Hyper Mania

Wilson Racquet Review

TennisONE Staff

As with the wide body racquets, Wilson, once again, has revolutionized the game of tennis with its "Hyper Carbon Technology" family of tennis racquets. With its sleek design, good balance, soft cushiony grip, and ability to provide great pop on the serve as well as from the ground, the Hyper Carbon Racquets were an instant hit among our panel of play testers.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, the TennisONE stafff gathered around center court and preceded to find out what this Hyper Mania was all about. We figured, since Wilson used the same space age material the aerospace industry used to build airplane engines, space stations, commercial airplanes and satellites, perhaps the Hyper Carbon Racquets would take our games to another planet as well.

Hyper Pro Staff 6.5 stretch

• Head Size: 95 sq in
• Length: 27"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 10.4/9.8
• Composition: 10% Hyper Carbon / 70% Graphite/20% Fiberglass
• Sugg. Retail Price: $169.99

The Hyper Prostaff 6.5 stretch is a light weight, thin beamed, and evenly balanced racket. It is fairly flexible and is best suited for a player who has developed complete swings. A player who has fairly advanced skills will find this racket quite comfortable. It has great control on the ground strokes and a nice soft feel at the net. Serving energy is good, but again requires a complete and relaxed swing.

Hyper Pro Staff 5.0 Standard 95

• Head Size: 95 sq in
• Length: 27"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 12.3/11.7
• Composition: 15% Hyper Carbon, 10% High Modulus Graphite and 75% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $189

The Hyper Pro Staff 5.0 plays very similar to its older brother Hyper Pro Staff 5.0 Stretch. If you're not concerned about the extra ½ inch and are looking for a racquet that is very traditional in the way it feels and looks but love the new technology, this is a fantastic racquet for you. Its standard length and good balance (slightly head light) make this racquet very maneuverable both for the baseline slugger as well as for the serve and volleyer. For serving purposes Wilson must have put some sort of “space aged magic dust” on the 5.0 mid series racquets. The series really stuck out head and shoulders above most racquets in that department. One 5.0 rated play tester said, "I on my ground strokes, I could go over as well as under the ball with control and power."

Hyper Pro Staff 5.0 Stretch 95

• Head Size: 95 sq in
• Length: 27.5"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 12.3/11.7
• Composition: 15% Hyper Carbon, 10% High Modulus Graphite and 75% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $189

The Hyper Pro Staff 5.0 is a racquet suited for advanced tournament players, who love to hit flashy forehands along with angled volleys. When played with a vibration dampener, the feel was fabulous. Unlike most stiff frames, control and power go hand in hand. You don't notice the extra half inch length until you begin serving and hitting groundstrokes. The extra ½ inch seems to provide a little more zip on the serves. With most stretch racquets players tend to choke up on the handle a bit while volleying but with the 5.0 stretch there is no need for that. It handled very well on off center hits and was extremely easy to maneuver.

Hyper Pro Staff 5.0 Stretch Oversize

• Head Size: 110 sq in
• Length: 27.5"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 12.0/11.4
• Composition: 15% Hyper Carbon, 10% High Modulus Graphite and 75% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $189

This racket uses hypercarbon as a basic material, but make no mistake, it’s a player’s racket.  If you are a recreational or NTRP player who cares about your strokes, and thinks Pete Sampras is the ultimate technical player, this racket is for you.

It weighs about 12 ounces strung.  It’s medium stiff. AND it’s balance is head Light. That means you can swing the racket all the way through the shot, have a full, high follow-through and a fluid style. AND really stick the ball.

Players on the tour might need an extra ounce or two, but unless you are an Open level player this ought to be the perfect combination of design characteristics.

Try stringing it with Wilson Sensation NXT string. There are a lot of synthetic strings, around all making wild, confusing claims about their playability. This string actually has a softer feel combined with a good clean pop when you find the sweet spot.

If you are looking for a miraculous power boost or a racket that can raise your NTRP level, this isn’t it. No matter what you may think or hope, that racket doesn’t exist. But if you want a racket that will reward you for developing your strokes and executing them in matches, my suggestion is the Hyper Pro Staff. It tested very well in our racket evaluation created by Wilmot McCutcheon and our playability tests match his quantitative evaluation.

• Head Size: 100 sq in
• Length:27.5"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 9.5/8.9
• Composition: 15% Hyper Carbon, 10% High Modulus Graphite and 75% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price:$229.99

The Hyper Hammer 4.3 is stiffer than the 5.0 series. Our play testers found it played a lot better with a vibration dampener. The purpose was not to eliminate vibration from the racquet but rather the somewhat annoying twangy sound the racquet produced on contact. Once the sound was eliminated, the racquet was awesome. The head size of the 4.3 mid is slightly larger than the 5.0 (100 sq in instead of 95). This seems to give the 4.3 mid a larger sweet spot making it steadier on off center hits. It has good control on the groundstrokes and a fantastic feel on the volleys. 

