The Wilson Six One Team BLX tennis racquet is a new member to Wilson’s Six.One family of player’s racquets. It is, in essence, a lighter and somewhat differently constructed version of Wilson’s popular Six.One 95 BLX racquet. Wilson places the Six.One Team BLX racquet in their “Control & Spin” category for 2012.
APPEARANCE / STYLE If you like the appearance of the Six One 95 BLX you will also be pleased with the style of the Six.One Team BLX—they are identical in appearance. The Team BLX features a nice Red/White/Black color scheme and reminds me of some “old school” racquet designs. My play-test racquet had a black Wilson “Performance Hybrid” grip which seemed to have just the right amount of tack & moisture control.
TECHNOLOGY The Wilson Six One Team BLX features 3 of Wilson’s newest tech features:
Basalt (BLX): Basalt fibers are woven into the frame to reduced unwanted frequencies (vibrations) and to provide better feedback and feel.
Amplifeel: A new handle technology that provides enhanced feel by using graphite & basalt planks, Foam, and a softer butt-cap.
Double Holes: Increased diameter on grommet holes to allow more string freedom which increases the “sweet spot” and adds power.
SPECIFICATIONS The Wilson Six One Team BLX has a 95” head and weighs 10.2 oz. unstrung. It has an open 16 x 18 string pattern. The label on the racquet says it is 4 pts head-light and its flat-beam cross-section is a thin 20.7mm wide. It is rated by Wilson as appropriate for skilled players with a long stroke. It is the standard 27” length.
GROUNDSTROKES I was immediately comfortable at the baseline with the Six.One Team BLX. Its lighter weight allows rapid acceleration for aggressive playing styles. It is a control-oriented racquet (smallish head-size, thin beam) and, therefore, you must provide the power! But when you do, you will certainly be pleased—it allows you to shoot for the “corner pocket” with confidence. It is a solid racquet with very little vibration or other distractions.
VOLLEYS The good news is that the Six.One Team BLX is very quick at the net. It light weight and head-light balance equates to fantastic maneuverability. And speed often equates to success when facing incoming volleys at a rapid-fire pace! It was even more accurate than I anticipated (I believed the open string pattern and Double Holes may lessen accuracy—I was wrong!). The “less than good” news was that it was very unforgiving on hits near the hoop. Any ball that hit near the frame really made the racquet try to twist in my hand—a bit more than I believe it should, even considering its light weight and 95” head-size. But it is, after all, a racquet designed for skilled and advanced players.
OVERHEADS The Wilson Six One Team BLX is excellent when hitting overhead smashes. It is easy to generate power (via head-speed) and control was good.
SERVES Serves were very good with the Wilson Six.One Team BLX. I was able to generate sufficient power on flat serves and pretty good spin on 2nd serves. It did not offer the control or the power potential of its sister racquet (Six.One 95 BLX) but I did feel as if I could serve “all day” without tiring.
SPIN POTENTIAL The open string pattern of the Wilson Six One Team BLX, combined with the ‘Double Hole’ technology seemed to help it generate good spin and slice. The strings are able to “bite” the ball a bit more due to its design and a player can really hit H-A-R-D without fear. Big Swing + Ball Bite = Spin!
CONCLUSION The Six One Team BLX is an update and modification of proven technology. It is a control-oriented, medium weight, and very easy to maneuver racquet. It should be a consideration for players in the 4.0+ NTRP categories who have a full swing and are seeking more control.
Written by Greg Christopherson, who is a long-time tennis player and a professional stringer from Oceanside, Calif.
Wilson made some changes to their 2012 tennis racquets. Wilson categorized their racquet into three types: Control & Spin, Power & Spin, and Power and Comfort. I was able to play-test their new JUICE 100 BLX racquet which is placed in the “Power & Spin” category.
