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Wilson Sports Professionals Modern Icons Play Test NYC
By Scoop Malinowski
Wilson Sports knows they have a superb product and so they invited media to wear and test their latest collection, called the Wilson Sport Professionals Modern Icons. The Play Test was at the historic Sutton East Tennis Club on East 60th Street in Manhattan on Thursday morning.
So a bunch of journalists, about 25 were invited and given a new Wilson Roland Garros bag filled with the new clothing, shorts, polo, jacket, socks, hat, racquet string dampeners and also a new Wilson racquet. And then we played tennis sporting our new outfits and equipment, first we did drills and then actual points.
A funny coincidence happened. About a month ago in Bradenton, Florida I was hitting regularly with a coach/player named Felipe Alarcon, who was previously ranked the no. 1 5.0 player in the Florida USTA section. He is an exceptional player with so many skills and weapons. While under siege from his complicated arsenal, I managed to notice his weapon of choice – a Wilson Blade 98.
At that time I was using the 2022 Wilson Ultra, a very good racquet which I won three tournaments with since starting using it in August 2022 after the Wilson US Open Play Test. But Felipe suggested “The Blade” was a better racquet for me to play with than the Ultra.
So guess what was in my Wilson bag last week at the Play Test? A brand new Wilson Blade 98 with the eye-catching blue and orange Roland Garros paint scheme! (Wilson and Roland Garros have a partnership.)
The Wilson Blade 98 felt like a magic wand. It was love at first strike. The Blade 98 has what feels like a perfect weight, perfect plow through the ball, perfect thin beam for easy maneuvering and the shots went where I wanted them to (well at least in the general vicinity with my backhand). So bye-bye Ultra but thanks for the memories and three tournament wins (Arlington Players Club B division Oct 2022, Raymond James Super Seniors national back draw in St. Petersburg, FL in March and 4.5 Golden Ticket over 40 National Qualifier at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL in April.)
Wilson photographed the whole event at Sutton East and sent us the photos. A colleague who was there, Richard Pagliaro of www.tennisnow.com, saw the pictures first and messaged me one hitting a forehand (see above) during the first drills of the morning. I can say with 100 percent honesty, it is the best action tennis photo ever taken of my “late start at tennis” and “never had a coach” techniques in 35 years of playing. Maybe it was the pro photographer or the racquet or just the perfect storm of a tennis shot I don’t know but I love the photo.
It was an interesting day on a few levels. Michael Schaeffer, Wilson Global Product Director for Racquet Sports was there. He was a big time college player about a decade ago and his form looks like he should be playing main draw Roland Garros. It’s fascinating how many great tennis players from the NCAA and lower pro levels who just don’t win enough matches to earn a top 100 ATP ranking. He’s currently working on the next Wilson innovation racquet called “The Shift” which will be released later in 2023.
There was a diverse crew of media at this Wilson Play Test. Dale Arden Chong works for Elle.com as a senior fashion editor and commented, “I just love to play tennis.”
Vera Papisova recently did a cover feature interview for Womens Health Magazine with actress Hayden Panattiere. She’s also written for GQ, Vogue, Teen Vogue and Vice.
Amy Schlinger is a fitness journalist/editor, here is one of her articles for Mens Health
My favorite items of Wilson clothing were the polo, called the Game Point Seamless Polo. The material has an amazing feel of comfort, soft, light and the shirt even has dot holes for a pore effect. The materials of the shirt are 75% polyamide and 25% polyester. This new Wilson shirt makes the materials of shirts in the 1970s and 80s feel like a napkin in comparison. How pro players wore those old heavy cotton shirts in the past is hard to comprehend.
The Aston Warm-Up Jacket is also a very attractive article of clothing which can be worn off the court too. The white shorts have a nice fit, shape and feel and are instantly into the top of my tournament outfit rotation.
Wilson Sporting Goods was created in 1914 and there’s ample reasons why the company is still going strong, producing the finest tennis equipment and clothing. The iconic Wilson “W” logo remains as popular and recognizable, if not more so than any other logo in sports.
The new Wilson Sport Professionals Modern Icons Collection is now available at Wilson stores and will be available on June 1 at the Wilson web site. Professional players Marta Kostyuk and Thiago Tirante of Argentina will wear the new Wilson line at Roland Garros and this summer.
NYC · Sutton East Tennis Club · Wilson Blade 98 · Wilson Sporting Goods · Wilson tennis
