The Wilson Clash 100 Tour tested by Stephan. This racket offers solid power, fine touch and excellent comfort. Read his full review here!
Wilson Clash 100 Tour
For the past few months, I've had "Clash fever". Since the Wilson Clash prototype was released for testing, I've been constantly working with it. Now that both the Clash 100 and the Clash 100 Tour are available in their true colors, it's time for a review. As a racket tester, I'm simultaneously curious and skeptical when a racket is described as "revolutionary". With my preference for slightly heavier, control-oriented frames, I didn't immediately get the idea from the specifications of the Clash 100 and the Clash 100 Tour that it would be 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 piece of information fueled my "Clash fever" and made my temperature rise. Had Wilson managed to bring the two worlds together? I put both frames through the test. And my spoiler is: YES, Wilson has managed to create something truly new!
The Wilson Clash 100 Tour is now available in our webshop, including free stringing of your choice!The specifications
From the baseline
What makes the Clash series so distinctive? Power and spin potential, but packaged in a much more flexible and arm-friendly frame than the Babolat Aeros or Head Extremes. The unique design of the frame throat is also new. Wilson has clearly done its best to create a truly 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 and "flexy" without becoming uncontrolled. I do notice when I go for full flat shots that you have to be careful that they don't go too long. But if you put enough spin on it, the Clash Tour hits beautifully with an amazing combination of power and control. Somehow you can feel that the frame becomes more stable when you hit faster and harder, comparable to Head's Graphene.
For my spin shots, it's nice that I get plenty of depth. That's where my shots sometimes fall short. Just like with its lighter brother, I have absolutely no trouble with the Clash Tour hitting heavy spin balls down the lines. That makes this racket wonderfully comfortable and it takes little effort to get depth in your shots. The Clash Tour has a slightly different feel than the regular Clash. The difference is obviously the weight, 295 grams versus 310. But I also think the Clash Tour feels slightly stiffer and because of the extra weight you really get a lot of power. Sometimes too much power for my playing style. Now I'm used to playing with more control-oriented frames, so it quickly feels like too much power. I think players who play with a Babolat Pure Aero (Tour) or a Head Extreme MP or Pro will be pleasantly surprised with the playing characteristics of both the Clash 100 and the Clash 100 Tour.
With both my backhand and my forehand, I can hit beautifully through the ball from the baseline. The impact of the balls feels good without becoming unpleasant 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.
At the net
The Clash Tour is truly a combination of two worlds. Personally, I find the 'regular' Clash 100 slightly nicer to play with in terms of feel despite the lower weight. Maybe mainly because I need less power. My slight preference would therefore go to a Clash with a bit of extra weight at 3 and 9 o'clock and a Wilson leather grip. At the net, the Clash Tour really performs beautifully. What is striking above all is the maneuverability of the racket. In my last doubles match, I put away an unprecedented number of volleys beautifully, especially the reaction volleys. You know, those balls that are fired at you where you can just barely reach them. I managed to return those balls really well quite often, believe it or not! So even at the net, the Wilson Clash Tour is a real winner. Touch volleys were slightly less than with my current frame, the Yonex EZONE DR98 310. The Clash Tour gives me just a bit more power in all areas of the court without losing control.
The Serve
The same applies to the serve: I have a lot of power with the Wilson Clash 100 Tour. 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. That's what continues to amaze me. Where in the past I dropped off with the Babolat Pure Aero and 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 serve and the kick serve also stay nicely in the box and spring off beautifully. I seriously have trouble putting this racket away, especially the regular Clash.
Conclusion
As a racket tester, I am very happy that Wilson took the gamble to develop something truly new and make it available to the general consumer. And I can say with full conviction that the Wilson Clash and the Clash Tour are absolutely revolutionary. I don't know 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 until the Wilson Clash 98 comes out. In the meantime, I couldn't resist the temptation again this time and 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 modern spin and power-oriented frames, for everyone it applies that the Clash series will open new tennis "dimensions". Which you should have experienced in my opinion. It will give a completely new feel 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!
