Liam Grennon
Professional
Hey All!
Our GoPro Died and we didn't see until the tiebreak so we only got a couple of game's unfortunately on video.
So the review will be from both Ethan (Lighter Blue shirt not serving first) and me Liam (Dark Blue shirt serving first )
Let's do some background first
SORRY FOR BAD VIDEO QUALITY IT WAS RECORDED IN 2.7 K SO IT TRANSFERD WEIRD
Liam - (15) Like to play very aggressive hard-hitting tennis. Likes serving big and hitting hard forehand's, always looking to come in and always looking to serve and volley.
Racket of choice: Technifiber Tfight 315 Lmt 18m (Customized with lead at 3 and 9)
(Hurt knee during video so footwork is very sloppy as is the serve motion)
Ethan - (15) Counter Punching all courter, like's to grind out longer points and is a fan of passing shots. Almost never double faults. Make the opponent make the mistake either tactically or shot wise
Racket of choice: Babolat Pure Strike (2017) 16x19
Now for our reviews!
Serves:
Liam: Was not a fan of this racket at all on serves. There seemed like there was just a point where it didn't matter how hard I swang it just maxed out. Possibly due to the weight of the frame, but I just felt like there was a higher ceiling with other frames like the RF 97 or even a Blade. The kick I got wasn't as good as I expected from such a spin friendly frame but I was getting more spin than I normally did with my 18x20. I did like the slice out wide serve with this frame though.
Ethan: I thought the Pure Drive gave me enough power when I was up in games and could go for bigger serves, but enough spin when I needed my consistency. I could also hit flat serves when I wanted too which was surprisingly too me.
Returns:
Liam: I thought this racket got the job done vs people with bigger serves but I did have to watch my power with this racket. I really enjoyed it on second serve returns and returns against weaker serves. It let me be aggressive with them and hit hard putting them on defense. The chip/slice return worked well also.
Ethan: I also thought this frame worked well on return's but wish it had a bit more weight to it on some of the heavier serves.
Ground Strokes:
Liam: The highlight of this frame is from the baseline, easy power, and great spin. I could turn point's around from being defensive to attack because of the ease of power. As I have a tendency to jump on shot's, sometime's keeping the ball low can be an issue, but I found shots were dipping in at the last second. My footwork suffered as I wouldn't recover because I thought I had hit the ball out. As for stability, I was impressed at how stable it was at its weight. I would have preferred more weight and more stability, just vs harder hitters so I wouldn't get pushed around as much. Slice's were good as well. I liked the frame from the backhand wing as well, I somtime's when getting into backhand too backhand rallies end up hitting flatter then I should but with this frames, I could keep swinging out because I had that added spin. That being said I definitely need more control on some strokes.
Ethan: I agree with Liam that groundies are the highlight of the frame. I hit with between a Semi and Full western grip so spin isn't normally an issue but I felt the frame could flatten out shots when needed and hit spin when needed as well, so it is very versatile in that regard. I also found some great power and could end point's quicker with the easy access too power. The stability was more than fine for me, and I didn't have any control issues. I found I could pull my opponent out wider when we trade straight ahead because of that power.
Feel:
Liam: This was the worst part of the frame for me. The touch and feel was severely lacking here. I love that classic feel of my Tfights and this feels muted and disconnected as well as stiff. I noticed this on the serve and on groundstrokes I didn't hit perfectly. I surprisingly didn't have any arm issues but feel is the worst part of this frame by a mile.
Ethan: The feel really didn't bother me that much. I had no pain, and I'm used to playing Babolat's so I liked the feel a little less than my strike, but I really didn't mind it. Maybe on my drop volley and touch shots, I hurt a little bit but other than that I hardly noticed. I even liked the crispness off hitting the sweet spot.
Volleys:
Liam: Again the feel left something to be desired at the net, as did the lack of stability but it was maneuverable and got the job done most of the time. Overhead's were very nice though and I hit multiple over the fence.
Ethan: I agree with Liam, I loved the crispness of the frame on volleys but a bit more stability would make it superb!
Overall:
We both thought that it was a fun playtest. Ethan has considered switching frames to the Pure Drive as the ease of power and spin convinced him. Liam thought the frame would need to be strung at high tension with a control string and some weighing up if he was too make it his racket of choice, but the feel was really not up his alley.
