SF Tennis Freak

Archive for the ‘Equipment’ Category

The Wilson Steam 99

Unlike its’ counterpart the spin-oriented Steam 99S, the Steam 99 is an all-around solid racquet. Notably used by Kei Nishikori and Petra Kvitova, and immortalized in their infamous “cheating” ad campaign, the Steam 99 provides decent spin and power without the loss of control seen in the 99S. It’s not perfect, but there’s certainly a lot to like about this racquet.

Groundstrokes

The difference between the 99 and 99S was palpable from the first ball. Though not necessarily designed for spin, the 16×18 string pattern of the Steam 99 allows for a nice combination of spin and control. It felt solid on my forehand shots, and gave me the depth and placement that was lacking in the 99S. I could have used more spin in general, but was very pleased that I could go for my shots with a lot less worry about missing than with the 99S.

My backhand didn’t feel quite as solid because this racquet is slightly lighter than my current stick. Lighter racquets generally cause me to swing too fast and mistime my shots, and that was pretty much the struggle with the 99. Fortunately, I was able to work it out after a bit and even managed some winning serve returns.

The only real issue I had with this racquet was an inability to hit aggressive forehand service returns. That may not seem like much, but it’s one of my biggest weapons. I struggled to keep shots from flying long with the Steam 99, and also felt an uncomfortable amount of vibration. I figured it out eventually, but still not at the level to which I’m accustomed.

Players with flatter shots will likely see more benefit from this racquet in their ground game. But aggressive forehand returns notwithstanding, it’s still a decent stick from the baseline.

Serves

This racquet excelled from the service line, allowing me to easily hit slices out wide (both ad and deuce court), flat shots up the T, and strong body serves. In fact, the second doubles set that I played was ended with an ace down the T on match point. Not too shabby!

The only problem with this racquet on my serves came when I tried to inject pace. The struggles began, and all of my earlier control suddenly went flying out the window. Even after about 30 minutes of work, I never figured out how to hit my biggest serves. But that’s okay. My biggest weren’t needed to still have a positive impact on my service game.

Volleys

The Steam 99 gave me decent control on my volleys, and a surprising amount of feel. Even though I don’t have the greatest hands, I still managed to pull off some nice touch volleys. Open string patterns usually make it tough to keep volleys from popping up, but not the Steam. Volleys stayed nice and low. And any racquet that doesn’t hurt my cause at the net is alright by me!

Overall

Though I probably wouldn’t buy this racquet, I still felt strongly enough about its’ performance that I would recommend it to someone who’s interested in decent spin and control WITH accuracy.

It would be great if the Steam 99 took more of my natural spin. It’s also not as versatile of a stick as my current racquet, and is also a little light for my tastes. It didn’t give me quite the solid feel I would have liked, especially on my weaker backhand side.

Seemingly small items such as that are important to note when trying out a new racquet. It’s easy to get excited about a racquet that plays to our strengths. However, it’s much better to be excited about a racquet that plays to our weaknesses, and helps to lift our overall game.

This racquet didn’t quite do that for me. But if you’re a flat-stroke player who’s on the lookout for a racquet that can up the ante of your game in terms of spin and power, take it out for a hit and see for yourself.

Note: If you’re interested in this racquet, take it out for a hit and judge for yourself. Racquet specs and marketing-speak are no substitute for knowing the strengths/weaknesses of your game, and how a racquet might help or hurt your goals.

(Racquet provided by City Racquet Shop of San Francisco.)

Racquet Specifications

Head Size: 99 sq. in. / 638.71 sq. cm.
Length: 27in / 68.58cm
Strung Weight: 11.3oz / 320.35g
Balance: 3 pts HL
Swingweight: 328
Stiffness: 70
Power Level: Low-Medium
String Pattern: 16 Mains / 18 Crosses
String Tension: 50-60 pounds (demo strung at midrange)

I’ve never been a huge Wilson racquet fan, but wanted to spend a couple of days with the Steam 99 and Steam 99S to see if they could change my mind. No dice! Still not the sticks for me. But I did find lots to like about the Steam 99; less so with the 99S.

Check out my preview video above, then check out the full review when it goes love on 5/21/14 for Racquet Review Wednesday.

Racquets provided by City Racquet Shop of San Francisco.

