Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.5

Our squad had a lot of positive things to say about the Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 from the baseline. Chris began, “The Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 offered a ton of plow through from the baseline thanks to its chunky swingweight, and I had no issues hitting a heavy ball with this racquet. I was impressed by how solid and stable it felt at contact. I found this racquet to work exceptionally well on my backhand slice. I could drive that shot hard and low, which gave my opponents a tough ball to dig out. The dense 18x20 string pattern offered a ton of control on all of my shots, and I felt like I was controlling the depth of my shots well while letting the mass of the racquet do much of the work. I would probably add some weight under the handle to tail weight it a bit and trick my brain into making the tip feel lighter and faster.”

Solid, stable, comfortable and predictable were the first words that came to mind for Troy as he summarized this racquet's performance from the baseline. He explained, "The weight and the way the racquet maneuvered reminded me of the Tecnifibre TFight ISO 305. It was not all that heavy overall, but it swung with some heft and plow through due to the high swingweight. I found great feel and easy plow through on my slice backhand; it's just a beautiful racquet for that. However, when I was on the move, or when I needed to flick my wrist for a topspin shot cross court, I craved easier maneuverability. I loved the super stable and comfortable feel on contact. The dampened feel was similar to the Wilson Ultra Pro 18x20 v4 (maybe there is some foam inside the tubes?), but there was still plenty of feedback and control from the box-beam design. My biggest concern would be finding one of these Blade Pros with a swingweight closer to 330. I would also have to add some handle weight to get it to maneuver the way I prefer."

Mark enjoyed the all-around performance this racquet provided from the baseline. He said, "Although I struggle with tight patterned frames, when I strung the Blade Pro with a thin polyester string it gave me the grip on the ball I needed for easy shot depth and directional control of my groundstrokes."

"The Blade Pro was amazing on groundstrokes," Munish added. "Compared to the regular Blade 18x20, the Pro gave me a little bit more power and plow through. I hit pretty flat, so I wasn't too concerned about topspin. Slices were amazing; the ball stayed low and barely had a bounce to it. The racquet was quite stable as well. I was able to rally with some of our bigger hitters without any issues. It was not the most maneuverable racquet, so I had to make a conscious effort to get it up and ready to get clean contact on the ball. I might add a leather grip, but overall, this racquet plays in my wheelhouse because I can hit super flat and aggressive without the risk of overhitting."

Volleys: 7.9

Stable and solid with loads of feel sums up what our crew found when taking the Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 to the net. Troy felt like he could effortlessly volley back any shot he could get the racquet on, though getting the racquet to the ball on time wasn't always easy. He described, "I loved the solid yet plush feel on contact when I was volleying. I felt very connected to the ball due to the dense 18x20 string pattern, and my touch shots felt dialed in. This Wilson Blade Pro 98 18x20 felt like a wall, redirecting the ball back deep without a flutter no matter how hard the ball was hit at me. I loved the feel overall, but the main downside was the lack of maneuverability, specifically not being head light enough. This racquet was lovely when I had the time to get prepped for my volleys, but this racquet had a sluggish feel to it when I had to react rapidly during quick exchanges. As I mentioned in the groundstroke category, a great setup would be a swingweight close to 330 strung with some added handle weight."

The Blade Pro 98 18x20 really shone for Mark when he was at the net. "The 340-ish swingweight caused it to skew a little toward stability rather than maneuverability, but this racquet never felt clunky to get into position for a volley. The dense pattern delivered a precise and solid response, even if ball contact was near the rim."

While Munish struggled a bit with the Blade Pro 98 18x20's maneuverability at times, once he got the hang of it he found success on his volleys. He said, "I had some issues getting this racquet back to ready position because of its heft. But with a few adjustments, like standing farther back to buy more time, I was able to punch the ball back deep. I loved feeling so connected to the ball because I was able to hit sharper angles, touch shots and drop volleys with a bit more intention. I had no arm issues whatsoever, but I still prefer my standard Blade 98 18x20 for its maneuverability."

The Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 felt rock solid at net to Chris. He said, "I loved the response of the Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 on low pickup volleys because it helped me dig out those tough shots with plenty of control on the ball. I had all the control I needed to find my targets consistently on most volleys. I also didn't have to do much to punch volleys back with depth and pace with this racquet. While the balance of this Blade Pro is not something I'd typically look for in a racquet, it definitely worked very well at net."

Serves: 8.1

Our playtesters could hit great flat serves with the Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9, but due to the tighter string pattern and higher swingweight, some of them had a tougher time adding spin. This racquet was a natural fit for Chris' service game. He said, "Racquets with some mass to them typically work well with my service motion, and unsurprisingly, the Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 was a good fit. I was very happy with the pace I was getting on my serves. The Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 felt like it had the mass to do most of the work, but it also felt maneuverable enough to allow solid access to spin. My slice serve was working well, as I had a good mix of pace and spin."

Munish enjoyed great power levels from this Blade Pro on his serves. He said, "I was able to hit my flat serves with ease because I let the 340 swingweight do most of the job. Second serves, slice serves and kickers are where I had to put in more effort to get that pronation. When I was able to do that, the spin that I could generate was more than enough for an effective serve, but I rarely ever hit kickers because the flat serve worked well on both sides." 

Mark found this racquet to perform well from everywhere in the court, and it was hard for him to say there was one shot in particular that was superior to the others. However, he did say, "It was not easy to develop lots of spin on either first or second serves, but I was able to keep opponents from attacking my first serve. This racquet allowed me to construct good points off my serve."

With the combination of the 18x20 string pattern and high swingweight, Troy found this Blade Pro 98 18x20 to pair best with flat first serves. He said, "I could really mash the ball — or pancake the ball as former tester Granville would say. I found plenty of control and precision when going for my targets on serves. My struggle was going for heavy spin and kick serves. It was the lack of maneuverability and the dense string pattern that made it feel more difficult to generate that easy arc and spin on my serves."

Returns: 8.8

While our playtesters struggled some with serves, the Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 performed perfectly for them on returns. Munish didn't feel like he had to do much with the return because the racquet did most of the work for him. He explained, "I was able to step into the ball and be aggressive with it. Directing the ball was extremely easy, and I would credit the string pattern and the swingweight. The Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 is super stable even against the biggest of servers, which I truly appreciated."

Unlike on his serves, Troy loved just about everything about this Blade Pro 98 18x20 on returns. He said, "I use a more compact stroke on my returns, so the maneuverability wasn't as much of an issue. I also love a racquet that helps me push my returns deep in the court and can hold up strong against high-speed serves. The Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 is one of those racquets that just plows through the ball like a Mack Truck, and it felt super stable against the hardest of serves. I would probably still like this racquet a bit more with some handle weight, but in stock form I was loving how it worked with me on serve returns."

The solid feel of the Blade Pro 98 18x20 v9 was very welcome for Chris when returning serves. He said, "I found the feel to be very comfortable, and the soft response of the frame worked very well with the controlled and firmer feel of the dense stringbed. Again, my backhand slice felt very good with this racquet."

"My return of serve is not my strength, and for a long time I would almost exclusively rely on a chip, half volley type of return," added Mark. "But lately I have been using more topspin returns, and I have to say the weight, balance, etc. of this racquet complemented my conversion."

Breakdown Summary