Wilson Blade 98 16x19 v10 Racquet Review

Our testers found the Blade 98 16x19 v10 to be more power-oriented than its predecessor during baseline exchanges, but it retains its classic balance of feel and control. They enjoyed this racquet's dependable nature when trading groundstrokes, but they didn’t find anything too revolutionary about their hitting experiences. The Blade 16x19 v10 felt spin-friendly enough for Jason, but he struggled to end points with it. He said, "This Blade 16x19 v10 was really solid from the baseline. When I was fresh, I felt like I could hit a big ball with it, but I definitely felt like I had to work harder to win points with this racquet compared to my own. According to my Zenniz data, I was getting nearly identical speed numbers on my forehand and just slightly less spin, but I was working harder for those numbers. As a Blade racquet, it's no surprise that the control was really good."

Chris seemed to have the most favorable experience with his groundstroke game. He described, "I had a great time hitting with the Blade 98 16x19 v10 when working on my groundstrokes during practices. I found the racquet to be very comfortable and very forgiving. The sweetspot felt very generous, and the response is soft and plush to the point that I could call it slightly muted. I also liked the arc I could give the ball over the net while still getting it to dip inside the lines. I found good pace and spin when hitting my backhand slice, which allowed me to knife that shot. The more I used both of the new the Blade 98s the more I preferred the Blade 98 16x19 v10 for hitting and the Blade 98 18x20 v10 for point play. I love the feel and response of the Blade 98 16x19 v10, but I found myself having to hit to bigger targets, and I tended to overhit when I was going for the corners. Don't get me wrong, it is still very much a control racquet, but I had better accuracy with the Blade 98 18x20 v10."

Although Oak struggled with some of his more bread-and-butter shots, he still found inroads to success thanks to the racquet's well-rounded nature. He said, "I've never had a strong affinity for the Wilson Blade line, so I went into this playtest knowing the experience might be a tougher sell for me. The thicker beam at the top and midsection felt a bit more powerful and generated a little deeper pocketing, and then the thinner throat beam felt great in terms of control and overall feel. Unfortunately, I had a rather long adjustment period to this racquet and never really quite settled into what it seemed to be doing. It did not feel like a racquet I could trust across the board, and I wasn't able to confidently put the ball away with my two-handed backhand. I opted to hit mostly one-handers with this frame, and that’s where this racquet shone the most for me. This Blade 16x19 had good feel on my forehand, but it never quite clicked for me. I imagine that this is a welcome update for players who are more in tune with the Blade's feel or have been wanting more power from it, but for me, it just proved too hard to trust in terms of connection to the ball."

Michelle was able to rally effectively, but she ultimately wanted to end points more easily. She explained, "I have playtested a handful of Blades in my time at Tennis Warehouse, and they have never been my favorite silo in the Wilson lineup. I tend to enjoy the more powerful racquets, and the lower stiffness and more controlled feel of the Blades just doesn't always align with my preferences. I did like the updated feel and construction of this Blade 98 16x19 v10 better than the previous version, but while this racquet does everything well, nothing stands out. Decent power, good control, precision, feel, spin -- it's all there, but there just wasn't a category where this racquet proved to be something I needed for my game. The Blade 98 16x19 v10 was good to rally with, but in point play, I just never felt like I had enough precision or put-away power to end points. I just never felt like I connected with this racquet during the playtest."

When it came to net play, the Blade 98 16x19 v10 proved much more successful for our team, offering good stability, maneuverability and touch. Michelle found volleying with the Blade 98 16x19 v10 to be one of her favorite aspects of the playtest. She said, "I was pleased with the way the Blade 98 16x19 v10 performed at net. It was stable and maneuverable. I might have enjoyed the racquet most up at the net because it was predictable and did what I asked of it."

Oak also had a much better time with the Blade 98 16x19 v10 at the net than he did at the baseline. He described, "I do think this Blade 98 16x19 felt better overall at net. I felt much more connected to what I was doing in the forecourt, and I felt like this racquet handled transition volleys and lower pickups incredibly well. I felt comfortable with both deep and short volleys, but lately, I've been trying to make points more physical for my opponents by volleying where they aren't, which has resulted in a lot of drop volleys and angled, shorter shots. High volleys and overheads were also satisfying to bring back down into the court with authority and force."

Jason found the Blade 16x19 v10 to be obedient at net, although he still struggled at times with its overall feel. He said, "This Blade 16x19 has the qualities you'd want if you are consistently up at net. It's stable, even on off-center shots, and it has a good blend of power and control, which are all good things. The downside here was the feel. Like with the previous version, I still feel like it's a bit too dampened for my taste, but if you like that feel, then there are really no negatives on volleys."