APPEARANCE / STYLE
When I first observed the WILSON JUICE 100 BLX I immediately thought of the tropics. I know this may seem strange—but it’s baby-blue/white/dark blue/yellow color combo reminded me of paint schemes in coastal beach-themed restaurants! It just doesn’t look very aggressive—like maybe a player with this stick will play “softly”?I think the paint job will take a little time grow on me…
TECHNOLOGY
The WILSON JUICE 100 BLX features 3 of Wilson’s newer tech features:
1) Basalt (BLX): Basalt fibers are woven into the frame to reduced unwanted frequencies (vibrations) and to provide better feedback and feel;
2) Amplifeel: A new handle technology that provides enhanced feel by using graphite & basalt planks, Foam, and a softer butt-cap;
3) Double Holes: Increased diameter on grommet holes to allow more string freedom which increases the “sweet spot” and adds power.
SPECIFICATIONS
The WILSON JUICE 100 BLX Mid Plus has a 100” head and weighs 10.7 oz. unstrung. It has a very open 16 x 18 pattern and is 4 points* head-light. It has a moderate 26.5 mm dual-taper beam. It is rated by Wilson as appropriate for players with a medium to long swing. It is the standard 27” length.* Wilson literature states 4 pts. HL, however, the frame decal states 7 pts. HL.
GROUNDSTROKES
The JUICE 100 BLX feels very stable & solid on ground-strokes. It does add some power—I had numerous shots go “wide” about a foot or so that I thought were going to be “in” when I hit the ball. But once I got dialed-in to the racquet’s performance I became very comfortable with it’s shots. Vibration was almost non-existent and it has a good “sound”. I knew, going in, that it is a head-light racquet, but it seemed to feel more evenly balanced. But the racquet does come-around quickly and hits with authority.
VOLLEYS
The WILSON JUICE 100 BLX provided excellent power on volleys and it’s accuracy was very good. It was not as quick at the net as some other racquets, but it should play well for experienced doubles players and “net rushers”. It is forgiving on off-center hits (resists twisting).
OVERHEADS
This racquet was a stable performer on overheads. I always felt like I knew exactly where the ball was going and at what pace. It encouraged me to put that ball AWAY!
SERVES
The WILSON JUICE 100 BLX serves well. I was immediately comfortable with ball placement and spin. I did not, however, seem to get the power I anticipated on first serves.
SPIN POTENTIAL
The very, very open 16 x 18 string pattern increases the possibility of ball spin. I even noticed that it performs extremely well on slice and drop-shots. The moderate/wide beam, however, may get in the way of players who use a great deal of slice (not much margin of error—the ball will hit the hoop).
CONCLUSION
The WILSON JUICE 100 BLX is a solid performer. It feels great, adds power, and increases spin. It may take a few matches to become accustomed to it’s balance and the way that effects your movement. And you either love or hate the paint job (or don’t care?!). I think it is a good choice for a wide range of player types and could be effectively used by players in the 3.0 – 4.0 Category (NTRP).
Greg Christopherson is a professional tennis stringer who lives in Oceanside, Calif.
Wilson Sporting Goods has made some changes to their tennis racquet line for 2012. One thing Wilson has done is to categorize racquet by three types: Control & Spin, Power & Spin, and Power & Comfort. I was able to play-test their new STEAM 100 BLX racquet which is placed in the “Power & Spin” category.
APPEARANCE / STYLE
The WILSON STEAM 100 BLX simply looks great! It has an exciting & colorful red/white/blue/yellow scheme and probably won’t show scratches or other “war-wounds” like some “plain” racquets often do. If you ignore the paint you’ll see that it is a bit of an “old school” design, i.e., flat-beam construction. But, as you read below, it is an “all new” product.
TECHNOLOGY
The WILSON STEAM 100 BLX features two of Wilson’s newer tech features:
1) Basalt (BLX): Basalt fibers are woven into the frame to reduced unwanted frequencies (vibrations) and to provide better feedback and feel;
2) Double Holes: Increased diameter on grommet holes to allow more string freedom which increases the “sweet spot” and adds power.
SPECIFICATIONS
The WILSON STEAM 100 BLX Mid Plus has a 100” head and weighs 10.4 oz. unstrung. It has a moderate16 x 20 pattern and is 5 points* head-light. It has a moderate 23 mm flat beam. It is rated by Wilson as appropriate for players with a medium to long swing. It is an extended-length racquet with a 27 ¼” length.* Wilson literature states 5 pts. HL, however, the frame decal states 8 pts. HL.
