Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.5

During baseline exchanges, our team was happy to report that the Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14 was surgical and extremely impactful, with consistent performance and predictability to boot. The Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14 was right within Troy's set of preferences. He explained, "When it came to hitting groundstrokes, this racquet was rock solid, stable and precise. I have played with older versions of this racquet going back some years, and this v14 edition felt very nice to swing. This racquet has always had a hefty, solid feel to it, but with the v14, most of our test racquets were sub-330 on the swingweight (325 is what we list as the average), so I found pretty good maneuverability — or as I said in the video review, 'whipability!' There was a nice firm feel on contact, not jarring or harsh; it felt solid but also pretty well dampened, possibly due to its foam-filled construction. I loved this racquet on my slice backhand because it felt so solid with so much feel for the ball. If I had to knock this racquet, I'd say there wasn't a whole lot of forgiveness. In terms of the 95-square-inch head size and 18x20 pattern, I feel like I have to really be dialed in with my stroke mechanics to get the most out of it. There were some instances when I wanted just a bit more help in terms of the launch angle and easier access to spin and shape on my groundstrokes."

Mark struggled slightly with the overall demanding nature of the Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14, but he enjoyed the control nonetheless. He noted, "From the baseline, Wilson's Six.One 95 delivered everything I needed and more. My backhand slice was pretty effective and easy to execute on the run, but I have to admit that after an hour of trading groundstrokes, the Six.One 95's formidable weight left me feeling like its power outweighed the spin potential. If I got tired at all, I found myself either pushing the ball long with a fast swing, or having to slow it down, which caused some shot depth issues."

Michelle found herself pleasantly surprised with the level of pace she could whip up from behind the baseline. She said, "For what this racquet looked like on paper, I was shocked by how easily power and depth came for me. I also was surprised how much I enjoyed playing with it throughout the playtest. I was expecting this racquet to be more control oriented, and I didn't think I'd enjoy bashing balls from the baseline as much as I did. Someone I was hitting with even asked if I was using a pro stock racquet because I was consistently hitting within three feet of the baseline, and the ball penetrated through the court. There was such an awesome blend of power and control. The static weight and lower swingweight (compared to my RF, which is what I am used to) paired perfectly, and the racquet maneuverable on my longer linear strokes. I certainly don't need to go down in head size, but this 95-square-inch hoop felt larger due to a nicely sized sweetspot. Pair that with how stable the racquet was, and off-center hits weren't too detrimental. I loved how plush the ball felt at impact, but the racquet was stable and solid and not too flexible. All of that combined with the controlled 18x20 string pattern left me pleased with how I could get the ball to penetrate the court. I really have no complaints. Stringing it with Luxilon ALU Power at a bit lower tension really enhanced everything; it was just a great hitting experience." 

For Chris, this racquet proved quite dependable. He said, "The Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14 felt solid from the baseline. I grew up playing racquets with a similar spec, so I quickly found the groove on my groundstrokes. I enjoyed this racquet the most on my backhand slice. I loved the way it drove through contact and helped me hit a heavy slice. I found decent topspin on my groundstrokes but nothing as impressive as when I went for slice. I also enjoyed the touch I had. My drop shots were working well, and I felt very connected to my shots."

Volleys: 8.6

Up at the net, our team very much enjoyed the finesse and touch afforded by the control-oriented Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14. The directional control exceeded expectations across the board. For Mark, the capabilities when volleying were much more tangible than his baseline experience. He noted, "With all of that stability complementing play from the backcourt, I was pretty certain that would apply in terms of my volley, and that was definitely the case. Overall, volleying with the Six.One 95 v14 was magical, and not nearly as taxing as rallying with it from the baseline. The only adjustment I made at net was to take a half step back from my usual position to get some extra reaction time." 

Chris was happy to find a willing accomplice when volleying. He described, "I found the Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14 to be a great partner at net. The racquet felt solid, controlled and comfortable. The dense stringbed had me feeling in control of the depth and placement of my shots. This is one of those racquets that has plenty of mass to help me punch volleys away, and I could relax and let the racquet do the work. The head-light balance kept everything feeling maneuverable, and I felt like I was reacting well during quick exchanges."

For Troy, the volleying experience was user-friendly and precise. He noted, "This is definitely one of those racquets I would consider to be a scalpel up at net. I felt like I could be very crafty and place my volleys just about anywhere I wanted to. There was a ton of stability built in, so this Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14 held up strong when facing big hitters. It didn’t flutter in my hand and allowed me to easily re-direct the pace of the incoming ball. I liked going for short angles and hitting droppers because I felt very connected to the ball on my volleys. I loved the hefty, solid feel of this racquet, but also the way this racquet was balanced made it feel like a magic wand in terms of maneuverability. There's not a whole lot I didn't like about this Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14 in terms of hitting volleys, but it may be just a bit unforgiving at times. Having tested some larger head sizes lately, such as the Prince Phantom 100P or Head Gravity MP XL 2023, this racquet's smaller head required a little more focus on my part."

