If you are just interested in the reviews, please go ahead and scroll down!
Background:
Well due to some arm issues with my current racquet (Prince EX03 Rebel) I am making the switch back to Babolat and am currently hitting with two of their new player's frames. I would appreciate and welcome anyone's own comments/questions about either frame and just preface these following reviews as my own opinion and how I feel personally about each frame; I am a strong believer of the idea that everybody's game style varies greatly and racquets and strings affect everyone differently. That said, here goes..
First, a little background on myself. I am a Div. I college tennis player with a NTRP rating of a solid 5.5. I have an aggressive all-court game and I am a solid doubles players. My major weapons are my serve and forehand, which nicely set up one another. I play a power game and look for a short ball I can place in the corners and tend to have fairly short points; not a clay court grinder by any means. My recent racquet history in order of most recent are as follows: Prince Rebel, Prince Diablo Tour mid, Yonex 002 Tour, Babolat Pure Storm Tour +, Babolat Pure Control Team. I have had arm issues with the Rebel and the Yonex, and looking back I should have never switched away from the Babolat frames, which I only did because I wasn't crazy about the plus length storm tour after a while. Lastly, I must add that I play full poly and have been forced to do so for durability the last few years. I have been going back and forth between Red Code and Weisscannon Matchpower.
Reviews:
Both the Pure Storm Tour GT and Pure Drive Roddick GT are standard length frames; the PST is strung with Matchpower at 57lbs and the PDR was strung with Red Code also at 57lbs. The PST was played stock while I had a small amount of lead on the PDR at 10 and 2. I hit with both frames on a ball machine for an hour, hit a basket of serves, then played a set with each frame afterwards against a strong serve and volley player.
Pure Storm Tour GT Std. -
I was very excited to try this racquet; having played this line of frames (PST and Pure Control) I felt right at home easing back into the frame. Took a slight adjustment as I remembered the feel of the woofer grommets, but I got things dialed in pretty quickly working with the ball machine. The weight felt spot on at right about 12oz strung and the balance felt good at right about 8pts head light.
I felt a great blend of power and control off the ground that I can only describe as the "Babolat Feel"; anyone that has played with and enjoyed a Babolat frame will know what I mean! Switching from the 95 sq in Rebel I noticed an increased sweetspot and good pop coming out of the racquet. The 16 main string pattern also gives me more access to spin which I love, but the frame still has a tendency to want to hit a pretty flat ball.
Serves - what can I say? It is a Babolat so it feels great! Awesome power, and I feel that the PST blends great control and accuracy on the serve at the same time. The only thing I felt it lacked on the serve was easy access to spin; I noticed that my second serve kick was lacking some of the nice "jump" that I like to get on it and I ended up getting burned on some that just sat up in my opponents strike zone.
At the net this frame really impressed me with some great feel and control on volleys. Babolat racquets are not known to be the best at the net, so my expectations were fairly low. I was able to control and easily redirect hard groundstrokes towards the open court.
Pure Drive Roddick GT Std. -
I had the previous misconception that the Pure Drive line of racquets wasn't geared towards my level of play; I see so many 12-14 girls hitting with these frames which forced them to the back of my mind as a possible stick. After reading raves of the Roddick version I checked out the spec's and thought I would give it a shot, and let me tell you I am so glad that I did.
I have never hit such a heavy ball from the baseline with a frame. My semi-western forward really shined as I could flatten out and pound a forehand in the corner or roll a heavy nadal-esque topspin kicking shot up high to my opponents backhand. I loved having this variety! The extra access to spin came in handy on my backhand slice which was highlighted as a great way to take off pace and give my opponent a different look at each shot. Lastly I feel that this frame had a sweetspot much bigger than the small extra 2 sq in over the PST would imply; I was hard pressed to shank a ball at any point while playing with it.
Serves - Wow. And I though the PST had some pop.. oh my. I had heard the rumors about this behemoth, and it met every expectation. I have been clocked hitting serves up at 125 mph, and I could have sworn I was nailing them around 130 with awesome consistency. The few first serves I missed I followed up with an awesome kick that gave my opponent extra trouble. I am still smiling thinking about some of the serves I hit
Like the PST, the PDR impressed me at the net. Maybe not quite as maneuverable as the PST but it made up for it in feel and having the large sweetspot helped deal with some great stabs at tough passing shot attempts. Overheads were right on par with serves.. sooo niceee.
Conclusion:
And the winner is... the Pure Drive Roddick GT. For me ( and I emphasize the me part ) this frame fits my game style right on; a serving monster with great power and control off the ground strung up with full poly. This is not to take away from the Storm Tour GT which is also a great frame that in my opinion offers a little more control and accuracy and easier to move around at the net. If I had not played the PDR I would probably be placing an order for the Storm Tour right now; it is a close second place.
For me the PDR GT is perfect; I may play with putting a little more lead at 10 and 2, but other than that I like it stock. I was also expecting the tension to be too low to tame the power of this frame, but I was nicely surprised with the combination of power and control that the full poly at 57lbs gave me. Most importantly; no arm pain! Woohoo!
I am going to keep playing with this frame throughout the week but I am fairly convinced this is the one; I will provide updates for any of those interested. If anyone wants me to compare either frame to something else, please let me know. I have tried most every players frame on the market the last few years and have played with a fair amount of frames in recent years as my list near the start of the post shows.
