, long time.

I hope those members who are great at customizing their frames with wieght will chime in with their methods. The only thing that really made me think twice about ordering the 98 Pro was my ability to customize.
 
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mhkeuns said:
Couldn’t resist. Just placed an order for the Wilson Defyer 98 Pro. I have not been this excited for a racket purchase in a long, long time.

I hope those members who are great at customizing their frames with wieght will chime in with their methods. The only thing that really made me think twice about ordering the 98 Pro was my ability to customize.
Click to expand...
You buy in the US or ?
 
mhkeuns said:
Couldn’t resist. Just placed an order for the Wilson Defyer 98 Pro. I have not been this excited for a racket purchase in a long, long time.

I hope those members who are great at customizing their frames with wieght will chime in with their methods. The only thing that really made me think twice about ordering the 98 Pro was my ability to customize.
Click to expand...
I've only really done it once from the ground up but basically I went and hit with it stock a couple times to see what it felt like it needed. I was doing it with two matched frames so it was actually easier to have two different setups.
All the while keeping a rough estimate of how much SW I wanted to add so even with lead in different places I could add the same amount of SW.
I ultimately settled on 12/3/9 for power and stability but total added was 4.5g, so a little goes a long way in my experience.
 
Chairman3 said:
I've only really done it once from the ground up but basically I went and hit with it stock a couple times to see what it felt like it needed. I was doing it with two matched frames so it was actually easier to have two different setups.
All the while keeping a rough estimate of how much SW I wanted to add so even with lead in different places I could add the same amount of SW.
I ultimately settled on 12/3/9 for power and stability but total added was 4.5g, so a little goes a long way in my experience.
Click to expand...
An even split? 1.5g at each location?
 
The mentionings that this racquet has good feel and comes stock with a low twistweight is appealing to me. But I wonder if the racquet requires poly, or if synthetic gut could be usable in it. Anyone have thoughts?
 
Really loving the playability of the '26 PA98, but after four months now I'm finding that my forearm and elbow are starting to give me problems (haven't had this before with other racquets) - do you all think that this could be a more comfortable alternative? Same-ish level of performance though (reference - I'm an all court 7.7UTR/4.5 NTRP lefty...older but still grinding out in singles...still preferring 98s to 100s). Vcore 98 would be more comfortable I think, but I find it to be a little wild / inconsistent string bed compared to the PA98.
 
Fighting phoenix said:
Really loving the playability of the '26 PA98, but after four months now I'm finding that my forearm and elbow are starting to give me problems (haven't had this before with other racquets) - do you all think that this could be a more comfortable alternative? Same-ish level of performance though (reference - I'm an all court 7.7UTR/4.5 NTRP lefty...older but still grinding out in singles...still preferring 98s to 100s). Vcore 98 would be more comfortable I think, but I find it to be a little wild / inconsistent string bed compared to the PA98.
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I would take a look at the Racquets & Runners review on YouTube -- I recall Luca saying that he wouldn't treat this as a PA2026 alternative due to it not having the same forgiveness off-center nor that feeling of playing "longer" than it's specs like the VCore and Aero 98 do.

I'd at least wait for a demo on the Defyer and maybe investigate some other options (extreme pro, fx 500 tour, etc.) but also some string changes with the Aero.
 
talynen said:
I would take a look at the Racquets & Runners review on YouTube -- I recall Luca saying that he wouldn't treat this as a PA2026 alternative due to it not having the same forgiveness off-center nor that feeling of playing "longer" than it's specs like the VCore and Aero 98 do.

I'd at least wait for a demo on the Defyer and maybe investigate some other options (extreme pro, fx 500 tour, etc.) but also some string changes with the Aero.
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Yeah I watched that video and know it's not just a PA98 knock off like maybe we thought it would be a while ago, I just like the combo of all court play / control/power ratio, spin oriented but still able to hit out which the PA98 provides. I've also tried a gut / poly hybrid, but I really prefer all poly and didn't have arm issues with other racquets with all poly (usually around 48lbs). Worried that this Defiler won't be as forgiving / powerful as I'd like.
 
Fighting phoenix said:
Yeah I watched that video and know it's not just a PA98 knock off like maybe we thought it would be a while ago, I just like the combo of all court play / control/power ratio, spin oriented but still able to hit out which the PA98 provides. I've also tried a gut / poly hybrid, but I really prefer all poly and didn't have arm issues with other racquets with all poly (usually around 48lbs). Worried that this Defiler won't be as forgiving / powerful as I'd like.
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Have you experimented with poly/poly hybrids? I see the mention of Conf. Soft & Mach 10 in your signature but not sure if that's in a hybrid or those are just the favorite options.

Perhaps changing the gauge of the cross string, or using something a bit softer but round and slick in the cross like toroline wasabi-x or tru pro ghostwire would be an acceptable compromise?
 
talynen said:
Have you experimented with poly/poly hybrids? I see the mention of Conf. Soft & Mach 10 in your signature but not sure if that's in a hybrid or those are just the favorite options.

Perhaps changing the gauge of the cross string, or using something a bit softer but round and slick in the cross like toroline wasabi-x or tru pro ghostwire would be an acceptable compromise?
Click to expand...
Actually a pretty good idea - thx man!
 
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