Goodbye Babolat..

kanjii

Semi-Pro
Well, it's been fun for while with Babolat and a lot of hype. Went through the pure drives, aeropros, non cortex, and cortex. I haven't played well for quite a while, but today, I went back to my old Head iRadical. It's almost 10 yrs old, I played better than I ever did. It's time to upgrade and go back to playing with the radical series. What's the opinion of the current youtek radicals? I'm a baselines, western forehand, one handed backhand.
 
You should stop wasting your money on racquets and spend time improving your game.



jk have fun with the flexier Head racquets. It doesn't make a difference in the long run.
 
Well, I too tried to say goodbye- but always went running back! Had a fling with Wilson nBlade, Pro Kennex Ki5.............of which all performed specturely in the Honey moon period, but left me pining eventually for those Free Babolat points especially serviing with the Pure Drive.

love em or hate em, there is a good reason why the Pure Drive (& Aeropro Drives) are the 2 of the best selling rackets globally, and they happen to be played by a broad spectrum of players from social to Professional

....in the end though, it's about the Archer not the Bow/Arrows you use.....
 
I beg to differ, try and play with a K90 compared to a Pure Drive. New racquets can improve your game as well.
 
Far too many young people are seduced by lure of the Cortex Crystals in today's tennis game. Its a sad state of affairs when youngsters are led down a path of destruction just because 'Rafa does it".
 
Far too many young people are seduced by lure of the Cortex Crystals in today's tennis game. Its a sad state of affairs when youngsters are led down a path of destruction just because 'Rafa does it".

I disagree. If the lure of 'Rafa does it' gets anyone playing tennis, then I'm all for it. It's like the days of the early 90s, when everyone wanted a blue/neon-yellow Donnay wearing a mullet and jean shorts w/ spandex underneath.

If it gets the kids playing, who cares?
 
Oh, and kanjii, if you are truly finished w/ your Babolats, go list them in the 'For Sale' section and dump them now. Otherwise, you will be tempted to turn back to them once you come down from that "new racket high", which should happen in ~ a month.
 
A new racquet improves your confidence, not your game. Your confidence improves your game...

Very true, that! Confidence makes all the difference. Makes you hit out and meet the ball early, if you're hesitant you'll hold back a little and meet the ball late. Difference between night and day...
 
I disagree. If the lure of 'Rafa does it' gets anyone playing tennis, then I'm all for it. It's like the days of the early 90s, when everyone wanted a blue/neon-yellow Donnay wearing a mullet and jean shorts w/ spandex underneath.

If it gets the kids playing, who cares?

Sorry but that's a typical cop-out from the far right. I have seen the greatest tennis minds of my generation wasted away on Cortex Crystals.

Never again will kids at my club succumb to this bogus gimmick. I have convinced all the parents to buy wood raquets for the 8 and unders. If it worked for Laver it will work for the new generation.

Real modern tennis players use =<90
 
Sorry but that's a typical cop-out from the far right. I have seen the greatest tennis minds of my generation wasted away on Cortex Crystals.

Never again will kids at my club succumb to this bogus gimmick. I have convinced all the parents to buy wood raquets for the 8 and unders. If it worked for Laver it will work for the new generation.

Real modern tennis players use =<90

Are they at least allowed to give the wood rackets a Yellow/White/Black or Blue/Black paint job?
 
Thanks for the feedback, actually been playing with Babolat for many many years..like maybe 10 years now? Even tried the Wilson k90 also. Both Babs and W were hit and misses, but the Heads were more suited for my game. Anyone played the Radical line of racquets and how are they compared to 10 years ago. I, too followed Agassi threw his line of racquets for the most part, minus the spandex jean shorts =)
 
Those racquets are awesome man..semi old school and a little tougher to play 3 sets with if you are a spin hitter, but if you hit a little flatter than you are in for a fun ride.
 
kanjii - sucks huh? the thought of blowing 10 years on frames you didn't even need. Anyway, enjoy your new old relationship with your Head Radicals.

Far too many young people are seduced by lure of the Cortex Crystals in today's tennis game. Its a sad state of affairs when youngsters are led down a path of destruction just because 'Rafa does it".

JoelDali - What's sad is that Rafa doesn't even use cortex frames. Plain old pj'd 2005 APD originals.
 
You should stop wasting your money on racquets and spend time improving your game.

We live in a quick fix society. Developing technique and talent takes way too much time and getting good instruction can cost a lot of money. For example, buying an APDGT is a much quicker fix for getting more spin and power than developing good technique that produces spin and power with any racquet.

