Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.0

This Wilson RF 01 Future is definitely lighter than what our team typically swings, yet they still found ample success from the backcourt thanks to the balanced weight distribution of the frame. Brittany enjoyed the novelty of her experience with the RF 01 Future and was able to make the necessary adjustments to find success. She explained, "I am always excited to get on court with a brand new racquet line because I never know what to expect. I did have an adjustment period of about 30 minutes before I felt comfortable with this racquet. I was swinging too fast at first, and my shots were sailing long. I found the best success when I slowed down my swing. My shots were starting to drop inside the baseline, and I was able to tap into some precision. My forehand and backhand ended up being my favorite strokes to hit by the end of the playtest. I loved how easy the racquet was to maneuver, and the launch angle was a little higher, allowing me to hit deep with ease. It was especially fun to get into a cross court groove from the baseline because I felt like I could do it all day without getting tired. Slice backhands were decent for the racquet's weight, but I didn't hit them all that much." 

The speed of this racquet was especially enjoyable for Tiffani. She said, "From my first rallies with the Wilson RF 01 Future, I noticed how fast this racquet moved through the air. It's not often I find myself ahead of the ball, but I did need to adjust my timing a little with this RF 01 Future. Once I found my rhythm I enjoyed the blend of control and power. This racquet didn't feel overly powerful, but it was still easy to hit with depth and find my targets. It's an interesting spec of 280 grams unstrung and a 98-square-inch head size. Typically, lighter racquets also have bigger head sizes, but I enjoyed the more controlled nature of this RF 01 Future. I thought it was easy to add topspin or slice, and although the racquet didn't hit 'heavy' balls, I could achieve good pace and spin."

Despite this racquet's lighter weight, it was plenty stable for Mark's backcourt game. He said, "Most of my court time is spent at the baseline, so you could say I expect my racquet to perform very well from the backcourt. Obviously, a 280-gram frame is going to be plenty nimble, but at the cost of some stability. After a few sessions of exchanging groundstrokes, my takeaway was that the RF 01 Future was stable enough for me to deploy my counterpunching style of play. Topspin was easier for me to generate on my forehand than on my backhand, and as it turned out, my backhand slice was one of the shots I could rely on the most." 

Oak enjoyed the RF 01 Future more than he thought he would, and he found lots to like from the baseline. He said, "I was thrilled to be a part of this playtest, helping to usher in a new generation of Federer frames. Now I will say the 280-gram static weight is a little bit less than what I have grown accustomed to, so I really tried to have an open mind and consider this frame for what it is. I was delighted to find that this racquet actually has a surprising amount to offer in its stock form, perhaps largely owing to the almost even balance. I did have to minimize my motion overall to be successful, but once I made things more simple in terms of swing path, this racquet was a blast! The lighter weight is easily converted into ample racquet head speed, and there is plenty of spin to be had from the 16x19 open pattern. The precision is also evident despite the lighter weight, and the frame reminded me of something between a Pro Staff and a Wilson Ultra. The throat geometry complements the modern game, and the upper hoop definitely feels more classic in terms of its responsiveness. All in all, the way that this RF 01 Future handled from the baseline was a joy to experience." 

Volleys: 7.7

Up at net, the Wilson RF 01 Future exceeded expectations overall. Mark noted how much the racquet outperformed what its specs might suggest. He said, "Nowhere do I get a better feel for a racquet's level of stability than at net. I have to admit that I expected the RF 01 Future's agility to far outweigh its stability. That said, with the exception of some volleys landing a bit short and me having to squeeze the handle for better volley depth, the RF 01 Future shone brightly at net in most every volley scenario I was in." 

While he eventually got a handle on it, Oak initially struggled with this frame on volleys. He described, "This was one area where I did have a little trouble because I was craving more mass to help tame the volleys. The RF 01 Future's precise nature and almost even balance did help me out at net. Typically, I was going for placement over power on my volleys, so I didn't mind the 98-square-inch hoop here either." 

Brittany enjoyed how fast the RF 01 Future handled at net. She said, "As expected from looking at the specs, this racquet is extremely maneuverable, so it was very easy to get it into position up at net. The feel is reminiscent of a Pro Staff, and it offers a crisp, clean response. I was missing a little mass behind my volleys due to the lighter weight, and there was some instability that I mostly noticed when I had to reach for a volley, especially in doubles play." 

