In my last review I mentioned the new BLX technology Wilson is putting in their racquets. BLX uses fibers from the volcanic rock basalt to interweave with Karophite Black fibers to create great vibration reduction. Wilson claims this creates a racquet with perfect feel. Wilson improved one of their classics with BLX and created the new BLX Tour. This racquet was immediately put in the hands of comeback champion Justine Henin. Her return hit the tour on fire and she soon was at the elite of the game once again. Wilson Tour followers and Henin fans begged to know what stick was helping her win along the comeback trail.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
I got this racquet as a demo from Wilson strung with Hollowcore at middle tension of 55lbs. This racquet features a bold bright orange and blue paintjob. I liked this paintjob as it is bound to draw attention from the other players. The racquet has technical specifications which make it a great all around performance racquet. The stick weighs in at 10.9 ounces strung and has an even balance. The frame has a mid size to mid plus head size at 95 sq. in and has a quarter inch of extra length at 27.25in. The beam width is a straight 22.5mm which had a stiffness of 63 on the Babolat RDC. The racquet also offers an ample open string pattern of 16×20 and a swingweight of 341. As with the other BLX racquets, this racquet comes with a new grip, the Performance Hybrid Grip. This grip is 1.8mm thick compared to 1.6mm of the Pro Hybrid Grip. Instead of a leather base like the Pro Hybrid, the Performance Hybrid has a cotton base underneath the polyurethane outer. Wilson claims this grip offers a balance of cushion and sensation. Personally I wasn’t as big a fan of this grip as I was the Pro Hybrid, but many people will enjoy the cushion it offers. After taking a few minutes to look over the stick, I was ready to get a taste of what this new version of one of Wilson’s most popular racquets had to offer!
VOLLEYS
Having little to no experience with the previous offering of this racquet I was eager to see why the Wilson Tour racquet is so popular. I was a little skeptical about the BLX Tour’s ability at net after seeing the hefty swingweight of 341 and the extra quarter inch of length. Normally a racquet with a swingweight in this range will give me trouble at net, as I find them hard to maneuver on reflex volleys. I was pleasantly surprised with this racquet at net! I found the racquet maneuvered great at net and I didn’t find the extra quarter inch of length to hamper this at all. The swingweight of 341 seems high to me. Volleys could easily have been my favorite shot with this racquet. I found the racquet got around quickly on reflex volleys and I had no trouble punching volleys deep. Even though the racquet has a lighter weight, I found it to offer good stability on harder hit passing shots. The BLX Tour offered nice feel on half volleys and drop shots. I can contribute this to the relatively soft flex of the frame and the string pattern. I really enjoyed volleying with this racquet and found it to be a fun playtest at net.
GROUNDSTROKES
Many very successful baseliners on tour have used a version of the Wilson Tour including Lindsey Davenport and Justine Henin. As these two hit some of the biggest groundstrokes in the women’s game, I was convinced before I even hit with the BLX Tour that it must be a good stick off the ground. I normally hit with headlight racquets around 12 ounces, so when I picked up this racquet the balance took a little time to get acquainted with. The first thing I noticed when I hit groundstrokes with this racquet was that it played heavier than 10.9oz. The BLX tour swung and hit the ball more like a 12 oz racquet, which was really surprising but rewarding. And by rewarding I mean it packed a punch. This thing is powerful, yet I still got the control I’ve come to know with players racquets. If there was one concern I had for this racquet coming into the playtest, it was that it would get pushed around by harder hit balls compared to a heavier racquet. I found the Wilson BLX Tour to offer surprisingly good stability on hard, heavy hit shots from my opponent. Sure I did think the stability could have been improved with a little more weight against the hardest hit balls, but this racquet did the job really well. The most impressive quality this racquet offered off the ground was the amount of spin I could generate with it. I found topspin was easily accessed and “Wow” was it good. I hit so many balls with this racquet that felt like they were going to fly long, just to see them dip into the court at the last second. The spin was also a joy when my opponent was at net as I could dip the ball quickly to their feet or pass them. The racquet was strung with all Hollowcore but I would really like to try it with polyester in the mains to further enhance this spin. The spin and power allowed me to hit out on the ball and easily keep it consistently deep in the court. I really enjoyed the feel of the 16×20 string pattern on groundstrokes. I normally play with a tighter string pattern and 16×20 patterns always intrigue me as I find them somewhere in the middle of an open and closed pattern. I enjoyed the firmer feel of the 16×20 pattern compared to a more open 16×19. The racquet offers good bite on slices. I was really happy to see this as I find that many racquets with 16 mains seem to float slices more than a racquet with 18 mains. Overall this racquet really shines on groundstrokes and it is easy to see why many top juniors and professionals choose this stick in a game dominated by baseline play.
SERVES
The joy I found hitting with the Wilson BLX Tour continued with serving. The good access I found to spin while hitting groundstrokes continued when hitting serves. I really found that topspin serves jumped up off the court and slices really slid out wide. I would attribute this great spin to the racquet being lighter then I am used to, so I really found it moved quickly through the air. If I had one complaint about this racquet it was that I wish the racquet had a little more weight to it on serves. I found I wasn’t hitting my spin serves with as much pace as normal and I felt like it was because the racquet simply didn’t have enough mass behind it. I found I could hit flat serves with good pace, but I still would have enjoyed a little more weight behind the stick on serves. Don’t get me wrong though, the Wilson BLX Tour was still a fun racquet to serve with and I found success on my serve by placing the ball well with plenty of spin instead of trying to blow the ball past my opponent.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Overall I think the Wilson BLX Tour lives up to the hype. I was really impressed by this racquet from all areas of the court. It was solid at net, the baseline, and on serves. This racquet is really effective from all areas of the court and it is easy to see why this is the racquet of choice for Justine Henin. I would especially recommend this racquet to people who are looking for the playability of a player’s racquet but want increased pop, in a lighter more manageable weight. If you are a baseliner or an all courter I would highly recommend giving the Wilson BLX Tour a demo.
