Summary

Endorsed by the legend Roger Federer himself ! This is the personal racket of a 20x major champion, the Pro Staff RF97 v13 delivers premium performance and outstanding design fit for a legend. Wilson Pro Staff racquets are also ideal for all intermediate and advanced players who value precision and feel as they have more flexible beams than other Wilson series like Burn or Ultra lines, resulting in a more classic & buttery response with a design that carries the heritage of the iconic Pro Staff franchise from the past. This frame is for all avid Roger Federer and Pro Staff fans that love the same specifications and composition as its predecessors with on top a unique precision and feel emblematic of the Pro Staff series. You can find them in a variety of weights best suited to your game. This new "classic" would not disappoint.

Reviews

Tennis Vital wants to give fair reviews reflected by tennis pros, fans and competitive players around the world that would give you their personal impression and experience with the racquet frames, strings and tennis equipment.

Today, we are pleased to introduce you to our friend Rishab Ravikanth, an avid tennis lover, USTA 4.5 and former college level player with 20+ years of playing experience. You can find him in his free time playing and competing in tournaments in the USA and Canada.

Here is his review of the iconic Wilson Pro Staff RF 97 v13.

Introduction

13 is not considered a very pretty number, perhaps unlucky even given the superstitions around #13, but these stereotypes don’t apply to Wilson’s update of perhaps their and the sport’s most iconic brand line of racquets, the Pro Staff, or to be precise Pro Staff v13.0.

Having used every tour version of the Pro Staff from Pete Sampras’ 85 to Roger Federer’s Ncode, KFactor, BLX’s, the RF97 and the RF97 Autograph and some non Pro Staff Wilson Racquets like the Blade 93, Blade 98 v7.0, The Hammer, Hyper Hammer, I have a good frame of reference when I say the Wilson Pro Staff v13 is by far the most solid, all round racquet I have ever played with.

Strengths:

It’s core strengths are it’s balance, the denser string pattern and the overall feel of the racquet. The feel is exemplary, although a a little stiff, it didn’t feel as stiff as say the Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 (it’s great-grandfather) and shots, when middle felt spot on and delightful. It just doesn’t feel great , it looks great! The updated look with the two stripe combo from the first version of the Pro Staff make this racquet really desirable, both from a look and feel perspective.

Weaknesses:

Well, I think it generally has no weaknesses and it performs well across the board. It but one of it’s quirks I noticed is that the feel variance when I string even a few founds higher or lower is much more pronounced and I don’t know whether this is just me or whether it’s something to do with the frame.

The racquet is also not ideal for anyone looking to transition from a lighter frame, it isn’t good for anyone looking a whole load of topspin and is suited more for players who have more of a flattish style. I certainly would recommend some forearm training and strengthening before using this racquet to get the maximum out of the frame. Even players looking to transition from the Blade line or the Ultra line to this racquet will need to recalibrate their swing considerably and get used to the stiffness and sort of muted feel.

Playability Experience:

The racquet is really solid on groundstrokes and the swing weight and balance make it a potent weapon. Get into position, get the swing speed right and the racquet dispatches with ease. What I did notice is that depth on the ball varies markedly when the swing speed is reduced, so it’s really important to fine-tune your swing for it to be quick and effective.

Players with a long slow backswing might struggle to generate the depth they’d like but the feel on the shot is impeccable. The racquet is charm for aggressive players as it’s very effective when counterpunching using the opponents pace, especially on return of serves. Heavy serves are returned with aplomb, provided you get your feet moving. Find the middle on returns and the racquet is like a sniper gun. It puts away the ball with depth and accuracy and I found myself hitting a lot more winners or unplayable shots on returns.

Where it really comes into it’s own is putting away loose balls thanks to it’s swing weight and the string pattern. What I also noticed is the ease with which I am able to create angles, especially on the backhand side and I have a single handed backhand.

I used to play with the RF97A prior to this and although I got a bit more depth from the RF97A, I struggled a bit in creating angles or direction changes on the backhand, because of the sheer weight of that frame, but no such troubles with this one, one flick of the wrist is enough to change the trajectory, which says a lot about it’s playability.

Volleys are top-notch. The racquet is eager to take on pace and return hard hitting shots at net with lethal interest. It does need a little bit of deftness though and players who have shorter and crisper volleys will love this racquet. It feels assured and quite maneuverable for a frame as heavy as this. In fact, it feels lighter than it is and you be forgiven for thinking this racquet might not cut it at the net, talk about modesty.

Serves and overheads feel great as well, although I felt I lost a bit of pace on the serve, which leads me to think that I have to optimize the serve motion to suit this frame, something I generally haven’t done in the past, unless I was transitioning from a smaller to bigger frame or vice versa.

The maneuverability and ease of serving as well as putting away overheads is confidence inspiring and you’re generally able to make effective serves and overheads, even when you don’t quite middle them.

To Sum It Up:

So where does it fall in my pecking order of Wilson racquets to play with ? It came very close to dislodging the Kfactor Six.One 90 off the top, but it doesn’t have the same raw feel that the KFactor line, which to me is still Wilson’s best ever update to the Pro Staff line. However, it comes a close second and it is undoubtedly fast becoming my favorite Wilson racquet to play with.

Overall – Intermediate to Advanced players will take delight in this frame as it offers everything that players at this level need from a racquet – A solid, versatile frame that delivers precision and weighty shots. Is it a comfortable of racquet to play with? No, but anyone considering a Wilson Pro Staff v13.0 isn’t probably.