Wilson Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black Racket Review
| Groundstrokes | 80 |
| Volleys | 81 |
| Serves | 81 |
| Returns | 76 |
| Power | 77 |
| Control | 76 |
| Maneuverability | 83 |
| Stability | 80 |
| Comfort | 83 |
| Touch/Feel | 77 |
| Topspin | 87 |
| Slice | 80 |
In its third iteration, the Wilson Pro Staff 97 receives new technology and an all black cosmetic to match the design of Federer's RF97 Autograph. The Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black has been updated with Countervail, a special carbon fiber material that’s added to the frame that Wilson says reduces impact vibration and lessens fatigue on your arm. The TW playtesters immediately found similarities with the previous version and enjoyed hitting serves and volleys with this racket. They all agreed that the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black was easy to swing, and the great spin potential made it easy to keep their shots in the court. The most noticeable change our playtesters found was the feel, which the they described as more muted than the feel of previous versions. They also at times experienced erratic feedback from the stringbed, which had a negative impact on their consistency from the baseline. Ultimately, our playtesters found the Wilson Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black to be a more user-friendly racket than the popular Pro Staff RF97 Autograph.
Upsides
- Easy access to spin
- Lively response
- Maneuverable
Downsides
- Slightly erratic stringbed
Bottom Line
Overall, the Wilson Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black is the perfect the high performance racket for players looking for a powerful, stable and spin-friendly response.
Ability
Intermediate to Advanced Level
Groundstrokes - Score: 80 / 100
Our playtesters found the Wilson Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black offered excellent spin and manoeuvrability from the baseline, but at times they struggled with the response off the stringbed. They seemed to have mixed reviews on their groundstrokes Some enjoyed the fast feel and found they could accelerate the racket effortlessly through contact to generate spin and pace, while others found they needed to take full swings on every shot to get the power and depth that they wanted. Nonetheless, the playtesters agreed the feel was unpredictable at times. Jason explained, "I found the stringbed to be somewhat erratic. I would hit two nearly identical shots, and one shot would sail long while the other shot would land near the service line."
Volleys - Score: 85 / 100
The Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black felt quick up at net, which helped the TW playtesters end the points with ease. For the most part, the playtesters found a good balance between stability and manoeuvrability. Chris compared it to the previous version, commenting, "I enjoyed the crisp response on volleys that I got from the previous versions of this racket, and I found that same response here." However, he did have some issues similar to groundstrokes, saying, "Again, I had some feedback issues on the control front, and my touch volleys weren't as dialed in."
Serves - Score: 81 / 100
The TW playtesters found success serving with the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black, and with the highest ranking awarded by the playtesters, it was unanimously their favourite stroke. While there wasn’t easy accessible power, the racket more than made up for it in the spin, manoeuvrability and control departments. One playtester noted that he served a little better with it each time he practiced. While another playtester found he was able to hit some nice slice wide serves to the deuce court and was even able to hit an ace here and there when playing. Granville summed it up by saying "It's just a solid comfortable stick you can count on to do what needs to be done."
Serve Returns - Score: 76 / 100
The TW playtesters struggled at times with depth and control with the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black when returning serves. Regardless, the playtesters were able to find some positives and found easy access to spin and manoeuvrability. They even were able to redirect the pace of the serve effectively. However, control remained an issue as the playtesters noticed an erratic stringbed. Mark detailed, "My return of serve was still landing shorter than I would prefer, even after several practice sessions." Ultimately, they were left wanting a little more feel and feedback from the racket.
Overall - Score: 79 / 100
Dislikes:
Chris - "It lacks feel, and the stringbed feels slightly erratic despite trying several different strings in an attempt to fix the issue."
Mark - "For the first hour and a half I struggled with this racket; it was an up and down thing, so to speak. It was not until the third hour that I was able to find the magic of the Wilson Pro Staff 97 Countervail."
Jason - "Too underpowered for my taste. Erratic stringbed made it difficult to swing away with confidence."
Granville - "For the price, there should be a leather grip on this racket. Countervail just added a new dimension to the feel. I prefer to hit away with a familiar racket rather than adjust to a new version of an old racket."
Comparing it to other rackets they've used, our testers said:
Chris - "I liked the improved comfort of the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black but missed the feel and feedback of the previous versions. This update lacked the controlled response I had expected. The issue was most prevalent when trading groundstrokes, and I found too many unexplained errors sneaking into point play. I would lose games, switch to the previous version or another racket and immediately start winning games again. For similar rackets from other brands I found a somewhat similarly erratic response from the Volkl V-Sense 10 Mid."
Mark - "Besides the previous versions of the Pro Staff 97, we can compare the Pro Staff 97 Countervail to the Prince Textreme Tour 95, the ProKennex Ki Q+5 Pro (310), the Yonex Duel G 97 (310), the Volkl V-Sense 8 (315) and the Head Graphene XT Radical Pro."
Jason - "The Pro Staff 97 Countervail reminds me of the older Babolat Pure Strike 16x19 model (black/red paint job). It definitely doesn't feel out of place in the Pro Staff family because of the low powered response."
Granville - "A livelier version of a familiar old friend."
Playtester Profiles:
Chris: 4.5 all-court player currently using the Yonex EZONE DR 98+. Chris uses a full-western forehand grip, has a fast swing style and hits a one-handed backhand.
Mark: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a one-handed backhand. He currently plays with the Wilson Blade SW104 Autograph.
Jason: 4.0 baseliner with a semi-western forehand and two-handed backhand. Currently using a Babolat Pure Strike 16x19 (Project One7).
Granville: 5.5 all-court player currently using a Wilson Pro Staff 97. Granville is an aggressive player who uses an eastern forehand grip and goes continental on everything else, hits with a flat swing and a one-handed backhand.
Likes:
Chris - "Love the cosmetic. Fast and easy to manoeuvre. Good access to spin and decently lively for a player's racket."
Mark - "The 332 gram weight of the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black with its 320 swingweight was nearly perfect for me from the backcourt. It’s light enough for me to use my wrist quite a bit on more offensive groundstrokes, yet heavy enough to remain stable when redirecting the pace of bigger shots."
Jason - "Good access to spin from all areas of the court. Fairly manoeuvrable for a 330 gram racket."
Granville - "I like the weight, balance and swingweight, and even the cool Federer black cosmetic."