Tennis Warehouse: Babolat POP (wristband sensor) Playtest!!

[West Coast Ace]

PIQ: 5327
Style: 5/10
Speed: 51 avg
Spin: 44%

@Babolat Official, this may be a trade secret but I'll ask and if you can't answer, I understand: do we > 35 year old players who don't use extreme grips and hit with less topspin get lower style ratings? My strokes have evolved - but I'll never hit with as much top on the FH as 20-somethings/teens.

And any plans to measure distance traveled during a session?

 

[Bender]

Where can I buy one of these in Hong Kong?

Been meaning to find out some stats on my strokes for a while now, and everything else that was on my list are either not available in my region (ehem, Sony) or have issues.

Since the app is actually available in my App Store, I wouldn't mind going out to buy one of these.

 

[West Coast Ace]

Where can I buy one of these in Hong Kong?

Why not order one from TW? My friends in HK buy from them without issues. Yeah, paying shipping stinks but it's very light.

Did you chk with the big tennis shop across the street from Vic Park by the Tin Hau metro entrance? Good luck.

 

[Bender]

Why not order one from TW? My friends in HK buy from them without issues. Yeah, paying shipping stinks but it's very light.

Did you chk with the big tennis shop across the street from Vic Park by the Tin Hau metro entrance? Good luck.

Didn't know there was one there! I usually go to Kwun Tong for my tennis needs.

Also, reading the Babolat Pop play test thread, I was worried that even if I bought one, I wouldn't be able to activate it, what with SMS codes and all that, but good to know people here are having no issues with it now, thanks!

 

[West Coast Ace]

@phnx90 - I would hope any tennis shop that orders racquets from Babolat could ask that they throw in a Pop with their next shipment - they might want you to pre-pay so they aren't stuck with it. Can't hurt to ask.

 

[Babolat Official]

PIQ: 5327
Style: 5/10
Speed: 51 avg
Spin: 44%

@Babolat Official, this may be a trade secret but I'll ask and if you can't answer, I understand: do we > 35 year old players who don't use extreme grips and hit with less topspin get lower style ratings? My strokes have evolved - but I'll never hit with as much top on the FH as 20-somethings/teens.

And any plans to measure distance traveled during a session?

Your style rating is based on fluidity of your stroke and stroke mechanics. Though modern and more classical strokes differ in their intricacies, there are broader similarities that will deem the stroke more fluid and sound. POP will not penalize you for having more classical strokes.

Also, there are no plans for a distance traveled metric at this time.

 

[Babolat Official]

Where can I buy one of these in Hong Kong?

Been meaning to find out some stats on my strokes for a while now, and everything else that was on my list are either not available in my region (ehem, Sony) or have issues.

Since the app is actually available in my App Store, I wouldn't mind going out to buy one of these.

The POP has not yet been released in Hong Kong. Expect it later this summer.

 

[West Coast Ace]

Your style rating is based on fluidity of your stroke and stroke mechanics. Though modern and more classical strokes differ in their intricacies, there are broader similarities that will deem the stroke more fluid and sound. POP will not penalize you for having more classical strokes.

Also, there are no plans for a distance traveled metric at this time.

Thanks for the response, as always.

Good news for @phnx90 and my other friends in HK.

 

[Bender]

The POP has not yet been released in Hong Kong. Expect it later this summer.

Awesome; thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Choachy]

On a few occasions, my POP has recorded a match or practice session as two different sessions.

For example, tonight, we were 3 games into a match when it started raining. Half an hour later we resumed and completed the match.

Synced data shows two separate unqualified sessions. I know that on the Babolat Play app, you can long hold on a session and merge data. Am I correct that you cannot do this on the POP app?

Would love to see that feature implemented.

Also, random side question. Is my data that is synced in the POP app stored server side? In other words, when I get a new phone, do I simply need to log into the app with my phone number like I do now, and the data will all appear? What happens if my phone number changes?

 

[mhkeuns]

Loving the new features.

