Bonjour from Babolat: Part Trois
- Thread starter Babolat Official
- Start date
Thanks. racket looks little long for standard version
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.
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
Nice original AeroPro Drive in La Decima paint job
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.
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.
@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?
Do you think that racquet would still match it with a lot of the current offerings and current styles of play?
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
@WhiteStripes, do you think that Pure Drive was better than APad overall back in the day?
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.
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.
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.
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?
- 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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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
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
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
I rest my case.
here, some reading for you, you also star in some of these posts... ;-)
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-to-court-in-his-small-nike-bag.586318/page-3
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/mannarino-racket.624268/
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
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.