Pure Aero Rafa Origin 2023

Aestheticsaboveallelse said:
I need dis ting. Haven't even been thinking about it but this morning I had a dream I was with Nadal which didn't seem unusual at all perfectly normal and he let me have his primary racquet which surprised me in dream cause I thought he'd have superstitions about that like everything else. I asked is this the origin cause it had the paint job and I was hoping its an origin. Federer then was there too they wandered off, I left the racquet on ground for a sec knowing no one around is interested and walked away and it disappeared and I was frustrated whered it go?!
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Ahh the good old dream about getting a racquet you want or from a favorite player. I’ve had these too hahah. The true question was were you more excited about meeting Rafa or the racquet;)
 
Usually there would be a good number of "sneak peek" youtube videos or comments/updates from industry people who get new racquets in advance that would post on this forum, but seems like there isn't much of that at this time. So maybe this will be more of a late March release?
 
jmacdaununder2 said:
Possibly all up in the air after the debacle in Oz?
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I would still be inclined to say Babolat will release these frames sooner rather then later. I would think they have inventory built up and so on.

What I am curious is on the Rafa edition will it be foam filled. Since aero pro drives are known to be stiff, but with rafas frame having silicone and added weight in the hoop I’m sure it softens the feel a bit. An empty handle 71 stiffness 360 sw apd with no dampening tech may be very harsh on the arm. Just a thought, but would still love to give the frame a hit :).
 
I certainly hope so!:sneaky: Not sure but the pink tops - at least as a regular thing - seem to be a more recent development than the short long johns?
 
Because i) Rafa is Mr. OCD; ii) he changed back to his old racquet cosmetic rather abruptly.
As noted above there are no doubt external drivers in play which should result in an eventual retail release, but it's going to be tricky if he doesn't at least appear to be playing with what's being promoted as his signature racquet with a commensurate price tag.
 
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Well I see the point with the paintjob, but apart of that I think that this will still sell out rather quickly.
I mean there's a couple of racquet nerds like me who want one + die-hard Rafa fans that always want all of his gear.

He to the date has never used the Nike Vapor Cage 4 and still people by them like crazy because they have Rafa on the heel
 
yourtennisfit said:
Well I see the point with the paintjob, but apart of that I think that this will still sell out rather quickly.
I mean there's a couple of racquet nerds like me who want one + die-hard Rafa fans that always want all of his gear.

He to the date has never used the Nike Vapor Cage 4 and still people by them like crazy because they have Rafa on the heel
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He has used the cage 4 mold a few times
1st Match in rome 2020
1st in Rg 2020
Washington 2021
The odd time in practice etc..
 
yourtennisfit said:
Well I see the point with the paintjob, but apart of that I think that this will still sell out rather quickly.
I mean there's a couple of racquet nerds like me who want one + die-hard Rafa fans that always want all of his gear.

He to the date has never used the Nike Vapor Cage 4 and still people by them like crazy because they have Rafa on the heel
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Not doubting the commercial viability - hell I’d even buy one if the price isn’t too outrageous - I just think the timing may have been affected somewhat.
 
If Babolat did change the paint job later, at least they could sell this model as the limited edition Rafa used in the United Cup. I think that would create more of a demand for collectors. I’m waiting for the pre-orders to be up and running on TW! :D
 
To be honest this is the first racket that I'd feel I'd have to paint over if I bought it, I think the paint job is horrible but it's subjective I guess. I accept that it may also be one of those cases where it may look better in the hand but pink and yellow is very near the bottom of colour combinations I'd ever desire on a racket.
 
ajspurs said:
To be honest this is the first racket that I'd feel I'd have to paint over if I bought it, I think the paint job is horrible but it's subjective I guess. I accept that it may also be one of those cases where it may look better in the hand but pink and yellow is very near the bottom of colour combinations I'd ever desire on a racket.
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I love the teal pink easter egg paintjob... actually thats one of the most attractive things about this racquet
 
Aestheticsaboveallelse said:
I love the teal pink easter egg paintjob... actually thats one of the most attractive things about this racquet
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ajspurs said:
To be honest this is the first racket that I'd feel I'd have to paint over if I bought it, I think the paint job is horrible but it's subjective I guess. I accept that it may also be one of those cases where it may look better in the hand but pink and yellow is very near the bottom of colour combinations I'd ever desire on a racket.
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i guess you could think of it as a spongebob and Patrick racquet hahah. But I agree I’d it was mainly yellow or grey or blck with bits of blue and pink I would like that better.
 
Aestheticsaboveallelse said:
I love the teal pink easter egg paintjob... actually thats one of the most attractive things about this racquet
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Yeah there'll always be buyers for any racket but there's never been a racket that's actually had me questioning as to whether I could actually use it because of it how it looks. And I don't mean that in some toxic masculinity fashion, it's not actually so much the colours themselves but it's just the proportion or ration of them.

