2023 Prostaff v14 97 vs. the Prostaff X
Can the Prostaff Stay Relevant in 2023?
2023, Wilson’s marketing department would have you looking to the past. However, is that really the right play when we’ve got all these exciting young players at the top of the game?
Wilson has added the same aramid-kevlar fibers responsible for the sweet, connected feel in Sampras’ Prostaff 85. Additional flexibility has been added into the shaft through what is called “Paradigm Bending,” engineered to elicit that “classic ProStaff feel.”
Unfortunately for Wilson, reveling in the greatness of the good old days can only get you so far. With Federer now retired, Wilson is left without the most important racquet-to-player endorsement in the history of tennis. For the first time in years, they’ll have to do more than mere marketing to sell units. They’ll actually have to make a good tennis racquet, except, it can’t just be a good racquet by the standards of 1995, as it will have to hold up in today’s market, for the modern player, with modern explosiveness and a modern forehand.
Why We Need the ProStaff X
Tennis has changed so much since 1995. Even in the past 10 years, we’ve seen incredible development at the professional level. Players are swinging faster than ever. They are more explosive, using lighter racquets and hitting harder than ever before.
In fact, 2023 marks the 10 year anniversary of Federer switching from his ProStaff 90 to the 97. So, for 2023, Wilson has increased the head size again, developing an all new model, set to be released alongside the classic Prostaff 97, the Prostaff X.
Finally, Wilson is offering a 100 square inch head in a package designed for elite tennis players. The crazy thing is, the specs between the Prostaff 97 and the Prostaff X aren’t really that different. So what’s the point in having two models?
Why Bother With Two Different Headsizes?
So does the 3 square inch difference between the 97 and the X really matter? It’s only 3% afterall. So in theory, the larger head will give you 4 main advantages:
More power
More spin
More stability
More forgiveness
But how often do theoretical changes actually lead to practical improvements?
The Prostaff X boasts a twistweight that’s more than a full point higher than the v13 Prostaff 97. This means that from the factory, Wilson has added weight at 3 and 9 o’clock on the racquet. The more weight you have on the sides of the frame, the more resistant the frame is to twisting, leading to improved torsional stability. This, combined with the larger head, does translate to improve performance on court. Off-centre playability and forgiveness are way better from all areas of the court. The stability on off-centre shots with the Prostaff X are among the best on the market, comparable to the TFIGHT ISO 305 and the Head Gravity Pro. The sweetspot feels absolutely immense in the Prostaff X, with almost no noticeable drop-off in playability towards the extremities of the frame.
So what’s the trade-off here when compared to the 97?
Smaller head sizes typically offer two key benefits, speed and precision, the hallmarks of Federer himself. Of course the 97 feels more controlled, more precise and with less hitting area, it's very easy to locate the ball on the stringbed, leading to a more predictable and responsive feel. The Prostaff 97 begs you to attack every ball. It loves a high swing speed and demands that you to stay committed on every shot.
Many find that smaller heads cut through the air more quickly, as there is less volume to drag through the air. You might not actually experience this on court though, because the weight distribution between these two frames is surprisingly different. While both racquets have the same 32cm balance point and 315g unstrung static weight, they have different swingweights.
But how is that possible?
Weight, Balance and Polarization
If two racquets weigh the same, and have the same balance, surely they should have the same swingweight, right? False. The key to swingweight is the weight distribution. The further away from your hand that the weight is added, the greater the impact will be on swingweight. For example, if you take two perfectly even balance racquets and you want to add 10g grams to each racquet but you want to keep the balance point the same. There’s two ways that you can achieve this.
One, add 10 grams right in the middle of the racquet. This increases the weight by 10 grams and keeps the balance perfectly even. Two, you can add 5 grams to the tip and 5 grams to the handle. This also increases the weight by 10 grams and still keeps the balance perfectly even. So can you guess which racquet will have the higher swingweight? Exactly, it's the racquet with the 5 grams placed towards each end of the racquet.
When the weight is distributed towards the end of the racquet, we call this a “polarized” set up, because the weight is added towards the “poles” of the racquet. A “depolarized” setup is when the weight is more concentrated around the balance point.
So why does this matter on court?
Well, polarization helps us understand how a racquet might complement our swing. More polarized racquets are harder to manage. All of that weight concentrated in the head of the racquet requires a consistent swing with expert technique to manage properly. More depolarized setups are easier to swing, as you aren’t forced to lug all that tip weight around. This is great for those looking for a more forgiving feel in situations where they won’t be able to take full swings on every shot.
Quality Control
Sadly, Wilson is not known for having great quality control.
The static weight and balance for both my 97 and X came in pretty much right on target.
However, the swingweight on the 97 measured 325, coming in only 2 points higher than the X, and nearly 10 points below what it should have been.
