I believe she uses the standard Pure Aero with RPM/VS TouchCongratulations , Konta is doing great at the French open with the new 2019 pure Aero, confirming its greatness. Is she using the plus version ? Thank you
Bonjour from Babolat: Part Trois
- Thread starter Babolat Official
- Start date
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
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Harry_Wild
G.O.A.T.
https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/player.html?ccode=JKONTAThanks. racket looks little long for standard version
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Cabal / Farah vs Chardy and martin. 3 of the players on the court is using pure Aero. 2 with 2019 pure aero and 1 with pure aero 2017. These must be great doubles racket as well.
Stratotanker
New User
That racquet on the right does not appear to be a Pure Aero. Looks like a Storm-type mold, or what we're currently calling the Pure Aero VS, etc.Cabal / Farah vs Chardy and martin. 3 of the players on the court is using pure Aero. 2 with 2019 pure aero and 1 with pure aero 2017. These must be great doubles racket as well.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Yea, Farah might be using the fake but other 2 dudes were for sure using the NEW 2019 Pure Aero plus. new grommet holes were there
David Le
Hall of Fame
Or just release a APD ‘autograph’ in his specs.I would hope that if Nadal wins on Sunday you do the right thing and sell his actual racquet to the public in a limited commemorative way.
Nice original AeroPro Drive in La Decima paint job
TennisHound
Legend
^^^That’ll never happen
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Extremely Unlikely. only way that could happen is if Babolat decide to offer this as limited custom order type of product. Let's say babolat offers the original Aeropro that RAFA is using as custom order for $500 each for limited time only. That might be possible but they will never mass produce it.I would hope that if Nadal wins on Sunday you do the right thing and sell his actual racquet to the public in a limited commemorative way.
Nice original AeroPro Drive in La Decima paint job
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
Babolat did in 2005-2008
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Yes, 10 years ago. In 2019, they will only do it if they still have the mold plus there is massive public demand and cry for it. sold of like that Petition that Game of Throne did, like 2 million people signed that to re-make the season 8. If there is such a massive public demand, I will bet babolat will bring it back for limited time.
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
They still have the mold because it’s being used to produce Nadal’s racquets. The public at large is too stupid to know that Nadal isn’t really using the Pure Aero and that Nadal is really using the original AeroPro Drive.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Exactly, that's what babolat is banking on when they PJ Nadal's racket and call it the new 2019 Pure Aero, and have Rafa tell everyone how great his new racket is.... lol
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
I know it won’t but Babolat has to understand that we are not all idiots and don’t believe the snake oil they are selling to us.
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jmacdaununder2
Hall of Fame
I think they understand all right, they just don't care; as the old folks used to say before I became one of them: 'There's a sucker born every minute.'
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
Babolat, Wilson, and HEAD don’t care. It’s just about selling as many junk racquets as they can. The quality of the product has no meaning to them.
Lavs
Professional
They dont need even to care about mold as APD shares the same mold throughout all its iteration - from 2005 Original version until 2013 Active Cortex. But I agree, relessing Original version will hardly happen as for the majority of people it is least forgiving version.
They could do it in the guise of commemorative edition or something. 15 years anniversary? When Rafa does retire?
Lavs
Professional
They can however do produce Pure Aero Rafa Edition, which of cause in reality should be nice and sweet APD Original
WhiteStripes
Semi-Pro
It's funny how perceptions change over time. I played with the original APD for a bit of time as soon as it was first released to market (bought from TW) and also had its Aeropro Control sibling as well, and the racquet was very much maligned and hated on TW boards back then as a joke of a franken-Pure Drive and Aero line (the flat frisbee original version that was absolutely destroyed on these boards and also the TW review) mash up and being overly harsh and as much of a killer as the Pure Drive despite a little lower stiffness. The racquet definitely had a raw feeling and you felt every bit of vibration and feedback from the frame. Whether that's good or bad is up to the individual's preference. It didn't seem like a popular frame (certainly not as popular as the Pure Drive back then and even I ended up switching back to the PD-block letters Team version from the original APD). Aside from me, I didn't know of anyone who used that frame at that time. Now, you can't turn your ahead without seeing someone with a APD/Pure Aero on the court.
For me, and I've played with all of the Babolat lines from the Control/Storm, Pure Drive, Aeros, and Strikes since '01, the most bad@$$ out of all of them was the '01 Pure Control with the lava graphics. That's the racquet Babolat should bring back, along with the Pure Drive Team with the same lava graphics in blue, since those were the sticks (particularly the Pure Drive) that put Babolat on the map and really broke them into the market. Best feel of any Babolat frame goes to the Pure Storm Ltd.
For me, and I've played with all of the Babolat lines from the Control/Storm, Pure Drive, Aeros, and Strikes since '01, the most bad@$$ out of all of them was the '01 Pure Control with the lava graphics. That's the racquet Babolat should bring back, along with the Pure Drive Team with the same lava graphics in blue, since those were the sticks (particularly the Pure Drive) that put Babolat on the map and really broke them into the market. Best feel of any Babolat frame goes to the Pure Storm Ltd.
Karma Tennis
Hall of Fame
@WhiteStripes, Tells us what was so good about that particular racquet.
Do you think that racquet would still match it with a lot of the current offerings and current styles of play?
WhiteStripes
Semi-Pro
Provided you could get the racquet moving and keep your swing speed up, it absolutely crushed the ball. Just rock solid. Racquet swung and played like a sledge hammer. Interesting thing is on the racquet, the RA is printed as being 66, but measurements by TW and others I've seen have it at 70 and over. There were quite a number of pros that used that stick for a while, including Fernando Gonzales. There aren't many racquets these days in stock form that would be equivalent to it since there are very few racquets that are even 330g and above unstrung. The VCore Tours (330g) maybe are a little like it with the 330g heft and 16x20, but it doesn't have the bone crushing power of the PC. The R797A has the power and plow, but it doesn't feel as nice to me and I loved the PC 2001 for crushing and driving flat balls and the 16x20 was much better suited for that
Lavs
Professional
@WhiteStripes, do you think that Pure Drive was better than APad overall back in the day?
