Wilson Clash 100 Racket Review

We’ve been looking at getting our hands on the Wilson Clash 100 for a while now because we’ve been hearing excellent things.

The technology Wilson has put into the Clash series is certainly the way forward for rackets in our opinion, and everybody can benefit from the extra flexibility and comfort.

While we liked the comfort levels of the slightly heavier Wilson Clash 100 Tour we did find it to be a bit unpredictable and we weren’t convinced Wilson had got the performance quite right with it yet.

However, from our first impressions with the Wilson Clash 100, it seemed like this was a racket that was ready to do some serious damage on the court.

The key elements you get with this Wilson Clash 100 are speed, comfort, and feel but at the same time, it doesn’t lack for power, control, and spin.

It’s got a little bit more of an emphasis on easy power and spin, than something like a Blade 98 and its characteristics felt a little bit more like an Ultra 100 just with a little bit more je ne sais quoi (more on that later).

One of the big aims with the Clash range was to make rackets that could combine flexibility and stability, which is no easy thing to do.

You want the racket to flex in certain directions to give you that cushioning effect, but you need the racket to stay strong in other ways to give you the stability to transfer power into the ball.

However, the Wilson Clash 100 goes a long way to achieving this aim and the result is a very unique racket.

For our playtest with the Clash 100, we went for a string setup of Babolat RPM strung at 50lbs.

This setup added an extra element of control to the racket and allowed us to unleash the spin potential to the maximum and play some aggressive, attacking tennis.

What we found was a racket that’s not only enjoyable to play with, but one that also offers plenty in the way of performance.

Groundstrokes

8out of 10

At 295g unstrung, the Clash 100 is a whole 10g lighter than a racket like the Babolat Pure Strike, but it has been designed to maximize performance from a lesser weight, so the two rackets actually felt quite comparable when we were playing with them.

In our opinion, and seemingly a lot of other peoples’ too, the Pure Strike is an unbelievable racket, so that’s high praise indeed.

The first thing you notice with this racket is the unique feel.

It just seems to do things in a different way to most other rackets, and although it takes a little bit of getting used to, it is extremely enjoyable to play with.

That feel does make it seem like you’ve got a lot of power at your fingertips, but it always seems to be backed up by good control, and plenty of spin to drag the ball back into court.

I normally like to play with an 18 x 20 string pattern and flatten my strokes out a bit, but I was hitting such a  heavy ball with the Clash and pushing my opponents back with topspin to good effect.

I really think this racket is a perfect stick for intermediate players and advanced players who want something under 300g but despite the Clash’s great performance I just don’t think it’s something I could go for.

I just craved slightly more weight and swingweight to redirect the ball, and that’s the one thing I think would hold some players back.

However, for those players whose games suit this weight of racket, you can’t ask for much more.

The Wilson Clash 100 gives you access to plenty of power, spin, and control, all in a comfortable package.

We gave it an 8 out of 10 for the groundstrokes.

Volleys

7.5out of 10

The net was one place where I wasn’t quite so sure I gelled with the Clash 100.

It felt like it did get pushed around a little bit when I was playing against a lot of power and that’s my main criticism of this racket.

Other than a slight lack of stability there’s nothing to complain about though.

It’s so easy to get this racket into position and no matter how poorly you miss time the ball it still doesn’t give you any horrible vibrations shooting through your joints.

The best part of volleying with this racket was the ease with which I could put away the easy balls.

Sometimes when the ball is floated at you with no pace it can be difficult to inject power into the ball to hit the winner, but the Clash made this nice and easy.

This will really suit aggressive baseliners who come into the net to finish the point off and that’s when I found I was getting the most out of the Clash 100.

For singles, the Clash did enough for me at the net, but for doubles, I would probably want a little bit more stability on contact.

Nevertheless, we saw enough from the Clash 100 to give it a 7.5 out of 10 for volleys, a very good score for a 295 racket.

Serve

8out of 10

The maneuverability of the Wilson Clash 100 really shows through on the serve which is great for players who struggle to keep their racket head speed up throughout the motion.

Sometimes when you get a little nervous on the serve it’s easy to lose racket head speed, but the Clash 100 encourages you to keep the racket moving quickly.

Again, I found I got good performance from the Clash on the serve, particularly for a racket that’s 295g.

The feel of this stick is quite unique, but the serve was one area where I particularly enjoyed how it played.

I felt like I had plenty of pop for those big booming first serves but plenty of spin and control for the second serve.

All in all, I had a lot of fun serving with the Wilson Clash 100, generating good power without losing consistency.

This earned the Clash an 8 out of 10 on the serve.

Return

7.5out of 10

I really liked pinging the return back with the Clash but it did lack a little bit of control for my liking.

When I connected perfectly the results were pretty frightening for my opponents, but too many times I floated the ball deep past the baseline.

I do think the weight makes a bit of a difference when it comes to the return as the lighter rackets get pushed around a little bit more than the heavier ones.

When you’re up against a big server this makes things a little bit difficult, but for the most part, it’s not a big issue.

For me, this was probably the weakest part of the playtest, but the Clash still manages a 7.5 out of 10.

You can’t fault the comfort of this racket, it just lacks a tiny bit of stability on shots like the return.

Overall

8out of 10

We had to conclude that the Wilson Clash 100 was a very good racket, particularly for one that weighs just 295g.

If you’re looking for a racket around this weight that offers all-round performance then you should definitely give this one a try because it is very unique.

We were particularly impressed with its performance on the serve and groundstrokes, but it didn’t let itself down on the volleys and return either.

When it comes to players this racket would suit there’s not really any style I would exclude.

Whether you’re the aggressive baseliner, feisty counter-puncher or net rusher, the Clash 100 could do a good job for you.

The only limit to its capabilities is perhaps the stability which I could see putting off a few players.

All in all, though, this is a very good racket and we gave it an 8 out of 10.

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Groundstrokes

8

out of 10

Volleys

7.5

out of 10

Serve

8

out of 10

Return

7.5

out of 10

Overall

7.5

out of 10

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