Then out of your selection I would go with the VS with some customisation. Also worthy to try the new radical auxetic when is for sale, i think in January , I can't wait for it to release. Good luck with your search. Also,Thanks guys. I won't be hitting any more balls until mid March now as the weather here in PA. is no longer tennis worthy and I don't play indoors over the winter. And for what it's worth. I'm not really looking for a racket that plays and feels like the Pro Staff anymore. I'd like to get away from the Pro Staff once and for all. Otherwise I'd just wait for the next Pro Staff or buy a Prestige Pro.
Aggressive Baseliner making a racket switch
- Thread starter TennisManiac
- Start date
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Yes, these are the two I have heavily in mind. Can't wait to try them out.
A_Instead
Legend
Yes very cold for November...at least we are not in buffalo..
I doubt anything you try will measure up to the great Pro Staff for you..
Hit up Cho in the spring...he has a few ezone 98.. he was using it the last time I seen him this fall..
That's the only guy who has more rackets than me...
I doubt anything you try will measure up to the great Pro Staff for you..
Hit up Cho in the spring...he has a few ezone 98.. he was using it the last time I seen him this fall..
That's the only guy who has more rackets than me...
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Don't Jinx me!
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
It's kinda funny. Tennis Spin's "racket of the year" is coming in 3rd place on this poll. The seemingly eagerly awaited 2023 Radical MP Auxetic is still holding 1st place. I hope to be able to demo all three rackets in the poll as soon as the PA98 and Rad MP Aux come out. Waiting sucks!
Saitamaxpunch1
Rookie
It's kinda funny. Tennis Spin's "racket of the year" is coming in 3rd place on this poll. The seemingly eagerly awaited 2023 Radical MP Auxetic is still holding 1st place. I hope to be able to demo all three rackets in the poll as soon as the PA98 and Rad MP Aux come out. Waiting sucks!
I think it's the result of poll being a comparison with one racket they can try versus two unreleased ones. Not a very good set of options for a poll if 0% of folks can actually give an informed response on 2/3 of the options.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I see that you too are an aggressive baseliner with a one hander who seemed to go through quite a racket journey according to your sig. Assuming that the new PA98 and Rad MP Aux will basically play the same as the current versions but with a tad bit more "feel". Which out of the three rackets in the poll would you choose and why? Would like to hear.
Saitamaxpunch1
Rookie
I think there are different flavors of aggressive baseliner. Obviously, power and control are the two key factors for this type of play - but it comes down to which is the primary dimension you need from the two.
Power Priority - these rackets are heavy, have high plow, and are ‘controlled power frames’. You never get abused and can focus on turning defense to offense via easy depth from the frame. ‘Purest’ form I know of this today is Pure Strike Tour. It has control and power properties simultaneously. You sacrifice feel, but there still very high spin generation. I’d say this is more of a club player version of an aggressive baseliner.
Control Priority - You are young, have great footwork, early preparation leading to great contact. The pressure you inflict on opponents comes from amazing ball contact and kinetic chain therefore you have power/spin generation from the body. So, you need a racket that doesn’t allow the ball to fly and offers great control (yet aren’t anemic). This is carlos alcaraz. This I think is probably closer to the rackets you have put in your poll. So if you are this type of player those options have worked. The Aero 2023 is getting mixed reviews right now so I don’t know if Aero 98 will be an incremental improvement (nor does anyone else).
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Saitamaxpunch1
Rookie
On the topic of aggressive baseliner, I found a great Youtuber on the topic. I watch all the YT tennis instructors but this guy teaches with more depth than others:
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I've been spending a lot of time watching and listening to reviews of the Extreme Tour Aux and recently the Rad MP Aux. Now the PA98 is popping up. These 3 rackets are still in the running for me to demo soon. I can't wait until I can get ahold of all three of these and hit the courts to make a decision. At first I was pretty convinced that I would end up choosing the PA98. But after all I've gathered I'm back on the fence. I'm actually expecting to like the Rad MP Aux the best now.
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Legend
The good news is either way is probably a good choice so you will be goldenI've been spending a lot of time watching and listening to reviews of the Extreme Tour Aux and recently the Rad MP Aux. Now the PA98 is popping up. These 3 rackets are still in the running for me to demo soon. I can't wait until I can get ahold of all three of these and hit the courts to make a decision. At first I was pretty convinced that I would end up choosing the PA98. But after all I've gathered I'm back on the fence. I'm actually expecting to like the Rad MP Aux the best now.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
No turd sandwich for me.
