Juan Martin Del Potro is a fan favorite on the ATP World Tour and has since his US Open title in 2009 been plagued by injuries. Now he’s back. What racquet does he use?

The curious thing about Juan-Martin Del Potro is that he’s been reluctant to use so called paint jobs of his racquets. For a long time Del Potro used a Hyper Pro Staff 6.1 95 with a K-factor Six-One 95 paint job despite that the model was out of stock, which I’m sure felt very strange for Wilson. Now it seems he’s agreed to sport at least another paint job with something that looks like a Burn FST 95 but has PWS (Perimeter Weighting System) so it is very likely still his trusted Hyper Pro Staff 6.1 95. But who knows? Wilson claims he’s using the Wilson Burn FST 95.

For all tennis nerds and racquetaholics, it’s obvious that a Burn FST 95 doesn’t have PWS technology. So there’s definitely something else underneath the paint.

Since Babolat was sued for not being honest about their racquet endorsements, maybe the industry needs to simply be transparent around who plays what. Maybe the tweet above should have read: “Del Potro has made the switch to the cool Burn FST 95 paint”? Nah, not a good marketing move.

Not that there’s something wrong with the Wilson Burn FST 95. It looks great, is quite spin-friendly (16×19 compared to the usual Wilson Six One 95 string pattern of 18×20) but it can be rather stiff to players with sore elbows and wrist. The 71 strung RA is rather high. Below you can find the specs of the Wilson Burn FST 95:

If you’re interested in a Del Potro style racquet, but don’t enjoy the Wilson Burn FST 95, I’d suggest you check out the recently re-released Wilson Six One 95 (at Amazon here) which is a real classic among racquet fans and gives you feel and power in a pretty user-friendly package thanks to its head-light balance.

I’m a long-time fan and part-time user of the Wilson Six One 95 and although it can be quite heavy for some players (332 grams unstrung), it truly deserves its legendary status similar to a HEAD Pro Tour 630 (which is what Andy Murray and many other ATP professionals use under so called paint jobs).

Below are some pictures of Juan-Martin Del Potro’s Wilson Burn FST 95 – as you can see it says 18×20 and there is plenty of lead tape at 3 and 9 on the frame. Del Potro uses what Wilson calls The Champions Choice as his go-to string setup. It is a nice blend of Luxilon Alu Power (in the mains) and Wilson natural gut (in the crosses). A comfortable, versatile and spin-friendly setup that works for a lot of professional tennis players. The only downside with Wilson Champion’s Choice is that it costs quite a bit per set. But if you want the best for your tennis – it might be worth trying out – at least once!

Del Potro’s unstrung racquet specs:
-Weight: 349 g
-Grip: Custom 4 1/2
-Lead at 3 and 9 o’clock
-Wilson leather grip

Buy the Wilson Burn FST 95, Wilson Six One 95 or other tennis racquets and gear:

Europe
Racquet Depot
Pro Direct Tennis

USA/CANADA
Tennis Express
Do It Tennis
Amazon.com