 

[Tsan]

I got my Pop last night, synced it, charged it, updated the firmware, and logged a 1.5 hour session last night with great results on my iPhone 6+.

PIQ 4751
Style 6/10
Speed 47mph
Spin 34%

It seems unlikely that I am as good as all that, but what really seems unlikely is that it logged one of my hits at 148mph. I'm guessing that it is referring to a 'smash' that was really a serve, but it doesn't show smash details, seemingly.

I wonder if it would be possible to provide a breakdown hit-by-hit instead of just providing an avg and a max without any indication of which shots were which. I'd really like to be able to look at a graph of my serves and see at what point I'm hitting my best serves and how good they are. Same with my ground strokes, I think that would be a very easy app update that would provide real, usable functionality for users.

But back to the 148mph hit, is anyone else getting hits that aren't expressly impossible but are seemingly out of your skill range? I'd be interested to see if this was a glitch or if that one serve that I really smashed was indeed a really strong serve.

 

[Dan W]

I got my Pop last night, synced it, charged it, updated the firmware, and logged a 1.5 hour session last night with great results on my iPhone 6+.

PIQ 4751
Style 6/10
Speed 47mph
Spin 34%

It seems unlikely that I am as good as all that, but what really seems unlikely is that it logged one of my hits at 148mph. I'm guessing that it is referring to a 'smash' that was really a serve, but it doesn't show smash details, seemingly.

I wonder if it would be possible to provide a breakdown hit-by-hit instead of just providing an avg and a max without any indication of which shots were which. I'd really like to be able to look at a graph of my serves and see at what point I'm hitting my best serves and how good they are. Same with my ground strokes, I think that would be a very easy app update that would provide real, usable functionality for users.

But back to the 148mph hit, is anyone else getting hits that aren't expressly impossible but are seemingly out of your skill range? I'd be interested to see if this was a glitch or if that one serve that I really smashed was indeed a really strong serve.

It has happened to me, but very rarely. My last session registered a 120 mph serve, and typically my max is around 100. Maybe it registered a particularly crazy smash as a serve, which does happen more frequently.

 

[Babolat Official]

On a few occasions, my POP has recorded a match or practice session as two different sessions.

For example, tonight, we were 3 games into a match when it started raining. Half an hour later we resumed and completed the match.

Synced data shows two separate unqualified sessions. I know that on the Babolat Play app, you can long hold on a session and merge data. Am I correct that you cannot do this on the POP app?

Would love to see that feature implemented.

Also, random side question. Is my data that is synced in the POP app stored server side? In other words, when I get a new phone, do I simply need to log into the app with my phone number like I do now, and the data will all appear? What happens if my phone number changes?

Yes, at the moment, if you turn off the POP, it ends the session. It will restart when you begin playing again. I'll share with the product team the ability to hold a session.

And for the data, yes, it is stored on a our Babolat server. As long as you log in with the same number, you're all set, as accounts are associated with the numbers. I will have to check what we can do if you switch numbers.

I got my Pop last night, synced it, charged it, updated the firmware, and logged a 1.5 hour session last night with great results on my iPhone 6+.

PIQ 4751
Style 6/10
Speed 47mph
Spin 34%

It seems unlikely that I am as good as all that, but what really seems unlikely is that it logged one of my hits at 148mph. I'm guessing that it is referring to a 'smash' that was really a serve, but it doesn't show smash details, seemingly.

I wonder if it would be possible to provide a breakdown hit-by-hit instead of just providing an avg and a max without any indication of which shots were which. I'd really like to be able to look at a graph of my serves and see at what point I'm hitting my best serves and how good they are. Same with my ground strokes, I think that would be a very easy app update that would provide real, usable functionality for users.

But back to the 148mph hit, is anyone else getting hits that aren't expressly impossible but are seemingly out of your skill range? I'd be interested to see if this was a glitch or if that one serve that I really smashed was indeed a really strong serve.

I'm not sure what occurred with the serve. 148 mph does sound a bit high.

As for the skill graph, I'll share that feedback with the product team. Thanks.

