Babolat Pure Aero VS 2020

First impressions were the racket was very maneuverable, pick up shots were great and the ability to generate racket head speed made for great serves. Despite the low static weight I felt that the racket surprisingly stable, however there were a few times I ran into stability problems. From the baseline I found lots of access to spin and great precision. I was encountering issues with keeping the ball deep, and I found myself getting pushed around a lot more than usual (Playing against a hard hitting Division 1 player). The racket came strung with Babolat Addiction 16, and I have to say I'm pretty sure it is the culprit of lots of the cons I found hitting with this stick. I really want to string it up with some Hyper G so I'm going to see if I can make that happen, I don't think I'm doing the racket justice by playing with a full bed of Addiction, just isn't for me...
 
Major question is, is the control better, same or worse than the box beam previous model? I still use the box beam and hard to fathom that this one has more control with thinner beam. Gonna take a lot for me to make the switch. My current set up has 10G of lead on handle and 10G on head, 315G unstrung. As solid as its gonna get without being too bulky and losing maneuverability. The stability is a beauty with added weight. Talk to me fellas!
 
to me..it a completely different racket than last gen.... I am not saying it's profoundly better than last gen..but does seem to be an improvement... it's just like the std pure aero...some folks like the last gen better than current..and visa versa..
 
Prinkeakeem12 said:
Major question is, is the control better, same or worse than the box beam previous model? I still use the box beam and hard to fathom that this one has more control with thinner beam. Gonna take a lot for me to make the switch. My current set up has 10G of lead on handle and 10G on head, 315G unstrung. As solid as its gonna get without being too bulky and losing maneuverability. The stability is a beauty with added weight. Talk to me fellas!
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Is it comfortable? Which strings do you use?
 
Tsitsipas77 said:
Is it comfortable? Which strings do you use?
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Yeah, super comfortable. Never had any issues. Have been using it since it debuted (switched from Pure Control Tour). I use Pro Hurricane (not the tour) 16 (mains) and Gosen Proform Tuff 15 (crosses) strung at 52lbs. Have literally used this same set up 4 years.
 
A_Instead said:
to me..it a completely different racket than last gen.... I am not saying it's profoundly better than last gen..but does seem to be an improvement... it's just like the std pure aero...some folks like the last gen better than current..and visa versa..
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Gotcha, makes a lot of sense!
 
I briefly hit with the box beam and found a lower launch angle with that stick so naturally a little more control. I am going to add lead tape at 12 o'clock on the new VS and see how it plays. New Aero VS definitely does not have that wow factor in stock form, just feels meh... similar to the drive VS but definitely better and more comfortable.
 
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tennisislife4622 said:
I briefly hit with the box beam and found a lower launch angle with that stick so naturally a little more control. I am going to add lead tape at 12 o'clock on the new VS and see how it plays. New Aero VS definitely does not have that wow factor in stock form, just feels meh... similar to the drive VS but definitely better and more comfortable.
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Looking at the specs with the lower swingweight and static weight, it does appear that a little bit of lead could transform this racquet. How is the feel?
 
On the 11th Tennis is allowed again, I am going to put Babolat RPM blast rough 16 at 21kg in one racquet and 22kg in another, will report back. Can´t wait!
 
mad dog1 said:
Looking at the specs with the lower swingweight and static weight, it does appear that a little bit of lead could transform this racquet. How is the feel?
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The feel is similar to the Pure drive VS I would say. It is a pretty stiff racket which is a given with Babolat, but I would say the feel is the best of the current Babolat offerings!
 
Very good playtest. Far better than the Pure Drive VS. It hits much more modern than the previous Aero VS model, with a bit less reliable plow, but a much more playable shot overall. It hits a faster shot with much more spin than the previous version. It actually reminded me a lot of the new Prestige Tour, which I also really liked, except this racket has noticeably better spin.

For a fairly fast and spinny racket, it still gets some decent weight on a lot of the shots. The control is far better than anything with a 26 beam. The only thing I struggled with was getting a consistent plow on the ball, versus a plow that sort of came and went from shot to shot. This is the same problem I have with most spin rackets.

It serves fairly big, and it returns fairly strong. It has good control in the sense that shots are not flying all over the place (like a Pure Drive), but it's not super precise. I think if you want to pilot this thing, you have to have a fast, whippy swing with lots of natural spin to keep your ball in the court. It's not a plowing, traditional swing type of frame.

And it's definitely built for a poly setup.
 
mnttlrg said:
Very good playtest. Far better than the Pure Drive VS. It hits much more modern than the previous Aero VS model, with a bit less reliable plow, but a much more playable shot overall. It hits a faster shot with much more spin than the previous version. It actually reminded me a lot of the new Prestige Tour, which I also really liked, except this racket has noticeably better spin.

For a fairly fast and spinny racket, it still gets some decent weight on a lot of the shots. The control is far better than anything with a 26 beam. The only thing I struggled with was getting a consistent plow on the ball, versus a plow that sort of came and went from shot to shot. This is the same problem I have with most spin rackets.