It's been a long run with the Pro Staff. 16 years to be exact. But it's over now. Time to move on.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I sure hope so.
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Legend
How many? I have a lot but going to sell most was just testing most the market
I don't have a one-hander, but I'm on a similar search. I'm finding that to avoid the chunky slow frame through the air you need to stick with racquets with a 23mm beam or thinner.I'm really leaning hard towards the Pure Aero 98 when it comes out. I'll be really disappointed if it doesn't work. I keep hearing some say that it's not good for the one handed backhand because of the aero beam design. But it doesn't look like it would be a problem to me. It's not chunky like the regular Pure Aero. And I do play with a lot of topspin from my backhand side. So I've got a lot of low to high going on in my stroke. It's such a sweet looking frame.
No one has really hit with it, so we can just project our hopes toward the Radical MP.It's kinda funny. Tennis Spin's "racket of the year" is coming in 3rd place on this poll. The seemingly eagerly awaited 2023 Radical MP Auxetic is still holding 1st place. I hope to be able to demo all three rackets in the poll as soon as the PA98 and Rad MP Aux come out. Waiting sucks!
Personally, I'm looking forward to it b/c it seems to have more power than my Blade v8, but a pretty thin beam by comparison. 20/23/21 vs then Blade's 21/21/21...the added firmness is what I need but hope the auxetic has dampened it a bit.
A_Instead
Legend
Not even sure how many he has..
But what does.. he has a 12-15 racket bag from each manufacturer which is typically full of frames from that manufacturer. he typically brings 2 bags each time out and uses what he is in the mood for.
He also has mixed bags of with a few frames from misc manufacturers...
Needless to say..he has a few bags from Head and Wilson...so so many of the older Heads.. old good stuff to.. Fischer, etc.
Yonex was his kick this past fall..
His collection is impressive with basically a frame from each generation from most top tiered manufacturers.
He buys a several frames each year..
Sells some.
But what does.. he has a 12-15 racket bag from each manufacturer which is typically full of frames from that manufacturer. he typically brings 2 bags each time out and uses what he is in the mood for.
He also has mixed bags of with a few frames from misc manufacturers...
Needless to say..he has a few bags from Head and Wilson...so so many of the older Heads.. old good stuff to.. Fischer, etc.
Yonex was his kick this past fall..
His collection is impressive with basically a frame from each generation from most top tiered manufacturers.
He buys a several frames each year..
Sells some.
Tan Tennis
Rookie
From the 3 of your list, I’m leaning toward Babolat Pure Aero 98. Feels great hitting heavy ball from the baseline, more spin, have the control. I don’t think the Extreme Tour could give you control and precision you have on PS97. Auxetic Radical MP I don’t feel like it shines on anything in particular. Not very stable for me and I don’t get enough spin potential. Probably work better if you hit flat. Anyway, I’m not sure about the OHBH tho.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
My Pro Staff 97s are heavily modified. I have 6 grams of lead in the hoop and 8 grams in the handle. Overall specs are 340 grams static weight, 5 pts. hl and 345 swingweight. So I would heavily modify all three rackets in question as well. For example... I would add about 5 grams of lead to 12oclock and about 10 grams of silicone inside the handle of the Rad MP. I bet if you played with the Rad MP modified like that you would have an entirely different opinion of it.
Pure Aero 2023 - it gives you free power, on ap, and you wont have to mod to he same weight/SW of the PS.
a our age, we shouldn't have to swing too hard to get the result/(additional) power we need as a baseliner.
I have 2 x PAVS and 2 x PA23 of same setup, and the PA23 is a much easier one to use and stable, or should i say, less tiring to use and with greater power and spin potential. Control isnt to shabby either.
a our age, we shouldn't have to swing too hard to get the result/(additional) power we need as a baseliner.
