Wilson Ultra 100 V3 Racket Review
We’ve been waiting to get hold of the updated Ultra rackets for a while now, and we started off with the Wilson Ultra 100 V3.
We enjoyed the CV version of the Ultra 100, and it really grew on us throughout the playtest.
We find the Ultra 100 is a little bit like the Yonex Ezone 100, in that it’s a racket that’s wonderfully easy for everyone to play with, and does everything well.
We were hopeful that this would carry over with the newest version, and given Wilson’s latest efforts with rackets like the Blade 98 V7, we were confident it would.
To get the most out of the new Ultra 100, we set it up with Luxilon LXN Smart string, a slightly more forgiving poly string that still offers plenty of control and feel.
Strung at 48lbs, we were hopeful it would accentuate the natural power and spin of the Ultra whilst still maintaining plenty of control.
The technology in this racket sounded great, with Power Rib for extra stability, and Perimeter Weight System and Sweetspot Channels for power, this stick was all set up to play some good tennis, but would it live up to expectations?
Groundstrokes
8.5out of 10
One of the things we love about this racket is that it’s got a little bit of everything. It’s got good control, it’s got good power, and it’s got good spin.
It’s just a great middle-ground, which means anyone can play good tennis with it.
If you’re someone who loves control, or who loves power, then you still have the option of changing things up through the string setup, but it starts out as such an evenly balanced racket.
This allows you to play offense and defense to suit your game, and gives you plenty of power without losing control.
For a 300g racket, this stick is very stable, which allows you to get the most out of your strokes, and I think this is one area where the new version has made a slight improvement on the old one.
Another area is in the improved playability. The old Ultra was very easy to play with, but I do think this V3 version has taken it to the next level.
The racket feels really nice through the swing, is plush on contact, and gives you an excellent platform to play good tennis.
The Ultra 100 is often seen as more of a racket for beginner and intermediate players, and for good reason, but I don’t see why it can’t work for more advanced players too.
It has so much to offer, the only slight downside might be that people want specialization (as in a racket that leans heavily towards control, or to power, or to spin).
At the end of the day though, the Wilson Ultra 100 V3 gives you very solid performance from the back of the court, and many players will be able to tap into this.
We gave it an 8 out of 10 on the groundstrokes.
Volleys
8out of 10
This is the area where the Ultra 100 always seems to outperform our expectations.
For a 300g racket, this stick is very, very good at the net at it certainly marks itself out as an all-round racket.
I think the Ultra 100 V3’s performance at the net mainly stems from its good stability on contact.
This frame doesn’t get pushed around, even when you’re playing against a really big hitter, and this means you can control your volleys back into court.
This coupled with good feel and plenty of comfort means that you’ve got everything you need at the net.
I didn’t spend too much time volleying with this stick while I played singles, but I found I was very comfortable with it when playing doubles, and played some excellent tennis.
When you feel confident with your racket at the net, it allows you to play so much more aggressively, and that’s exactly what I was able to do with this racket.
There really aren’t any areas where this racket will let you down, and we gave the Wilson Ultra 100 V3 an 8 out of 10 for the volleys.
Serve
8out of 10
On serve, the power of this racket shone through, as we were able to generate good racket head speed and turn this into some big serves.
It’s not all about the power though, as the Ultra gave us plenty of access to spin, and decent control as well.
I was able to use this to hit some great lefty slice serves out wide to the ad, which moved off the court and opened the court up for me to attack into.
There are definitely rackets with a little bit more control in this area, but it wasn’t a big area of concern as I managed to keep a reasonable first-serve percentage.
On the second serve, the easy access to spin came in useful as I used it to guide the ball into court, and give myself a good margin for error.
This resulted in a high serve percentage and allowed me to feel comfortable attacking the first serve.
The Wilson Ultra 100 V3 doesn’t let you down, and that continued with the serve, where we gave it another strong score of 8 out of 10.
Return
8out of 10
The return was another shot where the good stability of the Ultra 100 came in handy, helping me guide big first serves back into court and get a foothold in the point.
This, coupled with the good maneuverability, meant I was able to make a lot of returns and get myself into a lot of points.
Sometimes, with slightly lighter rackets, it can feel so difficult returning big serves because the racket gets pushed around, but this wasn’t the case with the Ultra.
It stayed strong through contact and helped us return really well.
When you do want to let loose on second serve returns, then you’ve got lots of power available to try and get on the front foot and attack your opponent.
We couldn’t find any areas where the Wilson Ultra 100 V3 was weak, and completed the playtest by giving it an 8 out of 10 for the return.
Overall
8out of 10
Overall, we liked the update to the Ultra and found it improved on some of the strengths of the old racket.
It gives you good access to power and spin, but somehow maintains good levels of control, allowing you to play some really nice tennis.
The updated version feels that little bit more comfortable than the old racket, but this is still quite a stiff racket, which is worth bearing in mind if that’s a big issue for you.
For us though, we had no such problems and enjoyed the all-round easy playability of the Ultra.
It’s so well balanced and gives you confidence in all your strokes, which is something that’s quite hard to find with modern rackets heavily favoring baseline play.
This stick jumps out as a great racket for intermediate players, but it will also work for beginners and advanced players because it’s got something for everyone.
Power, spin, control, it’s got them all in equal measures, and a lot of people are going to be very happy with the results.
We gave the Wilson Ultra 100 V3 an 8 out of 10.
Is This Racket Right For Your Game? Find Out With a Custom Fitting!
Groundstrokes
8.5
out of 10
Volleys
8
out of 10
Serve
8
out of 10
Return
8
out of 10
Overall
8
out of 10
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