The Blade 98 16x19 v10, helped make Chris' crafty net game even more potent. He explained, "I loved the response of the Blade 98 16x19 v10 at net. I was able to place my volleys very well, and I found I could let the racquet do a lot of the work when I had the racquet lined up with my target. The ball would zip away in the desired direction with a very pleasing feel from the racquet. Again, comfort was great. I still felt decently connected to my targets, and I was able to hit my drop volleys well. The open string pattern offered good bite on the ball, giving me good backspin on drop volleys and good sidespin on angle shots."

Serving with the Blade 98 16x19 v10 proved to be a mixed bag for our team. Some of our testers liked the easy power and pace it offered, while others struggled to stay consistent as playing sessions wore on. The Blade 98 16x19 v10 worked like a dream on Chris’ serve, and he was hitting with enough pace and spin to carve up his opponents. He said, "The serve was probably my favorite shot to hit with the Blade 98 16x19 v10. I loved the pace I was able to generate, and getting spin was also super easy. The power and spin combination made this a great racquet for my usual slice serve, and I was very happy with the amount of pace I was able to develop when hitting flat serves. My accuracy was OK, and I was able to stay decently consistent, even though I found much better targeting on spin serves."

Although Jason was able to crack some heavier first serves with the Blade 98 16x19 v10, he noted some fatigue over time. He said, "I was able to serve pretty big with the Blade 98 16x19 v10 when I was fresh. I felt like I could really just swing out and not only get good power, but really good spin as well. I served with it side by side with the v9 version and was definitely getting more pop with this v10 update. I'd say the spin production was about the same."

Oak was able to get good action and consistency when he was serving. He described, "This Blade 98 16x19 v10 was a pretty good serving racquet for me. The serve is an area where I thought the slightly thicker beam sections went a long way in terms of results. Having a little more mass at the top of the frame felt practical for really getting my weight behind and through the ball. I wasn't topping out in terms of pace or anything like that, but I enjoyed getting good consistency. My favorite serve, as usual, tended to be up the T on the ad side."

By comparison, Michelle had a more difficult time serving with this Blade 98 16x19 and struggled with pace and spin. She explained, "The serve was an area I struggled with. My serve hasn't been my strong suit lately, and it was noticeably tough for me to add power during this playtest. I will admit, the rest of the testers seemed to be juicing some speed out of the Blade, but it was tough for me. Lacking pace was detrimental to my first serve, and if I was hitting a second serve and didn't get enough kick or slice, I was in trouble. Again, my serve was fine, just not as good as it could have been. I playtested this Blade 98 16x19 side by side with the Blade Pro 100, and it was significantly lower in power than that racquet."

Some of our playtesters had more success than others when returning serves with the Blade 98 16x19 v10. Some of our team enjoyed the easy pace, while others struggled to feel connected to their shots. Michelle was left wanting a little more from this Blade 98 16x19 v10 on returns. She said, "I like to start my points in an aggressive fashion, and the Blade 98 16x19 v10 wasn't giving me what I needed to do that to the best of my ability. I just wasn't feeling as connected to my returns, and I felt like I really needed to take a big rip to get the ball going. I started leaning into some angles with my return, and that was effective. I playtested it side by side with the Blade 100 Pro, and Blade 98 16x19 v10 quickly took a backseat because the Blade Pro 100 allowed me to hit winners off my return with ease. I was missing that from the Blade 98 16x19 v10."

While Oak had a mostly favorable experience on returns, he had similar qualms about the racquet on this shot as he did on his groundstrokes. He said, "Returns were pretty solid for me. I felt like the Blade 98 16x19 v10 did a good job of absorbing pace without feeling too flimsy, and I felt comfortable going after smaller targets. I did feel that same lack of connection that I experienced on a lot of my groundstrokes, but that was mostly expected. At times, that lack of connection lead to some weaker shots, but I tried to focus on just getting myself and my feet in a good position more than anything else. The racquet felt highly maneuverable as well, which made it easier to prepare early."

Jason felt like he could go after his returns from the get-go with the Blade 98 16x19 v10 in his hands. He described, "The Blade 98 16x19 v10 really allowed me to swing out on returns. With it being more control-oriented than my own racquet, I felt like I could take big cuts without fear of my returns landing long. The open string pattern helped me put plenty of spin on my shots, so they would land in play most of the time. I would've liked a bit more free power when I could only block a shot back, but this update definitely helped me get more depth on chip returns."

This Blade 98 16x19 gave Chris everything he needed to return with confidence. He said, "The Blade 98 16x19 v10 offered a nice blend of maneuverability and stability on returns. I felt like I could position the racquet easily and connect well with the ball. I had fun hitting topspin returns with lots of pace. When going cross court, I enjoyed stepping in and taking a solid rip at the ball. As on groundstrokes, my backhand slice was working very well. I loved the spin and pace I could get on my slice."