This means that for this test, we are really just isolating for head size.
Spin With the 97
Even though the swingweight on my copy of the 97 is higher, the speed through the air is far superior. It’s so much easier to whip up the back of the ball with the 97. I’m able to absolutely load up my forehand with spin on demand. This is the only racquet that I’ve tried to date that gives me the kind of spin-oriented attacking confidence that I get with my customized Extreme Tour.
A big part of that speed on court comes from a lower twistweight. Even though Tennis Warehouse’s average twistweight for the 97 is supposed to be 15, our copy only measured 13.3.
Twistweight and Stability
There are two reasons for the discrepancy in twistweight. One, twistweight isn’t as meticulously controlled as other specs. It's just not as well known for most consumers to care. The other has to do with the method of measurement.
I’m not sure how TW measures twistweight, but I have to calculate it by subtracting the swingweight from the spinweight. Brian, the designer of my swingweight machine, the Briffidi SW1, states that this method tends to slightly underestimate twistweight. For now, this is the best we can do.
Our Prostaff X had a measured twistweight of 14.2. It feels WAY more stable than the 97. It's not that the 97 feels unstable, but when you are pressed behind the baseline or returning serve, it just doesn’t give you much extra help. The X just feels like there’s so much weight behind the ball that it can plow through off-centre hits with ease.
Comparison to Previous Versions
Despite the huge name, I never really gelled with the Prostaffs. I really got into tennisnerdism when the Prostaffs were plagued by Counterveil, a feel robbing, good-for-nothing, vibration dampening virus that made me not care about Wilson at all.
I really liked the last version, but I didn’t feel like the v13 Prostaff 97 used its weight well. It felt like a featherweight stuck in the heavyweight class.
Now it feels like the Prostaff’s use every single gram to help you win. I love the balance of these racquets. They feel so right on both my forehand and backhand. I love extra stability and forgiveness of the 100. I love the immense precision available in the 97.
Feel
Many of the racquets that really help you win don’t have great feel. Racquets like the Pure Aero VS, the TFIGHT ISO and the Pure Drives may offer amazing performance, but they require vibration dampening to harness their higher stiffness, a necessary evil with high-power, high-stability frames. Thankfully that’s just not the case with the Prostaff. But between the X and the 97, the feel is actually quite different.
Even though these frames have the same stiffnesses and beam designs, I truly believe that the layup between the 97 and the X is a little different.
The 97 feels much more direct and crisp. It has a responsiveness throughout the hoop that is reminiscent of my Extreme Tour. This extra firmness makes it very easy to locate the ball on the stringbed and diagnose your mistakes.
On the other hand, the X feels much more plush. It's more similar to the Gravity Pro in the way that it pockets the ball, offering a much longer dwell time than the 97. The X also feels more muted, but thankfully, it's not disconnected. There’s plenty of comfortable, ball-pocketing feel so you can understand exactly what’s happening on the court.
Player Recommendations
So Wilson has truly made two excellent racquets. How exactly do you choose between them?
On the face of it, these racquets may seem nearly identical, however, when you really analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each frame, the choice is quite clear.
The 97 is for Federer types. Those with clean strokes and attacking mindsets. It’s for those players who want to be in control of their racquet, their strokes and the point. If you screw up, this racquet lets you know. However, that’s the beauty of it, because when you do hit that perfect shot, there is no sweeter feeling.
The X is for the more modern player. The baseline basher who crushes every ball from all areas of the court. With plenty of playability available throughout the stringbed, it's way easier to smoke balls on the rise, from out of position or from deep in the court when compared to the 97.
For 2023, Wilson has truly engineered two of my favourite racquets on the market. They’ve done it in a way where they pay homage to the legends of the past, while still satisfying the demands of the modern game.
Specs, Measurements and Calculations
Recoil Weight = SW - (wt. in kg. x (cm balance - 10)²)
The Polarization Index = Recoil Weight ÷ Weight in grams
MgR/I = (wt. in kg x 980.5 x cm balance) ÷ (SW + (20 x kg wt. x cm balance) - (100 x kg wt.))
PS97 specs:
Static Weight: 332g Actual: 339g
TW 15.02 Actual 13.32
SW 332 Actual 325
Balance 32cm Actual 32cm
Recoil Weight: 171.31 Actual 20.9
Polarization: 0.52 Actual 0.47
mgr/i: 20.37 Actual 20.9
PSX specs:
Static Weight: 332g Actual: 337g
TW 15.4 Actual 14.16
SW 322 Actual 323
Balance 32cm Actual 32cm
Recoil Weight: 161.31 Actual 159.9
Polarization: 0.49 Actual 0.47
Mrgi: 20.78 Actual 20.9
