YOUR QUESTIONS WANTED for Wilson racquet podcast!

TW Staff

TW Staff

Administrator
Hello Talk Tennis Community!

Michelle, our podcast guru, will be interviewing Wilson's Global Product Developer to discuss the new Wilson Shift family.

We are gathering questions for the interview. With a focus on the Shifts, feel free to ask anything you've always wanted to know about racquet design and product development.

We will make an effort to include some of your questions in the interview.

Thanks,

TW Staff
EDITING TO ADD IN THE EPISODE:
Video:

Audio:
or
podcasts.apple.com

Wilson is SHIFTING the tennis world with a new family of racquets! Michael Schaeffer explains how they used feedback from players to create a new line of frames in 2023.

Podcast Episode · Talk Tennis · July 11, 2023 · 47m
podcasts.apple.com podcasts.apple.com
 
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Ask this if conversation segways in that direction..
Will Wilson ever offer a "yellow" spin racket line to directly compete with the French mfg that owns that market segment?
Wish they would...
 
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Wo....
They brag about how plush and soft the feel of the racket is in the TTW video. But the specs say 68 stiffness!
What's the scoop there?
I don't play with rackets greater than 65 RA.
 
Will Wilson change their practice to start making a substantial number grommets for their most popular and best selling frames when they release new frames?

Wilson has a history of releasing frames and no grommets. e.g Wilson Blade 98 16x19 and 18x20 V8. Those v8 grommets took six to eight plus months to become available.
 
Michelle,
1. Will Wilson expand the SHIFT lineup with different string patterns, weights and lengths
OR is the shift technology meant to be incorporated into Wilson's other racquet groups?
2. Will Wilson ever create butt caps (like others) that allow easy exact addition of weight or other modular /adaptive components that allow easy modification?
 
StringStrungStrang said:
Michelle,

2. Will Wilson ever create butt caps (like others) that allow easy exact addition of weight or other modular /adaptive components that allow easy modification?
Click to expand...
And...
2a: to include easily extending frames 1/4" or 1/2"

I know they aren't as popular, but Wilson used to produce some nice extended frames (sweet memories of the HPS 6.1 Stretch), the lack of which has kept me away from their lineup for decades. In fact, I was excited at first when I thought the PS X v14 was an extended version of PS 97.

Is it that expensive/cumbersome/undesirable to produce a few '+' frames in the popular lines?
 
Compare Wilson's Spin Effect Technology to the spin technologies in the Shift family. How do these different technologies contribute to the generation of spin?

Many people think that a racquet's comfort correlates in part to the amount it bends horizontally. Does a racquet's vertical bending play a role in comfort? Does stroke style factor into this?

Is there anything about the Shift's bending profile that would make it feel more stable than similarly spec'd counterparts?

Is there a reason why so many racquet manufacturers mention everything but weight when talking about where comfort comes from?
 
With the success of the Steam frame used by DeMinaur, Halep, Badosa, Svitolina, Anisimova, Ostapenko, etc., is there a chance Wilson would possibly bring this one back? I realize DeMinaur and Halep’s is being sold as the Blade Team (or 99”) however is there any reason this couldn’t be upgraded and rebranded as a new product line?
 
This will be an interesting podcast! Thank you for requesting input.

1. Are there plans to expand the Shift line of racquets to include a larger head size (102-105?)?
2. Agree with @TennisHound question- the Wilson steam 100 has a presence on WTA . Any plans to incorporate this into one of the racquet lines or add it to the Wilson Pro Labs for sale?
3. Related to above- what current Wilson racquets are close to Steam100 and also Juice 100? Would Wilson consider a limited “vintage” or “classic” racquet release of any of these now that they are 10+ years old. You have the previous sales record/metrics and could release only the model(s) that sold the best. People love to buy what was previously popular.
4. Just curious where Wilson sees the Burn line now and how has it changed in current version from V1/2?
 
What was their starting block for coming up with the Shift?

To better explain, Did they identify a type of racquet that the market wanted and they looked to fill it, an engineer had an idea and they ran with, was there a racquet another manufacturer makes they are trying to emulate (cough cough), etc.

Question 2 (similar to a few others): why/how did the land on 300g 16x19, 315 18x20
 
Why wasn't I picked for the Pro Staff playtest? Lol

BUT seriously,
For the Shift or a future racquet, did/are you considering an 18x19 pattern?
Seems a perfect blend of power and control for the modern game, plus it seems Korda is using an 18x19 Blade.

Is there a market for something that blends the Blade and Pro Staff, maybe with an 18x19? I'm thinking it would compete against the Tfight, or is that what the Shift is supposed to do?
 
I love the cosmetic of the Shift, but the semi-transparent grommets seem overly brittle. Any chance of black, or better yet, orange (i.e., with their color matched to the I in SHIFT) replacement grommet sets coming out?
 
