This racquet has amazing stability, 347 grams in total, feel, maneuverability, power, and control. Either racquet is a great choice for better players that want precision and can generate their own power. This is a good "reference" stick to have in the bag, as it seems to do all things well. For those of you who serve more in the mould of a Wawrinka where he almost pauses at the top of the trophy position, then really uses his muscle mass to fire down serves, you will probably want more weight in the head. With heavier racquets I struggle to generate as much topspin and am late setting up on fast balls, with lighter racquets I can't serve as hard or generate as much power. Ok, I watched just now. The regular PS has been often criticized for an inconsistent stringbed response, so its nice to know that Wilson has worked on addressing that. Only thing I might switch up is to use a hybrid set up with Solinco Tour Bite 16 mains, but keep Hyper G Soft 16 in the crosses, for more jump on kick serves, but retain the comfort. . I would recommend to friends for sure.From: Anonymous, 12/23/21, Comments: Following my review of a couple of days ago, I tail weighted one of my Pro Staff 97's to achieve a 8 point head light balance, mainly to knife my backhand slice and it worked!From: Raj, USA/India, 9/18/21, Comments: Bought two frames to replace my RF97's and was really surprised that the weight was almost spot on! Wilson are often on the receiving end of some flak for their quality control not being the highest, but the Pro Staff 97 was dead on the money at 315g. Prior to this racquet, I was using the RF97 model for many years, and eventually the weight of that racquet started getting the best of me. I can also generate decent topspin. I could say more, but I won't. Although specs are the same as the 2016 model, the feel and ball pocketing are a world apart in my opinion. But for me, I felt like I could get the ball down to the other end with good pace on it. The slices feel really great and I can't slice better with anything else. Those of you are familiar with the legendary original Pro Staff 85, used by Federer at the start of his career, will instantly see how this latest V13 pays homage to perhaps the most iconic racquet of all time. It gave new meaning to the concept of a brassy feel. Interestingly, a couple of tennis friends say they find it quite underwhelming, but for me, I like the subtle cues. Serving was easy and crazy accurate though felt a bit less speedy as with my Yonex EZONE 98+ racquets. The feel is much better than the previous version. I love the weight of the racquet. Yes, the racquet can sometimes be less powerful than you need it to be, but it provides the ultimate precision and consistency for your shots, also it's really easy to follow through with your swing because of the great feel it provides, and the fast swing as a result of the highly headlight balance which compensates for the heavy weight of the racquet as well. What do you mean by unusable after 10 hours? Coming from the BLX Pro Staff 95, this was a fairly easy transition. Why would they modify the RF97 when its made to Federers exact specs? Kudos to Wilson!From: MichaelT, 4/15/21, Comments: Bought this for my teen junior for tournament play after using the TW demo option. With v13, I decided to twist things a little, I switched to a leather grip, nod to RF97, kept the original balance by adding 6 grams of lead at 12 o'clock, strung it with Babolat VS Gut 1.30 in mains at 55 pounds and Luxilon ALU Power Spin 1.27 in crosses at 53 pounds and wow! I demoed a total of seven racquets. Probably one of the most serious and demanding racket on the market, but once everything clicked the rest is history. It has the best blend of power, spin, and control I have found. Anyway, enough marketing talk, lets take a look a more in-depth look at this frame and see how it plays. I dont own one of those, but I believe the Pro Staff 97 will come in at around 66 RA for those interested. Otherwise, the flex characteristics and weight of v13 are similar to v11. Retains that class Pro Staff feel, ideal for fast arm, aggressive players who are looking for plenty of feedback and feel on their shots who can manage a reasonably heavy, stiff frame. Hart rutier Hart satelit Hart teren Hart rutier OSM Vremea Hart relief. What is really strange is the feel, which is missing in comparison with VCORE Pro that I usually use or at least is very different. I like both those frames a lot. Ok, yes I know the channel, Osakas hitting partner. I added some stain at 3 and 9 o'clock, around two grams in total, and it looks that I can hit the forehand better. I am now switching to the Wilson Pro Staff with a smaller head, which give me lot of convenience at the net. Kind of reminds me of the Pro Staff Six.One Classic that I mentioned I started out with. Considering that the price is half. And the black paint job is super cool looking. I'm happy it's working for some players though, so I encourage you to demo for yourself. hi Jonathan, on the picture with the stringing machine, what are those pink blocks on the strings at the throat of the racquet? Im not sure its the type of racquet for Nadal like returning positions but Thiem is proving you can play that way with the Pure Strike which is very similar to the Pro Staff in terms of specs. First of all you don't feel the weight and it is very whippy. I demoed this against a Babolat Pure Strike Tour, which I thought was a pretty good racquet, but the grip style