The Aeropro Drive Original will arguably go down as the best modern racquet of all time...here's why

[beltsman]

It baffles me that Babolat dropped the APD line and redesigned it as the PA. Not that the PA is bad, but why rebrand? They are also very different molds. I don't get it.

For the record, I hated the feel of the 2013 APD (only one I've used) but it did hit well. The PA 2016 was alright but not enough feel or control. Haven't touched them since.

 

[joah310]

PC 600, PT630, nCode 6.1 95 18x20, Ultra Tour, Blade Pro... all of these feel infinitely better than the APDO could ever dream of.

you're comparing apples to bananas.

 

[ryushen21]

you're comparing apples to bananas.

He said second to none. That leaves the door wide open.

 

[joah310]

He said second to none. That leaves the door wide open.

ah my bad. You were right. The feel on those sticks are better, but i wouldn't say the og apd is that far behind. It definitely is the best tweener I've felt, and i would put it on par with the ncode 95, though they have very different feels

 

[Nate7-5]

Why dont they release a limited edition run of them?

 

[JEDI MASTER]

i recreated Rafa's racquet..

the originals APD still the best Stick i've ever hit with.. and still play today...

 

[Jay_The_Nomad]

i recreated Rafa's racquet..

the originals APD still the best Stick i've ever hit with.. and still play today...

Are you the gentleman from Tennisspin?Didn’t know you use the APD originals. Thought you were on a wilson clash or something?

Any recommendation on a suitable replacement for my last aero pro drive cortex? The grommets are coming to the end of its life. Need to find a racquet close enough in feel so it’s not such a shock during the switch. I demoed the pure Aeros a few years back when they came out and didn’t enjoy the demo. I can’t recall why but the feel was off and I sort of put it down to the strong pattern.
You think it’s worth a revisit?

I really do need to pick up a set of replacement sticks in the near future.

 

[joah310]

Are you the gentleman from Tennisspin?Didn’t know you use the APD originals. Thought you were on a wilson clash or something?

Any recommendation on a suitable replacement for my last aero pro drive cortex? The grommets are coming to the end of its life. Need to find a racquet close enough in feel so it’s not such a shock during the switch. I demoed the pure Aeros a few years back when they came out and didn’t enjoy the demo. I can’t recall why but the feel was off and I sort of put it down to the strong pattern.
You think it’s worth a revisit?

I really do need to pick up a set of replacement sticks in the near future.

You can still buy the grommets...
If you're set on switching maybe check out the dunlop sx 300 I've heard some good things about it

 

[ron schaap]

PC 600, PT630, nCode 6.1 95 18x20, Ultra Tour, Blade Pro... all of these feel infinitely better than the APDO could ever dream of.

purely personal opinion and dependant on strings too.

 

[Nostradamus]

its no good in doubles, so its no good

 

[Jay_The_Nomad]

You can still buy the grommets...

Really? Where can I purchase them? Thought they were discontinued,

 

[joah310]

You can still buy the grommets...

Really? Where can I purchase them? Thought they were discontinued,

Babolat AeroPro Drive/Drive +/Team/Junior Black Grommet | Tennis Warehouse

www.tennis-warehouse.com

This fits all of the apd variants. They only changed string pattern for the pure areos. Ive happily replaced the grommets on my og apd and my apd+ gt

 

[Jay_The_Nomad]

This fits all of the apd variants. They only changed string pattern for the pure areos. Ive happily replaced the grommets on my og apd and my apd+ gt

Thanks. This is aawesome. Gonna breath new life into my racquets. Got another old apdc with broken grommets. So I’ll have two now.

Used to have four APDCs.Cracked two. And have been extremely careful with them now.

 

[PrinceMoron]

I always lose to people using APDs if they also have a bandana, I just can’t stop laughing

 

[WYK]

It perfected upon what the Pure Drive before it started, providing tons of power and spin potential, making it easy to use for both recreational and advanced players alike.

The orignal version was the only one without the modern gimmicks like Cortex, and it's barebone pure graphite structure gives it the solidity that later versions just coluldn't emulate. It also had a really cool paintjob, and is the rarest iteration of the racquet line.

With a stock swingweight of 330+, it played great without any customization, all this while having a low-ish stock weight of just 300 g.

The racquet turns 15 this year, and well kept ones sell for as much as $150-200 today.

Truly a gem of a racquet, and will one day be in the same league of legendary racquets such as the Pro Staff Classic, the original Prestige, amongst others. The only difference, as @Lavs said in one comment, it will still be relevant and playable due to its 100 sq inch head size, and powerful, spin-friendly nature.