Any questions/comments are welcome and appreciated!
Background:
Well due to some arm issues with my current racquet (Prince EX03 Rebel) I am making the switch back to Babolat and am currently hitting with two of their new player's frames. I would appreciate and welcome anyone's own comments/questions about either frame and just preface these following reviews as my own opinion and how I feel personally about each frame; I am a strong believer of the idea that everybody's game style varies greatly and racquets and strings affect everyone differently. That said, here goes..
First, a little background on myself. I am a Div. I college tennis player with a NTRP rating of a solid 5.5. I have an aggressive all-court game and I am a solid doubles players. My major weapons are my serve and forehand, which nicely set up one another. I play a power game and look for a short ball I can place in the corners and tend to have fairly short points; not a clay court grinder by any means. My recent racquet history in order of most recent are as follows: Prince Rebel, Prince Diablo Tour mid, Yonex 002 Tour, Babolat Pure Storm Tour +, Babolat Pure Control Team. I have had arm issues with the Rebel and the Yonex, and looking back I should have never switched away from the Babolat frames, which I only did because I wasn't crazy about the plus length storm tour after a while. Lastly, I must add that I play full poly and have been forced to do so for durability the last few years. I have been going back and forth between Red Code and Weisscannon Matchpower.
Reviews:
Both the Pure Storm Tour GT and Pure Drive Roddick GT are standard length frames; the PST is strung with Matchpower at 57lbs and the PDR was strung with Red Code also at 57lbs. The PST was played stock while I had a small amount of lead on the PDR at 10 and 2. I hit with both frames on a ball machine for an hour, hit a basket of serves, then played a set with each frame afterwards against a strong serve and volley player.
Pure Storm Tour GT Std. -
I was very excited to try this racquet; having played this line of frames (PST and Pure Control) I felt right at home easing back into the frame. Took a slight adjustment as I remembered the feel of the woofer grommets, but I got things dialed in pretty quickly working with the ball machine. The weight felt spot on at right about 12oz strung and the balance felt good at right about 8pts head light.
I felt a great blend of power and control off the ground that I can only describe as the "Babolat Feel"; anyone that has played with and enjoyed a Babolat frame will know what I mean! Switching from the 95 sq in Rebel I noticed an increased sweetspot and good pop coming out of the racquet. The 16 main string pattern also gives me more access to spin which I love, but the frame still has a tendency to want to hit a pretty flat ball.
Serves - what can I say? It is a Babolat so it feels great! Awesome power, and I feel that the PST blends great control and accuracy on the serve at the same time. The only thing I felt it lacked on the serve was easy access to spin; I noticed that my second serve kick was lacking some of the nice "jump" that I like to get on it and I ended up getting burned on some that just sat up in my opponents strike zone.
At the net this frame really impressed me with some great feel and control on volleys. Babolat racquets are not known to be the best at the net, so my expectations were fairly low. I was able to control and easily redirect hard groundstrokes towards the open court.
Pure Drive Roddick GT Std. -
I had the previous misconception that the Pure Drive line of racquets wasn't geared towards my level of play; I see so many 12-14 girls hitting with these frames which forced them to the back of my mind as a possible stick. After reading raves of the Roddick version I checked out the spec's and thought I would give it a shot, and let me tell you I am so glad that I did.
I have never hit such a heavy ball from the baseline with a frame. My semi-western forward really shined as I could flatten out and pound a forehand in the corner or roll a heavy nadal-esque topspin kicking shot up high to my opponents backhand. I loved having this variety! The extra access to spin came in handy on my backhand slice which was highlighted as a great way to take off pace and give my opponent a different look at each shot. Lastly I feel that this frame had a sweetspot much bigger than the small extra 2 sq in over the PST would imply; I was hard pressed to shank a ball at any point while playing with it.
Serves - Wow. And I though the PST had some pop.. oh my. I had heard the rumors about this behemoth, and it met every expectation. I have been clocked hitting serves up at 125 mph, and I could have sworn I was nailing them around 130 with awesome consistency. The few first serves I missed I followed up with an awesome kick that gave my opponent extra trouble. I am still smiling thinking about some of the serves I hit
Like the PST, the PDR impressed me at the net. Maybe not quite as maneuverable as the PST but it made up for it in feel and having the large sweetspot helped deal with some great stabs at tough passing shot attempts. Overheads were right on par with serves.. sooo niceee.
Conclusion:
And the winner is... the Pure Drive Roddick GT. For me ( and I emphasize the me part ) this frame fits my game style right on; a serving monster with great power and control off the ground strung up with full poly. This is not to take away from the Storm Tour GT which is also a great frame that in my opinion offers a little more control and accuracy and easier to move around at the net. If I had not played the PDR I would probably be placing an order for the Storm Tour right now; it is a close second place.
For me the PDR GT is perfect; I may play with putting a little more lead at 10 and 2, but other than that I like it stock. I was also expecting the tension to be too low to tame the power of this frame, but I was nicely surprised with the combination of power and control that the full poly at 57lbs gave me. Most importantly; no arm pain! Woohoo!
I am going to keep playing with this frame throughout the week but I am fairly convinced this is the one; I will provide updates for any of those interested. If anyone wants me to compare either frame to something else, please let me know. I have tried most every players frame on the market the last few years and have played with a fair amount of frames in recent years as my list near the start of the post shows.
Any questions/comments are welcome and appreciated!