GROUNDSTROKES
The STEAM 100 BLX is outstanding at the baseline. It hits groundstrokes with confidence and power. Its control (ball placement) was exceptionally good—one can really swing-away and have some fun moving your opponent around! It is surprisingly quick considering its extended length—getting it around is not any problem at all. The only negative—and it is a very minor issue (I’m being picky)—is it has a slight more vibration than I anticipated. But this only occurs, however, on off-center hits. This vibration did not bother me at all—just surprised me. After about one set I forgot about it.
VOLLEYS
The WILSON STEAM 100 BLX provided excellent control on volleys and its power was above average. It reacts quickly on reflex-volleys and, again, its extended length was not a negative at the net.
OVERHEADS
The STEAM 100 BLX performed well on overhead “smashes”. It was solid and the accuracy was very good.
SERVES
The WILSON STEAM 100 BLX is really in it’s element on serves. I was able to generate excellent racquet-head speed and the extra .25” seems to provide a little more “pop”. I was very impressed with its accuracy and power. It does everything right when serving.
SPIN POTENTIAL
The STEAM 100 BLX provides sufficient spin and its 23mm beam gives enough clearance on slice shots. Whether topspin, underspin, or side-spin, it does it all well.
CONCLUSION
The WILSON STEAM 100 BLX is a racquet that has excellent “feel” and provides good power. Its accuracy is outstanding and it’s a “rock-star” when serving. It should be great for a wide range of players. i.e., “touch” players will love it as well as big-hitting baseliners. It’s a light, modern, well-designed stick that is suitable for players in the 3.0 – 5.0 range (NTRP).
Greg Christopherson is a professional tennis stringer who lives in Oceanside, Calif.
With the new shipment of Dunlop’s Biomimetic racquets and the amazing performance they suggest, let’s take a closer look at the technology and how it works for you.
The concept of Biomimetics in science is the study of nature and how we can utilize the natural ebb and flow of life around us in the technology we use in our daily lives. The oldest example of this is the aerodynamic shape of the airplane taking after a bird in flight. Another, not so recent example is Velcro, modeled after Gecko tack.
Dunlop Biomimetics takes the billions of years of evolution and natural selection and harnesses it into a sleek, stealth and effective weapon on the court.
The Cx Technology in in all Dunlop Biomimetic tennis racquets means that special consideration has been taken when considering the Cx factor, or the Drag Coefficient. The tapered beam cuts through air, reducing drag.
The anatomic construction of Dunlop Biomimetic racquets can be seen at the base of the racquet’s throat and imitates the ways in which natural bone structures move and respond to stress.
The two-part Biomimetic grommet system is made up of 3Dom pods that imitate cartilage and surround the actual (anti-friction) grommets. The pods provide cushioning, dampening and greater movement much like cartilage does for our skeletal system. The anti-friction grommets are modeled after the freedom of movement exhibited by sand sharks. Tiny ridges prevent the racquet string from digging into the grommets, providing more freedom of movement and additional power.
Dunlop Biomimetic tennis racquets have already been tested by the fiercest player in the world, Mother Nature. Take thousands of years of natural selection with you next time you step out on the court and show how natural selection works for you.
I found these pictures of JM del Potro’s possible outfit that he is going to wear for the Australian Open 2012. Is green on the go this year in Melbourne?
Thank you Nev1.
Oh, and by the way, here are some more pieces from his collection:
The Australian Open 2012 is the next Grand Slam of the year and since I wont be in Australia at the time I really want to watch it online. However, Australia is behind the rest of the world in terms of technology and I doubt there will be a place online to watch it for Free.
Why doesnt the Australian Open offer live streams of their event, each court could have its own camera and they could stream to the world via Justin.tv or other services. This could be an amazing service and I have wanted to do this for a long time with Challenger and other tournaments. Does anyone think this is a good idea or just me?
A good friend of mine just won his first ever ITF title in Darwin this week. Isaac Frost I have known for a very long time and I thought I would just congratulate him on this brilliant result.
Frost won the Darwin Future event beating Nick Lindahl in the final, 6-1 4-6 6-4.
