Alcaraz and RPM Team?

Is Carlitos really using RPM Team for the last year or so as Babolat says or is this just a marketing play to push more variants of RPM? I've heard good things about RPM Team, but he was having such great results with RPM Blast for a while! Just Curious
 
Dunno what Alcaraz is using, but the Team should have more spin, less control (which you compensate with the spin), more confort, less tention maintenance (which you can compensate with the pre-stretch), more resilience, compared to the Blast
 
RPM Team is Babolat’s version of Lux 4G. TWU string db says it id stiffer than 4G (same diameter, etc.) I agree with the TWU assessment. Means playable for longer periods without surprises.
 
RPM Team is Babolat’s version of Lux 4G. TWU string db says it id stiffer than 4G (same diameter, etc.) I agree with the TWU assessment. Means playable for longer periods without surprises.
Team really doesn't play at all like 4G, they are almost polar opposites. Team is on the firmer side of soft polys, slightly muted elastic power poly, while 4G is a stiff crisp total control poly.

In Luxilon's line up Team is best compared with Alu and Alu soft, Adrenaline, but not quite, but they are all pretty elastic and give a lot of power as a result. 4G does not, its elasticity is medium at best when fresh and strung low

When Team loses tension it's still really elastic, and can send balls out easily. A power poly. And Team loses quite a bit of tension, while 4G is the exact opposite, it maintains tension better that any other poly, and is always totally controlled, keeps balls in court better than any other string practically, a total control poly

Black Blast is very stiff but also elastic, can easily be too stiff in a stiff racquet. Team resolves that and is much softer but still very elastic with generous power. Team is best comparable to Tf Razor Code

Team's main issue is loss of control when it drops in tension

Alcaraz had an underarm pronator muscle injury, was it AO 2023 that he had to skip?, and then switched to Team as a softer alternative to Blast. I think I have it wrong somehow, and that he switched at the start of 2024, not sure now. It's in the other thread for sure.
 
Team really doesn't play at all like 4G, they are almost polar opposites. Team is on the firmer side of soft polys, slightly muted elastic power poly, while 4G is a stiff crisp total control poly.

In Luxilon's line up Team is best compared with Alu and Alu soft, Adrenaline, but not quite, but they are all pretty elastic and give a lot of power as a result. 4G does not, its elasticity is medium at best when fresh and strung low

When Team loses tension it's still really elastic, and can send balls out easily. A power poly. And Team loses quite a bit of tension, while 4G is the exact opposite, it maintains tension better that any other poly, and is always totally controlled, keeps balls in court better than any other string practically, a total control poly

Black Blast is very stiff but also elastic, can easily be too stiff in a stiff racquet. Team resolves that and is much softer but still very elastic with generous power. Team is best comparable to Tf Razor Code

Team's main issue is loss of control when it drops in tension

Alcaraz had an underarm pronator muscle injury, was it AO 2023 that he had to skip?, and then switched to Team as a softer alternative to Blast. I think I have it wrong somehow, and that he switched at the start of 2024, not sure now. It's in the other thread for sure.
16g Team seems to have a decent tension loss rating on the TW string database.
 
As far as I know, Team is exactly the same as Blast, but with "nano bubbles" inside and comes factory pre-stretched. So, it should be stiffer and have better (less) tension loss due to the pre-stretch (and also shorter break-down period), but on the other hand it should stretch more (feel softer on impact) as if it were a thinner gauge, due to the bubbles. So depending on the tension it's strung at and its tension/elongation profile, it could have better or worse tension maintenance than Blast, as the tension peak on impact could be higher in the higher (nominal) tension range.
 
Is there any way to elaborate on why. What does he want from Team that he doesn't get from RPM Blast? Is it just softer? Is it also octagonally shaped?
because carlos had arm problems/ pain with rpm blast, so he switched and he feels like team is not causing the issues he had before
 
Team really doesn't play at all like 4G, they are almost polar opposites. Team is on the firmer side of soft polys, slightly muted elastic power poly, while 4G is a stiff crisp total control poly.

