Wilson Blade 98 review - Tennis racquet 16x19, V7.0 (2019)

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Wilson Blade 98 tennis racquet - string pattern 16x19, V7.0 (2019)

Weight unstrung : 305 g
Balance : 32 cm / 7 pts HL
Head size : 98 in² / 632 cm²
String pattern : 16x19
Swingweight : 328
Beam width : 21 mm
Stiffness : 62 Ra

The Wilson Blade 98 has always been a control oriented tennis racquet and it remains the same with this new version.

You have some power but not much, and you have a good control.

I found this racqket a bit less powerful than the previous version, maybe because of the stiffness which is lower and maybe because of the feelflex technology.

I had enough power on my slice backhand but it’s not a shot that requires a lot of power.

It was a bit more difficult on my top spin backhand and top spin forehand.

I was able to produce some good shots but I had to be precise, very loose, very fluid in my swings, and progressively, with the fatigue it became a bit more challenging to find enough power.

The same on my serve which is a weak shot in my game ; the power was just correct but I’d need more to feel really comfortable.

Personally, I’d have liked this racquet a few years ago but now I don’t play enough and I need a more powerful racquet.

It’s going to be interesting for players in a good shape, with a good technique, fluid swings or good physical skills.

On my slice backhand, very good feeling, comfort, control, precision.
Concerning the access to top spin, it was correct but not enormous, something close to what we had on the previous version.

The manoeuvrability was very good, for my groundstrokes and at the net, I really liked, thanks to the balance which is now more neutral.

The comfort was also very good, even on my off centered shots.
On off centered shots, you still have some comfort but you lose some power, which is normal because of the size of the frame.

So you have to be precise when you hit the ball.

There’s no more Countervail, no more muted feeling but you still have a soft feeling at impact. Very good comfort.

To summarize for this Blade 98 16x19 V7, I would say that like the previous version, it’s a control oriented racquet, it’s not going to give a lot of easy power.

The racquet is a bit less powerful than the previous version.
There’s a good access to top spin, not huge, close to what we had with the previous version.

The manoeuvrability is very good, better than on the previous version.

The confort is also very good, there’s no more countervail and muted feelings, but now we have a soft and more classical feeling at impact.

I’d recommend this racquet to intermediate or advanced players, not to beginners, and players who are able to produce some power, with their technique and their physical skills.

This racquet gives some power, it’s not extremely hard to play with this racquet for an advanced player but keep in mind that it remains clearly control oriented.

So it’s interesting for players with an aggressive game style, power with top spin of flat shots and it’s ok also for the slice.

The racquet is also interesting for players looking for a good manoeavrability and a soft feeling at impact.

I would also recommend to the players who were used to the old 18x20 string pattern to try this new 16x19 version because in my opinion it’ll be closer to the old 18x20 than the new 18x20.