I’ve hit some more with both the Wilson Ultra 100 CV and the Wilson Ultra Tour and wanted to give you an update on my experience so far.
First a few words about my preferred racquet review process. I play-test the racquets (and strings) in match and practice versus different opponents of varying strengths. They also test the racquets and comment on them for the review so hopefully you’ll get as balanced a review as possible. If time allows, I try various lead placement and string setups to find how well the racquet responds to customization.
I didn’t write about the Wilson Ultra 100 CV so much in my previous “first impressions” article, but I’ve got some more time to hit with it now and strung it up with Wilson’s Revolve Spin 
string which works great in a modern racquet such as the Wilson Ultra 100 CV.
I think Wilson has done a good job introducing a Tour model and a modern model that are quite radically different. The Wilson Ultra 100 CV is “ultra stiff” on paper with its listed RA rating (from TW) of 72 strung. Makes my arm hurt just by reading it. But when hitting with the Wilson Ultra 100 CV you don’t feel the expected discomfort which means the Countervail dampening material must be doing its job. However, it’s definitely not plush by any means and I did feel more tension in my arm (although not as bad as some power sticks) when playing with the Wilson Ultra 100 CV and absolutely zero discomfort when testing the Wilson Ultra Tour (read more about the Wilson Ultra Tour here).
Part of it could be the Revolve Spin string of course, which is a stiff polyester string, but a multifilament didn’t offer the right amount of control as the Wilson Ultra 100 CV is a very powerful racquet. Actually it’s a little too powerful for my own game so I noticed I needed to max the amount of spin on my strokes to get the ball to land in the court. Sometimes that made me feel like Rafael Nadal, other times I had no idea where the ball would land.
Other Countervail racquets such as the Wilson Burn, the Wilson Blade, etc have been criticised for a too “muted” feel, where you feel disconnected to the ball and I must say that the same thing goes for the Wilson Ultra 100 CV. I can only compare it to the Wilson Ultra Tour model where I felt immediately dialled in to the centimeter on where the ball will land.
The Wilson Ultra 100 CV is not a bad racquet. You get good power and spin, much like a Babolat Pure Drive. I think the trade-off versus the Pure Drive is that you get more control with the Pure Drive and slightly more comfort with the Wilson Ultra 100 CV
. If you’re looking for a power racquet, I’d definitely give it a go. If you need control and feel, you should definitely check out the Wilson Ultra Tour
instead.
Some pros and cons about the Wilson Ultra 100 CV
+ Power!
+ Spin!
– Stability
– Quite stiff
– Muted
Below is some hitting with a player (around 3.5-4.0 NTRP) that commented on the Wilson Ultra 100 CV as board-like when he used it himself (not a good thing), but who said that when I was hitting with it, I got more nasty spin than with my Angell TC 97 Custom or the Wilson Ultra Tour.
So if you’re a player that hits with a lot of spin and likes powerful racquets, this could be your next stick.
WHERE TO BUY THE WILSON ULTRA 100 CV OR TOUR
Europe
Racquet Depot
Pro Direct Tennis
USA/CANADA
Tennis Express
Do It Tennis
Amazon.com
GOOD GUIDES TO BUYING A NEW RACQUET
Here is a great racquet buying guide to get you started.
What tennis racquet should I buy?
Top tennis racquets to buy right now
The Gear of the Year 2016
Tennis racquets for juniors
Tennis racquets for kids
