The Wilson Shift 300: Return of the Gimmick

What’s the Point?

I’ve long felt that Wilson had a gaping hole, the size of an Olympic Gold medal, in their lineup. Ever since the Burn went extinct, there’s been nothing for spin players. Worse still, since the V7 Blade dropped its stiffness, Wilson honestly hasn’t been much to compete with key competitors like the Aero VS, the EZONE 98 and Extreme Tour.

Looking at the specs and the new “technologies,” it appears that we are dealing with what should be a “spin racquet”. Further, they are clearly trying to differentiate the frame from its competitors by opting for some unique specs. It’s a 99, not the standard 100 or 98. It’s got the rare 16x20 pattern and its also a flat beam, which is weird for this segment.

Stability

The beam is on the thicker side compared to other 98’s while being thinner than popular 100’s like the Pure Aero, VCORE 100 and Extreme MP. Overall power and control levels feel like somewhere between the Pure Strike 100 and the Speed MP. There is plenty of forgiveness and stability during off-centre hits and it’s pretty easy to penetrate the court if you can manage a solid weight transfer. This is pretty surprising because my Shift came under spec, with a strung swingweight of only 309.

I think a lot of this stability comes from the torsional rigidity that Wilson claims to have engineered into the frame, as the frame has a twistweight of 13. I’m finding this to be medium low when using the twistweight adapter on my Briffidi. In general, my twistweight reading comes in roughly 1 point lower than what TWU publishes.

Stringbed Performance

The launch angle is also definitely on the higher side, especially for a 16x20, but it’s generally quite consistent feeling, leaving behind some of the erratic responses that we see in many of the more open 16x19 patterns.

Comfort and Feel

For the first couple of hits, I had a hard time figuring out what to do with the shift. The feel is quite unique. You instantly get a lot of Clashiness in the flex. The faster you swing, the firmer it feels. It’s on those harder shots where you really feel that 68 strung RA.

Given that my fellow Extreme Tour user, MP Tennis, experienced some serious discomfort with the racquet, I strung the Shift with a stiffer string, Tour Bite, to see if I’d have the same problem. I’m happy to report that everything was smooth sailing for me. MP Tennis is a better player than me and experiences higher average balls speeds, so I can see how the stiffness could become too jarring at that level.

If you do slow things down the Shift 300 softens up and gives better dwell time. I’ve honestly never played with a racquet that feels so different depending on the ball speed. The first couple warm ups I had, I really felt that Clash feel. Its almost like the strings are cupping the ball and slingshotting it back with how much the frame can flex. So I think if you are playing in the more intermediate type of level, comfort is absolutely excellent and you shouldn’t be too concerned, even if you have a history of arm issues. Once I understood that the Shift was going to flex differently than other racquets, I really started to enjoy playing with it.

Lateral Bending? BS?

So back to this being a spin racquet, or at least me guessing that this is supposed to be a spin racquet. Both topspin and slices come loaded with spin. So Wilson claims that they were seeking “maximum lateral bending.” From the research I’ve done, since I don’t get to talk directly to Wilson yet, this means that the racquet flexes from 3 to 9 o’clock, which sort of emulates the snapback of a polyester string. This exaggerates the launch angle and arc on spin shots, helping with extra depth and spin. 

When you flatten balls out, you feel a lot less of this lateral flex. This feels like it lowers the launch angle relative to the times when you do get that lateral flex and I found myself finding the net on flatter shots.

This made me feel much more confident on defense as opposed to offense. I think a lot of this is because of that lateral flex and high torsional stiffness. More vertical swing paths, ones that are more common on defensive shots are graced with this flexy, assisted feel. More horizontal swing paths, typically associated with aggressive shots, don’t experience that lateral flex. 

Consequences of Variable Flex

This variable flex leads to two important consequences. One, the feel is very boardy and consistent when it comes to hitting flat shots, whether it be big aggressive ground strokes, punching volleys or blocking returns. Another reason that these feel so consistent is that there was a major emphasis on retaining a high torsional stiffness, so off-centre shots feel almost like on-centre ones. The other consequence is that you have to adjust your expectations of the racquet depending on how you are about to hit the ball.

Final Thoughts

Overall, shift feels like it’ll suit a lot of different players. If you are looking for something that really combines speed and maneuverability with epic torsional stability, there are few racquets better than the Shift 300. If you like the idea of a higher launch angle on defense with a little bit of extra precision on offense, the Shift 300 does offer that dual personality. Further, if you like the Clashy feel, but have been seeking a higher performance option, the Shift 300 is almost definitely the racquet for you.

But for me, I don’t want those things. I want my racquet to respond in the same way on every single shot. While the spin potential was certainly addictive, and the unique hitting feel is pretty fun to play around with, I just didn’t feel that deep connection to the racquet. So if you are like me, looking for racquets that do offer some epic spin potential, but with a more traditional hitting feel, I highly recommend checking out the Yonex VCORE Series.

Specs of My Sample

Shift 300

Specs are strung w/ TB 16L , with OG + O Damp

Static Weight: 323g

Balance: 32.1cm

Swingweight: 309

Twistweight: 13

Recoil Weight: 151

MgR/I: 21

Polarization: 0.47