Round-up review: our score and verdict are based on published specs and reviews from across the web, not our own play-testing yet.
The 16×19 Blade 98 is Wilson’s precision frame for higher-intermediate and advanced players who generate their own pace and want the ball to go exactly where they aim it. It rewards full, well-timed strokes and nothing else. If your footwork is patchy, Perfect Tennis’s reviewer points you to the friendlier Blade 100 or 104 instead.
Heavier through the ball
The v9’s big change is mass in the right place. Wilson lifted the strung swingweight from around 317 on the v8 to a 324 target, and Perfect Tennis’s reviewer felt it immediately as a more solid response on off-centre hits and a more defined sweet spot, where the v8 had a slight mushiness. The 21 mm flat beam, RA 62 and braided graphite and basalt layup are unchanged, so the connected Blade feel survives.
Quality control was a v8 sore point, and Wilson claims to have fixed it. The review sample weighed 303.6 g unstrung against a 305 g target, which the reviewer graded an A plus. On serve they preferred it to the v8 18×20 in their bag, with a mix of pace and spin that let them go flat down the T or slice out wide, and drive volleys were the shot of the test.
Where reviewers split
This is a demanding frame, and Perfect Tennis says so plainly: without decent footwork you will run into problems. The one shot the reviewer never tamed was the slice, which either ballooned or died in the net, though they suspect their 40 lb string job rather than the frame. Blocked returns aren’t its thing either. You need to swing.
One buying note. Tennis Warehouse’s 2026 racket guide lists an 18×20 Blade 98 v10 in its control category, so check exactly which pattern and version a shop is selling before you pay.
It is a Blade. It just no longer wobbles.
Specs
- Head size 98 in²
- Unstrung weight 305 g
- Strung weight 323 g
- Balance 33 cm, 4 pts HL
- Swingweight 324
- Stiffness (RA) 62
- Beam width 21 mm
- String pattern 16 x 19
Verdict
A serious control frame that finally feels as solid as it is precise. Make sure the shop is selling you the version you have read about.