Frost is only 20 and he had taken 400 spots of his ranking so far in 2011. Looking forward to seeing what he can do in 2012.
As we are nearing the end of the first week of the US Open 2011, we have been able to watch many interesting matches. One of the things I have been focusing on is players who are wrongly challenging the Line Judge’s calls. Many people wonder how the player can challenge the call for a ball which is clearly on the line, especially when the player was right there to see where the ball landed. Of course, the other side of the coin is also rarely understood, when the Line Judge wrongly calls one way or the other and the ball is shown to have been clearly different from the call.
How Do Our Brains Discriminate This Information Wrongly?
Our coordination is based in some brain circuits which originate and parse out the timing signals for activation and release of our muscles. Our motor planning and sequencing process does the parsing so that each muscle is activated or released in the correct order for our movements to occur. The more precise those master timing brain circuits, the more precise is our motor planning and sequencing process, and the better is our coordination.
If our master brain timing circuits are not very precise our brain’s motor planning and sequencing circuits cannot keep up with the volume of (visual as well as auditory and kinesthetic) data being received, so they miss some of the data and fill in some data which our brain has made up (extrapolated) from the data that was perceived. If our brain’s master timing circuits are not very precise, many of the things we think we see are made up and filled in by our brain. So, we think we see one thing and the reality can be different.
It’s In The Flipping Cards
Do you remember seeing a series of drawings on a deck of cards being slowly flipped so that your brain sees the artwork moving like a cartoon? That’s how our brain processes the images it has to manage from the real world. It sees a series of frames. And, depending on the precision of your master brain timing circuits, your brain can process anywhere between 10 and 30 frames per second.
How About A Golf Story?
I worked with a golf professional to improve his rhythm and timing. He was not a tour pro. He operated a golf course and he trained golfers. He had a very busy training schedule and he never even had time to play a round of golf during the 6 weeks that we worked together. He did hit a bucket of balls each week, so he knew that his swing and his accuracy improved over the course of his training with me. I had secretly hoped that his golf scores would improve so that I had referral information about using this training to improve golf play. But the surprise was that his golf training students dramatically improved their results during and after his rhythm and timing training with me.
What happened was that he was processing about 15 frames per second as we started and was processing almost 30 frames per second when we finished. This means that for an average golf swing of one of his students, he was seeing perhaps 7 frames when he started the training with me. He was seeing about 15 frames per swing as he finished getting his own rhythm and timing circuits fine tuned with me.
Actually Seeing More Of The Cards
Because he was seeing more of the frames of his students swing, he was able to make more fine discriminations of his student’s movements. He was able to actually see more of what had been happening with his students swing, so he was able to make more fine and more appropriate distinctions of the movements in his student’s swings.
This means that his brain was not giving him as much ‘made up’ information as before. Because he had more precise information about the swing, he was able to give more precise training interventions and his students were able to dramatically improve their own golf scores.
Getting The Right Information Makes All The Difference
Challenging the Line Judge’s calls is tricky business when you didn’t actually ‘see’ where the ball landed. Many times in the matches at the US Open this year, we see a player challenge when a ball is called ‘in’ because they perceived that the ball was ‘out.’ And when the replay shows us that the ball was straddling the line, it is easy to come to the conclusion that the challenging player needs to improve their basic rhythm and timing brain circuits.
In her semifinal match with Agnieszka Radwanska at Carlsbad, California, Andrea Petkovic ran of the court in the second set of the match to go to the bathroom and vomit after she “ate something bad for lunch”, as Petkovic discussed that she wouldn’t have liked to be on SportsCenter for the next 25 years.
Petkovic eventually lost the match, 4-6, 6-0 6-4.
“At the point where I ran out, I couldn’t hold it back anymore,” Petkovic said. “I didn’t want to be on Sports Center for the next 25 years.”
Petkovic did not have a point taken away as a penalty, as she had previously warned the chair umpire. She was also allowed a medical timeout off the court.
“I told her immediately I need to throw up,” Petkovic said. “The trainer gave me something against it. It didn’t help. I just felt this big stone in my stomach that needed to get out. I told them, Listen, I actually just feel fine, I just need to go to the bathroom as quick as possible.”