Hyper Hammer 5.3 stretch, 95

• Head Size: 95 sq in
• Length:27.5"
• Weight (strung/unstrung):10.2/9.6
• Composition: 15% Hyper Carbon, 85% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $199.99

Hyper Hammer 5.3 stretch is a mildly “hammerized” frame, fairly light, but not super light, with a slight head heavy balance, and a little extra length. It qualifies as a “players” high tech racket. The level of technology can be effective for even high level players with well developed strokes. Some women pro players, such as the Williams sisters actually play with the “stock” versions of these frames. Others, such as Lindsay Davenport, play with modified versions that are slightly heavier and more evenly balanced.  

The Hyper Hammer 5.3 weighs 10.3 oz strung is about 8 pts head heavy. It definitely has more punch that the Hyper Pro Staff, particularly on the serve and forehand. Because of the head heavy balance, it is probably better suited to the two-handed than the one-handed backhand for most players, particularly women.

In short, the Hyper Hammer 5.3 is a stiff, head heavy racquet that provides fantastic power from the ground, amazing feel at the net and a serve that never quits. If you don’t believe it, ask Lindsey Davenport or Todd Martin.

Hyper Hammer 5.3 Stretch 110

• Head Size: 110 sq in
• Length:27.5"
• Weight (strung/unstrung):8.9/8.3
• Composition: 15% Hyper Carbon, 85% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $199.99

Big ground strokes and put away volleys is what you are going to get with this racquet. With a larger head and sweet spot than its little brother, this racquet is a baseliners dream. One 4.5 tournament playing women said, "You can really hit a heavy ball while having the ability to put some pop on the serve."

Hyper Hammer 2.3 Stretch 110

• Head Size: 110 sq in
• Length: 28"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 8.3/7.7
• Composition: 20% Hyper Carbon, 40% High Modulus Graphite and 40% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $259.99

Stiff and powerful would be the optimum words to describe this racquet. The lightness of the head makes it extremely maneuverable at the net while it did not give up the zing on my volleys.

The Hyper Hammer 2.3 Stretch 110 is suited for players who like big racquets for their larger sweet spot and unbelievable touch but hate the 'granny stick' look. This one looks and plays well.

Hyper Hammer 2.3 Stretch 120

• Head Size: 120 sq in
• Length: 28"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 8.3/7.7
• Composition: 20% Hyper Carbon, 40% High Modulus Graphite and 40% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $259.99

This is a big racquet, stiff, head heavy, and powerful. Unlike its smaller brother, you can really swing out on the ball and surprisingly, it still stays in the green. The Hyper 2.3 120 was awesome for underspin, lethal on volleys and produced killer drop shots. Even with its over size head it was not that difficult to maneuver around. One play tester commented, "It's a big racquet for a big game."

Hyper Hammer 2.0 Stretch 115

• Head Size: 115 sq in
• Length: 28"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 8.3/7.8
• Composition: 20% Hyper Carbon, 40% High Modulus Graphite and 40% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $349.99

The 2.0 series make up the stiffest, most powerful racquets of the Wilson line. The 2.0 stretch 115 is a good all court racquet. You can grind it from the baseline if that's your game but use a vibration dampener to eliminate that annoying twang the racquet produces on contact. 

The 2.0 has a large sweet spot and the ball literally jumps off the strings. Sting it in the higher range of the suggested tensions for greater control. At 7.8 ounces, the 2.0 may be the lightest racquet ever made but the head heavy design allows the racquet to swing freely. The drawback, with all that power, it's relatively easy to over swing. 

This power stick is best suited for players with medium swings looking to add a little pop to their game. You can really stick the serve and it's ultra lightweight design makes it extremely maneuverable at the net and produces effortless volleys.

Hyper Hammer 2.0 Stretch 125

• Head Size: 125 sq in
• Length: 28"
• Weight (strung/unstrung): 8.9/8.3
• Composition: 20% Hyper Carbon, 40% High Modulus Graphite and 40% Graphite
• Sugg. Retail Price: $349.99

This is a great volley racquet. Combine a frame with a large sweet spot then make it super stiff and you can chip and charge and rush the net like there is no tomorrow.

The large head size does not provide as much zing on the serve but you can really place the ball well with it. 

Last Updated 8/1/99. To contact us, please email to: webmaster@tennisone.com

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