In Luxilon's line up Team is best compared with Alu and Alu soft, Adrenaline, but not quite, but they are all pretty elastic and give a lot of power as a result. 4G does not, its elasticity is medium at best when fresh and strung low

When Team loses tension it's still really elastic, and can send balls out easily. A power poly. And Team loses quite a bit of tension, while 4G is the exact opposite, it maintains tension better that any other poly, and is always totally controlled, keeps balls in court better than any other string practically, a total control poly

Black Blast is very stiff but also elastic, can easily be too stiff in a stiff racquet. Team resolves that and is much softer but still very elastic with generous power. Team is best comparable to Tf Razor Code

Team's main issue is loss of control when it drops in tension

Alcaraz had an underarm pronator muscle injury, was it AO 2023 that he had to skip?, and then switched to Team as a softer alternative to Blast. I think I have it wrong somehow, and that he switched at the start of 2024, not sure now. It's in the other thread for sure.
do you feel like Team has more spin potential ? or about the same as blast ?
 
Team is a waste of time - plays well to begin with but it notches so quickly. Fine if you get it for free and restring every 2-3 hours but playability is so short lived, its just not for amateur players.
 
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rpm team is a good string. not everyone wants super crisp firm strings which rpm blast is.
softer strings will not last as long. hence why durable strings tend to all be firm. same is true for any brand.
 
This string seems really polarising. Some says it's even stiffer than rpm blast, some says it's really a softer rpm blast. I don't know which one is true lol
 
This string seems really polarising. Some says it's even stiffer than rpm blast, some says it's really a softer rpm blast. I don't know which one is true lol

Softer than Blast, equally as fast in decline of playability.
Both these strings have coatings that wear off, so you cannot play with them forever

But anyone who says that Team is stiffer than Blast has either never played them or simply a questionable sense of stiffness
 
Softer than Blast, equally as fast in decline of playability.
Both these strings have coatings that wear off, so you cannot play with them forever

But anyone who says that Team is stiffer than Blast has either never played them or simply a questionable sense of stiffness
....data like this below doesn't help either

 
....data like this below doesn't help either


which data?

I guess you wanted to show the TWU data, but didn't attach the picture
Racketpedia measured Blast at 1.18 kg/mm, Team at 0.97 kg/mm - which is a pretty accurate picture.
I spoke to Babolat sales reps and they also confirmed that Team is the softer string.
 
Imagine if Alcaraz used a good string like ALU? 30 Grand Slams easy

I really think Babolat has stopped innovating in their strings. They coast on sponsorship and notoriety from past pros. Luxilon is in the same boat but at least ALU is crazy good for 90 minutes.

I have nothing against them as a brand... and I legitimately think they have made each of their rackets better over time... but man their strings are just uninspiring.
 
Question for others seeing the thread.

Do you see the picture (yes TWU data) I posted or not?
I do. For anyone who can't, Team clocks at 281 lbs/in which is quite crazy high. Blast "only" 233. That's for 16 gauge, 17 gauge still higher but not that big a difference (245 vs 234).
This string seems really polarising. Some says it's even stiffer than rpm blast, some says it's really a softer rpm blast. I don't know which one is true lol
As always with strings, tension is important. Thinner gauges will generally be flexier/softer than thicker ones, but at certain tensions (generally high) thin strings will be more strained (tension/section area) than thicker ones, and above a certain tension, polys will become much stiffer, so it could theoretically happen that some string at say 55 lbs will gain enough stiffness to overcome the difference in thickness, and behave stiffer overall than the same string at the same tension but thicker gauge (in other words, flex less on impact with the ball).
And this can actually be seen in the TWU string database. Most strings record lower stiffness when going up in gauge (thinner), but sometimes thinner gauges will show higher stiffness values since they are measured at 51 lbs. I haven't dived enough into the Racketpedia database but it seems to me that they measure the stiffness from rest, as their data is generally 3x or 4x times lower than TWU's (if you convert units), and it sometimes happen one string is stiffer in one database and softer in the other.
So, back to RPM Team. It's supposed to be the SAME String, material and shape wise, only pre-stretched and infused with micro bubbles.
So, it's supposed to play softer because the bubbles will make the string to be effectively "thinner" (less material, more stretch), but if you string both at the same tension, Team will probably lose less tension with time and use (due to pre-stretch), and be stiffer (or as if it was strung tighter). But if you pre-stretch Blast, then Team should be softer. UNLESS you string both at a very high tension, then Team may become stiffer again because it enters "earlier" in the steeper area of the tension/elongation profile.
The difference in the stiffness shown in TWU is probably mostly due to tension loss being higher in Blast though.
 