OP, Why not use this time to do a serious demo of racquets and maybe you'll find that none of the racquets you already have are really what you need. For example, the ProKennex Ki5 is everything the Pure Drive should be. If you have been playing for some time now, maybe you could try the Wilson 95's. They are a little more heavy but play very well. On the lighter side is the Bab Pure Storm Tour, which hits with all the spin and power of a Pure Drive but with more control and much better feel.

My point, is, rather than ping pong between the Pure Drives and your old racquet, maybe there is a new soulmate just begging to be discovered that avoids a long period of ping pong and irregular results.

Lastly, I am a big proponent of the "It's not the arrow, it's the Indian" argument. I thoroughly recommend getting professional training every now and then, if not regularly, as this tends to make differences between racquets fairly small and good results can happen with just about any racquet. And the magic really occurs when you have good instruction and your perfect soulmate.
 
Even I had a honeymoon period with Babolat, I thought the AeroPro Drive was the greatest racquet ever, a week later I was back to hating Babolat :)
 
Maybe you just have more confidence with the babolat. A k90 is also very different then a pure drive. You need to pick a racuqet that suits your game. But in that range of racquets... Your game is 95% of the deal...

No, Skill is like 80%, correct equiptment is like 20%. If Nadal used Fed Setup and Fed used a Nadal Setup, they will both drop around 20% although they will obviously still be top ATP since they have the mental game, skill etc but they need the correct equiptment as an extra bonus to their game.

And Feel is very important as well, changing feel is so annoying....
 
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I thoroughly recommend getting professional training every now and then, if not regularly, as this tends to make differences between racquets fairly small and good results can happen with just about any racquet. And the magic really occurs when you have good instruction and your perfect soulmate.

Coaches are overrated, U can play pretty good tennis without any coach ever. U just need to think about your strokes. Coaches are good for kids though.
 
No, Skill is like 80%, correct equiptment is like 20%. If Nadal used Fed Setup and Fed used a Nadal Setup, they will both drop around 20% although they will obviously still be top ATP since they have the mental game, skill etc but they need the correct equiptment as an extra bonus to their game.

And Feel is very important as well, changing feel is so annoying....
I don't think he would actually, I don't think by any chance he would play better but a 20% drop, nah he's got skills to play with the same technique with almost any frame.
Coaches are overrated, U can play pretty good tennis without any coach ever. U just need to think about your strokes. Coaches are good for kids though.

If you've never had coaching, ther eis of course a fair chance you'll always be re-enforcing your bad technique the more you think about it.
 
Different weight, different swingweight, different feel and it keeps going on. Give Djokovic a K90 and Federer sticks with his current frame, fed will whip the ass out of Djoko.
 
You represent "Babolat" as some sort of monolith (all Babolats), then bizarrely as one with feelings to hurt (goodbye).

It is neither of these - and I know you know that - and yet we all get where you're coming from.

I don't believe you've been looking for a quick fix if you've been searching for ten years, far from it, I think that's dedicated.

But I do think the search should be conducted dry-eyed, cool and calculated, with spreadsheet and keyboard.

I too share in the excitement of a new date or the warmth of rediscovering an old flame, however, if you've spent ten years away from the racquet you should have been using then you've perhaps let the heart rule the head.

(ps. I am not above all this and equally wonder when changing racquets if I am not merely rambling in one giant circle, eventually, in my final playing years to return... to an aluminium piece of c**p from a toy shop. Obv I hope this will not happen.) cheers
 
Did you ever consider its the strings and not the racquet?

I have always felt that strings are more important than the stick. The strings are the soul of the racquet.

Polyester strings especially lose tension and playability .

The pros actually change racquets for every set or so.

We don't have that luxury. The string situation can be maddening and it's an issue that's always on my mind .

After just two matches my strings already play completely differently than when they were freshly strung .

To make matters worse I actually like the way my strings play after one match. When they are "fresh" they are a bit to lively and after 3 matches they are to dead.
 
We live in a quick fix society. Developing technique and talent takes way too much time and getting good instruction can cost a lot of money. For example, buying an APDGT is a much quicker fix for getting more spin and power than developing good technique that produces spin and power with any racquet.

OP, Why not use this time to do a serious demo of racquets and maybe you'll find that none of the racquets you already have are really what you need. For example, the ProKennex Ki5 is everything the Pure Drive should be. If you have been playing for some time now, maybe you could try the Wilson 95's. They are a little more heavy but play very well. On the lighter side is the Bab Pure Storm Tour, which hits with all the spin and power of a Pure Drive but with more control and much better feel.

