Our playtesters immediately noticed the high swingweight of the Pro Staff 97S as they hit from the baseline, and after a brief adjustment period they were reaping the benefits. Chris enjoyed the extra weight, particularly on his signature backhand slice, and he used it to give his opponents fits. He shared, "There was a lot of heft coming through the ball considering how light this racquet is. I could really feel the even balance and high swingweight. I had a definite adjustment period on my forehand wing every time I picked this racquet up, as I tended to catch that stroke a little late until I was dialed in. The racquet felt much better on my backhand. I loved the heavy slice I could hit. I was able to drive my slice through the court very well and got the kind of response I'd expect from a much heavier racquet. The stability of this racquet gave me a lot of trust in both depth and directional control." Troy echoed many of Chris' thoughts, saying, "For a sub 12-ounce racquet, the Pro Staff 97S swung with a good amount of heft. With the swingweight falling right around where I like it, I was timing my groundstrokes well. The Spin Effect Technology gave me a boost in spin compared to my usual racquet. When I took big cuts at the ball, especially on my forehand, I found that the ball was dipping down into the court more than usual, helping to keep my groundstrokes in the court. It was also great for hitting penetrating backhand slices, or as Chris calls them, 'dirty' slices! This racquet was carving through the ball like a hot knife through butter when I hit my backhand slice. The Pro Staff 97S has a thinner beam than the RF97 Autograph, and it played with a softer and more dampened feel." Mark also really liked how stable this racquet felt at contact. He said, "I was eager to try the new Pro Staff 97S alongside my current racquet of choice -- the Six.One 95S -- to see how they compared. Right away I noticed the swingweight difference. The Pro Staff 97S feels noticeably heavier when you swing it even though it actually weighs less in stock form. I enjoyed the stability and plow through that it offered, and after I adjusted to the higher swingweight I was able to play effectively from the baseline. Specifically, my backhand slice was staying low and knifing through the court nicely." The standout feature for Andy was the precision he felt. He explained, "I really liked the precision, spin potential and soft feel this racquet offered from the baseline. It didn't get pushed around that often on off-center shots, and I found it fairly maneuverable and easy to get around my body quickly. With great control and spin potential at my disposal I felt confident going for both forehands and backhands with aggression. The sweetspot felt generous for a 97 square inch headsize, but I think a little more weight would give the racquet some explosive power inside that sweetspot. Overall, this was a confidence-instilling racquet from the baseline with its infectious combination of control and spin." Once our testers got used to the even balance and high swingweight of the Pro Staff 97S they were able to volley very effectively. Troy explained, "Initially, I struggled to find a groove when hitting my volleys. The main issue for me was that this racquet felt a little sluggish, and it took me some time to adjust to getting the racquet prepared on time during fast exchanges. Once I got used to the high swingweight I was sticking volleys deep in the court with ease. I found good precision when placing the ball near the lines. It wasn't quite as scalpel-like as my Wilson Six.One 95, but I was definitely enjoying the feel of this racquet." Chris was dialed in, raving, "I loved this racquet at net. It felt very solid, crisp and precise. I could put the high swingweight to good use and punch the ball deep with a lot of pace. I also felt very dialed in on my touch shots. I hit some great low pick up angle volleys and half-volley winners with this racquet. Volleying with the Pro Staff 97S was fun, and I attacked the net at every opportunity." Andy was also loving the soft feel and stability. He offered, "The soft feel gave this racquet some nice touch around the net, and the weight in the hoop made it pretty stable against harder-hitting opposition. However, I struggled at times with the open stringbed being just a bit too lively and unpredictable when I was trying to go for a precise volley. I felt confident going for big targets and comfortable getting tough volleys back deep in the court, but I had trouble putting the ball on a dime when I needed to." Mark had some issues maneuvering this hefty racquet up at net. He said, "I struggled a bit with my volleys during this playtest. I got used to it after a while, but I found the racquet difficult to get into position quickly enough during fast net exchanges." The high swingweight really came into play when our playtesters were serving with the Pro Staff 97S. Many of them