Wilson Pro Labs: Ultra Pro (16x19) Official Thread

taylor15

Hall of Fame
I did love that frame. In fact i gelled with it more than I ever have with the 18 …. Just couldn’t get the penetration. Did you ever crack that nut with the 16M? That one is tempting to try again.
I loved it, and moved on bc I couldn’t get the depth I wanted at times. I’ve since played with it at 328sw and it was a gem. I gave them to a buddy for helping me clear a tree and he plays them at the pre-briffidi spec I had them at which was 318sw string.

If only I knew then what I know now I may have never left
 

Fluffy_Skye

Semi-Pro
Yes you can get the same service. They will send a list of 5 rackets I beleive with weight, balance and SW. Ive used it twice.

$25 extra (irrespective of how many you buy)

Have to place order by phone. I got lucky once and got to have a fun conversation with Mark Boone.
Huh, I just called them yesterday and they said they no longer send list of spec for customer to choose from anymore.
 
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Deleted member 775108

Guest
Well, I see some folks in this thread who buy rackets, measure at home and return unwanted ones. Is that doable? Are they doing this by buying from Wilson or TW?

So far they were doing i with Wilson directly. I guess it should be possible via TW as well since TW sents a return label in every box. I have never returned anything to TW or Wilson so I wouldnt know the procedure fully.
 
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Deleted member 775108

Guest
Ok. But you have to take off the plastic card in the hoop to measure unstrung swingweight right? It’s possible to remove the card and put it back on intact for returning?

Yes every racket I have ever bought has a stretchy thing (unstrung rackets) [or plastic tabs (strung rackets)] that are pushed in and out through the grommets to hold the placard in place.
 

austintennis2005

Professional
Can someone who has the played both the 16 and 18 main tell me if the difference in how they play is very subtle or more noticeably livlier with the 16?
 

Chairman3

Hall of Fame
Can someone who has the played both the 16 and 18 main tell me if the difference in how they play is very subtle or more noticeably livlier with the 16?

I spoke to this before as did @JOSHL and a couple others.
Mostly pretty subtle.
The 16M isn't a super open pattern, but you do get a higher launch and a little less control. Not necessarily more topspin though, IME.
For my level (ntrp 4.0) the 16M "seems" easier to play and I am still happy I switched.
But really wasn't a dramatic shift for me.
Mostly ball flight, but you sacrifice a little penetration with the 16M.
Ultra Tour is honestly one of the best racquets ever. When specc'd right it just does everything so well.
 

JOSHL

Hall of Fame

I spoke to this before as did @JOSHL and a couple others.
Mostly pretty subtle.
The 16M isn't a super open pattern, but you do get a higher launch and a little less control. Not necessarily more topspin though, IME.
For my level (ntrp 4.0) the 16M "seems" easier to play and I am still happy I switched.
But really wasn't a dramatic shift for me.
Mostly ball flight, but you sacrifice a little penetration with the 16M.
Ultra Tour is honestly one of the best racquets ever. When specc'd right it just does everything so well.
This sale is going to make me revisit the 16M….
 

Chairman3

Hall of Fame
USTA got me...
Sent me a coupon code few months back when I renewed, i now used it for a pair of V4's
Atleast I limited myself to only two
 

VGLB

New User
Is there any advantage getting from TW over Wilson direct?
TW can’t ship Wilson Ultra Pro v4s to Europe and TWE won’t get UPS v4. Wilson only sell UPs in Europe in the countries where Wilson has a local site. How annoying!! Is Wilson in the business of selling racquets? I wonder. Why only UPs are subject to these restrictions ?
 

Felippe

New User
TW can’t ship Wilson Ultra Pro v4s to Europe and TWE won’t get UPS v4. Wilson only sell UPs in Europe in the countries where Wilson has a local site. How annoying!! Is Wilson in the business of selling racquets? I wonder. Why only UPs are subject to these restrictions ?

That is so annoying. Really hard to get UPs from Wilson to some europian countries. To northern Europe it's easiest and fastest to use Wilson's Germany site and use fright forwarding service.

Not 16M but 18M. Little update on specs, gonna try some lead on head also. Now racket is very well controlled, easy spin and really smooth feel. Not yet spot on specs for me but close.


After 15g lead tape on handle:

Weight: 348g
Balance: 31,8cm
SW:322

Update:
Found that lead tape to handle and to 3&9 is best set up for me. Really stable racket with controlled feel. Total weight 358g. Nat gut mains and Alupower vibe crosses with 24kg. Tension is still under examination. Need to try harder tension how it will behave.
 

