Wilson Ultra 108 V3 Racket Review

The Wilson Ultra 108 is a pretty stiff racket. This bodes well for the power player looking for the ball to fly off their strings like a rocket!

A stiffer racket will have better energy transfer, as there is less flex in the frame as the strings meet the ball.

The Ultra range stems all the way back to the Wilson Hammer line of rackets.

These were notoriously head heavy rackets that really packed a punch and lived up to their name!

Now, over the years the Ultra has developed into a more comfortable, player friendly racket, but it is clear to see its lineage when you hit with it!

The Ultra 108 feels very stable and powerful as you contact the ball, you can cover the ball nicely with this racket and put balls away with ease.

It feels hefty and robust in the hand but not overpowering thanks to its even balance. This allows the racket to punch above its weight considering the relatively low static weight.

It has good maneuverability off the ground, so you can really whip up the back of the ball and generate some wicked topspin thanks to the 16×18 string pattern.

The tapered beam width also elevates the power you can generate through the sweet spot of the racket, meaning that when you middle it, the ball flies off the strings like a missile!

Hitting up and down the middle with this racket game very easily, I could relax and swing freely with this racket, knowing that the spin and stability would send the ball deep with plenty of spin.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how dampened the racket felt for such a stiff frame.

It felt plush and relatively pliant, whilst benefiting from that torsional stiffness that Wilson have built into the whole Ultra lineup.

Whilst it did lack some feel from time to time on slower, more angled passing shots, it more than made up for it when I wanted to access easy power and drive the ball past my opponent.

Compared to other oversized frames such as the Wilson Clash 108, this felt more stable and powerful.

Volleying with the Wilson Ultra 108 was as expected from this sort of racket.

A stiff, large head size, power friendly racket is always going to struggle when you are trying to make thin contact with the ball.

It was rock solid when I needed to redirect a powerful oncoming ball, which helped me feel secure at the net.

I also felt that the Ultra 108 would guide the ball deep with ease, making transitioning from the baseline into the net surprisingly straightforward.

This is a good choice for a serve and volley player or someone that plays a lot of doubles and needs that extra something in the way of power.

But, as far as feel and touch goes this racket didn’t live up to expectations.

Whilst Wilson are usually fantastic at making great feeling, supple rackets, this simply isn’t in the Ultra’s job description.

It is designed to produce as much power as possible and it certainly does this, however it does therefore lack in out and out feel when you are trying to craft an angled volley.

Serving with the Ultra 108 was a pretty good experience. It was easy to generate power and feel like you could swing through the ball thanks to the large head size and lighter weight.

Yet this lighter weight did not hold the racket back when it came to feeling solid and stable as I ramped up my serving speed.

Sometimes, a lighter racket can almost feel hollow when you are trying to hit big first serves, like you can’t quite get the racket to generate the power you need.

This was not the case with the Ultra 108.

The way the racket is balanced and the technology Wilson have implemented make it feel more hefty than it actually is.

Whilst this sometimes makes it feel cumbersome at net, it certainly helps with serving.

The easy access to spin meant I could bring my opponent out of court easily with heavy kick serves, although at times the stiffness did make the racket feel slightly numb, particularly when I wanted to find a wide angled slice serve.

On return, the Ultra 108 was a joy to use. Despite the stiffness, I was able to dial in to the power and really go after my second serve returns with confidence.

The racket felt stable on contact and the easy power meant I could focus on placement rather than adding pace to returns myself.

The open string pattern also meant I could generate decent spin on returns.

The racket performed equally well when I was stepping back and ripping a higher, deeper topspin return, as it did when I took the ball early and hit a shorter angle.

The large sweet spot meant I could take on first serves and be confident that even if I didn’t time the ball perfectly, I could still generate good power and put my opponent on the back foot.

Overall, the Wilson Ultra 108 delivers on what it sets out to do. It is a powerful, user friendly racket that can generate a lot of spin, speed and power in an accessible package.

It is easy to see why the Ultra has been a popular model for Wilson when you use the 108 version, as it is the more forgiving and powerful example in the line up.

In terms of out and out power, this is where the Ultra 108 really shines.

Its stiff, tapered frame construction helps it remain stable when under stress, whilst the dampening technology in this racket offers comfort even when you are crushing the ball.

The touch and feel from this racket was not its strong point, but this is to be expected from a racket that is designed for an entirely different purpose.

Therefore, if you are after a racket that will help you maximise the power out of your game, or you are a weekend warrior looking for a larger sweet spot to forgive those mishits, the Wilson Ultra 108 is a great choice for you!