Pure Aero Team replacement

[Justadad]

Hi,

My son (just turned 12yo) is starting to play competitively (6-8 hours per week + tournaments on week ends). Currently plays with Babolat Pure Aero Team. That’s the only fullsize racket he ever played with, and they now need a replacement.

He complains it lacks power (I’d argue he lacks muscle but different story lol). His style tends to be on the agressive side. He wants to go with a heavier racket but I’m a bit reluctant. Especially as he is already not the most agile on the court (nor the muscular type).

Was thinking he’d keep the 100 16x19 but lower string tension (currently at 51.8lb/21.5kg) to make up for it. Is that the right approach? Or should I let him get either a Head Speed MP or Wilson Blade 100 or Pure Aero.

Not that anything is wrong with Pure Aero Team, it’s just about giving him the opportunity to try something else for a season. He could also go with Blade 100L or MP L if we stick to low weight.

Thoughts?

Any advice would be welcomed. I’m an average player and dont know much about rackets. And my son is not really able yet to describe how he feels when trying other rackets. I just want him to have fun competing.

 

[Hulger]

You probably won't find a more versatile and competitive stick for him. Imo PA Team is the most controlled in the category of huge spin potential racquets; It’s special because the even stringbed and honest feedback lets you even hit flat horizontal shots very well.
Blade 100 has better directional control and supports pushing more but lacks on the spin department and doesn’t let you hit as heavy balls.
Speed MP lacks control and is more of an intermediate stick, which you won’t find to be used at the highest levels.

I would just add some weight to PA Team according to his preferences remembering, that the twistweight is likely already comparatively high in the unmodified form - so from my experience the added weight belongs to the handle or to very north of the hoop.
Lowering string tension turns this racquet into trampoline, so if you don’t want to see him playing like Mannarino (nothing wrong with that, but it’s not the most physically refined style), I’d increase the tension while adding some weight.

As he grows the obvious next step in the future might be something like PA 98.

 

[ChanterRacquet]

He doesn’t need a heavier racquet, he’ll lose control when he can’t maintain racquet head speed. You can prove it to him by adding lead tape at 12 o’clock. And if he can manage it, you just saved your self several hundred dollars.

Demoing racquets is fairly cheap, though often not very informative due to unfamiliar strings.

I look back at all the racquet changes I put my kids through when I thought they had outgrown a Pure Drive Lite. Anyways, Gravity S and Blade 100 between them weren’t great as in both cases we lost spin and took a detour that slowed progress, playing Blade 100L and FX 500, respectively, now. Anything with a swingweight over 320 is likely too much and frankly, I’m with Hulger, the PA Team is solid and worth sticking with.

 

[Justadad]

Thank you both that's great insights.

I guess I will stick to another set of Pure Aero Team for now.

And I will research how/where to add weight on a racket as you suggested. Would 10gr/0.3oz be what I should aim for?

For the string tension, should I increase from 51.8lb/23kg to 55.1lb/25kg and see how he feels about it?

 

[Hulger]

Thank you both that's great insights.

I guess I will stick to another set of Pure Aero Team for now.

And I will research how/where to add weight on a racket as you suggested. Would 10gr/0.3oz be what I should aim for?

For the string tension, should I increase from 51.8lb/23kg to 55.1lb/25kg and see how he feels about it?

I’d add tungsten/lead tape like 2-3 g at 12 o’clock. 3 g would increase the SW about 10 units.
And then add about the same amount or slightly more of bluetack inside the buttcap to keep the balance HL enough for aggressive game.
Don’t go mad on raising the string tension, even after adding as much as 10 grams in total evenly distributed on the oppositel poles the racquet would still be relatively light weight at around 300 g unstrung with an overgrip and strung SW of 320, and it could get harsh on the young arm with 25 kg tension. Add 0,5-1 kg per time to your current tension level as you add weight also gradually to see where his limits are.

 

[innoVAShaun]

My younger son used the Pure Aero Team (2023) until right before he turned 13 last summer. He wanted to switch because he was having a difficult time against heavier hitters now that he's playing 14U. It wasn't an easy transition, but he switched to the standard Pure Aero (2023). His ground strokes improved tremendously once he got the hang of the PA23. My son is still working on generating head speed on his serve. For now, he is just content on spinning it in.

 

[K1Y]

You probably won't find a more versatile and competitive stick for him. Imo PA Team is the most controlled in the category of huge spin potential racquets; It’s special because the even stringbed and honest feedback lets you even hit flat horizontal shots very well.
Blade 100 has better directional control and supports pushing more but lacks on the spin department and doesn’t let you hit as heavy balls.
Speed MP lacks control and is more of an intermediate stick, which you won’t find to be used at the highest levels.

I would just add some weight to PA Team according to his preferences remembering, that the twistweight is likely already comparatively high in the unmodified form - so from my experience the added weight belongs to the handle or to very north of the hoop.
Lowering string tension turns this racquet into trampoline, so if you don’t want to see him playing like Mannarino (nothing wrong with that, but it’s not the most physically refined style), I’d increase the tension while adding some weight.

As he grows the obvious next step in the future might be something like PA 98.

good post, but the speed mp not being used at the highest levels is a joke. Speed mp is used alot in D1 college tennis as well as on the pro tour.