Chairman3

Hall of Fame
Has to be one of the all-time best looking, and instant classic paintjobs....

az2iSO.jpg

Just got em, so haven't got them on the scales and measuring devices. Finger test shows one as a little more headlight than the other
 

grungebob

Rookie
well it finally happened. my favorite of my 18 x 20s got a small crack today from a very light throw on the ground. feeling very dumb and frustrated. no grommets on the wilson site either
 

taylor15

Hall of Fame
no unfortunately this time it was the frame. if you saw how chewed up it already is, it probably seems obvious it was bound to happen
Oh, bummer. I was going to say if you have a cracked grommet that is preventing you from play I may have an extra set I could send along.
 

grungebob

Rookie
Just a grommet crack, not a frame crack?
i couldn't find the crack for the longest time but kept playing but the strings looked unaligned which was the first big sign other than repeatedly feeling like the the strings were breaking. if it's 18 x 20 and you're willing to part with it, i'd be happy to pay you for it just in a last attempt to keep this thing going as long as it can.

it's my most chewed up ultra racquet (came that way from the auction site) but for whatever reason is the one i play best with
 

heavyD

Professional
I would say they may be a little prettier than the Blade Pro which would look better if the green didn't color shift to copper. The Ultra stays beautiful blue metallic.
 

Chairman3

Hall of Fame
I haven't held an Ultra Pro but I didn't find the color shifting of the regular Ultra as prominent as it is with the Blade that can look completely copper under certain angles/light.
The shift effect is definitely more prominent in the glossy finish.
Agreed though, regular blade shifts more than regular ultra.
 

SupahMan5000

Hall of Fame
Has anyone bought grommets from Wilson recently? I wanted to try my luck again, ended up with the mislabeled grommets again. It says it is 16x19, but the throat piece has 8 holes.
wait does that mean they sent you 18x20 grommets...???

you might wanna sell those off to some ppl (me)
 

MatthewH.

Rookie
Finally got to try the ultra pro 16x19 and compare to my regular blade 16x19 v8. Ultra is such a sweet stick with that old school feel, none of the muted feel now all the rackets have. That being said I did prefer the regular blade in both feel and power/spin departments. But it’s great to know the ultra pro is around for all the ex PT280 guys. I just need that little bit more spin and power that the blade gives me and the feel is so solid too. If it wasn’t for this version blade I’d be switching for sure!
 

eric42

Semi-Pro
Ultra Pro V4 16x19 comes to life for me with 5g of lead at 12, 7g in the handle, and string tension 46-47 lbs w/ 17 ga full poly provides pretty good spin. Agreed on the old school feel without the numb muted feel so many sticks have now. Used to play with the Blade V7, haven't tried the V8.
 

MatthewH.

Rookie
I tried the v6 I think it was a bit harsh … ultra pro has no harshness with all the good feel of an old school graphite frame. The v8 blade has a little of the muted feel but with solid feel through the ball and great plow. I’m sure I could get there with the ultra pro but I think similarly weighted blade to UP power and spin goes to the blade.
 

eric42

Semi-Pro
Wow this racquet is a classic for a new retail stick, but IMO it's a platform frame that needs weight added to each end. Played with it (the 16x19) again tonight after changing the lead distribution to 5g at 3/9 and 2g at 12 and replaced the 7g of putty in the trap door with 9g of silicone in the handle. Leather base grip. Man it feels so solid and dense now. I've been trying to find a retail racquet setup that fairly closely matches the feel of my pro stock K-Blade 98's and this setup with the UP V4 is dang close. Just a tiny decrease in power and a very slightly lower launch angle than the Blade frame due to the slightly smaller head. IMO it helps to string this V4 a few lbs lower than a Blade if you might be coming from that.

Just a great old school no BS frame. If it naturally had more weight in the hoop I'd say it's a retail pro stock racquet. I really don't care for the Blade Pro 16x19. Way too stiff IMO. Shouldn't have a Blade name on it.
 
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Felippe

New User
So honeymoon is over. I'been rocking with these two over a month now. This is absolutely best racket i've ever had. Super feel ja comfy power with lead tape 3&9. I like how good control i get with this setup. Just wanted to hype my positive vibes..sorry bout that this frame is really good if you want to customize it

IMG-20230812-WA0018.jpg


Weight: 348g
SW: 347
Balance: 32,6

Now testing Alupower ocean blue. One with 25kg other 26kg.
 

Chairman3

Hall of Fame
So honeymoon is over. I'been rocking with these two over a month now. This is absolutely best racket i've ever had. Super feel ja comfy power with lead tape 3&9. I like how good control i get with this setup. Just wanted to hype my positive vibes..sorry bout that this frame is really good if you want to customize it

IMG-20230812-WA0018.jpg


Weight: 348g
SW: 347
Balance: 32,6

Now testing Alupower ocean blue. One with 25kg other 26kg.
Try 23 or 24kg
I play mine about 22kg (48lbs) but have less swingweight and more HL. Still have plenty of control even with "powerful" and soft polys.
Agreed, frame is hard to beat when you get it customized just right.
 