Thank you all for reading our review! We would be happy to answer any questions about the video and our review!
Our GoPro Died and we didn't see until the tiebreak so we only got a couple of game's unfortunately on video.
Let's do some background first
SORRY FOR BAD VIDEO QUALITY IT WAS RECORDED IN 2.7 K SO IT TRANSFERD WEIRD
Liam - (15) Like to play very aggressive hard-hitting tennis. Likes serving big and hitting hard forehand's, always looking to come in and always looking to serve and volley.
Racket of choice: Technifiber Tfight 315 Lmt 18m (Customized with lead at 3 and 9)
(Hurt knee during video so footwork is very sloppy as is the serve motion)
Ethan - (15) Counter Punching all courter, like's to grind out longer points and is a fan of passing shots. Almost never double faults. Make the opponent make the mistake either tactically or shot wise
Racket of choice: Babolat Pure Strike (2017) 16x19
Now for our reviews!
Serves:
Liam: Was not a fan of this racket at all on serves. There seemed like there was just a point where it didn't matter how hard I swang it just maxed out. Possibly due to the weight of the frame, but I just felt like there was a higher ceiling with other frames like the RF 97 or even a Blade. The kick I got wasn't as good as I expected from such a spin friendly frame but I was getting more spin than I normally did with my 18x20. I did like the slice out wide serve with this frame though.
Ethan: I thought the Pure Drive gave me enough power when I was up in games and could go for bigger serves, but enough spin when I needed my consistency. I could also hit flat serves when I wanted too which was surprisingly too me.
Returns:
Liam: I thought this racket got the job done vs people with bigger serves but I did have to watch my power with this racket. I really enjoyed it on second serve returns and returns against weaker serves. It let me be aggressive with them and hit hard putting them on defense. The chip/slice return worked well also.
Ethan: I also thought this frame worked well on return's but wish it had a bit more weight to it on some of the heavier serves.
Ground Strokes:
Liam: The highlight of this frame is from the baseline, easy power, and great spin. I could turn point's around from being defensive to attack because of the ease of power. As I have a tendency to jump on shot's, sometime's keeping the ball low can be an issue, but I found shots were dipping in at the last second. My footwork suffered as I wouldn't recover because I thought I had hit the ball out. As for stability, I was impressed at how stable it was at its weight. I would have preferred more weight and more stability, just vs harder hitters so I wouldn't get pushed around as much. Slice's were good as well. I liked the frame from the backhand wing as well, I somtime's when getting into backhand too backhand rallies end up hitting flatter then I should but with this frames, I could keep swinging out because I had that added spin. That being said I definitely need more control on some strokes.
Ethan: I agree with Liam that groundies are the highlight of the frame. I hit with between a Semi and Full western grip so spin isn't normally an issue but I felt the frame could flatten out shots when needed and hit spin when needed as well, so it is very versatile in that regard. I also found some great power and could end point's quicker with the easy access too power. The stability was more than fine for me, and I didn't have any control issues. I found I could pull my opponent out wider when we trade straight ahead because of that power.
Feel:
Liam: This was the worst part of the frame for me. The touch and feel was severely lacking here. I love that classic feel of my Tfights and this feels muted and disconnected as well as stiff. I noticed this on the serve and on groundstrokes I didn't hit perfectly. I surprisingly didn't have any arm issues but feel is the worst part of this frame by a mile.
Ethan: The feel really didn't bother me that much. I had no pain, and I'm used to playing Babolat's so I liked the feel a little less than my strike, but I really didn't mind it. Maybe on my drop volley and touch shots, I hurt a little bit but other than that I hardly noticed. I even liked the crispness off hitting the sweet spot.
Volleys:
Liam: Again the feel left something to be desired at the net, as did the lack of stability but it was maneuverable and got the job done most of the time. Overhead's were very nice though and I hit multiple over the fence.
Ethan: I agree with Liam, I loved the crispness of the frame on volleys but a bit more stability would make it superb!
Overall:
We both thought that it was a fun playtest. Ethan has considered switching frames to the Pure Drive as the ease of power and spin convinced him. Liam thought the frame would need to be strung at high tension with a control string and some weighing up if he was too make it his racket of choice, but the feel was really not up his alley.
Thank you all for reading our review! We would be happy to answer any questions about the video and our review!