had a tough time getting enough racquet head speed. One tester who put the racquet's mass to good use was Chris. He said, "I liked the way this racquet came through the ball on serves. I was able to relax and let the racquet do much of the work. Like on my backhands, I was able to get the racquet through quickly and that resulted in good pace and spin. I was getting a little boost in spin compared to racquets with regular string patterns. With the added spin I found I could be more aggressive without sacrificing my consistency. I was getting close to the spin I get from my Six.One 95S, and I served well with this racquet." Andy found himself serving effectively but didn't find this racquet particularly easy to swing. He explained, "This racquet offered a nice blend of power, control and spin for my serve. After a brief adjustment period I found confidence going for different spots and spins all over the service box. The heft in the hoop delivered the ball where I wanted with some nice weight behind it, however, the even balance of this racquet made it a little bit difficult at times to generate racquet head speed. Like I said, I was having good results with my serve, but I never felt like I could just reach back and let one go - it was too much of a struggle to get this racquet moving quickly through the air. I think a little bit of tail-weighting would fix this issue for me, though." Troy continued to sing this racquet's praises when talking about serves, but he admitted that he would've preferred a more head light balance. He shared, "The combination of control and spin allowed me to be effective when serving with this racquet. At first I found this racquet to be a bit difficult to maneuver when I was hitting kick serves, but after I adjusted to the balance I had enough racquet head speed to be effective on serve. I found that the Spin Effect Technology helped add some RPMs on my kick and slice serves. When I was going for a flat first serve down the middle the swingweight helped me get good pace, and I could feel the racquet 'pancake' the ball. I was hitting my targets with good consistency, but with some added weight in the handle I could put the Pro Staff 97S up there with some of my favorite racquets to serve with." Mark never felt completely dialed in when serving with the Pro Staff 97S. He shared, "I was hot and cold with this racquet on serve, even after eight hours of play. I never really got the feel of the Pro Staff 97S' distribution of weight; sometimes I would effortlessly hit an effective serve, and other times I felt like I was heaving the racquet at the ball." Our playtesters had similar experiences returning serve with the Pro Staff 97S as they did from other areas of the court. The heft of this racquet made it tough to get it into position quickly, but if they did make good contact the racquet did all the work. Mark said, "I basically had the same issue with my serve returns as I had on my volleys; If I could get the racquet into position on time then it took care of the rest. My chip returns were reasonably effective with this racquet, and any return on the stretch was easily sent back with depth." Chris also noted how the swingweight affected returns. He explained, "I struggled a little on the forehand side with this racquet on returns. The issues I had from the baseline with catching the ball late were exacerbated on my forehand returns because I had even less reaction time. I never felt natural with that stroke, but I had much better results with my backhand. On the backhand side I did a much better job of putting this racquet to good work and driving my returns with pace. My chip returns also benefited from the racquet's stability. The solid response allowed me to be relaxed and add a little extra touch to my shots." Troy was using the heft of the Pro Staff 97S to his benefit. He said, "I loved the solid and stable response from this racquet on returns. The plow through made it easy for me to hit my returns deep in the court. All I had to do was get good contact on the strings and the mass of the racquet did most of the work for me. The improved feel and comfort, compared to the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph, was much appreciated when I was facing big servers. My backhand slice return was working well with this racquet in hand. I found it easy to knife through ball, keeping it low at the server's feet." Andy returned serve well during the playtest but wished for a bit more control when going for precise targets. He explained, "The open string patten made it easy to generate power and spin on my returns. If I got good contact I could return effectively and get my opponents on the defensive early in the point. However, I had trouble with control, and I found myself aiming for big targets because the sweetspot felt a bit erratic at times. This wasn't a huge issue, and ultimately I felt pretty comfortable returning serve throughout this playtest."