Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 is Back on the Market

he beast is back!!! After it’s release in 1983 it gained cult status, thanks mainly to Pete Sampras, who used the racquet for his entire professional career. The kevlar/graphite has become a legendary racquet, even more so since they took it off of the market a few years ago. It wasn’t just Pete Sampras who used this racket. Many other first-rate players have used the Pro Staff 85 during their professional careers including Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Stefan Edberg, Chris Evert, Roger Federer, and Mary Pierce….. and Tom Allsopp.

The racquet now comes with a gold BLX butt cap rather than the traditional Wilson white and red butt cap, and the racquet does not come with a racquet cover.
Pete Sampras would only use the Wilson Pro Sataff 6.0 from the St Vincent factory. However, the handles were custom-built and lead was also added during balancing and weight work by his personal stringer, taking the mass of the racket from 355g to just under 400g. Sampras also strung his rackets at around 75 lb tension, well above the frame’s stock recommended range of 50-60 lb. Sampras also had all frames re-strung daily during tournaments, whether he used them or not.

Review by Tom Allsopp: Although this racket is not for everyone, it is extremely comfortable to play with and not as scary as the specs may look. If you strike the ball clean and drive through your strokes this might be the racket for you. You should at least give it a try. When you hit the ball clean no racquet feels better! However, if you use a lot of wrist your arm might fall off unless you are really strong. I love playing with this racquet on indoor courts or with new balls. On clay I struggle to generate the power on the high balls and on balls that are not coming on to me as quickly – but I’m not the biggest guy or the best clay court player so lets not blame the racquet too much. Control with this racquet is really good on all shots including volleys and serves. If you do buy this racket I suggest not adding lead tape to make it 400G and stringing it at 75 lb unless you’re an absolute beast… like Sampras. Off the shelf this racket plays really well and feels perfectly weighted and balanced to me.