JOSHL
Hall of Fame
Can’t say if the are actual 18x20 but yes the v4 will fit v3.
Wilson Pro Labs: Ultra Pro v3 (18x20) Official Thread
- Thread starter taylor15
- Start date
whereas the TW stringing comes in pretty loose for me, the stringing i got from wilson came in super tight. the stenciling also feels way too excessive and the strings (ALU power) won't go back in place, though just playing through it. the grip feels insanely huge compared to the original ultra tour i got. just dealing with it for now.
Hulger
Semi-Pro
Unfortunately, haven't been able to get this frame working for my game. It has a very powerful and tasteful sweetspot right in the middle of the bed, but outside of it feels plastic and hollow, even when leaded up. It is more accurate and maneuverable (if SW and TW are matched) than Blade 18x20, but the Blade still accepts much more brushing up and is a bit more stable. The flex profile is more uniform, stiffer, and more predictable than in any Blade and seems to yield better slices and flat serves. So, the Ultra Pro 18x20 feels most optimized for classic strokes. However, it lacks the punchy stability of the 6.1 95 needed for an aggressive net game, and Six One 18x20 even has more spin potential if you get it moving. It feels like it falls in the grey area in the Wilson lineup, defined by the Blade, the modern classic suitable for relatively aggressive technical baseliners, and the Pro Staff, the classic classic for aggressively forward-moving all-court players. Maybe there's such a player who is a flat, strategy-oriented baseliner who dictates play with linear accuracy, but the low spin potential and stability limit counterpunching and all-court potential—feels like very low-margin tennis for me.
AmericanTwist
Professional
Hulger - string a bit lower and add weight to the butt cap area. Hit in the area between 10 and 2 o'clock. I get all the spin I need with this frame, which offers the best slice of any modern frame out there - piercing, accurate, and with a lot of english. Second in my ranking on slices is the Dunlop CX 200 Tour 18x20. Then the blade 18x20. One can make the UP stable and spinny enough by adding weight and lowering tension. The 6.1 95 is a classic frame that has more power, but also less forgiveness on returns from the stiffness. Try these suggestions and report back.
C
coolbh6
Guest
Honestly - I think Its a really cool top line (feel wise) frame. But seriously I have never come across any high level player using this racket in competition - because if they are good enough to generate a quality ball consistently from this frame they are good enough to produce a better quality ball (and with less effort) with a modern more stable frame.
I would bet more 3.5-4.0 rec players use this frame than 4.5-5.5 level players because the lack of power and small sweetspot and flexibility keeps the ball in the court and their competition is not strong enough destroy those weak nothing balls that show up constantly.
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i respectfully disagree. times have changed for sure but for the most part the way it has been that as you advance, you want less power from the frame's composition and more from its weight or your own swing, because you can generate the speed yourself and can handle the higher weight. the changing of the times led it to be now that as players advance they are better to able to control the power of thicker frames rather than being able to generate power off thinner frames, but it's still normal for advanced players to like racquets like this. monfils and pavic both used/are using h19 frames
AmericanTwist
Professional
Thanks grungebob for clarifying. Pros still use some version of this frame because it is a great platform and offers great control. Now that Wilson has opened up pro stock- like specs we all benefit and can experiment just like the pros do. Better rec players still use this frame while your typical 3.5-4.0 players may use Babalots more which are stiffer and more powerful. Babolat frames sometimes produce too much power to control and too much spin that it is hard to modulate.
have you tried thinner strings?
Hulger
Semi-Pro
Actually I strung it today as 18x19 skipping the top cross and used Super Smash 120 @ 23 kg (while waiting a reel of Focus Hex 118 to arrive.)
Also leaded it up heavily… 1/4 inch strip going from the bottom of the grey paint area around the hoop and reinforced it with another 4g at noon. It’s 16 grams of lead. Haven’t measured but theoretically SW would be around 360. Didn’t counterbalance it anyhow.
Very HH balance, but the thin beam in quality glossy paint still didn’t feel clumsy.
It hits very nasty ball now. Seems like the added lead is increasing the spin potential (more than skipping the top cross.) I guess there’s too much deflection in stock form and even if RHS and launch angle were higher it doesn’t force strings to move.
Let’s see how this goes. Swinging a hammer like that isn’t too popular nowadays.
AmericanTwist
Professional
OP what's the reason behind stringing it 18x19 skipping the top cross? Don't get hung up on chasing that 18x19 pattern. Rec players and pros select this frame for the controlled tight string bed.`If people have never hit a slice with this frame they don't know how unbelieveable a shot this frame can produce. Spin performance even with the 18x20 is very ample. Use thinner gauge strings and string lower. Control is amazing.
