Wilson Pro Staff 97 Countervail Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 80

Our playtesters found the Wilson Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black offered excellent spin and maneuverability from the baseline, but at times they struggled with the response off the stringbed. Chris enjoyed the fast feel of the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black, saying, "I could accelerate it effortlessly through contact to generate spin and pace. When it was strung up with a poly, like ALU Power or Solinco Hyper G, it produced great spin. As I've found with past iterations of the Pro Staff 97, the stringbed felt pretty open and grippy. However, with this version I had less feel for the ball, and the response was a tad erratic. I was able to play much more consistently with the previous version. With the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black I had a tendency to both overhit and hit too short, without getting any feedback from the racquet on why it was happening. I was still able to play decently with the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black, but I had to work a little harder for it."

"I have played with all versions of the Pro Staff 97 and have enjoyed them all, so I definitely had high expectations for the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black," continued Mark. "My current point of reference for a tennis racquet is the Wilson Blade SW104 Autograph, and admittedly, it did take more than one full session to get rid of some of my extended length muscle memory. By the third hour with the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black I was right at home in the backcourt, accurately hitting close to both sidelines and baseline. In fact, each time I played with it I was a little more confident, and by the time I completed the Playsight data my consistency percentages were in the low 90s, which is exactly where I want to be. This was a great racquet for me to swing from anywhere near the baseline; it was light enough for me to get wristy around the outside of the ball, yet heavy enough to be stable against heavier shots."

Jason had trouble finding a consistent response. He explained, "I found myself needing to take full swings at the ball on every shot to get the power and depth that I wanted. This racquet had a lower powered response than I expected, considering the specs are very similar to my own Babolat Pure Strike 98 16x19. I also found the stringbed to be somewhat erratic. I would hit two nearly identical shots and one shot would sail long while the other shot would land near the service line. However, since I was swinging big on my shots I was getting plenty of spin from both wings."

Granville was able to compare the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black with his previous racquet of choice, the Pro Staff 97. He said, "The weight and balance of this new Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black appeared to be in line with the older Pro Staff 97, but when contacting the ball this new Countervail version offered extra 'launching' off the stringbed, which changed the trajectory and depth into the court. I didn't get that satisfying 'thwap' sound I am so often rewarded with, but that could be due to the strings."

Volleys - Score: 81

The Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black offered excellent maneuverability to help end the points up at net. In Granville's hand, the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black felt like the Pro Staff 97 of old. He compared, "It had good weight and balance for stability and maneuverability. The launching effect was less noticeable on volleys compared to groundstrokes. There was good pocketing for that little extra angle and precision, which added to my confidence at the net and enhanced my play."

"The Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black felt easy to maneuver and very comfortable at net," added Chris. "I enjoyed the crisp response on volleys that I got from the previous versions of this racquet, and I found that same response here. Again, I had some feedback issues on the control front, and my touch volleys weren't as dialed in."

Finding success up at net, Mark noted, "The overall weight of the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black versus its swingweight and the open pattern invited me to hit put-away volleys, and this made net play my second favorite part of this playtest."

Jason would have liked a little more forgiveness. He explained, "When I did hit the ball cleanly in the sweetspot the racquet rewarded me with nice pop, spin and control. When I didn't, it was a little more unforgiving than I expected. Even with the more muted feel that comes with the addition of Countervail, I felt connected enough to the ball to produce some nice results on my touch volleys."

Serves - Score: 81

The TW playtesters found success serving with the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black. For both serves and overheads, Mark had an easy transition from his Blade SW104 Autograph to the new Pro Staff 97. He said, "In terms of velocity, my numbers were not out of the ordinary, but I felt right at home serving with it. And like other parts of this playtest, I served a little better with the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black each time I practiced with it."

Even though Jason wanted a little more power, he was able to be aggressive on his serve. He described, "I wish I could've gotten more pop on my serves, but other than that, I enjoyed serving with this racquet. The spin and control were great. I was able to do enough with the ball to start the point off on neutral, if not slightly advantageous, ground."

"There were no surprises on serve," commented Granville. "I got excellent control with good spin and kick. There wasn't extra power, but that's not why you buy this racquet. It's just a solid comfortable stick you can count on to do what needs to be done."

Chris' favorite shot with the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black was the serve. He praised, "Because the racquet felt so light and fast it was easy to whip it through and generate solid pace and spin. My targeting was decent as well, which obviously helped with consistency. I hit some nice wide slice serves to the deuce court and was able to get an ace here and there with that serve. As in other areas of the court, the comfort was great."

Returns - Score: 76

The TW playtesters struggled at times with depth and control with the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black when returning serves. Jason couldn't find his groove on his return. He critiqued, "The erratic stringbed that I was noticed on my groundstrokes was also evident on my returns. I wasn't able to fully dial in my returns even though I tried a variety of strings and tensions. I found the best and most consistent results came when I sliced the ball back with depth rather than taking a big cut at the ball."

Granville agreed, saying, "The springy, lively feel I found on groundstrokes meant I needed to make an adjustment on my returns. Not only that, but the feel just seemed inconsistent with the heritage of the Pro Staff 97 racquet."

"There were some aspects of the Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black I liked on returns, but control remained an issue," noted Chris. "As with groundstrokes, I found easy access to spin on returns. Maneuverability was good, which made it a nice racquet to have in my hand when having to react quickly. The racquet also felt well balanced and solid when blocking returns back. I continued to be impressed by the comfortable response, but I would have liked more feel and feedback."

Mark had a hard time getting depth on his returns. He stated, "Although I was effective redirecting the pace of serves with Wilson's Pro Staff 97 Countervail Black, my return of serve was still landing shorter than I would prefer, even after several practice sessions."

Overall - Score: 79