My point, is, rather than ping pong between the Pure Drives and your old racquet, maybe there is a new soulmate just begging to be discovered that avoids a long period of ping pong and irregular results.

Lastly, I am a big proponent of the "It's not the arrow, it's the Indian" argument. I thoroughly recommend getting professional training every now and then, if not regularly, as this tends to make differences between racquets fairly small and good results can happen with just about any racquet. And the magic really occurs when you have good instruction and your perfect soulmate.

Time and money is the issue there. I think its more boredom and laziness which causes the bad technique. Throw me in tennis classes, and I am up to par with the college tennis guys, but hitting around with friends, I get kinda lazy. But finding a soulmate is tough, especially when I'm afraid to try other brands like ProKennex...wow, I haven't played with one since they "ace" series.
 
Maybe you just have more confidence with the babolat. A k90 is also very different then a pure drive. You need to pick a racuqet that suits your game. But in that range of racquets... Your game is 95% of the deal...

I played with both. K90 was a very precision racquet while the Pure Drive was power. I need something in the middle. Topspin I can generate. Suggestions?
 
Actually OP, the Head Youtek Radical plays alot like the Babolat Pure Storm.
You don't have to leave Babolat...:(

I tried a Pure Storm before, didn't like it much. I started with a Pure Drive non cortex (actually, that was the best Babo I played with), PDR ( that was a beast..didn't like it too much), APD ( a bit tingy), APD with cortex (current including GT). I guess I am looking for a racquet like the Pure Drive non cortex which played very much like my old school iradical.
 
Did you ever consider its the strings and not the racquet?

I have always felt that strings are more important than the stick. The strings are the soul of the racquet.

Polyester strings especially lose tension and playability .

The pros actually change racquets for every set or so.

We don't have that luxury. The string situation can be maddening and it's an issue that's always on my mind .

After just two matches my strings already play completely differently than when they were freshly strung .

To make matters worse I actually like the way my strings play after one match. When they are "fresh" they are a bit to lively and after 3 matches they are to dead.

That's true. I do need to swap the strings out, it will help for sure. For an APD GT, I have been biying durable strings, but haven't popped one in years. Might as well start looking for livelier strings instead.
 
That's true. I do need to swap the strings out, it will help for sure. For an APD GT, I have been biying durable strings, but haven't popped one in years. Might as well start looking for livelier strings instead.

The string situation is maddening and yet so important .....it will make any racquet play completely differently .

All a raquet is is a piece of graphite. You get a comfortable balance and stiffness and then you are pretty much done. But it's the strings that come into contact with the balls.

You have to think about Guage, tension, type of material , string pattern , what to mix or not to mix ......it's absolutely maddening .

But what I have found that works AMAZING is what the pros have been doing .....a lot of people don't know this and don't do it because it's expensive.

Most people will hybrid with a soft string in the crosses and a poly in the mains. But what many pros do ( I think Federer) is use Gut in the mains and poly on the crosses.

I have found the results to be awesome. But it could get pricey so maybe you can go on the student budget and put a multi in the mains and a poly in the crosses.

I think you will enjoy the results.

Good luck!!
 
That's why I prefer full bed natural gut. The tension holds extremely well until they break. For me that is 9-12 months (once a week off-season, twice a week during spring/summer). Yes gut is more $ per string job, but if you're not a string breaker it will end up being less $ in the long term, plus the added benefit of consistent feel throughout the life of the string.

I have used the full gut in several different frames with same good results.

DISCLAIMER: I am a more old-school flat hitter and not a big top-spinner.
 
That's true. I do need to swap the strings out, it will help for sure. For an APD GT, I have been biying durable strings, but haven't popped one in years. Might as well start looking for livelier strings instead.

You dont pop strings in an APD? Dont get a heavier stick because you are not generating enough racquet head speed in a light one.

Id strongly suggest full gut as well. Expensive, but will last forever for you and will never die.
 
...But finding a soulmate is tough, especially when I'm afraid to try other brands like ProKennex...wow, I haven't played with one since they "ace" series.

The ProKennex Ki5 gets used a lot by people looking for an arm friendly racquet, and most switch from the PDGT or the APDGT to it because of arm problems. Usually they say they should have just started with the Ki5 and bypassed the others. It is usually considered only as an arm friendly racquet, but I recently hit with one and have to say it is a great racquet even if one doesn't have arm or shoulder problems. The power is still there but there is much more control and the feel from the racquet is more solid. It's certainly worth a demo.
 
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