Serena Williams Racket and String

Serena’s Racket

Serena Williams plays with the Wilson Blade SW 104 Autograph v7.

Unfortunately, we don’t have her exact racket specifications, as they have not been made readily available. We apologize to any of you who have come to the site looking for this exact information.

However, we do believe she is playing with a racket somewhat close to this one, even after customization.

The Wilson Blade SW 104 Autograph v7 is a very powerful racket indeed.

It’s a 306g, 18 x 19 string pattern, 28 inch (1 full inch longer than a normal tennis racket) rocket launcher for tennis balls and delivers the severest of blows in the hands of the great woman.

Serena’s String

Once upon a time, as almost all pros did, Serena used Natural Gut (Wilson) in a full bed setup at an extremely high tension to control its exaggerated elastic capabilities.

Today, she uses Wilson Natural Gut, but in a hybrid combination.

She strings the gut in her main strings at around 65lbs and Luxilon 4G in the cross strings at around 64lbs.

The natural gut provides great pop, as well as feel for her volleying, but is tamed, a little, by the co-polyester in the crosses.

This combination also gives her greater access to spin than the all gut setup, as the gut main strings are able to slide against the smoother polyester string and snap back more readily.

Why Are These Great Combinations For Her Game?

Serena stands a 5 feet 9 inches tall, so taller than the average women, but in reality, not particularly tall for a female tennis player.

Sure, there are much shorter woman on the tour – Cibulkova is only 5’3, but Serena clearly favors the extended length racket to give her additional leverage to her already very powerful strokes.

With her serve being her most lethal weapon, the extra length gives her a small power boost and more margin for error on the flat, first serve due to a higher contact point.

Her racket also allows her to absolutely crush the ball off both the forehand and backhand wings due to its oversized head.

The downside is that when rackets are this powerful, control can be an issue. That’s why she strings her natural gut and polyester hybrid super tight, in order to feel great precision as she directs her fatal blows across the court…

Additionally, she doesn’t engage in too many longer rallies.

Her points tend to be short and sharp; this style lending itself to more of a raw power frame, as opposed to a racket loaded with touch and feel, or even one overly control-orientated, like something Novak Djokovic would favor. You can check out his setup here.

Thinking About Your Game

If you love to emulate Serena’s all dominant, powerful game, then certainly take a look at the Wilson Blade SW 104 Autograph v7 racket and give it a try!

Many players will access to a lot of their own natural power will value the control of a more muted racket and string setup, however.

So, always remember to test various setups before you commit to something for your current or upcoming tennis season.

If you’d like any help at all selecting the perfect racket and string combination for your game, check out our popular Custom Fitting Service, below!