I have 2 x PAVS and 2 x PA23 of same setup, and the PA23 is a much easier one to use and stable, or should i say, less tiring to use and with greater power and spin potential. Control isnt to shabby either.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
@TennisManiac - Maybe give that some reconsideration if you ever get the chance to pickup a PA23. I have a one-hander myself, and it's honestly not that bad for it. On the plus side, it provides a really high level of cradling/stability of your stroke when you're coming through contact. It is a bit of a bear to pronate/twist when coming through a topspin one-hander, but it's not impossible, especially if you're strong and fit. Give it a try if you ever get the chance. You might be surprised.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
If I can get ahold of one I'll definitely try it. You have a one hander? Maybe you could give some credible feedback. I keep hearing people saying in their reviews of the PAVS and the PA98 that the Aero Beam design makes the one hander difficult to execute. Do you feel this way? I'm not sure if I really believe these people or not.
@TennisManiac and anyone else curious - At least for the PA23, I found the one-hander very doable, even sometimes preferential, such as when having to hit a flat or topspin BH on the stretch, where I actually felt the extra lateral stiffness and torsional rigidity made the difference between being able to solidly punch back a ball with enough depth and pace, versus not. In those instances, had I a flexier, narrower-beamed stick in my hand, I might have been able to finesse the head angle/location and/or locate to the shot a bit more precisely, but probably wouldn't have been able to hit as heavy or deep of a counterpunch, or do so as consistently time and time again.
There's something about the above characteristics of the PA23, which gives it a high amount of what I "cradling" (for lack of a better term) -- an ability to preserve the intended face angle, all the way through and beyond contact, with almost complete resistance to twist, flutter or being knocked off-angle or off-path. And it goes beyond just simply having high twist weight or swing-weight alone. I think it's also attributable to the beam shape and layup -- the triangular throat pieces blending into the fully elliptical hoop, with a crisp graphite blend and little in the way of rubbery dampening. It creates an extremely twist and flex resistant throat/bridge area, coupled with a hoop that is also flex-resistant to/from the direction of impact. The sum total then is just a super high level of stability, especially for the amount of static weight and swing weight. It's a highly tuned instrument in stock form, that's for sure.
All of that said, as much as the PA is really a perfect 2-hander's frame (because all of that stability and twist resistance is really best overcome and utilized with 2 hands on the handle and 2 arms at work), for a certain amount of one-handers with a strong-enough, clean-enough motion, it can be just as fantastic, maybe even more so. As that implies, though, you must have a certain level of strength and pronation range, as well as a powerful-enough core twist -- think: Justine Henin -- in order to benefit from the qualities I outlined above as a one-hander. But if that's you, then I think the PA23 could offer a lot for a OHBH. If that's not as much you, ie. for those whose technique is more wristy or they arm or bunt their way through most of the stroke, I can certainly see how it could be challenging, to say the least.
I hope at least some of that helped!
There's something about the above characteristics of the PA23, which gives it a high amount of what I "cradling" (for lack of a better term) -- an ability to preserve the intended face angle, all the way through and beyond contact, with almost complete resistance to twist, flutter or being knocked off-angle or off-path. And it goes beyond just simply having high twist weight or swing-weight alone. I think it's also attributable to the beam shape and layup -- the triangular throat pieces blending into the fully elliptical hoop, with a crisp graphite blend and little in the way of rubbery dampening. It creates an extremely twist and flex resistant throat/bridge area, coupled with a hoop that is also flex-resistant to/from the direction of impact. The sum total then is just a super high level of stability, especially for the amount of static weight and swing weight. It's a highly tuned instrument in stock form, that's for sure.
All of that said, as much as the PA is really a perfect 2-hander's frame (because all of that stability and twist resistance is really best overcome and utilized with 2 hands on the handle and 2 arms at work), for a certain amount of one-handers with a strong-enough, clean-enough motion, it can be just as fantastic, maybe even more so. As that implies, though, you must have a certain level of strength and pronation range, as well as a powerful-enough core twist -- think: Justine Henin -- in order to benefit from the qualities I outlined above as a one-hander. But if that's you, then I think the PA23 could offer a lot for a OHBH. If that's not as much you, ie. for those whose technique is more wristy or they arm or bunt their way through most of the stroke, I can certainly see how it could be challenging, to say the least.
I hope at least some of that helped!
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TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
This helps a lot. Very detailed information. Thanks man!
ezekiel114
Semi-Pro
@TennisManiac
i know its not on the poll but have you tried a blade pro 16M? the plow through on it is addicting.
i know its not on the poll but have you tried a blade pro 16M? the plow through on it is addicting.
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