I do. For anyone who can't, Team clocks at 281 lbs/in which is quite crazy high. Blast "only" 233. That's for 16 gauge, 17 gauge still higher but not that big a difference (245 vs 234).

As always with strings, tension is important. Thinner gauges will generally be flexier/softer than thicker ones, but at certain tensions (generally high) thin strings will be more strained (tension/section area) than thicker ones, and above a certain tension, polys will become much stiffer, so it could theoretically happen that some string at say 55 lbs will gain enough stiffness to overcome the difference in thickness, and behave stiffer overall than the same string at the same tension but thicker gauge (in other words, flex less on impact with the ball).
And this can actually be seen in the TWU string database. Most strings record lower stiffness when going up in gauge (thinner), but sometimes thinner gauges will show higher stiffness values since they are measured at 51 lbs. I haven't dived enough into the Racketpedia database but it seems to me that they measure the stiffness from rest, as their data is generally 3x or 4x times lower than TWU's (if you convert units), and it sometimes happen one string is stiffer in one database and softer in the other.
So, back to RPM Team. It's supposed to be the SAME String, material and shape wise, only pre-stretched and infused with micro bubbles.
So, it's supposed to play softer because the bubbles will make the string to be effectively "thinner" (less material, more stretch), but if you string both at the same tension, Team will probably lose less tension with time and use (due to pre-stretch), and be stiffer (or as if it was strung tighter). But if you pre-stretch Blast, then Team should be softer. UNLESS you string both at a very high tension, then Team may become stiffer again because it enters "earlier" in the steeper area of the tension/elongation profile.
The difference in the stiffness shown in TWU is probably mostly due to tension loss being higher in Blast though.

I don't want to hate on TWU completely, because arguably I haven't had time and motivation to dive very deep into their data
But most other string platforms and data from manufacturers differs quite frequently - so I would be rather sceptic about some of their findings.

With that being said, Team plays a lot softer than Blast at same tension & gauge in my Pure Aero 98
 
I don't want to hate on TWU completely, because arguably I haven't had time and motivation to dive very deep into their data
But most other string platforms and data from manufacturers differs quite frequently - so I would be rather sceptic about some of their findings.

With that being said, Team plays a lot softer than Blast at same tension & gauge in my Pure Aero 98
I personally take string data from TWU with a grain of salt too, but not more than I'd take the data from any other platforms, or definitely from a manufacturer. The bigger problem behind this is most likely the QC of the strings to start with.

Regarding RPM Team, yes, I'm sure the intention is to make a string like Blast but softer, with better (or at least not worse) tension maintenance. So, most often I guess it should feel softer, and I'm sure at the tension and gauge you normally use, and with your (or your stringer's) machine and stringing method, it feels softer. But it's possible that for someone with different inputs in that categories, it doesn't, or even feels stiffer.
 
I stumbled on Team and never looked back.
I like it as mains in my poly/poly setup.

Full bed is preferred to blast but it stilly gets “sticky” faster than I like.

In my poly/poly setup, I’m getting a full high level of 6–8 hours and I cut it. Heavy and hard hitting in SoCal sun so I’m pretty happy with a legit 8 hours.
 
I stumbled on Team and never looked back.
I like it as mains in my poly/poly setup.

Full bed is preferred to blast but it stilly gets “sticky” faster than I like.

In my poly/poly setup, I’m getting a full high level of 6–8 hours and I cut it. Heavy and hard hitting in SoCal sun so I’m pretty happy with a legit 8 hours.
What do you hybrid Team with? Tension maintenance must be pretty good then if you’re gettin 8 hrs
 
O toro snap tour flex, one of their black strings. It’s their stiffest offering in round. It lets the team move nicely but not crazy like some of the modern strings in full bed.

The setup also feels very stable and consistent so all the variety is in your control.
I’ve liked in several frames.
 
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