Oh and did I mention Rafa still uses it?

They haven't made Rafa's racquet in nearly 17 years...
A few more years and the motor vehicle department will declare it a classic.

 

[KluddKalle]

I always lose to people using APDs if they also have a bandana, I just can’t stop laughing

A Nike bandana or just any bandana?

 

[ron schaap]

I always lose to people using APDs if they also have a bandana, I just can’t stop laughing

I can understand. Havent they teach you to actually watch the bal during play instead of your opponents outfit and racquet?

 

[ron schaap]

its no good in doubles, so its no good

well Rafa has no problem playing serve and volley so there must be something lacking in your game.

 

[ron schaap]

i recreated Rafa's racquet..

the originals APD still the best Stick i've ever hit with.. and still play today...

the installation of new grommets puts me of to add lead under head geard. I find it very difficult. wouldnt it be possible to put lead on the inside of the head, so that you could remove it lateron?

 

[joah310]

the installation of new grommets puts me of to add lead under head geard. I find it very difficult. wouldnt it be possible to put lead on the inside of the head, so that you could remove it lateron?

Lead under grommets is more permanent. Just stick it in the hoop until you settle with a weight that you like

 

[acintya]

i dont know how you handle the power with these racquets guys.either you never were in the woods or you have been born with bad genes for muscle developing

 

[JEDI MASTER]

I always lose to people using APDs if they also have a bandana, I just can’t stop laughing

me too!..

and grunt on their 40mph serve...

 

[TennisThailand]

Has anyone tried the APD Original + (extended)??
Is it that much different? And specifically how?

 

[bobeeto]

Has anyone tried the APD Original + (extended)??
Is it that much different? And specifically how?

I have one, and it’s pretty nutty spin wise. I think it’s more stable on every stroke - just gotta choke up on volleys.

selling it in the classifieds if anyone wants. Need to get more string

 

[Nadal15thslam]

https://www.olx.ro/d/oferta/racheta-babolat-aero-pro-drive-IDhwVmF.html
What do you all think about this? It's not in that good of a condition but the seller says it doesn't have any cracks, how much should I pay for it?

 

[mavsman149]

The only reason it gets as much praise as it does is because of Nadal. I don’t remember anyone using them until Nadal started winning with it a year after it came out. There probably wouldn’t be more Aero racquets after the initial line going the way of the Zylon series if it it wasn’t for his breakout success.

I’m not saying it’s not a great racquet or that it’s not the right racquet for you to be clear. It’s just that Feds 90 wasn’t really realistic for most players and was likely custom anyways, and you can’t really get Novak’s real racquet either (I know the LM Radical tour is as close as it gets, but that’s EXTREMELY rare anyways).

 

[Nadal15thslam]

The only reason it gets as much praise as it does is because of Nadal. I don’t remember anyone using them until Nadal started winning with it a year after it came out. There probably wouldn’t be more Aero racquets after the initial line going the way of the Zylon series if it it wasn’t for his breakout success.

I’m not saying it’s not a great racquet or that it’s not the right racquet for you to be clear. It’s just that Feds 90 wasn’t really realistic for most players and was likely custom anyways, and you can’t really get Novak’s real racquet either (I know the LM Radical tour is as close as it gets, but that’s EXTREMELY rare anyways).

I don't really question if the racquet is good or not, I've tried it because a friend has it and I've liked it quite a bit. I want to know a fair price for a racquet like this in not so good condition like the one above.

 

[mavsman149]

I don't really question if the racquet is good or not, I've tried it because a friend has it and I've liked it quite a bit. I want to know a fair price for a racquet like this in not so good condition like the one above.

For sure IT IS a great racquet, I’m not disagreeing. But it has this extremely high popularity compared to other great racquets that are possibly completely forgotten because it doesn’t have a very popular all time great like Nadal knowingly using it and it’s status as tweener/modern players racquet.

 

[Nadal15thslam]

For sure IT IS a great racquet, I’m not disagreeing. But it has this extremely high popularity compared to other great racquets that are possibly completely forgotten because it doesn’t have a very popular all time great like Nadal knowingly using it and it’s status as tweener/modern players racquet.

I have an Aeropro Drive Gt 2010 model, can I replace the Apd original grommets with the ones from the 2010 model?

 

[mavsman149]

I have an Aeropro Drive Gt 2010 model, can I replace the Apd original grommets with the ones from the 2010 model?

I’m not an expert but I believe any APD model had the same grommets until it became the PA