What professional players use and endorse are two different things. Grigor Dimitrov endorses the Wilson Pro Staff 97S, but uses a different racquet. What?
Baby Federer. That’s what we used to call him, the stylish Grigor Dimitrov, with strokes that looked eerily similar to the great Swiss champ’s. But along the line and the years, something happened. His style didn’t change, but his results were “unspectacular” if you will. Brilliance mixed with mediocre. Seemed to get tight when closing out matches. There was the famous meltdown in Turkey in May this year where he broke a couple of racquets and in an embarrassing manner forfeited the match in anger against Diego Schwartzman.
Pressure and disappointment was getting to him, so he needed to start afresh. One step of the way was to hire Berdych‘s old coach Daniel Vallverdu. Step 2 was to, after numerous racquet changes, go back to his 93 inch Wilson pro staff with 18×17 string pattern. And voila! Suddenly he is playing well again.
Wilson must be a bit tired of giving him new racquets to test out however. Lots of work was put into 
releasing his signature model, the thin-beamed and relatively flexible Wilson Pro Staff 97S
, but he didn’t end up using the racquet himself for very long and went back to his more trusted 93-inch (that’s not in stores and never has been). He might get less power with that one, but you can already see that he’s more comfortable taking the ball on the rise with confidence and he’s attacking more frequently now. Maybe it has some to do with the racquet, maybe it’s all in the head.
Buy Dimitrov’s Gear at Tennis Express.
What are Dimitrov’s racquet specs then? Well, he used to play a relatively head-heavy spec with (like most pro’s) a hefty swing weight.
The pics above are from prostocktennis.com where you can actually buy Grigor Dimitrov’s actual racquet.
Grigor Dimitrov racquet specs:
Head size: 93 sq. in. / 600 sq. cm.
Length:27 in. / 68.6 cm.
Strung weight:12.5 oz. / 353 gr.
Strung balance:329 mm
Stiffness:60
Grip size:L4 (4 1/2)
Grip type:Wilson Leather + Overgrip
String pattern:18 Mains / 17 Crosses
Paint:Pro Staff 95S
Silicone:No (Epoxy filled by Wilson Pro Room)
Lead:No (At least not visible)
Those specs and a 93-inch head are not exactly retail friendly specs which would make the racquet a rather hard sell. The Wilson Pro Staff 97S is more user-friendly, but still made for a relatively small user group:
Strung Specifications for the Wilson Pro Staff 97S.
| Head Size:Â 97 sq. in. / 625.81 sq. cm. |
| Length:Â 27in / 68.58cm |
| Strung Weight:Â 11.5oz / 326.02g |
| Balance:Â 13.18in / 33.48cm / 3 pts HL |
| Swingweight:Â 325 |
| Stiffness:Â 66 |
| Beam Width:Â 19.5mm / 19.5mm / 19.5mm / |
| Composition:Â Braided Graphite |
| Power Level:Â Low-Medium |
| Stroke Style:Â Full |
| Swing Speed:Â Fast |
| Racquet Colors:Â Black/Red |
| Grip Type:Â Wilson Leather |
| String Pattern:Â 18 Mains / 17 Crosses Mains skip: 8T,10T,8H,10H One Piece No Shared Holes |
| String Tension:Â 50-60 pounds |
His strings were (I don’t know the latest configuration – players are more keen on testing new strings than new racquets):
Mains – Wilson Natural Gut 17 @ 25.0 KGS (with a 15% pre-stretch)
Crosses – Luxilon 4G 17 @ 24.0 KGS
If you want to get a the Wilson Pro Staff 97SÂ or other tennis supplies, check out the online shops below.
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5 comments
I have tried out the 2015 97s and after adding about 10 grams to the handle, it’s quite amazing in every aspect. Frankly, I prefer this to the autograph for the flexibility and spin. It’s not as powerful but much easier on my arm anyway. The plowthru is addictive even though it is difficult to swing for me over three sets, especially on serves, but then I am not a pro who can handle a 360-370 swing weight for 5 hours
Sounds great. What do you string it with and how much does it weigh customized? Cheers / Jonas
Sure, the customized weight is 341gm (~12.1 oz) (with 10 grams added to the handle), flex 64, i have strung it with genesis xplosion (mains: 55 lbs), snakebite 17 (cross: 52 lbs). I don’t know if you are familiar with goldenset strings, but snakebite is a medium powered, fairly stiff poly but with excellent spin. The head heaviness is both a pro and con but I love the spin and pace. I believe the new frame is more HL and slightly stiffer.
I’ve been playing 49 yes,my best treats were with wood rackets and Wilson’s hunny Conner’s steel ax,.lived it,immudiadt shoulder , elbow and wrist problems…with that being said,I have about 15 Wilson 93 inchers,and yes ,they still play better,but at 68 yrs old,the lighter 97 s second gen is so much easier to play with…they are mostly all gone,I just found one in Canada,great buy…I ve been stringing since day one,,use lighter,thinner and lower your tensions… excited to read everyone s comments.
Hi Robert,
Thanks for your comment. Agree about the Pro Staff 97S, really nice stick! Agree that for more feel and comfort, thinner and lower tensions can be great. However, you will need to restring more often!
Playing solid tennis at 68, nice inspiration for all of us! Keep it up. Cheers / Jonas