I had Pure Drives briefly. That racquet felt like a toy. So easy to rip winners from virtually anywhere. Everything seemed so easy after playing with 85-90" Pro Staffs. Then I played in a tournament and felt like a car hit me on my shoulder and elbow. I took many months off and I sold those sticks and went to the RF 97 at the time.
I have played with a APD Plus strung RPM Blast 16G at 55 lbs. I was alot of fun to be honest compared to my RF as I was able to hit some amazing, spinny ground strokes and serves and volleying was great as well. Felt like it was a magic wand. But the next day my wrist and elbow were on fire. Maybe it was the exaggerated "nadal" strokes I was using with the APD, maybe it was the frame.
Anyone playing with pretty much any current Babolat frame on the wrong side of their 30's is taking a chance with their health.
Correct decision. I made such a bad mistake choosing to use the RF97. Never had a history of arm issues but it’s the first racket I used that has caused me some. Had tendonitis a couple of weeks back from it. Back on my pro staff 95 now
My arms are only 19 years old and yet they hated it
Damn you’re lucky. I wish I had your arms. You have so much choice in what you can use
She’s just lucky I guess that her arms can withstand the vibrations. Also I’d say it’s also down to how often you play. I can use the racket if I were to play like twice a week for a couple of hours per session. But I play everyday so I guess that also is a factor as to why I didn’t like it.
My main racket is the pro staff 95 but had been using the RF97 lately with the pro staff needing to go the stringers. I was just borrowing my mates as I didn’t have a racket to use
Same story here, only I strung it with Head Hawk 58 lbs., the only reason I switched was that I could not hit a topspin lob with full confidence which was a deal breaker for me as I play mostly doubles and it's one of my favorite shots. Before PDT+ I played with the PS17 18 x 20, full bed high tension poly's, never had arm issues with it fortunately.
Which helps my point of how their arms can handle the constant harshness
adding weight does increase recoil weight lessening shock to your arms, along with the silicone and foam that dampens
Yeah adding weight alone would not be sufficient IMO. Assuming they’re not playing a different layup altogether then minimum foam/silicone to dampen
I had a racket with a poly that gave me arm problems. I increased the static weight from 12oz to 12.5 oz with lead and leather and it completely got rid of the pain.
And I bet it wasn’t a 71RA PD
It wasn't but I have felt that the pure drive roddick that I have didnt give me problems compared to the 300g version (awful)
Ive had a decent run with the graphene xt radical pro, but what really killed my arm was the graphene prestige mp
I actually got some TE from my Youtek PMP. Of course I had 16ga poly strung pretty tight, and swung out on the ball
for me it seems that thick polys with thicker strings affect my elbow the most. but for some reason the graphene prestige mp and a couple of other rackets including my n six one 95 make my elbow click? but it starts to hurt after a while.
Has he been referred to a psychologist yet?
That’s definite one thing I noticed. So much easy power. Practically cheating.
After all, 68 lbs is not extreme. PD is 100 in, some normal tension is about 25kg (55lbs), 10 lbs is not that far away.
They weren’t. They were a poly strung at 47lbs whereas I use a hybrid. I’ve had some arm pain in the past but this was the first time I felt pain concentrated in my inner elbow. I’m sure that played a part, but I have also used another mates aero pro drive strung with poly at 50 and didn’t feel any pain
I used RF97 for nearly two years, great frame in many respects, it has a balance of 315 mm. I tested the 3rd gen PS 18x20 and within 15-20 mins I started feeling pain on the outer side of my elbow. In my experience dealing with many racquets and players, I was sure it was related to the balance of the frame, so I changed its balance to 320 mm, no more pain, although it took 11 gm to do so.