 

[Tsan]

Yes, at the moment, if you turn off the POP, it ends the session. It will restart when you begin playing again. I'll share with the product team the ability to hold a session.

And for the data, yes, it is stored on a our Babolat server. As long as you log in with the same number, you're all set, as accounts are associated with the numbers. I will have to check what we can do if you switch numbers.



I'm not sure what occurred with the serve. 148 mph does sound a bit high.

As for the skill graph, I'll share that feedback with the product team. Thanks.

Thanks for your reply, it's good to know there's someone actively hearing us. Is there information available somewhere as to what speed is commonly registered on the Pop by people known to have a particularly fast serve?

 

[djNEiGht]

@Babolat Official
I mentioned to you before that I had to take a thread and needle to my wrist band. You provided a number to call but that post got lost to me. Could you provide that info again?

In other news...I enjoy the PIQ email showing my ranking. Kind of fun. I ended the month with I think in the 50's. After games yesterday it showed I'm in the top 30. It's probably regional/categorized but still fun. It is early in the month so let's see how far I waver as the days go by.

Lastly...I was folding laundry and guess what I found inside my shorts...the sensor. That was a few weeks ago. It survived and my style points (and ranking as listed) is higher. Put your sensor in the wash and see how much it does for your game

 

[Babolat Official]

@Babolat Official
I mentioned to you before that I had to take a thread and needle to my wrist band. You provided a number to call but that post got lost to me. Could you provide that info again?

In other news...I enjoy the PIQ email showing my ranking. Kind of fun. I ended the month with I think in the 50's. After games yesterday it showed I'm in the top 30. It's probably regional/categorized but still fun. It is early in the month so let's see how far I waver as the days go by.

Lastly...I was folding laundry and guess what I found inside my shorts...the sensor. That was a few weeks ago. It survived and my style points (and ranking as listed) is higher. Put your sensor in the wash and see how much it does for your game

Yes, you can call our warranty department at 1-877-316-9435 xt 284.

I'm glad you're liking the leaderboard. Hopefully it'll keep you from putting the sensor in your laundry

Thanks for your reply, it's good to know there's someone actively hearing us. Is there information available somewhere as to what speed is commonly registered on the Pop by people known to have a particularly fast serve?

I'll follow up on this.

 

[mhkeuns]

The highest I have gotten (Piq score leader board) was the 26th ranking... Love getting those emails...

 

[BigM]

Hey guys I'm on the fence about this device. It seems to not record my Backhand spin correctly. How is the backhand spin calculated ? Angle of the frame ? Upward motion? I was Just mucking around with the ball machine with the sole intention of ripping up the back of the ball almost like a topspin lob and the device is recording all of the shots as flat. Really strange. Anyone else had this?

 

[Dan W]

It's exceedingly difficult for me to get topspin shots to register for both forehand and backhand when playing, and my forehand is always a topspin stroke. My backhand stroke is probably 60% slice, the rest topspin.

I would guess on average maybe 25% of my forehands and 10% of my backhands show up on Pop as topspin. The thresholds are obviously set very high. Too high in my opinion.

 

[BigM]

I'm thinking of comparing the numbers with a Playsight court. Just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[mhkeuns]

It's exceedingly difficult for me to get topspin shots to register for both forehand and backhand when playing, and my forehand is always a topspin stroke. My backhand stroke is probably 60% slice, the rest topspin.

I would guess on average maybe 25% of my forehands and 10% of my backhands show up on Pop as topspin. The thresholds are obviously set very high. Too high in my opinion.

I have the same issue with my forehand. Everything gets registered as flat strokes, though my hitting parterns tell me that I hit with heavy topspin. Out of 300 forehands, probably only around 10 registers as topspin. However, on my backhand side, it registers really accurately.

I am guessing that my OH backhand, which took a long time to develop as a kid, is more technically sound. Also, maybe my forehand is more of a forward drive than a bouncy topspin.

