Wilson Blade SW102 Autograph Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 79

The Blade SW102 Autograph offers big power from the baseline, and our team could hit balls loaded with pace and spin. Chris began, "I both loved and struggled with this racquet because of the high power level. When the stars aligned, I was hitting opponents off the baseline. When I was a smidge off, I could easily fire shots into the back fence with this racquet. At the start of the test, I was injured and playing two-handed to protect my right thumb. I enjoyed the racquet the most during that period, and I found the power level perfect for the more compact swing I had at that time. Once I was healthy and hitting one-handed again, I started to notice the heft of the racquet more. Getting my topspin backhand to go at a cross-court angle was a struggle; I tended to hit late due to the added length and high swingweight of the racquet. Conversely, I had great success with my backhand slice and could really knife the ball."

This racquet was great from the baseline for Mark's counter-punching game. Having called the previous model his racquet of choice for a bit, he much preferred this update and appreciated the small but relevant changes. He explained, "Even though its head size is slightly smaller, it does make the racquet faster and easier to swing. That translated to me being able to gauge my groundstroke depth better, along with creating a heavier shot. Between the new Blade 102's extra length and tight 18x19 string pattern, I felt that I generated more spin from the baseline with this frame compared to most any other I have tested. That said, this Blade SW102 Autograph is hands-down the best racquet for my groundstroke game, especially my backhand slice!"

Going into this playtest, Michelle, our biggest hitter, assumed she would love this racquet. But after some time on the courts, she ended up being the most critical of it. She said, "It is a lot of racquet. The swingweight is high, it is an extra inch long and it has a thick beam. It felt like there were just too many things going on to add pure power to my already fast swing. I quickly got a bit perturbed because I would find myself overhitting when taking a big cut, or if I was dealing with a deeper ball, I struggled to get the racquet around. It was tough to find consistency. When put into point situations, I just had no confidence when stepping up and applying more to the ball to put it away, and I found the ball sailing. I'm sure this racquet is a great option for Serena, but it just didn't work out for me. If I could keep points to two-ball rallies, maybe, but it was tough to find a rhythm and any sort of consistency. Chris explained it perfectly: 'You're more of a Petra (Kvitova) rather than a Serena.' This racquet was certainly stable, though, and the sweetspot was large. I just don't know if I could recommend it to anyone who already swings pretty big and needs some control. I did like that it was very stable and solid against big hitters, so if I was pulled off the court and could only swipe at the ball, I was able to get the ball back deep into the court and save myself. However, it was tough to ever think 'defense' with this racquet in my hands!"

Volleys - Score: 85

Our team enjoyed volleying with the Blade SW102 Autograph; there were few critiques and plenty of praise at the net. "I found lots of reach and lots of stability," said Michelle. "Unlike from the baseline, I had zero issues here. There wasn't a ton of feel, but I'm OK with that. Again, it is obvious how it suits Serena's aggressive game. At the net, I could somewhat get a grasp of the ball and be aggressive; I didn't need any extra control. And let's be honest, with this racquet in hand, you really are going to the net to put the final ball away and then shake hands."

Mark felt like he could volley with this racquet all day long. He said, "It provided me with all the reach and the stability at the tip of the frame. It had just enough maneuverability to keep the ball in play and help me end the point on a good note. I felt connected to most every volley attempt, and I'll credit its dense 18x19 pattern as the main reason why."

"The Blade SW102 was rock solid at net," said Chris. "I was able to handle the heft of the racquet much better since the volley is such a compact stroke. Neither the length nor the weight bothered me, and I liked the combination of power and stability the racquet provided. Hitting touch volleys was easy. I could let the racquet do the work, relax and just focus on the angle or amount of underspin I wanted to generate. I was able to punch volleys away with lots of pace when the incoming ball was up above the net, and the racquet felt solid and comfortable."

Serves - Score: 88

Our playtesters hoped to reap some big power benefits from the Blade SW102 Autograph on serves. All three members of our team were happy to find this racquet met their high expectations here. The serve was Chris' favorite shot with the Blade SW102. He explained, "The power I could generate with this racquet was just so much fun. I also liked how much spin I could get on my slice serves. I definitely got the impression that the added length was helping me keep my serves consistent, so the only price I paid on serve was dealing with the high swingweight. I did notice the pace of my serves dropping off more than normal toward the end of a hit or match, and I would need some additional time and adjustment to get used to this racquet's mass."

Mark thought that this racquet served better and better as the playtest went on. He said, "This was the one shot where I felt like the Blade SW102 Autograph gave me the most potential for improvement. The more I served with it, the more effective my serve became, giving me that ‘the sky's the limit' feeling."

Although the Blade SW102 Autograph was lethal in Michelle's hands when her timing was dialed in on flat first serves, it wasn't always a walk in the park. She described, "It felt demanding at times. I can see why Serena gets so many free points off her serve, though. You really could take advantage of this racquet when serving. It's definitely easy to turn on that offensive switch and control the point early."

Returns - Score: 77

The Blade SW102 Autograph's demanding specs required our playtesters to make some adjustments to rein in the power on returns. While the return is not necessarily one of Mark's best shots, it was one of his favorites to hit with this racquet. He said, "High-bouncing kick serves were cut down to size with a slice return, and the level of stability the SW102 afforded me made it a bit easier for me to keep my return low off faster, flatter serves."

Michelle noted a similar experience to her groundstroke game. She said, "I felt like I could hit two returns with this racquet: absolutely brilliant offensive winners or massive mistakes. For my game, it just didn't work out. This racquet is not maneuverable enough to access lots of spin for dippers. Drilling balls down the line was fun if I had the timing just right. Against big servers, it did a great job of blocking balls back, but it was tough to get around if I was a little late. Blocking back with chips was effective, though, and the balls remained deep."

Comfort, stability and power were the standout features for Chris when returning with this Blade SW102 Autograph. He concluded, "I tried to use a very compact swing simply because the combination of length and swingweight made it easy to be late with this racquet. Even with very little backswing, it was easy to redirect pace and hit heavy, penetrating returns deep into my opponent's court."

Overall - Score: 83