Prince Tour Pro 98 and Tour 98 ESP racquets

Eager to write a new racquet review, I asked my friend Marla at City Racquet Shop for “Hot” racquet ideas. She suggested I take a look at the Tour Pro 98 and the Tour 98 ESP, two new racquets from Prince that have gotten a ton of buzz from tennis publications.
The Tour Pro is for players seeking control, while the Tour ESP is for those seeking more spin. Do they succeed in those goals? The short answer is yes. I’ve never owned a Prince racquet, but that might change after three straight wins in tough doubles play during my test hit.

Check out my thoughts on each by clicking the links below:

Racquet Review: The Tour Pro 98 Is an Excellent Baseliners Racquet

Racquet Review: Rip It and Spin It with the Tour 98 ESP

(Racquets provided by City Racquet Shop of San Francisco.)

The Tour Pro is for players seeking control, while the Tour ESP is for those seeking more spin. Do they succeed in those goals? The short answer is yes. I’ve never owned a Prince racquet, but that might change after three straight wins in tough doubles play during my test hit. Check out the full review for each racquet on my SF Tennis Freak website.

Check out my thoughts on each by clicking the links below:

Racquet Review: The Tour Pro 98 Is an Excellent Baseliners Racquet
Racquet Review: Rip It and Spin It with the Tour 98 ESP

(Racquets provided by City Racquet Shop of San Francisco.)

The Prince Tour Pro 98

If I were to toss aside my beloved HEAD Speed MP 315’s, the Tour Pro 98 would be at the top on my short list of replacements. Though it initially felt a little heavy to me, I immediately started hitting balls deep into the corners with ease on both my forehand and backhand wings.

The Prince website states that this racquet is “precision and control amplified” and, for the most part, I’d have to agree. Here’s my rundown of the many pros (and a few cons) for the Tour Pro 98.

Groundstrokes

I liked this racquet from the very first ball strike. Simply put, the ball goes exactly where you want it to go if hit cleanly. One of my first shots was a blazing backhand down-the-line return that got everyone’s attention. The same was true of a forehand return that left a smoke trail as it split the defenders on the other side.

Feeling cocky, I tried to add extra “oomph” on later returns and quickly realized this racquet’s limitations. It’s great for easy power, clean ball strikes, and shot accuracy. But unlike its’ sibling the Prince Tour 98 ESP, it’s not so great for topspin. Net clearance wasn’t as high as I’m used to with my current Speed MP 315, or as high as needed for the best depth of shot.

This led to problems (i.e. sending the ball to the back fence) when I tried to attack shots with added pace. It wasn’t insurmountable, but definitely took away from the racquet’s comfort factor as the set got tight. But those problems with pace/topspin aside, I still felt confident enough with my ground strokes to impose my game; even when facing break points. And that says a lot!

Serve

Serving with the Tour Pro 98 was solid, but not spectacular. (For the record, I look for spectacular since my serve is one of the best parts of my game.) My current racquet allows me to go for big bombs or slices out wide/up the T with relative ease. The Tour 98 wasn’t quite as versatile. Serves also suffered from the same “how much is too much” problem as my groundstrokes, with all attempts to inject extra pace resulting in bad misses.

I’m not saying that I served badly, because I didn’t. I served competently and was only broken once in the very first service game with it. But in tight situations when I need to lay down my best serve, it would be best not having to worry about hitting the baseline instead of the service line.

Volleys

Volleys were the tough with this racquet. I had “no feel” at the net. Maybe if I had better hands or better volley technique, it would have been okay. But I only have “okay” hands and not the best technique. This resulted in bricked volleys, or volleys that sailed beyond the baseline. That’s okay for singles where you can make a choice to stay back. But it’s not so great for high-level doubles play which requires good volleys.

Overall

The Tour Pro 98 is a great racquet that allowed me to hit the strong, deep ground strokes that I love. However, it didn’t allow me to hit with as much topspin as I would have liked (which limited the amount of pace I could put on my shots). Its’ effect on my serve was okay, but I’d need some time to figure out how best to make it as versatile as I’d like. Lastly, volleys weren’t great, but that’s not a huge deal-breaker since I’m primarily a baseliner!

Could I make this racquet workable? Absolutely! The positives aspects of this racquet on my ground strokes are plenty, and the not-so-positives (serves and volleys) are workable. It’s not a perfect fit, but few racquets are. This stick gave me solid strokes and great control. Overall, I can’t think of a better foundation to start with for any racquet.