WhiteStripes
Semi-Pro
No racquet is really "better" than another. It's personal preference. The reason I went back to the PD after a stint with the original APD was that I had been using the PD for 3 years before then and was just used to how to played and felt. To be honest, the main reason I gravitated to the PD was because the Pro Kennex Destiny line - particularly the Ceramic Destiny was my main racquet as a junior. Babolat bought the Destiny mold from PK, tweaked it, and it became the PD. So the first time I picked up the PD and saw the beam shape of the head and felt the rounded shaft throat, it felt like coming home. Just the feel of holding the racquet was enough to sell me. Probably not the smartest or most rational way to pick a racquet. Looking back, I wish I had stuck with the Pure Control 2001 longer, but (as some old-timers on these boards who know me and hit w/ me back then) I did pretty ok with the PD. I should mention though that I did modify those PDs quite a bit and added a hefty amount of weight to them. The stick absolutely bombed serves and crushed groundies.
If you're just talking stock form v. stock form, the original APD actually swung heftier than the PD back then and there was less of a need for me to add as much weight to them. It just felt like there was much more mass in the head and specifically more towards the tip of head - basically a more polarized feeling out of the box compared to the PD. The PD was also a bit stiffer as those original APDs were I believe around 66/67RA strung, although to be honest, both played pretty darn harsh and you felt every bit of vibration in the frame. If you like "feeback" from the frame, you certainly got it, good or bad. I actually kept a couple of the original APDs for a long time, but eventually sold them, probably for well less than what you could get for very good condition original APDs nowadays. Probably should've held on to them given the resurgent demand by racquetaholics for Rafa's racquet.
TennisHound
Legend
They won’t release the APD or Rafa’s real racquet because the string pattern is tighter than the retail PA. Babolat is using the PA as it’s most extreme racquet, while the Pure Strike is the most conservative. The PD is in between and as taken the APD’s spot. Basically Babolat has eliminated the APD.
DJTaurus
Professional
I have to disagree. PA has the extreme free spin, PD the extreme free power and PS somewhere in the middle.
TennisManiac
Professional
Agree
TennisHound
Legend
So you disagree that:
- the PA has a wider string pattern than the PD
- the PD has a wider string pattern than the Pure Strike?
- the Pure Strike is Babolat's most conservative racquet, in relation to the PD and PA
- Babolat hasn't eliminated the APD
You obviously didn't read the whole post. The point is, like I said in my original post, is that Babolat will never release the APD again, or apply that string pattern to the PA. Since they have the PD which is closest to the APD, there is not reason to ever close the pattern on the PA. I'm guessing you disagree with this?
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TennisHound
Legend
I disagree that the PD has more power than the PA, comparing both sweet spots when hitting, and with weight.
for sure. I thought I was the only one thinking this. In stock form the pure aero was very very powerful compared to a friends pure drive. Both very powerful frames but i'd give the edge to the pure aero, string pattern feels really open and feel like I get alot of string movement and pop too
TennisHound
Legend
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Karma Tennis
Hall of Fame
But which racquet has the more CONTROLLABLE "power"? (All other things being equal of course.)
DJTaurus
Professional
I agree on what you say about string patterns but I found zero similarities in terms of playability between pd,pa and apd.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
WOW,, just WOW.. Adrian Mannarino the veteran of ATP tour is playing the BEST tennis of his life right now with Pure Aero plus 2019.... Amazing............. Is it the racket ?????????? I think so.
1990's Graphite
Professional
WOW,, just WOW.. Adrian Mannarino the veteran of ATP tour is playing the BEST tennis of his life right now with Pure Aero plus 2019.... Amazing............. Is it the racket ?????????? I think so.
This is just a FYI for others not you F..A..
Looks like he is still using his old APD under the new paint, look at the throat piece of the retail pure aero
Now look at his racquet, old and new paint, throat region
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Not really. from the Pic I posted above, it looks like he really did switch by looking at the throat... it has that 2019 pure aero wide hole grommets.This is just a FYI for others not you F..A..
Looks like he is still using his old APD under the new paint, look at the throat piece of the retail pure aero
Now look at his racquet, old and new paint, throat region
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
I rest my case.
1990's Graphite
Professional
Lol FA, where are your brilliant pics showing the mains / throat region ?
I rest my case.
here, some reading for you, you also star in some of these posts... ;-)
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/adrian-mannarino-brings-two-racquets-to-court-in-his-small-nike-bag.586318/page-3
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/mannarino-racket.624268/
I would hope that if Nadal wins on Sunday you do the right thing and sell his actual racquet to the public in a limited commemorative way.
Nice original AeroPro Drive in La Decima paint job
There is a good chance since there will be no more Babolat..... French open series from 2020 onwards.
TennisHound
Legend
Don’t try to explain anything that makes sense to Nostradace.
Impossible is nothing. We must be determined to carry on explaining.
Lavs
Professional
On both pics APD.This is just a FYI for others not you F..A..
Looks like he is still using his old APD under the new paint, look at the throat piece of the retail pure aero
Now look at his racquet, old and new paint, throat region
But I found this interesting that before PA release he played with APD2013 (Active Cortex). And now he plays with APD GT 2010 (or Cortex 2007) in PA paint. I think that Babolat does not really have APD2013 vesrsion in PA paint.
1990's Graphite
Professional
Good Eyes Lavs, this may be a rare occasion a player has gone back to an ever older model whilst using the latest paint job! haha