All About the Wilson Triad Tennis Racket

Learn about the tennis rackets designed to prevent tennis elbow. 

 

 

At Wilson, we make a LOT of tennis rackets.

While some stick around longer than others, inevitably, time renders most obsolete. This is not the case for the Wilson Triad. Referred to by many as a “cure for tennis elbow”, Triad tennis rackets have been a Wilson Tennis staple since the early 2000s. Featuring a unique, two-piece design connected at the throat by a shock-absorbing layer called “Iso-Zorb”, Triad rackets are great for players experiencing problems with tennis elbow, or those just looking for a powerful, comfortable racket.

So why has Triad stuck around so long? Well, making a comfortable, powerful racket is easier said than done. Traditionally, in order to make a tennis racket more powerful, you have to make it stiffer. The problem is that often those needing their racket to provide them with additional power don’t have the arm strength to comfortably play with a stiff racket. Enter Triad, a pair of rackets that are both powerful AND comfortable. The power comes from their large head sizes, light weights, and extended lengths, while the comfort is made possible by the 2-piece design separated by Iso-Zorb.

Fun Fact:

Iso-Zorb is a vibration dampening material that isn’t only used on tennis rackets. In fact, it’s most notably used around the windows of skyscrapers to prevent rattling in the wind! Think about it, if Iso-Zorb can prevent windows from rattling on skyscrapers, imagine what it can do for your elbow as you make contact with the ball!
 

WHO SHOULD PLAY WITH TRIAD RACKETS?

 

Triad rackets

 

Triad rackets are for players either experiencing problems with Tennis Elbow, or players looking for a powerful, comfortable tennis racket. There are two models in the Triad family. Their names, “Triad Three” and “Triad Five,” refer to our Stiffness Index (SI) scale, which originally rated rackets from 2.7 to 6.5, lower numbers meaning stiffer (more power) and higher numbers more flexible (more control).

  • Triad Three: The more powerful, lighter, and longer frame of the two, Triad Three comes with an extra-large 113-square-inch headsize and a 9.3 oz/264g unstrung frame. It is also 27.5” long, which means it’s a half-inch longer than standard adult rackets, and a quarter-inch longer than Triad Five. We recommend this frame for adult senior players looking for a comfortable, powerful racket that will help them track down as many balls as possible.   
     
  • Triad Five: Still very powerful and light, Triad Five comes with an oversized 103-square-inch headsize and weighs 9.4oz/267g unstrung. It also comes with a 27.25” length, which is a quarter-inch shorter than Triad Three for added maneuverability. That said, it’s still a quarter-inch longer than standard adult rackets. Triad Five is great for players who want a comfortable, powerful, extended racket, but who aren’t quite ready to play with the very large 113-square-inch headsize.
     

OTHER POWERFUL, COMFORTABLE RACKET OPTIONS

 

photo of a clash racket

 

While these two Triad rackets are the best combination of power and comfort in our line, we know they’re not for everyone. For those looking for a powerful, comfortable racket that isn’t quite so large, we’d recommend giving our Clash tennis rackets a try. These rackets, voted “Best New Innovation” by Tennis Magazine in 2019, get their power and comfort from a never-before-seen, patent-protected combination of industry-leading stability (power) and extreme flexibility (comfort).  You can learn more about Clash here.


WANT MORE TRIAD?

 

Patrick Kuhle and Bill Severa

 

Associate Marketing Manager of Racquet Sports, Patrick Kuhle, recently spoke with the inventor of Triad Technology, Bill Severa, Advanced Innovation Director for Wilson Racquet Sports. Bill shared where the idea for Triad came from, as well as some fun stories about getting the first version of the racket through the “marketing people”. Here was their quick chat:

Patrick: Where did the idea for the Triad come from?

Bill: To be honest with you, I read a military-based article called “Decoupled Structures”, and it was about how to make something shock-free. Working in tennis rackets, it intrigued me. I thought, “what happens if we decouple the hoop from the handle to eliminate the shock? So we prototyped the concept for a year-and-a-half. The first couple testers were engineered with 100% dampening, but you couldn’t even feel that you physically struck the ball – you could just hear it. So we backed way off and ended up at about 30% dampening for the retail model.
 

How does Triad technology work?

Triad provides you all the benefit of a one-piece racket, but the dampening of a two-piece racket. At impact, the hoop behaves the same as a one-piece tennis racket, but as the shock travels down the frame, it is absorbed by a rubber-like layer placed between the hoop and handle called “Iso-Zorb Technology”. The Iso-Zorb material is very similar to what is used around metal windows in skyscrapers to absorb their movement and prevent them from rattling in the wind.
 

Does the Wilson Triad break more often?

Triad rackets are no less durable than any one-piece tennis racket. You know, in the late 90’s, producing one-piece rackets was hard enough. When I suggested a two-piece racket, everyone thought I was crazy. In fact, my original design is like what we sell now where the handle is joined with the hoop at 5 and 7 o’clock, but at the time, Marketing was so scared the rackets would come apart that we had to come up with a different design to make it at least appear more secure. I actually went to meetings with them and told them I’d give them $100 to try and pull the racket apart. No one was ever able to do it.
 

How are the two pieces of Triad secured?

If you look at the science, the two frame pieces and Iso-Zorb layer are chemically locked with glue and then they’re mechanically locked with the strings running through the grommets where the pieces overlap. There’s no way this racket could come apart aside from banging it on the ground, which will break any one-piece racket.