Updated 10/18/17:
Here's my initial review! I've only hit with the frame for about 5 hours but I wanted to give my first impressions. Thanks to Babolat (
@Babolat Official) and Tennis Warehouse (
@TW Staff ) for this great opportunity to playtest the new Pure Drive!
String and tension used for test: Babolat RPM Blast Rough strung at 53 lbs.
Tennis experience/background: I’ve been playing tennis since my juniors but left the game for awhile and then returned to the game about 7 years ago. I currently play 4.0/4.5 men’s singles and doubles.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): My game is mostly baseliner but I also like to take the short ball and finish off the point at net.
Current racquet/string setups: Babolat Pure Aero strung with Clarke’s Poly Power Pro @ 53 lbs.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? So far, I’ve hit with it for about 5 hours total. Surely, it’s not enough time yet but with impending bad weather that will hinder me from hitting with it more this week I wanted to get some impressions of the racquet down before I may have to start over.
Comments on racquet performance:
-Groundstrokes: It won’t come as a surprise when I say this racquet packs a punch. It’s effortless power. I also playtested the last generation Pure Drive and the latest version ups the ante. For flat hitters, this may be their new warhammer of choice. Shots pop off the string bed with velocity. I found myself thinking, “Am I swinging harder?” But in reality I’m not. Even when I’m stretched off the court and I have to crack a shot back over, the Pure Drive rarely disappointed in that aspect. I even toyed with swinging less “hard” and the racquet seemed to say, “Okay… Do not fret, I’ll take care of hitting the ball!” It was quite surreal. But there’s a caveat to all this power. And I know it’s really only me. But I’ll cover that in the general/overall section.
-Serves: Do you have those days when you feel like every serve you hit feels waaaay faster and they’re going in? Like you’re treeing? If you haven’t then pick up the new Pure Drive. Wow! If you want to feel like Isner or Dr. Ivo and want to crack serves. Again, try this stick. This racquet made my serves pop and was easily eclipsing the bounce height of my Pure Aero. Seriously. If you want a kicker, it’ll do it. If you want to hit flat, wide in the ad court. Go for it. How about a big, down the T ace? No problem. It was addicting.
-Volleys: My volleys have and always will be a work in progress. Mind you, it’s gotten much better. I can hit with more confidence and I have relatively good placement. But there’s always a little cringe factor there… But… The Pure Drive instills in me tons of confidence in my volleys? Why? Because it’s an extremely stable frame. Even when I had shots pummeled at me, the racquet never waffled in my hands. Very solid and thus the volleys would go back into the court with authority and pace. High volleys, no problem. Below the net? No problem. Right at you?!?! No problem. When I had hit with the Babolat P17 frame, I also had this similar effect but I may say the Pure Drive is a notch better. Very, very stable.
-Serve returns: Updated. Serve returns are on par with my initial reactions on groundstrokes. Very solid. I loved that when I got ahead of the serve i.e. knew where the shot was going, I was able to really pound the returns back with authority. Really confidence inspiring.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: Okay, so it’s safe to say that this stick is powerful. But that’s only the net effect of many other things. First of all, I found the frame to be much more muted than the previous versions. I think some used the word, “brassy” to describe the sensation of the previous generation frames. The new Pure Drive is NOT brassy. That said, I wish it weren’t so muted. This may be the effect of the strings though, too. I’m looking forward to restringing the frame with my Clarke copoly which tends to be more lively. I’ll get back to this with another review. Secondly, I found the frame to be very stable through the hitting zone. There was little to no torsion or twisting sensation. This was very evident especially against a big hitter. When shots came in hot, the Pure Drive rocketed the shots back with very little drama. And third, the Pure Drive seemed more weighted at the top of the hoop and compared to my Pure Aero, the Pure Drive felt a little sluggish. The frame I received weighed in at 11.6 ounces once strung up with an overgrip and a dampener. My Pure Aeros weigh in at no more than 11.4-11.5 ounces with the same set up. And though the weight differences is minimal, the Pure Aeros seem much more headlight to me. All these distinctions matter little, though, when you’re rocketing shots back at your opponent. And this lead me to another aspect of the Pure Drive which I wasn’t as thrilled and was quite puzzling. I had a hard time generating top spin. Most of my shots off the ground came off flat. Yes I could generate some spin but I really had to exaggerate the low to high, hitting below the ball sensation to make topspin. I had a buddy of mine (a 4.5+ player) hit with it and he loved it. He could get spin with power. But not me. For grins, I went back to my Pure Aeros and much to my relief, my ability to hit topspin came back. It’s dramatically different between the two frames - for me. But here’s the interesting part: I could generate better spin on my serves with the Pure Drive! As a matter of fact, it was instilling confidence for me to hit bigger serves.
So, this latest iteration of the Pure Drive continues the reputation of the Babolat line as the power stick. But gone is the brassy feeling. I love the way it handles volleys and serves and for the most part groundstrokes. I’ll need to see if I can generate a bit more spin from this mostly flat hitting stick (for me). I would prefer if the frame were a little less head heavy but overall it’s a fantastic frame for the intermediate to advanced player who wants more power in their game. I think this frame would be great for the doubles players too due to the fact it seems very stable on volleys and the serves… Oh my!
Update:
Since my initial review, I've restrung the Pure Drive with my usual set of copoly 17g string to see if I could regain some spin potential. My string seemed to help but not nearly with the same spin production as I would with my Pure Aero frames. Not sure why that is. I sort of wish I had a way to measure this but even my hitting partners say that though the shots coming off the Pure Drive had more velocity - the shots had less spin as opposed to when I hit with the Pure Aeros. I'm puzzled.
Another aspect I touched on in my initial review was the weight of the frame. Overall, the Pure Drive I received seemed a bit heavier and the balance was a little more head heavy compared to my Pure Aeros. Hitting over a period of time, I found the frame to be a little sluggish. Perhaps it's merely perception but the perceived sluggishness made me feel late through my swings. I adjusted my timing to accommodate the weight and that helped but eventually I would mis-time my shots and I became a little erratic and lost some control. The lack of spin hindered me to make my usual passing shots especially on the run. So beside this feeling, I was still amazed by how effortless I could create power especially on my 2HBH. Compared to the last generation Pure Drive, the new version is more muted and that's a welcomed change. Maybe too muted for my taste though. A livelier string helped give me a bit more feel. For someone wanting easy power and a solid volley stick, the new Pure Drive is a great choice! The advanced player that is adept at creating spin will love this stick. The intermediate player will love the improved comfort and power. And for the flat hitter, this is the go-to stick. Nearly everyone who's seen me hit with it has asked to hit with the frame and many are impressed with the new paint scheme, too. It's a great looking frame!
Thanks again to Tennis Warehouse and Babolat for this wonderful opportunity to review this awesome tennis racquet.