If you want a slightly more open string pattern up top challenge yourself and try the Dunlop CX 200 Tour 18x20. When I pop strings they are typically in the area of 10 and 2 or even slightly higher at 11 and 1 o'clock. The slightly more open pattern up top is excellent for producing a bit more power and spin on those balls where you are digging them off the ground or hitting running wing shots. Control is great. You can hit the area around 9 and 3 o'clock and not worry much about balls flying long because the pattern there is tight as it should be. Experiment.
If you want a slightly more open string pattern up top challenge yourself and try the Dunlop CX 200 Tour 18x20. When I pop strings they are typically in the area of 10 and 2 or even slightly higher at 11 and 1 o'clock. The slightly more open pattern up top is excellent for producing a bit more power and spin on those balls where you are digging them off the ground or hitting running wing shots. Control is great. You can hit the area around 9 and 3 o'clock and not worry much about balls flying long because the pattern there is tight as it should be. Experiment.
shinminsoo86
Rookie
In states US$249, in Korea US$210~220
I used the Ultra Tour for about 2 years.
I find the minimum swingweight to be 330 strung with something like 32cm or slightly less balance.
The pro stock ones I used were between 335 and 340 and this felt perfect. Lead at 12 and silicone in the handle.
Tension, I consistently ran 45-47lbs for all poly regardless of guage.
45lbs with a soft poly gets a nice controllable trampoline kind of effect, great pocketing and power.
I find the minimum swingweight to be 330 strung with something like 32cm or slightly less balance.
The pro stock ones I used were between 335 and 340 and this felt perfect. Lead at 12 and silicone in the handle.
Tension, I consistently ran 45-47lbs for all poly regardless of guage.
45lbs with a soft poly gets a nice controllable trampoline kind of effect, great pocketing and power.
AmericanTwist
Professional
Use 1.20 poly or 17g syn gut. Tension should be 44-52 lbs for summer play. The lower the level of play, thicker the string, stiffer the string, the lower tension in this range and vice versa.
for about a decade i had been using the prince graphite oversize and was using 15 g strings. with this racquet, it seems like it's the densest pattern i've used, even compared to the dunlop cx 200 18x20 or head pro tour 2.0. i have never had strings last so long on me before. i would recommend going 18g thin and starting around 50lbs and tweaking from there.
I have had somewhat similar experiences.
I have played with a gut and alu hybrid string setup, and in my other racquet, I have had strings as a test since April. I've played about 50 hours, and they just won't break...
In the other racquet, I tried replacing only the cross strings, and it actually worked surprisingly well. Gut strings retain their characteristics really well. If anyone is considering this, a tip is to cut the cross strings off when the racquet is secured in the stringing machine
do you buy the champions choice pack or just individually buy the strings
I'll buy a 12-meter set of gut (Wilson or Luxilon 130) and cut it in half. Luxilon is nice because it has a mark indicating where to cut it. For me same performance.
I've been using the blue 128 ALU and 125 4G on the crosses and can't decide which is better. Both are so good!
im impressed you get enough spin when using nat gut in the mains
I've always felt that its easier with gut.
you could be right; my thought was always that the mains are more of the "spin" string because you are brushing across them for topspin, but i don't know that much
Mine were somewhere around 330 static, 330 swing weight and played great. I prefer more HL so they are closer to 335g strung now which still isn't so heavy.
AmericanTwist
Professional
Added weight is a function of your strength and length. nail down the balance first then start adding weight to the height and butt cap areas. Some people also add weight to the top of the grip. For sure a player's frame like the UP needs more weight. Then keep adding weight until you start noticing that the frame feels too sluggish. Then remove the most recently added weight.
i never went too overboard but i added four 4 in strips at 10 and 2 o clock and then matched those 4 strips in the handle cause i liked the balance that mine came in with, though the one i started with had a very chewed up headguard. i do find that the 18 x 20 is fairly stable on its own compared to a 16 x 19 racquet but i also string it 55-57
Just depends if you need power or stability.
As others have said you can definitely add a few grams at 12 to boost power, whether you then need additional for stability is personal.
I recently went through this exercise with a different racquet. One racquet I put lead at 12 and one I put lead at 3/9 and then played to see which was better. I used different amounts of weight because my goal was to keep the amount of SW added the same.
Ultimately, I settled on a combo of 12/3/9 and they play great. Total weight added was 4.5g and around 10-11 points of SW.
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