and familiarity with Wilson racquets sealed the deal for me. It feels perfect in my hands and such a major difference from my previous gifted racquet. The racquet was strung at 50 pounds with yellow Yonex Poly Tour Pro 1.20 mm. I was excited to see the new v13 line with the amazing old school eighties look, in homage to the famous tennis players, well done Wilson! You can see how they measure stiffness below, and I do think its a better way of doing it compared to the traditional method done on the Babolat RDC machines. But Djoker definitely would like to retire after he ties/ surpas Katie, a view down from this top of the unattained top of nu peRFect Tennis started back in 2011 as a tennis news site. The v13 comes in slightly lighter, but still has plenty of mass that allows me to relax through my strokes. It's great at the net, stable with plenty of mass and crispiness behind my volleys. Orders over $50 will ship for free! So making it heavier in stock form would narrow that even more. That's when I tried my coach's Clash and Pro Staff 97 v13. The feel is definitely improved and feels tighter, just a little bit, than the previous version. Very light in weight. It is a tank. I knew I needed something lighter, but previous generations of the Pro Staff 97 just did not feel right, harder to return and to volley. Strung with gut in the mains and a poly cross hybrid set up, i can generate all the touch, pace, and spin I need to play my game with confidence. If you want to learn a bit more about peRFect tennis and what to expect from the site, then head over to the about page. It's solid, easy to swing, and sharp looking. Close to 12 oz with 16 gauge, so not too heavy or light. If youre a modern baseliner who likes to hit with big spin, then there are better frames out there for you. I feel WPF v13 very stable but underpowered .maybe I need to try more strings setup. I'd consider it a more arm-friendly version of my Six.One BLX.From: Philanthropenos, 1/9/21, Comments: I used to play with a Pro Staff 95 BLX, decided to switch to the 97 to give it a shot. Serves are great with the faster racquet speed and enhanced wrist snap, but I do miss the plow through of the RF97's.From: Raj, India/US, 9/16/21, Comments: Equally solid at baseline and net, and seems very accurate for ball placement due to denser string pattern. peRFect Tennis is reader-supported. The Wilson Pro Staff 97 is hugely popular due to a few factors: Roger Federer uses the heavier RF97 Autograph version. So when you combine elements of that design with a more modern matte velvet finish and some carbon fibre, I am instantly a fan. Thats the reason why I chose this model to playtest as I know I will play better with it. When facing a big server or a hard hitter the racquet provides some excellent feedback and stability. Comments: I am 58 years old, at the 4.0 level and have been playing tennis for over 40 years. Racquet Stringing Unstrung. Also this racquet doesn't provide easy and basic spin because of the shape and the 97 square inch head.This review might come of as bias because I used the old all black Pro Staff 97 with no Countervail before this one. Termeni Contact. From: Anonymous, 8/19/21, Comments: I played with Wilson Pro Staff 90 that Federer used and then switched to the RF97 for many years.I tried this Pro Staff 315 grams, and did not like the very low swing weight. On all orders over $75! I can take full swings and control where it goes in the court compared to my previous racquets where my ball would sail somewhere. Hitting the serve flat is much easier while getting big topspin is harder, although that is probably the string. I thought P1 remoulded his grips anyway, maybe they dont. Dont you think if one of the big three ( I dont like that term) was the opponent of either one, they wouldnt have won. But when you strike the ball well with this one, it has plenty of oomph! It is also a set up that works well with this type of players frame as you get a nice blend of power from the natural gut and some control from the polyester. I feel that the Pro Staff RF97 has gone down a dead-end road, as its just a paint job on the existing frame. Most players seem to love minimalistic blacked-out paint jobs. I have reviewed this racquet in various paint jobs such as the Laver Cup edition and a customized Ring&Roll edition. Doesn't provide enough pop on serve but the precision makes up for the low power. While I am still fine-tuning the string tension and the grip size, I still nevertheless catch myself wearing a big grin each time I walk off the court given the control, the accuracy, the power, and the mere fun that hitting with it provides. Great for returning fast serves or absorbing pace and punching volleys.I don't get as much free power but I'm much more accurate and hitting was less errors. Both frames are strung with Natural Gut 16 (mains - 52 lbs) and Solinco Hyper-G 17 (crosses - 50lbs). I am satisfied with the rest of the points you have given. As a semi-pro mens Tennis player, this racquet is good, but far from great. I recommend stringing at a lower tension. My testing of this racquet involved a short half-court / mini tennis warm-up using the service boxes, some gentle baseline hitting, a few volleys followed by some point play both handfed and with serves. It doesnt sound a very credible comment. This again suits my style as I was able to get my arm coming through quickly. I am used to heave racquets, currently ProStaff RF97A so the weight should not be a problem.