Michelle was also pleased with the performance of the Six.One 95 v14 up at net. She explained, "This racquet was nice and stable, which made volleying simple! I could get the racquet in the right spot and punch the ball back. Getting to the net was a fun way to end the point. I did note a slight lack of net clearance when I was trying to add touch to anything that was below the net, but that shot is definitely not my strength!" 

Serves: 8.2

Accuracy was the name of the game when serving with the Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14. While there wasn't necessarily a ton of free power readily available, our playtesters still found ways to hit their spot serves and flatter firsts. Chris really enjoyed the dependable nature of this racquet on serve. He said, "I tend to like serving with heftier racquets, and that was definitely true with the Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14. I liked how this racquet felt through contact; it was very solid and offered excellent plow-through power. I had good control over my flat serves thanks to the dense stringbed, and I felt very much in control of both the depth and direction of my serves. My slice serve also worked very well with this racquet. I was able to get some good movement on the ball while hitting with plenty of pace."

The Six.One 95 obeyed Michelle's every command. She explained, "I really enjoyed pinpointing flatter first serves with this racquet, and I found plenty of kick or slice on second serves. The 18x20 pattern helped me attack my targets and lean into precise, flat serves. Slice serves were solid as well, and it was fun to pull them into the returner's body or pull opponents out of their strike zone."

Mark liked the Six.One 95 v14's performance on serves, but he found that some initial adjustments were necessary. He said, "Where my 305- to 315-gram frames do not demand a nearly perfect kinetic chain to produce decent serves, the Six.One 95 v14 does. Once I loosened my grip a bit and dialed in my point of racquet acceleration, I was generating a reasonably heavy ball without a ton of racquet head speed required." 

For Troy, the overall serving experience was doable, but not especially easy. He said, "There wasn't a ton of free power with this racquet, but I still found some nice pop on my flat first serves. Also, the mass of this racquet helped pancake the ball on those flat serves, which led to some good pace. When it came to spin serves, I liked the head-light feel of this Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14, which was helpful in terms of racquet speed. However, the dense 18x20 string pattern left me wanting some help with spin on kick and slice serves."

Returns: 8.3

Returning with the Six.One 95 v14 was precise and stable, with our team going for location as opposed to pace. Our testers didn't find much free power, but the 18x20 pattern did do an excellent job of redirecting pace with more intent. Michelle was seriously impressed in this regard, finding lots of success from a variety of returns. She said, "I simply loved returning with this racquet; the feel, plow through, weight and stability just lined up perfectly! I always say this is where I need the most control, and it was nice to have that when going after returns with this racquet. It helped me confidently start the point the way I wanted. On top of that, the sub-330 swingweight allowed me to hit angles more effectively than some of the beefier racquets I tend to swing most days. This racquet is stable and held up against big servers really well, which allowed me to get the ball deep into the court and neutralize the serve as best as I could." 

The Six.One 95 v14’s lack of free power didn't do Mark any favors on returns, but he still found ways to make it viable. He noted, "I struggled a little on my forehand return but had an easy time hitting both topspin and slice backhand returns with the Six.One 95 v14."

Troy enjoyed returning with this racquet, and he found lots to like about the solid nature of the frame. He said, "The rock-solid feel of this racquet really shone on my serve returns. I could block the ball back with relative ease when I was facing big hitting servers. This Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14 felt stable on contact and didn't get pushed around by big serves. I loved utilizing my slice backhand return, and when I had the chance to hit a forehand return, I could punish the ball if it was in my strike zone. The downside was that I had a harder time when trying to drive or add topspin to my backhand return. Also, like I mentioned previously, there's just not the most forgiving feel with this racquet, which I noticed on returns. It felt sweet when I was on, with lots of plow through on my returns, but with the 95 head size and 18x20 pattern, I wasn't getting much help from the racquet if I was slightly off.” 

The Six.One 95 v14 allowed Chris to get a little creative on his returns. He said, "I returned well with this racquet. The Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14 felt solid even when I was returning heavy serves. I liked how I could drive through the ball. I was able to redirect the pace of the incoming serve and hit a heavy return back to neutralize the point or even steal the advantage. I felt very confident with my slice return off my backhand wing. I had fun mixing up cross court and down the line driving slice returns."

Breakdown Summary