Wilson Ultra 100 v4 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 85

Our playtesters are well acquainted with Wilson's Ultra racquet line, so they were excited to see what the new Ultra 100 v4 had in store for them. Having hit with all three of the past generations of the Ultra (and even the Juice line that came before it), Brittany found that her experience with the franchise gave her an easy transition, and she felt confident right away. She said, "I found easy power and depth from the baseline. The feel was very forgiving, and I am not sure if this is a negative or a positive, but sometimes my shots were landing in when I didn't expect them to (similar to my experience with the Wilson Clash). The racquet fit my game style extremely well. I was able to quickly and successfully transfer from a defensive or neutral position to an aggressive, offensive situation in one or two shots thanks to the easy maneuverability and spin. I did struggle connecting with my slice backhand at times and found that it was floating a little more than I would have liked, but that was very minor and didn't impact my play at all."

Jason really enjoyed how easy it was to swing the Ultra 100 v4. He described, "The sub-320 swingweight meant I was able to generate tons of racquet head speed for lots of topspin. I also had an easier time flicking my wrist on shots right at my feet and finding sharper angles. For having a weight in the low 11-ounce range, this racquet provided some good pop off the ground. I didn't love it as much on my backhand slice, where I felt the ball floated more than I liked, and I also felt it was easier to overhit with this racquet because of the firepower it brings."

"This was a fun racquet to hit with," began Michelle. "It instantly reminded me of the very first time I hit with the Clash racquets. The sweetspot was large, plush and forgiving, the ball pocketed well in the stringbed, and I felt like I had loads of dwell time to then swing big and launch the ball back out. I had fun hitting out and didn't feel like I had to worry about missing. This racquet is a bit lighter than what I gravitate toward, but I loved its versatility. I also had fun coaching with this racquet because it was so easy to adjust to whichever level I was working with. I could give it to different players, and they all found success with it. I noticed the updated feel and remembered Ultras of the past feeling a bit brassy and uncomfortable, but this version was more muted and didn't feel as stiff. Lastly, I got away with being out of position at times and could take a big swipe at the ball and luckily find a reward. I tend to try to stick with racquets that force me to be in better positioning with my feet, but I can also appreciate a racquet that rewards a big swing when I'm scrambling to get to the ball."

Mark also typically plays with slightly heavier racquets, so the first thing he noticed was how easy it was to accelerate this Ultra 100 v4. He said, "Within a dozen groundstroke rallies, it was apparent how darn stable this racquet felt from the baseline. After a couple of hours of baseline play I began to rethink what my best combination of racquet specs are; yes, I liked the Ultra 100 that much! Overall, this racquet struck a good middle ground for my baseline game, being light enough to swing all day long without a big decline in stability."

Volleys - Score: 83

Our team continued to find the Ultra 100 v4 easy to use when moving to the net. Jason, who prefers sticking to the baseline rather than finishing points with his volleys, noted that up at net was where he liked this racquet the most. He said, "I know it's very surprising to hear coming from someone who is practically allergic to the net, but this racquet was super whippy and powerful, so I was able to volley well both defensively and offensively."

When approaching the net, Michelle could either swing big or be more traditional in her net play. She explained, "Volleys were fairly easy with this racquet, and swinging volleys were super fun! The racquet felt stable for its weight, and I could dig out shots at my feet. It was also easy to maneuver in quick exchanges. If anything, it wasn't as stable as my racquet of choice, but not many racquets are."

Mark's positive experience with the Ultra 100 v4 was not limited to the baseline. He said, "The Ultra 100 v4 offered me the same balance of maneuverability versus stability at net that I got from the backcourt. Whether it was a punch volley or touch volley, this racquet was versatile enough for me to get the intended result."

While the Ultra 100 v4 felt just a bit stiff to Brittany, the racquet gave her the confidence to close out points at the net. She said, "When I found myself transitioning up to net, I was generally hitting powerful approach shots, which game me the confidence to move forward and continue by punching swinging volleys or standard volleys deep in the court to end the point. The previous generation felt a little hollow and tinny to me. This new update took steps in the right direction and felt a little plusher and more responsive, although I still consider it on the stiffer side."

Serves - Score: 83

Across the board, our team noted easy power and spin from the Ultra 100 v4 on serves. With this racquet in her hands, serving just felt easier to Michelle. She said, "Even when my toss was possibly a bit off, I could still execute a successful serve. I think because I found it easy to swing, it took pressure off of me to force something to happen with my serves, and they were going in consistently. Easy spin, easy power, easy to maneuver."

Mark felt especially confident on serves. He said, "The speed of my serves didn't increase, but the action on the ball did. What I maybe liked the most was how smooth of a transition I had to the second shot, which is a part of my game that I often have trouble with."

For Brittany, first serves were all about pure power with the Ultra 100 v4. She described, "I liked going wide on the ad side and found myself winning a free point or two every service game. My serves were landing deep in the service box with ease and really penetrating through the court, giving my opponents less time to react. I wasn't as comfortable on my second serves. The first couple of times I played points with the Ultra 100 v4 I found my serves landing long, and a couple more double faults crept in. I had to make some small tweaks and consciously add a little more spin to bring my serve back in front of the service line."

Jason had more mixed results than the rest of the team on serve. He noted, "What I liked about it was the access to spin and how easy it was to accelerate through contact. But for whatever reason, I would miss long more than usual with this racquet. It could've been the extra pop that came from the higher stiffness. When I did get my serves in, though, they had good power and spin to them."

Returns - Score: 82

Acknowledging the Ultra 100 v4's 300-gram unstrung weight and strung swingweight just under 320, Mark anticipated that his return of serve would be his least favorite part of the playtest. Luckily, he was pleasantly surprised. He explained, "On the contrary, I enjoyed returning serve almost as much as I liked exchanging groundstrokes, serving or volleying with it. I am happy to report that I probably hit the flattest returns ever with the Ultra 100 v4, as well as the most topspin returns ever."

Jason loved how fun it was to hit returns with this racquet. He said, "The Ultra 100 v4 was maneuverable enough that I felt comfortable taking big swings at the ball, and I could impart enough topspin to help them land inside the lines. It's definitely more about power than control, so that meant picking larger targets, but I could swing away!"

"I liked to step up to the baseline and take big cuts on my return of serve," added Brittany. "With a lot of racquets, I err on the conservative side on my targets, but with the Ultra 100 v4, I loved ripping it up the line on both the deuce and ad side. I found myself immediately on the offensive and starting points aggressively. I had enough control that I never felt like I was overhitting."

With her big returns that sometimes push the limits of high-percentage tennis, Michelle was the most critical of the Ultra 100 v4's returns. She said, "I love to tee off on returns, and sometimes I swung so much bigger and faster than I needed to with this racquet. I can be a 'more is more' and 'harder is better' type of player, but I found I had to be a bit more disciplined with the Ultra 100 v4 because I was slapping or overhitting at times. Luckily, with a more simplified backswing and a focus on my feet, I was able to pick bigger targets and not overhit."

Overall - Score: 84