Former world number 3 David Ferrer played the longest match of the French Open 2017 so far when he beat Donald Young after 4,5 hours. But what blacked-out racquet did he use?
Tennisnerd previously reported about Ferrer’s move from his Prince Exo Tour 100
to a Babolat Pure Drive Plus, but yesterday he showed up with a blacked-out racquet that didn’t look very much like a Babolat Pure Drive and the Wilson butt cap gave it away – Ferrer is testing a Wilson racquet during the 2017 season.
This is not the first time Ferrer is playing with a Wilson racquet – in his early career he used to swing a Wilson Six One 95
 (this line of racquets returns this year). If you want to know what other pro’s use Wilson Six One 95
or other racquets – check out this post called The Racquets of the ATP Professionals.
So what Wilson model is Ferrer playing right now? It’s actually the Wilson Steam 99
. There is a clue in the picture below: the red Wilson butt cap they’ve tried to tape over. The string pattern on the Wilson Steam 99 is 16×18, a pattern Ferrer is familiar with since it’s the same of his old Prince Exo 3 racquet (pro stock model with extended length) which makes me think Ferrer’s Wilson Steam 99 is also extended).
It will be interesting to see how Ferrer performs with his blacked-out Wilson Steam 99 racquet. His period with the Babolat Pure Drive
 wasn’t very successful, but now he seems to have found his steam again (ha-ha). Some experts wonder why he doesn’t go back to his Prince racquet. Well, it could be that he wants more power or it could also be that he wants more money. Prince hasn’t been doing well in the bank lately and we’ll see if they can avoid bankruptcy. What this would mean for their stars Bryan Brothers (who recently launched a limited edition Prince racquet), Lucas Pouille and John Isner is hard to predict – but I wouldn’t be surprised if at least Pouille and Isner starts 2018 with a new racquet in hand.
For you who are interested in the Wilson Steam 99 racquet, below is a pic and specs:
WILSON STEAM 99 RACQUET SPECS |
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What do you think of Ferrer’s racquet situation? Should he go back to Prince and ignore a lucrative deal with Wilson or do you think he’ll do well with his new Wilson racquet? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
If you’re looking for a Wilson Steam 99 or some other new tennis racquet, I’d suggest you check out our affiliates stores below:
Europe
Racquet Depot
Pro Direct Tennis
USA/CANADA
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16 comments
I buy my Prince Tour only because Ferrer. HE is the face of this racquet. I Hope that he come back with the Prince and come back to top 10 either.
Hi Victor,
Yes, I think a lot of people started using the Prince Tour racquets thanks to Ferrer. But either he didn’t feel like he got enough power out of it or there were some sponsorship squabbles and now he seems to be trying out various different frames (first Babolat Pure Drive Plus and now the Wilson Steam). He might go back to the Prince Tour 100 before his career is over, who knows? The Prince Tour 100 series are still great racquets.
Good luck on the courts / Jonas
I think,the racquet on the picture is WILSON PRO STAFF 97 (stringing pattern 16X19).
I think he is using the new blade team 99 (16×18) on sale on TW-Europe. Is almost the same as the old Steam 99. It was a mistake to move from the Tour into the Pure Drive, but switching to the Wilson racquet has proved positive. I wish David can play on a good level a couple more years, he is an example for small players like me 5’4.
Hi Mauro,
Could be the new Blade Team, hard to tell right now. We will see what model he will endorse from Wilson, could be one of the Ultra racquets potentially that are revealed in mid-August, but then he would probably already have been sporting that paint job.
Agree about Ferrer. Not being a particularly tall player myself and around his age, I enjoy watching him achieve success for a few more years.
Cheers / Jonas
The information I have from from a pro player doubles top 50 coach is that Ferrer is playing with a Wilson Steam 99. That would be the reason of his come back…
Yes, it is a Wilson Steam 99. And now he’s got his confidence back :)
Hey I counted the string pattern in your picture of David …it’s definitely a 16×18 pattern… making the Wilson Steam 99 the Wilson stick he’s playing with now. We’ll see soon enough!
Yes! Steam 99 apparently helping him get back to his groove. Nice to see him playing well again! Cheers / J
But the beam doesn’t look like 24mm wide.It’s more like 21mm.
Hi Thomas,
You’re right. Might be the that it’s blacked out and it creates some kind of optical illusion.
Otherwise they’ve created a unique mold for Ferrer.
Cheers / J
We’ll know more hopefully soon.But that racquet seems to be doing him some good as he’s playing well currently.Even troubled Roger with his deep returns in Montreal!
All the players that figures with Wilson Burn have in fact a Wilson Steam 99 see Simona Halep, E. Svitolina, A. Rublev, Kr. Mladenovici, etc.
I don’t see why Wilson sell Wilson Burn 100 CV as a complete different raq. from Steam 99. It’s a big lie from Wilson!
I use Burn 100 CV and is a good frame but i have the lies!
Yes, the Burn 100 CV surprised me as quite an enjoyable frame. I agree that the racquet company paint jobs is fooling the consumer and that is one reason I started this website! Cheers / J
I hate lies!
He should definitely go back to Prince with the Phantom 100 ! Its basically a Tour 100. Still not extended lenght tho