Note: If you’re interested in this racquet, take it out for a hit and judge for yourself. Racquet specs and marketing-speak are no substitute for knowing the strengths/weaknesses of your game, and how a racquet might help or hurt your goals.

 (Racquet provided by City Racquet Shop of San Francisco.)

Racquet Specifications

Power Level – 750
Headsize – 98 in2 / 632 cm2
Weight (g) – Unstrung 305 g
Weight (oz) – Unstrung 10.8 oz
Balance Unstrung – 7 Points Head Light
Swing Weight – 295
String Pattern – 18 x 20
Composition – 100% Graphite
Recommended Tension – 55 +/- 5lbs

The Prince Tour 98 ESP

Tennis publications really LOVE the Tour 98 ESP! Tennis Head Magazine in the UK awarded it “Best for Power”, and it was awarded “Best Spin Racket” by Tennis Magazine. The ESP in this racquet’s name stands for “extreme string pattern”. Though I’m not sure I’d classify anything about this racquet as extreme, it’s an excellent choice for someone whose game responds well to an open string pattern.

But since there’s more to life than spin, here are my observations on some of the other strengths and weaknesses of this award-winning frame.

Ground Strokes

Some players need more spin on their strokes. However, I’m not one of them. My natural stroke (on both sides) provides all the topspin I need. So when that stroke production is coupled with an open string pattern such as that on the Tour 98 ESP, the effect is generally an overall loss of control on my strokes.

Ball control was a little too “hit or miss” for my tastes. This was particularly jarring after having just hit with the Prince Tour Pro 98, an excellent control racquet. It gave my forehand decent spin, but minimal accuracy. The same was true with respect to my backhand. The overall result was an increased tendency to play balls down the middle rather than risk unforced errors by going towards the sidelines. It’s a safe strategy, but not always an effective one against better players.

The racquet only paid dividends when I began to swing for the rafters on both sides. The injection of racquet head speed helped with both spin and depth of shot. Backhand slices were unremarkable, but mostly because of the racquet’s low power. A full swing (and deep knee bend) was still necessary to get the proper depth and spin on the shot.

Serve

I won my final set of the day with a second serve ace to the ad court on set point. While hitting the serve, I honestly had no idea where it was going to land. Therein lays the problem with the Tour 98 ESP. I served competently, but with not much sense of control over ball direction. I struggled to move the serve sufficiently around the box, and also struggled to inject pace without sending the ball to the bottom of the net. And then an unexpected ace or service winner would come flying off my racquet. Frankly, it was a little maddening. I need to know that I can rely on my serve to bail me out of trouble.

Volleys

I didn’t get the opportunity to hit many during set play, so I spent a chunk of time afterwards focused solely on volley feel and placement. Surprisingly, and in stark contrast to my ground game, I had great control on both my forehand and backhand volleys. It was easy to punch volleys deep, drop them short, or change direction on the ball with negligible ball impact. Thumbs up!

Overall

The open string pattern of the Tour 98 ESP poses a challenge for someone like me who already hits with spin. My winning efforts notwithstanding, spin without control isn’t the best combination for tennis success. Serves were effective, but unpredictable. And surprisingly, the best aspect of this racquet was increased control and feel on my volleys. And unfortunately, that’s not terribly important for someone who’s more of a baseliner.

In order to get a truer read on this racquet, I asked one of my buddies who possesses a flatter stroke to hit with it. His impressions were much more along the lines of what one would expect. It effectively gave him increased spin, and allowed him to go for more pace on his shots. He didn’t get a chance to play points with it, but was fairly positive about the time he did spend with it.

The Tour 98 ESP is a fine racquet, but it’s not for everyone. If you already hit with spin, this racquet won’t help you. In fact, it might do more harm than good. But if you have a full swing and a flatter shot, this racquet will definitely give you more spin, and more potential for pace/depth on your shots.

Note: If you’re interested in this racquet, take it out for a hit and judge for yourself. Racquet specs and marketing-speak are no substitute for knowing the strengths/weaknesses of your game, and how a racquet might help or hurt your goals.

(Racquet provided by City Racquet Shop of San Francisco.)

Racquet Specifications

Power Level – 825
Headsize – 98 in2 / 632 cm2
Weight (g) – Unstrung 310 g
Weight (oz) – Unstrung 10.9 oz
Balance Unstrung – 12 Points Head Light
Swing Weight – 285
String Pattern – 16 x 16
Composition – 100% Graphite
Recommended Tension – 58 +/- 5lbs