1. What is Wilson view on tolerances in static weight, swingweight and balance. On extreme side of tolerance, two sticks play completely different, and we as customers have to pay for racquet matching. Is it true that Shift has improved tolerances?
2. How much testing is done to ensure raquet arm safety (wrist, elbow, shoulder) under different use conditions (strings, tension, etc)
3. What player type and skill level Shift targets?
 
I can no longer play Wilson racquets because they don't offer 4 5/8" grip sizes in intermediate level racquets. My serves and my volleys are much better with a larger grip size. Also, as its entry level priced racquet, I wish Wilson would replace the very old Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3 Stretch Oversize. Lastly, I purchased a Wilson Clash 108 v1 racquet but wish it had a headlight balance rather than an even balance - headlight racquets are so much easier to maneuver. I get physically tired from playing with my Clash 108 v1 because it's actually slightly head-heavy. Obviously, quality Wilson control needs to be better too.
 
Who is the target audience for the shift 315, and the shift 300?

Are there efforts underway to help with swingweight quality control, especially since we saw very high sw 315s on these forums, and low sw 300s as well?

Great racquets and finally true innovation here with the shifts - really interested in hearing the podcast!
 
TW Staff said:

Hello Talk Tennis Community!

Michelle, our podcast guru, will be interviewing Wilson's Global Product Developer to discuss the new Wilson Shift family.

We are gathering questions for the interview. With a focus on the Shifts, feel free to ask anything you've always wanted to know about racquet design and product development.

We will make an effort to include some of your questions in the interview.

Thanks,

TW Staff
Click to expand...
You may have answered this, but when is the podcast?
 
1HBHfanatic said:
-will wilson ever provide "stiffness" ratings/readings on wilson racquets?
-so many buyers/players look for this metric!
Click to expand...
AGREED! I bought a Wilson Fierce racquet and wrote to Wilson asking for its RA. I never received a reply. They would not even let me know the Wilson S.I. for the racquet.
 
I'd also like to echo questions about extended frames.
In adition I'd love to see the Dimitrov's Pro Staff 93 released with a normal 16x19 or 16x20 pattern and traditional weighting instead of the hammer like almost equal balance so if you could ask about the chances of such a frame being released it would be fab!
 
I'm generally curious about their engineering approach.

1) What are the drivers for "radical" changes, like making the Blade v8 significantly softer or increasing the headsize of the PS v14? How do they weight customer feedback, general trends in tennis and goals of their engineers have (like reduce frequencys etc, which might be unknown to the general public)?

2) How do they approach the design of new lines? What comes first: target audience or feature that all the other lines are missing?

3) How do they view their brand visibility on tour? Most players on the ATP and WTA tour (and on amateur tour cycles) are gravitating to a version of the Blade. Who's gonna "shift" ?
 
TW Staff said:
Hello Talk Tennis Community!

Michelle, our podcast guru, will be interviewing Wilson's Global Product Developer to discuss the new Wilson Shift family.

We are gathering questions for the interview. With a focus on the Shifts, feel free to ask anything you've always wanted to know about racquet design and product development.

We will make an effort to include some of your questions in the interview.

Thanks,

TW Staff
Click to expand...
@TW Staff with so many pros (RBA, Opelka, etc) using the 6.1 95 mold, are there plans for it to return to the main line?

If not, will there be an updated pro labs cosmetic?
 
Does Wilson ever plan on releasing their pro-player specs? We've recently seen Babolat and Tecnifibre talk more about it and even on tv commentators are talking about how players add lead and silicone. Alongside this will there ever be a spec customization system (like Head did with Head Custom) with the current paint customization? My last question has to do with the shift and it's about the customizations of the frame. Do you customize it and if so how?
 
@TW Staff can Wilson give a brief understanding of terms such as "lateral bend" or "torsional stability" or "45 Technology," and the accompanying QR code on the SHIFT racket.

Are there any specific stringing methods that can enhance the Shift racket‘s technologies, such as main / cross tension differential?
 
CosmosMpower said:
Why can’t they fix their qc issues or at least make frames more head light and or under spec rather than head heavy and over spec
Click to expand...
This is why we switched my son from Wilson to yonex. He had 4 Wilsons and none of them had the same weight/balance. It was impossible to get them matched.
 
TW Staff said:

Hello Talk Tennis Community!

Michelle, our podcast guru, will be interviewing Wilson's Global Product Developer to discuss the new Wilson Shift family.

We are gathering questions for the interview. With a focus on the Shifts, feel free to ask anything you've always wanted to know about racquet design and product development.

We will make an effort to include some of your questions in the interview.

Thanks,

TW Staff
Click to expand...
It would be good if the Wilson rep could comment on how the racquet is tested before it hits the production line. Who are the testers and what happens if the racquet receives negative feedback from testers?

Also, does Wilson ever accept/review ideas or concepts from average players or from Talk Tennis?
 
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