Having tested the prototype before the official version of the Shift Pro 99 launched, our team knew what to expect. One of the first things Troy noticed when hitting from the baseline was the mass of this racquet and the way it came through the contact zone. He began, "I wasn't sure what the specs were initially, but I thought that there was good plow through, and this racquet felt pretty stable on contact. The 18x20 string pattern gave me plenty of directional control, and due to the mass and swingweight, I was able to get good depth on my groundstrokes, especially my backhand slice. I could swing freely without fear of the ball flying long, but the feel on contact was more muted than I typically favor. The beam is thicker than what I usually play with, and when paired with the muted response, I wasn't feeling great about the touch and feel. When it comes to feel on touch shots, drop shots and slice backhands, I prefer thinner beams and more flexible frames, like the Blade 98."

Chris got dialed in with the Shift 99 Pro as soon as he started to think of it as the "spin player's 18-main string racquet." He explained, "I had tons of fun ripping spin-loaded groundstrokes with this racquet. Access to pace felt effortless. Spin and speed proved to be a deadly combo, and my winner count per match increased with this racquet. My only downside on groundstrokes was a drop in control on flatter shots, where I found it easier to miss long more often than I do with most racquets with an 18x20 stringbed. When it came to hitting with spin, though, this racquet was seriously fun. I loved carving my backhand slice and whipping topspin angles. The kind of creative tennis I was playing with the Shift 99 Pro really had me loving my time on court with it.”

"I'm never going to be the playtester who totally jells with an 18x20 string pattern," Michelle admitted. "Still, this was a fun racquet to test, and the pattern didn't feel as tight as something like the Blade 98 18x20. I loved that the racquet was firm, yet the ball pocketed well and really sunk into the stringbed, almost allowing me to feel like I had a millisecond more to decide what to do with my shots. I had time to construct longer points and found myself going for bigger targets, hitting deep in the court, yet waiting longer to attack. I found the sweetspot to sit a bit higher in the stringbed, and I felt the most connected to my shots there. Outside of the sweetspot the feel was a bit muted, and I just wasn't completely sure of what was happening to my ball, but in that sweetspot I felt like I could do no wrong! The racquet had plenty of plow through to pick up the pace and end points, but it was never so hefty that I got caught swinging late. I could hit angles and move the ball around, and I never felt limited or stuck trying to get around the ball."

Our team agreed that the Shift 99 Pro felt fast and easy to maneuver at net. Chris liked the pace he found when punching volleys. He said, "Getting depth was easy, and the ball had good flight off the stringbed even with a firmer playing co-poly installed. When hitting short, angled volleys, I found my best results to come when I cut under the ball and added spin. Getting plenty of spin on the ball felt very natural with this racquet and not something I had to force into my stroke style."

Michelle liked the stable feel at the net. She described, "I didn't have any complaints at the net and felt like I could hit effective volleys with this racquet against big hitters. I enjoyed accelerating through the ball against any shots that hung in the air. Swinging volleys were fun to go after!"

Also noting good stability, Troy was able to place the ball with easy depth. He said, "The stiffness of the frame made for easy pop. It was point and shoot when hitting my volleys. That nice pop combined with the 18x20 string pattern allowed me to place the ball deep in the court without fear of hitting long. I felt like I was playing my best net game when I was attacking and keeping my volleys deep on my opponent's side. As mentioned on groundstrokes, the feel was a bit muted for my taste. I wasn't loving the feel when I tried to hit drop volleys or any time I needed to take pace off the ball. That's not to say that I couldn't hit a dropper with this racquet, but I wasn't a huge fan of the response and feel."

Our playtesters raved about serving with the Shift 99 Pro. Michelle explained, "I enjoyed serving with this racquet and felt like it allowed me to go after big first serves and small targets. I was rewarded with fairly fast first serves when I accelerated through the ball, which was easy to do. Second serves were solid as well. I often just try to kick or spin a second in for safety. While I didn't find a ton of spin generation, it wasn't a huge deal breaker."

When it came to serves, Troy was able to generated easy power and spin when serving with the Shift 99 Pro, and he was able to mix things up. He said, "There was a nice amount of power on my flat first serves due to the swingweight and the stiffness. The weight of this racquet helped with plow through on serves, but the racquet was maneuverable enough for me to generate easy racquet head speed on my topspin and kick serves. For an 18x20 pattern, I was surprised by the amount of spin and kick I could generate here. My precision and consistency were decent — better than I would usually find with a 100 square inch head, but not quite like some of the more control-oriented racquets I like to play with, such as the Blade 98 16x19 or Six.One 95 18x20."

The serve was Chris' favorite shot with the Shift 99 Pro. He said, "I found I could get some nice shape on the ball, which gave me me plenty of clearance over the net while still getting the ball to dip well within the lines. I was able to consistently add pace to my wide slice serve to the deuce court because I was getting so much dip on the ball. I didn’t have a need to play around much with flat serves during the month-long playtest since my spin serves were working so well."

With its 18x20 pattern, the Shift 99 Pro felt especially rewarding to our team when they stayed aggressive and pressed the attack on returns. Troy described, "Similar to what I recall from racquets like the Head Speed Pro, I could strike my returns hard and somewhat flat, and the ball stayed in. There was enough built-in mass that it helped me drive the ball deep in the court, and I could hit my slice return effectively. My main knock on this Shift 99 Pro was that the feel could be a bit firm for my liking if I made contact slightly off-center. I'm not sure if I would go as far as saying that the feel was jarring, but it wasn't that smooth and plush feel I would find from a racquet like the Wilson Blade 98 v8."

Michelle had fun returning with this Shift 99 Pro because it provided her with great mass behind the ball, yet it remained maneuverable enough for her to find angles. She said, "I tend to go big on returns and aim for small targets. I really had fun ripping balls down the line off both wings. Again, I felt the most connected to my shot a bit higher in the stringbed and found the most success when my timing aligned."

Finding his best results with the Shift 99 Pro came when he took aggressive swings on his returns, Chris said, "The Shift 99 Pro felt very fast to swing, and I had fun stepping well inside the court and knifing a slice return. The more spin I went for, the softer and plusher the racquet felt. I like a plush racquet, so I was encouraged to maximize the spin on every return."