The Wilson Clash 100 Tour tested by Stephan. This racket offers solid power, nice touch and very good comfort. Read his extensive review here!
Wilson Clash 100 Tour
The last few months I have had the “Clash fever”. Ever since the prototype of the Wilson Clash was released for testing I have been busy with it non-stop. Now that both the Clash 100 and the Clash 100 Tour are available in their real colours, it is time for a review. As a racket tester I am both curious and skeptical when people talk about a “revolutionary” racket. With my preference for the somewhat heavier and control oriented frames I did not immediately get the idea that the specifications of the Clash 100 and the Clash 100 Tour are a perfect match for my playing style. What makes the Clash series different from other similar rackets is that the frames are much more “headlight” and especially much more flexible with a flex rating in the 50s! That last fact ignited my “Clash fever” and made my temperature rise. Did Wilson succeed in bringing the two worlds together? I put both frames through the test. And my spoiler is: YES Wilson succeeded in creating something really new!
The Wilson Clash 100 Tour is now available in our webshop, including a free string of your choice!The specifications
From the baseline
What makes the Clash series so distinctive? Power and spin potential but then packed in a much more flexible and arm-friendly frame than the Babolat Aero's or Head Extreme's. The special design of the neck of the frame is also new. Wilson has clearly done its best to really create a new racket. With new technology called Freeflex and Stablesmart. The Wilson Clash 100 Tour indeed feels a lot more stable than you would expect from a 100 sq/inch head with a fairly thick frame. On the court the racket immediately feels nice "flexion" without becoming uncontrolled. I do notice that when I go for full flat shots you have to be careful that they don't go too long. But if you show enough spin, the Clash Tour hits wonderfully with an astonishing combination of power and control. Somehow you feel that the frame becomes more stable when you hit faster and harder, comparable to the Graphene from Head.
For my spin strokes it is nice that I get more than enough length. That is where my strokes sometimes fall short. Just like with its lighter brother, I have no trouble at all with the Clash Tour to place heavy spin balls against the lines. That makes this racket wonderfully comfortable and it takes little effort to get length in your strokes. The Clash Tour has a slightly different playing feel than the regular Clash. The difference is of course the weight 295 grams versus 310. But I also think that the Clash Tour feels a bit stiffer and because of the extra weight you really have a lot of power. Sometimes too much power for my playing style. Now I am used to playing with more control oriented frames, which quickly feels like too much power. I think that players who play with a Babolat Pure Aero (Tour) or a Head Extreme MP or Pro for example will be pleasantly surprised by the playing characteristics of both the Clash 100 and the Clash 100 Tour.
With both my backhand and forehand I can hit wonderfully from the baseline. The impact of the balls feels good without being annoying for your arm. So the Clash series is certainly also suitable for people with arm problems. Especially my slices go remarkably tight against the lines. My experience with other 100 sq/inch frames is often that slices tend to fly, that is certainly not the case with the Clash Tour.
On the net
The Clash Tour is truly a combination of two worlds. Personally, I find the 'regular' Clash 100 a bit more enjoyable to play despite its lower weight. Perhaps mainly because I need less power. My slight preference would therefore go to a Clash with some extra weight at 3 and 9 o'clock and a Wilson leather grip. At the net, the Clash Tour volleys really wonderfully. The maneuverability of the racket is particularly striking. In my last doubles, I managed to put away an unprecedented number of volleys wonderfully and especially the reaction volleys. You know, those balls that are fired at you that you can just reach. Miraculously, I managed to get those balls back very often! So at the net, the Wilson Clash Tour is also a bull's eye. Touch volleys were slightly less than with my current frame, the Yonex EZONE DR98 310. The Clash Tour gives me a bit more power on all parts of the court without losing control.
The Service
The Wilson Clash 100 Tour also has a lot of power for the service. Not as much as when I first served with the Babolat Pure Aero Tour. But definitely more power than with my Yonex EZONE DR98. Despite that large amount of power, it remains controllable. I continue to be amazed by that. Where in the past I would have dropped out of the Babolat Pure Aero and the Head Extreme rackets because of the sometimes uncontrollable amount of power, I don't have that at all with both the Wilson Clash and the Wilson Clash Tour. The slice service and the kick service also stay nicely in the box and bounce away nicely. I seriously have trouble putting this racket down, especially the regular Clash.
Conclusion
As a racket tester I am very happy that Wilson took the chance to develop something really new and make it available to the average consumer. And I can say with full conviction that the Wilson Clash and the Clash Tour are absolutely revolutionary. I don't know of any other racket (and I've been around for a while) that has the same playing characteristics as the Clash series. In short, a big thumbs up for Wilson. Personally, I can't wait for the Wilson Clash 98 to come out. In the meantime, I couldn't resist the temptation this time and I ordered a Wilson Clash to customize to my favorite specs. So I can actually recommend everyone to test the Clash series. Whether you are used to playing with rackets from the control spectrum or more with the more modern spin and power oriented frames, the Clash series will open up new tennis "dimensions" for everyone. Which you should have tasted in my opinion. It will give a completely new feeling and who knows, you might be tempted to switch.
The Wilson Clash 100 Tour is now available in our webshop, including free stringing of your choice!