Tiffani also noticed how speedy this racquet could be at net. She said, "The Wilson RF 01 Future felt fast at the baseline, and it felt equally fast when I was trying to move it into position for volleys. It never felt sluggish, and I enjoyed the crisp feel at the net. When the ball struck the sweetspot I felt like I knew right where my shot was going. However, when I missed the sweetspot, its lighter weight did get exposed. Still, I did find this racquet more stable than I would have expected."

Serves: 8.3

Serves were another area where the Wilson RF 01 Future delighted our playtesters with its playability. Tiffani was impressed with the various options at her disposal. She said, “My favorite aspect of serving was how easy it was to find a good rhythm with my swing. I didn't tire out during long service games, and I could accelerate easily. I didn't feel like I was hitting heavy, powerful serves, but I was serving consistently and with enough accuracy to use placement to my advantage. My only issue is more of a 'me' problem than the racquet's fault. I hang my pinky off the end of the handle (just for serves), and because the butt cap has raised lettering, it was irritating my finger. I easily adjusted and moved my hand higher on the handle to solve this minor problem." 

Oak was also pleasantly surprised by the racquet's performance on serve. He noted, "I was shocked by how well this racquet did up top on serves. The ability to hit through the ball thanks to the lower swingweight was greatly appreciated. As such, serves were easy to spin in and place effectively. I really enjoyed a kick or topspin serve out wide with this racquet.

Likewise, Brittany enjoyed how many different kinds of serves she could hit. She explained, "The RF 01 Future has a lot of positives when it comes to serving. It was easy to swing and get up and over my head. It was also easy to generate racquet head speed, and I was able to maintain it throughout a match or practice session. My serves had good pace and were landing deep in the service box. However, there were some limitations. My serves weren't as heavy, and they were sitting up for my opponent at times. There was some access to spin, which allowed me to hit a variety of serves, including slice out wide. I wouldn't say that the serve was a weapon, or that I was getting any additional free points, but it was consistent throughout the playtest."

Mark was impressed by what he was able to get away with on serve with the RF01 Future in his hands. He said, “I’m accustomed to using more racquet for every shot I hit, but I had a pretty seamless transition serving with the Wilson RF 01 Future. I did have to slow my service motion down a little until it smoothed out, and then I figured out that accelerating the racquet later in my swing was more effective. At that point, serves turned out to be one of my favorite shots to hit with the RF 01 Future."

Returns: 7.6

The return of serve was one category where the at-times unstable nature of the Wilson RF 01 Future caused some hang-ups, but for the most part our team liked how the speed of this racquet offset the stability. For Brittany, returns required going a little bit smaller in terms of her motion. She explained, "For returns, stepping up to the baseline and taking full cuts at the ball resulted in my first few returns sailing deep, well past the baseline. After making some small adjustments, I was able to dial in my returns and up my consistency. Returns mirrored a lot of my other strokes. The RF 01 Future made it easy for me to get into position and hit deep in the court, but there was also some instability when returning bigger first serves. I had to slow down my swing to gain some control and aim for some larger targets. My favorite return to hit was deep down the middle, which was a low-risk shot that pushed my opponents back off the baseline."

Tiffani was able to make good use of the RF 01 Future's easy handling to find good depth and location on returns. She said, "Again, the biggest asset for me was the maneuverability. This racquet does come around very fast, so it was easy to get it around my body and take the ball out front. However, faster swing speeds could only counteract so much force, and like at net, I noticed this racquet's light weight leading to some instability on hard-hit serves. However, the RF 01 Future is quite stable for its weight, and it should be great for developing juniors. As they get stronger, there's plenty of room to customize."

Mark found success on returns thanks to the RF 01 Future's speedy maneuverability and better-than-expected stability. He said, "Getting the RF 01 Future into position on time was very easy when returning serves, and to my slight surprise, the racquet was more stable than I would have imagined. Hitting my return with an offensive level of swing speed worked better than my usual half-volley chip return and was more reliable overall." 

The stability of the lighter frame caused some initial issues for Oak, but he found his stride by leaning into the easy racquet head speed of the frame. He described, "Returns were another area where I would've definitely appreciated a little more mass through the ball. The frame did feel a tad unstable on fuller cuts, but my motion can be pretty topspin heavy, so it is always going to be harder to flatten that out with a sub-300-gram frame. Instead, I typically opted for a chip return to keep my opponents back while I recovered to the middle of the court."

Breakdown Summary