Wilson Revolve Spin String Review

Control - Score: 93 / Power - Score: 44

Let's cut to the chase. Revolve Spin is a control string. This means that it gave our team the ability to execute their long, fast strokes without having to worry about the ball sailing past target. Michelle was impressed. She said, "I love how firm and low powered Revolve Spin felt. It played deader than most, including the original Revolve. I had all the control I needed, yet this string was never uncomfortable, even at higher tensions. I felt connected to the ball, and the high level of control made it very easy for me to switch into attack mode. At the very beginning of the playtest I didn't yet completely trust the string. I felt a bit unsure pulling the trigger on some of my shots. The more I played with this string, the more I realized that I could attack the ball with total confidence. By the end of the playtest I knew exactly where the ball was going, no matter how big the swing. There's definitely more control than power, which is what I like when it comes to strings."

Even when it was strung at low tensions in his powerful Pure Drive Plus, Revolve Spin gave Chris great control. He said, "I found this string to be very control oriented, which is exactly what I look for in a poly. The feel off the racquet face was firmer and more controlled than with the original Revolve that Michelle and I tested. I was able to take full cuts at the ball, and I had plenty of confidence that this string would help me control the power of my shot and my racquet. I tested the string at a low 42 lbs in my Pure Drive Plus, and I loved the control it offered at that tension. I was left to provide much of the power, and that was fine by me."

Spin - Score: 92

Revolve Spin was clearly designed for spin. For starters, it comes with five edges to help the strings grab the ball. Secondly, it's low-powered, which means the player can execute powerful upward cuts without fear of overhitting. Finally, it has a special low friction coating, which allows the strings to deflect further at contact so that they can snap the ball off the string bed with extra RPMs. According to Chris, the design works pretty darn well. He said, "I found great spin from this string. Its low-powered response encouraged big swings, and I was able to turn those fast swings into lots of spin. I didn't get the ball pocketing feel that I get from some grippy, spin-friendly strings, but Revolve Spin always grabbed the ball well enough to drop it nicely inside the lines. Both my topspin and slice shots had solid bite to them. When hitting with topspin I was able to open up some nice angles and get lobs to drop quickly."

Even our resident flat ball hitter was impressed with this string's spin potential. Michelle commented, "Now I'm not sure I am the best one to test for spin, but I'd say this string had great snapback and good spin potential. I can't say I noticed much more spin than what I got from the original version, which I found to be super spin friendly. There was a lot of access to spin, and I appreciated that extra bite when I needed it. Spin potential isn't usually a hot button for me, but I do notice when it isn't there. With Revolve Spin, I never had issues getting good RPMs when I needed to tap into that spin. I actually really noticed a lot of spin when I was hitting a steady 75 percent ball instead of going for a winner."

Comfort - Score: 73

Given its firm construction, you will never find Revolve Spin in the comfort section of TW's string inventory. On the upside, neither of our playtesters reported any problems with excessive impact shock. Even when she strung her racquet at 60 lbs, Michelle had no issues with discomfort. She explained, "I'm usually impervious to racquet and string stiffness, however I did have some tendon issues with a racquet recently, and if this string were uncomfortable I probably would have felt it since my racquet of choice is pretty firm, and I had it strung at 60 lbs. I had absolutely no comfort issues. The string definitely played firm and dead, but it was never uncomfortable."

A fan of firm polys, Chris predictably had no comfort issues with this co-poly. He said, "While Revolve Spin is a firm playing string, I had zero comfort issues with it. There was a slightly muted feel to its response, so while it felt firm, it didn't feel brassy or harsh in any way. When I strung my racquet at 42 lbs the string pocketed the ball better and offered a comfortable response for a co-poly. However, I hit the string several times at higher tensions and still found it decently comfortable."

Feel - Score: 78

In most contexts of human existence, being firm and dead is not a good thing. However, for Chris, there are some exceptions. He explained, "I liked the overall feel and response of this string. It had a firm and dead feel, but it also was slightly muted, which gave me the sense it softened the blow of impact a tad. I thought Revolve Spin also provided just enough feedback to keep my touch shots dialed in. Yes, it felt a little muted, but not so much that I felt disconnected from the ball in any way. The biggest improvement for me when comparing this to the original Revolve was the feel. I just had a better idea of what my ball was doing when hitting with this version."

"As I have mentioned already, this string played firm and dead for me," said Michelle. "It felt very tight at 60 lbs at the beginning of the playtest. It was firm throughout the playtest for me, which was nice since I remember Revolve getting a little mushy. I would say this Spin version of Revolve offered a bit less ball pocketing than the original version, but I'm OK with that."

Playability Duration - Score: 76

Like every tennis string ever made, Revolve Spin loses tension over time. The good news, according to our crew, is that this string's tension loss didn't translate into any serious playability issues. Michelle explained, "I found this string to have fairly good tension maintenance for a co-poly. Since I had it at a decently high tension I was expecting it to drop relatively fast and play worse. But the playability was consistent for two weeks. By the third week I could tell that it dropped a bit of tension, but it didn't get mushy or erratic, so the control was still there."

This co-poly definitely went the distance for Chris, and then some. He commented, "Revolve Spin held up well in my racquet. I have found that some strings lose too much tension and playability when strung at sub-45 lbs, but Revolve Spin continued to feel good throughout the test. My go-to expectation with a poly-based string is two weeks of decent playability. Revolve Spin easily surpassed that marker and continued to feel good. In the video review the string I'm using was in my racquet for just shy of a month, and it was still playable."

Overall - Score: 89