Felippe

New User
Try 23 or 24kg
I play mine about 22kg (48lbs) but have less swingweight and more HL. Still have plenty of control even with "powerful" and soft polys.
Agreed, frame is hard to beat when you get it customized just right.
I've had 24kg as a regular tension for a while. Now actually testing what i get and also lost with 25 or even 26.

UP feels so smooth and easy for hand that I got this idea.
 

krautfox

Rookie
I just have to chime in and say that these UP (16M and 18M) are amazing frames. I'm pretty happy with my Blade V7s 16x19, but I started working on my serve and volley game and felt it was really lacking in that department, which made me realize that the frame feels a bit too "fluttery". So I decided to demo the UP16 V3 (only one available on TWE) and Vcore Pro 97.

The Vcore Pro felt good, stable, plush when hit right and decent power. I did feel like the trajectory was a little low, but otherwise was globally impressed with the frame. I hit with a friend and decided to do a practice set with it, and I played pretty well ; backhand might need a little adjusting.

Switched to the UP16 for the second set (that I weighted with 4g total @3 and 9 and 2g @12) strung with Alu Power RG edition 1.28 and this thing was like an extension of my arm ! Felt so smooth and plush. I love how it flexes uniformly and you feel exactly where the ball is on the stringbed and where it's going. Like a lot of you mentioned on this thread, consistency was terrific with this frame. You can construct your point however you want and use a lot of variety (launch angle helped with that). It just feels so different compared to modern frames; so much feel ! Reminded me of my i.Prestige mids (played more than 10 years with those frames).

I then had a tournament in Normandie, and decided to use the UP16 and really played my best tennis. Wanted to find some to buy but couldn't find any L2s. I did however find 2 UP18 in ok condition, so after reading all of you who've tried both, decided to get them. First time I hit with them was for another tournament match (talk about a test drive !) and I gotta agree with what some have said on this thread : with the UP18, you have less balls coming back to you and the UP16 you have more balls going to your opponent. The ball doesn't jump up but through, making it harder for the opponent to return. Felt like Monfils ripping forehands at times ! Launch angle is a little lower, but I still found great variety, and again, the court penetration was addictive. Volleys felt stable, precise and touch shots felt great.

So I'm switching to the UP18 and would love the get some V4s, but sadly TWE doesn't have them and they're sold out on Wilson's site... anyone got any solutions :)?
 

JOSHL

Hall of Fame
I just have to chime in and say that these UP (16M and 18M) are amazing frames. I'm pretty happy with my Blade V7s 16x19, but I started working on my serve and volley game and felt it was really lacking in that department, which made me realize that the frame feels a bit too "fluttery". So I decided to demo the UP16 V3 (only one available on TWE) and Vcore Pro 97.

The Vcore Pro felt good, stable, plush when hit right and decent power. I did feel like the trajectory was a little low, but otherwise was globally impressed with the frame. I hit with a friend and decided to do a practice set with it, and I played pretty well ; backhand might need a little adjusting.

Switched to the UP16 for the second set (that I weighted with 4g total @3 and 9 and 2g @12) strung with Alu Power RG edition 1.28 and this thing was like an extension of my arm ! Felt so smooth and plush. I love how it flexes uniformly and you feel exactly where the ball is on the stringbed and where it's going. Like a lot of you mentioned on this thread, consistency was terrific with this frame. You can construct your point however you want and use a lot of variety (launch angle helped with that). It just feels so different compared to modern frames; so much feel ! Reminded me of my i.Prestige mids (played more than 10 years with those frames).

I then had a tournament in Normandie, and decided to use the UP16 and really played my best tennis. Wanted to find some to buy but couldn't find any L2s. I did however find 2 UP18 in ok condition, so after reading all of you who've tried both, decided to get them. First time I hit with them was for another tournament match (talk about a test drive !) and I gotta agree with what some have said on this thread : with the UP18, you have less balls coming back to you and the UP16 you have more balls going to your opponent. The ball doesn't jump up but through, making it harder for the opponent to return. Felt like Monfils ripping forehands at times ! Launch angle is a little lower, but I still found great variety, and again, the court penetration was addictive. Volleys felt stable, precise and touch shots felt great.

So I'm switching to the UP18 and would love the get some V4s, but sadly TWE doesn't have them and they're sold out on Wilson's site... anyone got any solutions :)?
Welcome to the club friend. Solution for the v4- wait. That’s what we have all been doing and trust me it’s worth it. The PJ is all time.
 

eric42

Semi-Pro
Late to the party, but how does these compare to the Blade Pros? Currently maining the BP 16x19 at 338SW.
Tried both and Blade Pro is much stiffer and significantly more powerful. Too stiff for me. Doesn't have that classic plush control feel of the UP. Blade Pro is also not really similar to any other Blade version ever made. Obviously it's not a Blade mold, but it's also stiffer than pro stock H22s.
 
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