WILSON Steam 99S Tennis Racquet

too much power and no control. Not for advanced player

This is a GREAT racquet for the precise hitter. If you are hitting sweet spot, it will do exactly what it says it will do, CREATE great spin... on the other hand, its not very forgiving to off center shots, they will fall dead off the racquet. Good pop on serve if you have perfect contact, but mushy and powerless if you dont. Overall, I like it... It will make me work on my technique.

I found the racquet to be solid..attractive and indeed spin was increased however for this 65 year old 4.0 playe it was bulky..heavy and did not provide the snap/glide that I prefer..thought a smaller grip would enhance the experience but it was too much racquet for me.

I have been playing about 3 years now and my coach has told me repeatedly that I hit the ball way to flat. I never could hit with very much topspin until I bought this racquet! It is a great racquet and it produces a lot of topspin! I really notice how much the ball dives in with this racquet whereas with my old racquet the ball would be a foot or so out! The only negative is that I have to string it about every two weeks from so much string movement! But it is well worth it to add a whole lot more spin!

You get some wicked movement on the ball with this racquet on all shots. This was why I originally purchased it, thinking I could learn to harness it better, but most of my shots all seem to be 6 inches on the wrong side of the baseline. The ball jumps off the string bed, but agree with most of the other reviews, its not one for going too close to the lines, at least not at my skill level. I think its a good doubles racquet, very quick at the net and I thought it was very forgiving on my volleys. Plays nice with a full poly, but strings dont last long. I am not a string breaker, and I am on my 3rd string job since getting this did not break one full poly setup, but it was so dead my elbow ached. I currently have Pacific Tough Gut and Polymaster II 60/54lbs.

Ive always hit a very hard flat ball. This racquet does give me some spin and my balls clear the net better. Im still no spin master, but for someone who really couldnt generate much spin at all, its a noticeable difference. I have to work harder on being precise with my strokes and dont feel I can hit with as much power with this racquet - but Ive only had it for 3 weeks, so Im still getting used to it. Overall happy I bought it.

For a player with a lot of topspin and hits hard. I wouldnt recommend this product.

A year ago, I returned to playing tennis after a 20+ year absence. Over the last year I have moved through a number of racquets as my game has improved. My current default racquet has been the Babolat Pure Drive and recently added Pure Drive Roddick. On impulse, I bought the new Wilson Steam 99S, strung with Solinco Top Spin poly at 59 lbs. This racquet has taken my game to another level. Im hitting harder, deeper shots with loads of top spin that are staying just inside the baseline. Shots that have typically gone long or hit the net, are going in and surprising my opponents, and that is with about four hours of play time. Serves are bigger with more spin. However, found the racquet to be not as maneuverable at the net and in volleys as my Pure Drives. For that reason, Im not ready to give up the Pure Drive line completely, but I can see that eventually the Wilson Steam 99S could become my racquet of choice for clay matches, or when I need a big power game against opponents in singles