Pure Aero VS (Alcaraz) ubiquitous at 2024 NCAA Elite 8

[AverageForehand]

Just got back from Stillwater where I witnessed some fantastic tennis action. However, some of the equipment had really caught my eye - in particular the omnipresence of the Pure Aero VS - a racket that had been out of production for at least a year and is only available to us through auction sites.
Off top of my head, half of the national champ TCU starting 6 are using the Aero VS (Fearnley, Vives, Jirousek). I have seen plenty others here, but also Johannus Monday.
Obviously, these guys don’t source them through auction sites, so does Babolat continue to make older versions for the college guys? I also assume the pros are just playibg with a pj of the Vs for promotional reasons.
Cmon BABOLAT - plz release another wave of the VS for us mere mortals!

 

[Rvansmith]

Isn't the Pure Aero 98 essentially the same racket?

 

[Alcawrath]

l also assume the pros are just playibg with a pj of the Vs for promotional reasons.
Cmon BABOLAT - plz release another wave of the VS for us mere mortals!

Also, it's been discussed in other threads and it does not appear that the pros like Alcaraz, Rune, or FAA are using the VS. It appears that they have actually switched to the PA98

 

[pico]

Just got back from Stillwater where I witnessed some fantastic tennis action. However, some of the equipment had really caught my eye - in particular the omnipresence of the Pure Aero VS - a racket that had been out of production for at least a year and is only available to us through auction sites.
Off top of my head, half of the national champ TCU starting 6 are using the Aero VS (Fearnley, Vives, Jirousek). I have seen plenty others here, but also Johannus Monday.
Obviously, these guys don’t source them through auction sites, so does Babolat continue to make older versions for the college guys? I also assume the pros are just playibg with a pj of the Vs for promotional reasons.
Cmon BABOLAT - plz release another wave of the VS for us mere mortals!

Did they appear customised?

 

[bobeeto]

The pure aero 100/98 dominate college tennis. The college hive mind went French this time

 

[Trip]

Isn't the Pure Aero 98 essentially the same racket?

Depends on your definition of "essentially". If you're desensitized enough to put almost any silo refresh in your hands and go "meh", then I suppose you'd feel that the PA98 is more or less the same. But if you can sense subtle nuances more often than not, then you'd notice that the PA98 has a higher average stock swing weight (from a noticeably more polarized mass distribution), making the swing physics more round and "see-saw" like in shape and less linear (extreme example: more Zverev, less Federer), plus the PA98 feels less crispy/airy/crackly/raw, and it has an ever-so-slightly lower RA flex. All of that put together should be able to make most players notice a difference, but, to each their own.

 

[Moveforwardalways]

Agree, PA98 has a lower RA flex and higher swing weight

 

[boneth85]

In 10 years when the pure aero VS reaches cult status as a fabled goat racket of mythological proportions. I’ll be glad to tell all the new racket nerds in 2033 that it was pretty meh to be honest.

 

[jmacdaununder2]

Just like the original Aeropro...