It serves fairly big, and it returns fairly strong. It has good control in the sense that shots are not flying all over the place (like a Pure Drive), but it's not super precise. I think if you want to pilot this thing, you have to have a fast, whippy swing with lots of natural spin to keep your ball in the court. It's not a plowing, traditional swing type of frame.

And it's definitely built for a poly setup.
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Thanks for sharing. What do you mean by 26 beam? 26mm? Doesn’t the PA VS have a 21/23/22mm beam?
 
mnttlrg said:
Very good playtest. Far better than the Pure Drive VS. It hits much more modern than the previous Aero VS model, with a bit less reliable plow, but a much more playable shot overall. It hits a faster shot with much more spin than the previous version. It actually reminded me a lot of the new Prestige Tour, which I also really liked, except this racket has noticeably better spin.

For a fairly fast and spinny racket, it still gets some decent weight on a lot of the shots. The control is far better than anything with a 26 beam. The only thing I struggled with was getting a consistent plow on the ball, versus a plow that sort of came and went from shot to shot. This is the same problem I have with most spin rackets.

It serves fairly big, and it returns fairly strong. It has good control in the sense that shots are not flying all over the place (like a Pure Drive), but it's not super precise. I think if you want to pilot this thing, you have to have a fast, whippy swing with lots of natural spin to keep your ball in the court. It's not a plowing, traditional swing type of frame.

And it's definitely built for a poly setup.
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Very well said, I agree with about everything said here ^^^
 
I will experiment with lead at 3 and 9 for plow and stability and/or at 12, I'm just afraid it will lose the racket's whippiness and maneuverability it was designed to have...
 
tennisislife4622 said:
I will experiment with lead at 3 and 9 for plow and stability and/or at 12, I'm just afraid it will lose the racket's whippiness and maneuverability it was designed to have...
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I think it will too. If you are looking for reliable plow, you probably want a different racket. If you are looking for spin that has a nice incidental weight on the shot, this is the one.
 
mnttlrg said:
I think it will too. If you are looking for reliable plow, you probably want a different racket. If you are looking for spin that has a nice incidental weight on the shot, this is the one.
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Wouldn't necessarily agree with that. Of course it depends on how much lead you add, but I added 20G to previous model and the maneuverability is almost the same on ground strokes, slightly less on serve.
 
snoflewis said:
first time i've heard this. care to elaborate?
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In simple terms, weighted handle just increases racquet's stationary weight (no major impact to swing weight) making the racquet more stable (heavier racquets are usually high in stability) and more headlight (which is what increases maneuverability). Weighted head, makes the racquet more head heavy (major impact to swing weight) which allows for more plow through which is what translates to power. Doing one without the other usually throws off racquet balance though so its common that players add on both ends.
 
According to the theory that adding weight to the handle increases the maneuverability, then if someone could add 5 tons inside the handle of his racquet, that would make it super maneuverable...
 
By adding weight in the handle, it makes the racquet more headlight.
The only way to make it head light is to add weight (leather grip, lead, silicon, nails, blue tac putty etc) to the handle (or chip off bit of the frame from the hoop :D)
Yes, heavy handle (to a limit @Strange hit) makes the racquet more maneuverable.
Weight in the entire handle and toward the throat adds stability against hard balls especially at the net.
I'm not saying add 75g to the handle, but we are talking about 10g-15g-25g.
 
By adding weight to the handle you don't only make it more headlight, you also make it heavier. A headlighter setup make the racquet more maneuverable only if everything else stays equal.

If the formula : adding weight to the handle = more maneuverability, was right, then it would stay true whatever weight you add to the handle.

Do the test with a RDC machine like we did at our local tennis store. We tested with 5 gramms added to the handle, then 12 gramms, then 20 gramms. Absolutely none of the results obtained, showed an upgrade to the values related to the maneuverability of the racquet.
 
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Strange hit said:
By adding weight to the handle you don't only make it more headlight, you also make it heavier. A headlighter setup make the racquet more maneuverable only if everything else stays equal.

If the formula : adding weight to the handle = more maneuverability, was right, then it would stay true whatever weight you add to the handle.

Do the test with a RDC machine like we did at our local tennis store. We tested with 5 gramms added to the handle, then 12 gramms, then 20 gramms. Absolutely none of the results obtained, showed an upgrade to the values related to the maneuverability of the racquet.
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Take a 340g 340SW 32.39cm 6HL racquet and add 10g to the handle.
The new specs are 350g 340SW 31.75cm 8HL.
To me, that is a more maneuverable racquet even though it's heavier it will be easier to move at the net.
Google: Racquet Handle Weighting and Maneuverability By Rod Cross

What reading on the RDC did you use to measure 'maneuverability' ?
How would you make a racquet more headlight while keeping everything else equal :oops: ?
 
FIRETennis said:
How would you make a racquet more headlight while keeping everything else equal :oops: ?
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It is not possible, because the only ways to make the racquet more headlight is to add weight below the original balance point, or take off some weight above the original balance point. These 2 methods obviously mean that something more than the balance have been changed.
 
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