Petkovic said that she wouldn’t have liked to have the same incident as Pete Sampras at the 1996 US Open against Alex Corretja.
Former World No. 1 Serena Williams defeated Marion Bartoli for her first title since her comeback after a long year of injuries and illnesses. The American eased past the Frenchwoman after coming from behind in the first set, and earning the Bank of the West Classic title on Sunday with a score of 7-5 6-1.
“You can see the growth in her game, and also she’s such a nice person. Thank you for being sweet. That’s really nice.”, Serena said about Marion at the trophy presentation.
Going into the tournament, Williams was No. 169 in the world, but after beating top players such as Sharapova and Bartoli, her ranking has lifted to No. 79 in the world.
“I hated those triple digits. Now I’ve got to get to single digits.”, Serena said, chuckling, about her ranking.
Li Na is climbing towards Maria Sharapova in terms of the Highest Earning Emale Athlete , as the first Chinese Grand Slam champion has signed seven endorsement deals that range from $2 million to $3.5 million. Li Na’s agent, Max Eisenbud, who is also Sharapova’s agent, said that if she would have te time, she could easily sign five more deals.
Na’s endorsement deals include Mercedes Benz, Rolex, Haagen Dazs, and many more. All of Na’s new endorsement contracts are for a period of three years, and are worth at least $42 million combined.
Tennis has many tournaments in each season or year, but there are only four tournaments that mean the most to players who desire praise. The four Grand Slam tournaments are the Australian Open, the French Open, the Championships Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Let me tell you a little bit about the history of each of these four glorious events of tennis. First up, the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. It has been played in seven different locations since 1905, when it was first played on grass. In 1988, the surface changed to hard courts, and the location of the Grand Slam stayed permanently in Melbourne, Australia. And here is a twist: the Australian Open was not even a Grand Slam until 1924! Since this tournament is played in the summertime of the southern hemisphere, there is a extreme-heat policy, since the temperatures can reach dangerous levels that could harm players.
Next up is the French Open, also known as Roland Garros, which is played in the city of love: Paris, France. This event has been played in four different venues since it started in 1891, (1897 for the women), and it was not official a Grand Slam tournament until 1925, when it was known as the French Championships. The French Open played on clay, is usually played around the end of May, and carries on for two weeks, just like all of the other Grand Slam tournaments. There was talk in 2010 about the French Open venue, as it was thought as being too small, and there was talk that it would be played in a bigger venue, but the rumors were put to a halt when the French Tennis Federation decided to keep the venue and build bigger stadiums, as well as build a roof on the main stadium.
The third Grand Slam of the year is quite special, as it is played on grass that is mowed down to a length on 8 millimeters! This event is called The Championships Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, and is played in Wimbledon, London, England. Here are some cool facts about this Grand Slam: it is sometimes called SW19, because that is the post code of the area where Wimbledon’s venue is, which is the All England Club; the event started all the back at 1877; and Wimbledon was not played twice in its history, due to the outbreak of Word War I and Word War II. Wimbledon has had a roof since 2009, when it was decided that at least one court, the main stadium, should have a roof due to the annual rain reports at the tournament.
The last Grand Slam of the year is the U.S. Open, which is held in the Big Apple: New York, USA. Some fun facts about it are that it was first held in 1881 the state of Rhode Island; the U.S. Open has been played on three different surfaces, grass, then clay, then hard, in its history; it is held every year for two weeks, with one week before the Labor Day weekend, and one week after; and the main stadium of the venue is Arthur Ashe Stadium, which is the largest outdoor tennis-only stadium in the world!
The Grand Slams have a great history behind them, and that is why the history of these great tournaments is well worth knowing!
The Wilson Six One Team BLX tennis racquet is a new member to Wilson’s Six.One family of player’s racquets. It is, in essence, a lighter and somewhat differently constructed version of Wilson’s popular Six.One 95 BLX racquet. Wilson places the Six.One Team BLX racquet in their “Control & Spin” category for 2012.
Wilson made some changes to their 
Wilson Sporting Goods has made some changes to their 
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