Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

All of our international playtesters were very familiar with the Wilson Blade line, and the Wilson Noir Blade 98 16x19 v8 fit right in with their expectations. From the baseline, this generation is true to the Blade name, but with the benefit of added stability. Tennis Warehouse playtester Sage began by saying, "This is a brilliant next chapter in the Blade lineage. One of the big takeaways throughout the playtest was trust; this racquet is low powered and opens the door to play aggressive tennis without sacrificing control. It offered the wonderfully comfortable feel I have come to expect from a Blade, and it remained steady through contact. The flexible frame gave me the green light to take a full swing with the confidence that the ball would stay in the court." Jason found this updated racquet to play faster than the v7. He added, "Although the racquet specs remain relatively unchanged, I did notice that this version felt whippier than the previous model. On my groundstrokes, the racquet felt Blade-like, which meant a solid feel, great control and decent power. If you're like me and want some more free power, I'd recommend lowering your tension 3 or 4 pounds, which worked out well for my game."

Our playtesters at Tennis Warehouse Europe found the Wilson Blade 98 v8's new butt-cap technology to be beneficial in adding stability. Leon has played with the Blade since the first generation. He described, "The new Wilson Blade felt really good! I feel that I got more spin combined with power for groundstrokes. I am a player who normally adds some weight to the head of my racquet, but for this version, no customization is necessary. The head speed was excellent, and it's exactly what I need for my play style. I would say this racquet is the perfect all-rounder with power, control and spin." Benji continued, "I really enjoyed playtesting this racquet. I had enough control and power, as expected. The Blade 98 v8 felt more stable, which was useful when I had to control the ball against heavy hitting. The new butt cap brought more stability, which helped when I was in defensive situations."

The Tennis Only playtesters from Australia found similar benefits from the new Blade 98 v8. James thought the racquet's specifications provided a great balance between precision and spin. He explained, "The combination of head size, string pattern and beam width offered me the low trajectory and precision I need on my backhand, with great spin potential for my extreme forehand." Jaye added, "The Blade is one of those racquets where it's pick up and go. I felt very connected to the ball, and with only a small adjustment period, I grooved with the racquet extremely well. It's as if it were my own racquet of choice. This version is no different; I loved it from the baseline."

Volleys - Score: 80

At the net, our playtesters found that the Blade 98 16x19 v8 offered a versatile blend of touch and power for all shot varieties, including drop, angled and power volleys. Benji appreciated the added stability at net in this update. He said, "The stability helped me volley in any position to finish the point, either with powerful or drop volleys." Leon added, "At the net, I like a racquet that is really forgiving in the sweetspot. The Blade 98 was maneuverable, stable and very comfortable when hitting, and I felt connected to the ball. I also felt like I could do everything I wanted to do when staying at the net — either a finishing volley or a short one."

Sage and Jason took note of the swingweight; they felt it made it easy to get the racquet moving at net, especially during doubles. Sage explained, "The Blade had a solid feel up at the net. I was pleased with the touch it possessed when I wanted to drop a ball short or utilize a sharp angle. Maneuverability was also a plus. It gave me the assurance I could hit my spots, especially during doubles." Jason agreed about the benefit of added maneuverability, but he wanted a more forgiving sweetspot. He said, "The Blade 98 felt stable and solid at the net. Even though it weighs less than 11.5 ounces, the stability was still very good because of the swingweight. It absorbed pace well and had enough pop to put away shots easily. I found every part of the sweetspot, so I do wish for a larger one because off-center shots had a significant drop in performance."

The Tennis Only playtesters thought this racquet's stability was slightly lacking on volleys, and they would add weighted tape to the hoop for optimum playability. James said, "I found the Blade maneuverable at the net, but it lacked a little bit of stability. That can be easily resolved with some tungsten tape, though." Jaye added, "At net, the Blade 98 was a little unstable and fluttered slightly, but smashing hits and the feel from the stringbed did help in putting away my points."

Serves - Score: 84

The Wilson Noir Blade 98 16x19 v8 allowed our playtesters to dominate serves with power, stability, and superb spin thanks to its open pattern and quick whipping ability. James and Jaye had similar reactions to serving with the Blade. Jaye said, "This was my second favorite area with the Blade. It felt super easy to swing and offered plenty of power and spin. The balance of the racquet provided plow through, so the pace and spin were always accessible." James added, "I was able to generate an impressive amount of racquet head speed with the Blade on serve, which helped with pace and topspin. I was also very happy with the targeting."

Sage was able to keep his opponents off the court with heavy slice to the ad side. He said, "As a lefty, I'm looking to pull my opponents off the court, and the Blade gave me exactly what I was looking for. I could dial up the pace on my first serve and also rely on a heavy second with plenty of movement. Most important was the comfort throughout multiple sets. I felt I could continue to be confident in serving a consistent ball deep into a hitting session." Jason found serves to be his favorite aspect of the Blade 98's playtest. He said, "My favorite shot to hit with the Blade 98 v8 was the serve. This racquet really gave me the confidence to hit out on my serves, and surprisingly, consistency didn't take much of a hit. I found good control, consistency and spin on my second serve."

Leon had more control when using the previous Blade v7 with the closed string pattern, but he found the spin on the v8 to be beneficial for his serve. He described, "I wasn't able to control the serve like I normally do with the Wilson Blade 98 v7 18x20, but I felt like I could hit really flat and fast serves. For the second serve, the spin serve worked the best. As already mentioned, this racquet is all about having spin, especially with the open string pattern, and that is exactly what I was feeling on my serves, and especially my second serves." Benji also found spin to be a highlight. He added, "The racquet's balance allowed me to get a powerful serve, but I could also add a lot of spin and find every angle on my first and second serves."

Returns - Score: 75

Our playtesters had mixed opinions on the Wilson Noir Blade 98 16x19 v8's return of serve performance. Sage and Benji both found the versatility of the Blade 98 useful when returning. The added stability was noted by Benji. He said, "I played against a player with heavy serves, and the stability was helpful. I could feed the ball anywhere I wanted and take the advantage on the court from the return." Sage added, "I was able to pick and choose my spots on the serve return. I appreciated the versatility and depth from both wings. I gravitated toward attacking the return and was rewarded with a deep ball that often gave me control of the point. If I was up against a big serve, my defensive slice stayed low and felt solid off the stringbed."

Jason never quite felt at home with this racquet on returns. He explained, "This is an area where I felt that this was more of a control-oriented racquet and slightly out of my wheelhouse. I wanted easier access to power on my returns since I tend to block or chip back a lot of my shots, and they were landing shorter than usual. When I did take an opportunity to swing out and attack a return, I found plenty of spin." Leon also had his ups and downs on this shot. He said, "The maneuverability was pretty good. I had no problems getting the racquet back and hitting the ball. Sometimes, I felt like there wasn't enough control for returning fast serves. I felt very comfortable hitting backhand returns, maybe also because of the new butt cap. The grip just felt a little bit longer, and the racquet was solid in my hands when contacting the ball."

James and Jaye felt the racquet lacked some stability against big hitters. Jaye described, "Similar to volleys, I tend to block my serve back nowadays, and when I play against a player who serves big, I need a bit more heft. If you're playing against faster serves, I would consider adding some weight to the hoop." James added, "For me, the Blade needed to have extra weight added to improve the stability and plow through on the return of serve."

Overall - Score: 83