At the end of the day if I somehow got to try it and thought it was amazing I'd buy it without hesitation (like any racket that I thought complemented my game) and would look into how I could paint over it some time down the line but I won't be jumping to try it when it looks as it does.

codonnell said:
i guess you could think of it as a spongebob and Patrick racquet hahah. But I agree I’d it was mainly yellow or grey or blck with bits of blue and pink I would like that better.
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Yeah 100%. Mainly one colour with small bits of blue/pink/yellow (if that wasn't the main colour) would be fine to me. It's just too much as it is.
 
From the video review posted neither guy could really hit with it

Even the coach was struggling … although they both said it’s great
 
Federerkblade said:
So is this bad babaokt quality control or is Nadal using 375 swingweight ?
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I actually think it is his specs...It looks close to spot on.

Federerkblade said:
From the video review posted neither guy could really hit with it

Even the coach was struggling … although they both said it’s great
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They covered it. They hit a few ok shots with it...It was slower than they normally play for sure...They said they hit things on time a few times and they though it had nice power.
 
Federerkblade said:
From the video review posted neither guy could really hit with it

Even the coach was struggling … although they both said it’s great
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This is the only thing I don't like about the channel really, the footage of the hitting with the rackets isn't the best and feels quite casual and blasé so it's hard to get a sense of how well what they say about the racket matches with what we see of them hitting with it. But the coach did seem to have difficulty keeping the ball inside the baseline.
 
ajspurs said:
This is the only thing I don't like about the channel really, the footage of the hitting with the rackets isn't the best and feels quite casual and blasé so it's hard to get a sense of how well what they say about the racket matches with what we see of them hitting with it. But the coach did seem to have difficulty keeping the ball inside the baseline.
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Yea I don't think any of them are good players especially the main tennisspin guy is super awkward strokes. Agree completely
 
Federerkblade said:
What’s Rafa swingwieght and weight meant to be from the guys in the know ?

also is this the original mould of the apd ? From 2004 2005 ?
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I believe this is the original mold. My main question is if this is from his current spec. Tennis soon did a video with his real frame and it came in at a 360 sw I believe. Still ultra hefty but may be able to at least swing the racquet lol. I wonder why they just didn’t release one of his lighter specs, they are still his and more people could kinda use it hahah.
 
Federerkblade said:
What’s Rafa swingwieght and weight meant to be from the guys in the know ?

also is this the original mould of the apd ? From 2004 2005 ?
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2008 Wimbledon racquet specs below. (from Tennis Spin)

339g / 333mm / 361sw

Maybe as he became stronger he went up to 375sw (good excuse to make up for Babolat QC? or maybe Babolat should precheck specs they send to reviewers... :-D ?)

Screenshot-2023-03-04-at-12-28-07-RAFAEL-NADAL-MATCH-WINNING-TENNIS-RACKET-FROM-2008-WIMBLEDON-You-T.png
 
Ahh thanks I wonder if he modified them after 2008 . I suspect it’s not 375

more interesting is this the original Apdo , must have missed if Harry mentioned that or not ?
 
gold325 said:
2008 Wimbledon racquet specs below. (from Tennis Spin)

339g / 333mm / 361sw

Maybe as he became stronger he went up to 375sw (good excuse to make up for Babolat QC? or maybe Babolat should precheck specs they send to reviewers... :-D ?)

Screenshot-2023-03-04-at-12-28-07-RAFAEL-NADAL-MATCH-WINNING-TENNIS-RACKET-FROM-2008-WIMBLEDON-You-T.png
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A few comments I want to throw out here. So Harry measured Rafas 2008 racket with SW361. I have Rafas measurement from 2015 at SW 356 and 359 strung. And Rafa has been known to add more weight to the head through the years to increase the swing weight. So I am wondering if Harry’s spec is off. I curious if he checks the calibration on his machine. I have the same machine, and I always check the calibration prior to taking measurements, just in case.
 
Moveforwardalways said:
It would have been much more point if it had the original APD paint job.
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The thing is, from a marketing standpoint it's a strange decision. If it had the original APD paint job or even similar like the recent pure aero VS, I feel like I would buy it just out it being something I'd love/need to have, try and play with from time to time and like others have said, have as a sort of collector's item too. I certainly don't feel that necessity now, with how it looks and how expensive it will probably be.

The only time I have put weight in the upper hoop of my pure aero I hated it for the most part, backhand felt great, and there was easier power in the serve but the percentage dropped a lot there and I struggled to keep the forehand in. Would be interested to see just how different this racket would feel.
 
Aestheticsaboveallelse said:
CB?
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CB Chien (one of the younger guys who shows up in reviews) - just for entertainment look up his tennis recorda - he plays on the ITF and seems to lose - a lot and he loves bagels and breadsticks.

ajspurs said:
The only time I have put weight in the upper hoop of my pure aero I hated it for the most part, backhand felt great, and there was easier power in the serve but the percentage dropped a lot there and I struggled to keep the forehand in. Would be interested to see just how different this racket would feel.
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The one really good thing about 12g of lead at 12 (under the entire grommets entire length 2 layers i think as per Tennis Spin should be 30-33SW since it it not purely at 12) is that the racket will feel much much flexure IF the player can get it there on time.

As an experiment once can take a stock APD 290 (stock sw) + 30-33SW (lead) + 36 (15g poly) which is 356-359SW that @lidoazndiabloboi quoted above.
 
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