 

[Babolat Official]

Hey guys I'm on the fence about this device. It seems to not record my Backhand spin correctly. How is the backhand spin calculated ? Angle of the frame ? Upward motion? I was Just mucking around with the ball machine with the sole intention of ripping up the back of the ball almost like a topspin lob and the device is recording all of the shots as flat. Really strange. Anyone else had this?

Spin is measured by the speed of the sensor and the verticality of the stroke. The angle of the frame is not measured with the POP, though it is in the Play racket.

 

[mhkeuns]

Top 16 PIQ score on July 16. Yeah! I don't know what it exactly mean, but it makes me feel better about my game.

 

[Tsan]

Top 16 PIQ score on July 16. Yeah! I don't know what it exactly mean, but it makes me feel better about my game.

How are you seeing comparisons of PIQ score? The only leaderboards I see are comparing activity score

 

[mhkeuns]

How are you seeing comparisons of PIQ score? The only leaderboards I see are comparing activity score

I get the emails with the results. I think it was one of the new features added recently.

 

[BigM]

Spin is measured by the speed of the sensor and the verticality of the stroke. The angle of the frame is not measured with the POP, though it is in the Play racket.

Thanks for the reply. I will have another go at hitting some spin

 

[sathee46]

Would be great to have an option to find your sensors last known location, would make it easier finding my now lost sensor [emoji14]

 

[mhkeuns]

Do I need to unpair and uninstall the app from my previous phone for POP sensor to work with the new phone?

 

[Babolat Official]

Do I need to unpair and uninstall the app from my previous phone for POP sensor to work with the new phone?

Yes and no. You don't need to uninstall the app, but you do need to unpair the sensor. You can also press the power button 5 times rapidly and it will "hard" unpair from the phone.

Would be great to have an option to find your sensors last known location, would make it easier finding my now lost sensor [emoji14]

I'll share this suggestion with the product team

 

[mhkeuns]

Have been playng with the Pure Drive Play and wearing the POP sensor at the same time. It seems like they have different parameters in recording my shots. Seems like the POP sensor is much more strict in counting topspin strokes.

BTW, can I connect both Play and POP sensor to the same cellphone? Right now, each are connceted to different phones.

 

[Babolat Official]

Have been playng with the Pure Drive Play and wearing the POP sensor at the same time. It seems like they have different parameters in recording my shots. Seems like the POP sensor is much more strict in counting topspin strokes.

BTW, can I connect both Play and POP sensor to the same cellphone? Right now, each are connceted to different phones.

The Play racket captures more data on your strokes. For topspin, not only does it take into account the verticality of your shot and swing speed, but it also includes racket angle. Obviously, POP cannot do that.

I will have to check on using the same cell phone.

 

[mhkeuns]

The Play racket captures more data on your strokes. For topspin, not only does it take into account the verticality of your shot and swing speed, but it also includes racket angle. Obviously, POP cannot do that.

I will have to check on using the same cell phone.

Obviously I liked the Pop sensor enough to get the Play version of the current Pure Drive. I like wearing both and comparing the results. Kind of vain, but in effort to get the higher scores I think more on my form and stroke speed.

 

[Babolat Official]

Obviously I liked the Pop sensor enough to get the Play version of the current Pure Drive. I like wearing both and comparing the results. Kind of vain, but in effort to get the higher scores I think more on my form and stroke speed.

Of course. It's helpful to get more data on your game so that you can refine it further.

Also, you should be able to use both POP & Play on the same cell phone.

 

[Backhanded Compliment]

I really liked my zepp sensor till they screwed up the software and made it useless for my serving practice sessions... curious how this band would work.

 

[djNEiGht]

@Babolat Official

I have noticed that there is a section to set location on where you played. I don't see the courts that I play on there with the exception of a few. It does not save it once you enter the court name for future use. Any suggestions?

Also, at one time you provided me a phone number to address my wrist band issue with it coming apart. I misplaced it. Could you give that number again?

Thanks all the same

 

[Dan W]

@Babolat Official

I have noticed that there is a section to set location on where you played. I don't see the courts that I play on there with the exception of a few. It does not save it once you enter the court name for future use. Any suggestions?

