Our team was happy to report that Wilson took the Blade qualities players love and made incremental improvements to create the Blade 98 18x20 v9. Chris, who found a ton of control from this racquet, explained, "The Blade 98 18x20 v9 felt solid at contact, and I was driving through my backhand slice well. I liked the way the racquet felt on that shot: solid, comfortable and direct. On topspin shots I was happy with the amount of spin I was able to generate. I did not find this racquet as spin-friendly as the Shift 99 Pro, but that is the most spin-friendly 18x20 racquet I've ever hit. I would say control is definitely better here and was the highlight for me when hitting groundstrokes."

Troy felt confident when slugging his groundstrokes, and he was happy there were no drastic changes in this update. He said, "For a lack of better words, it definitely felt like a Blade! I noticed a solid and comfortable feel on contact, and a high level of plow through from the 330-plus swingweight. The control level on flatter strokes and the smooth and easy feel on my backhand slice worked well for me. This racquet isn't a spin monster, and it doesn't feel very whippy, but it’s a great racquet for a player who really likes to hug the baseline and get into attack mode early in the point."

"The Blades and I have never been a perfect match, and the Blade I liked the best was the Countervail version that everyone disliked. I think I enjoyed it because of the muted feel and the beefed-up swingweight," said Michelle. "With that being said, going into this playtest Wilson claimed that this was the 'Pro Staff for the modern game,' and while I wouldn't call my game modern, I did test the racquet very closely against my Pro Staff RF97, which might need to be replaced soon. I loved how solid and stable the Blade 98 18x20 v9 felt from the very first hitting session, and that I could hit big and hard and still have control. I really like the new paint job, and I really like that this racquet allowed me to paint the lines and go for deep groundstrokes. The tighter string pattern didn't feel too limiting in terms of net clearance, and it allowed me to keep balls low over the net. With all that being said, I played really well with this racquet."

Mark simply said, "The Blade 98 18x20 v9 was a backcourt masterpiece! I had zero issues with shot depth as long as the frame was paired with a thinner, edgy polyester string, and I was able to carve up or down the ball for good precision to complement the easy depth."

At net, the Blade 98 18x20 v9 offered our team a solid, stable, comfortable experience, with plenty of precision and touch. Troy loved most things about hitting volleys with this racquet. He continued, "The only thing I could really ask to change would be shifting the balance point for a more head-light spec. I would add a leather grip and maybe a little tungsten putty inside the trap door to find the right balance for me. I found the stability to be very good, even against hard hitters."

"Volleying with this racquet was seamless, and it never let me down," added Michelle. “The Blade 98 18x20 v9 was stable and the response off the stringbed was predictable; I never got pushed around."

Mark found his volleying experience to be elevated with this Blade 98 18x20. He described, "Crisp-feeling racquets produce crisp-feeling volleys, and that was the case with this Blade 98 18x20. Unless my opponent unleashed huge pace on a passing shot, this racquet didn’t quiver at all. It really helped produce good volleys that landed in all of the right spots."

Chris had a great time at the net due to the Blade 98 18x20's impressive control and stability. He said, "The level of control was very high. I was hitting my placement volleys with a lot of confidence. There was enough mass in the racquet to help me punch volleys away and to hold up against harder passing attempts. I found the response to be very comfortable, but not so dampened for it to hinder my targeting."

As to be expected, consistency and precision were the name of the game when serving with the Blade 98 18x20 v9. Although Mark didn't find easy power, he did find comfort and precision when it came to serving with this racquet. He said, "It was easy for me to deliver the precision and hit my spots with decent pace. That said, the latest update seems to have no ceiling (other than my own) on how much pace you can generate."

"I've been extra critical of 18x20 string patterns on serve because I lose a bit of net clearance and access to spin," said Michelle. "With this Blade, it wasn't too detrimental, but it was noticeable when playing side by side with a similar head with a more open string pattern. Aside from that, I was finding great access to pace and precision and really had some fun hitting big serves, so much so I kept joking that I would only hit flat bombs with this racquet. It was fun to hit my T serves and jam serves into my opponent’s body, then mix it up with a slider out wide or a bit of an American twist to throw my opponents off right when they thought they had me figured out!"

Chris found the Blade 98 18x20 v9 reliable and consistent on serves. He said, "Again, control was very impressive with this racquet. I felt confident flirting with the lines and going for a little extra pace. My slice serve had good bite to it, but I wasn't getting as much movement on the ball as I did with the 16x19 version. The Blade 98 18x20 v9 felt pretty comparable to the Tecnifibre TF40 18x20 on serves; both offer OK power but lots of control."

Troy noted how the mass and swingweight helped him generate some heavy pace on flat serves. He explained, "I felt very dialed in on my serves in terms of placement, and I was able to move the ball around the service box effectively. I struggled a bit with my spin and kick serves at the beginning of the playtest, and I wanted easier maneuverability and more bite from the stringbed (the 18x20 felt dense). After a couple of sessions I made some adjustments to find more consistency on my spin serves. I want to try adding weight to the handle for maneuverability, and I'd make sure to go with a thin poly, like Luxilon ALU Power 17L or 18 gauge."

Our whole team loved how stable and precise the Blade 98 18x20 v9 felt when returning serves. While she might not always find harmony with tighter string patterns, Michelle loves tighter patterned racquets when returning, and she found success starting points off swinging aggressively with this Blade 98 18x20. She said, "This racquet possessed all the control, precision and stability I crave when firing off returns. It was maneuverable enough to access angles too, which I can't always do with my beefier RF racquets."

Since he tested this racquet alongside the 16x19 version, Chris compared the two, saying, "With the 18x20, my shots had a lower and more direct trajectory. I felt accurate with it, but the 16x19 version gave me better clearance over the net and more margin for error. This Blade 98 18x20 v9 had the slight edge on flat shots, but the 16x19 version outperformed it in every other category for me."

"The solid and stable feel and the easy plow through helped me out on returns," added Troy. "When facing big servers, I could use the incoming ball speed and redirect it with ease, getting the ball to land deep on my opponent's side of the net. If the server put the ball near my wheelhouse I could step in and take an aggressive cut at the ball. The relatively high swingweight made it easy for me to hit a hard, heavy return. I started hitting my two-handed backhand again (after a long hiatus), and the easy plow through and smooth feel on contact helped me return well with the two-hander. Lastly, the block or the chip return was useful when I had to reach for a return or the server hit a big kicking body serve; the stability helped me get the ball back effectively."

Finding precision and predictability on his return, Mark said, "As usual, I relied more often on a half volley or chip return of serve. Toward the end of the playtest, I found the time and confidence to get the Blade 98 18x20 v9 to come over the top of the ball for more offensive returns."