Also, at one time you provided me a phone number to address my wrist band issue with it coming apart. I misplaced it. Could you give that number again?

Thanks all the same

The location feature behavior changed after an update a while back for me. The club I play at, a very large club with a large membership, was always searchable in the locations. Now it doesn't show up.

 

[Babolat Official]

@Babolat Official

I have noticed that there is a section to set location on where you played. I don't see the courts that I play on there with the exception of a few. It does not save it once you enter the court name for future use. Any suggestions?

Also, at one time you provided me a phone number to address my wrist band issue with it coming apart. I misplaced it. Could you give that number again?

Thanks all the same

The location feature behavior changed after an update a while back for me. The club I play at, a very large club with a large membership, was always searchable in the locations. Now it doesn't show up.

I'll share these locations concerns with the team.

Also, the number you're looking for, @djNEiGht, is our After Sales Dept number: 1-877-316-9435 X 284

 

[Scuoteguazza]

I just updated my iPhone 6 to iOS 11. Now the POP app crashes whenever I try to open it. Will Babolat be releasing a version that is compatible with iOS 11?

 

[kimguroo]

I just updated my iPhone 6 to iOS 11. Now the POP app crashes whenever I try to open it. Will Babolat be releasing a version that is compatible with iOS 11?

Same. As soon as babolat knows it, they will update their app.

 

[Babolat Official]

Same. As soon as babolat knows it, they will update their app.

@kimguroo @Scuoteguazza - working on this now, will report back ASAP. thanks for the heads up!

 

[lidoazndiabloboi]

@kimguroo @Scuoteguazza - working on this now, will report back ASAP. thanks for the heads up!

I had the same problem too. I uninstalled the app, and reloaded it. Now it works fine

 

[Kryztof]

Hi, Is there any way to determine the speed of the ball when hitting the ball? we know the speed of the wrist so it should be able to find the speed of the ball no?

 

[BBender716]

Hi, Is there any way to determine the speed of the ball when hitting the ball? we know the speed of the wrist so it should be able to find the speed of the ball no?

That's still ridiculously complex. You need to know too many other variables. Racket, string configuration, tension, how flat a shot it is, etc.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Fairhit]

Hi, Is there any way to determine the speed of the ball when hitting the ball? we know the speed of the wrist so it should be able to find the speed of the ball no?

With a wrist sensor? No.

It could give you an estimate but there are so many variables that it will not be an accurate estimate.

You could just buy a radar and depending on the model you could get an almost exact reading.

 

[Archie]

- working on this now, will report back ASAP. thanks for the heads up!

We tried to use Babolat POP in Dec 2017, Nov-Dec 2018. Now we use it on a daily basis (me and my children - national level juniors).
The main goal is to track the racquet velocity over the time. This helps to estimate development progress.
We see the results on the Android smartphones but it is quite difficult because there is no option to build time-based charts.
Also if phone number is changed, the sensor is not connecting to the mobile phone and you will lose the historical data.

Here I have some questions:
Do I understand right that Volleys and Smashes are counted but without measuring their parameters? - they are just not clickable.
Is there any possibility to get more data-based analysis e.g. on the POP web site?
It is not clear what does Spin mean. Spin is technically a result of a velocity when the racquet if moved through the ball under the certain angle. Do I understand right that Spin is estimated as a quality of a racquet trajectory from bottom-back to top-forward?

And 'bugs' to describe:
Sometimes the results on the certain date are not loaded when I click on them - only 'Loading...' window is shown for a long time.
A daily report about sensor using has not been sent to my e-mail from last week. The score in the App is also remains unchanged. We have last firmware (at least a new one is not found)
Thank you!

 

[A_Instead]

If my average serve racket head speed is 74 mph...
Is that a true actual serve speed of the ball?

 

[Archie]

If my average serve racket head speed is 74 mph...
Is that a true actual serve speed of the ball?

True speed can only be estimated with radar, because it depends on the Strings (their power), racquet's frame size/thickness/stiffness, speed of incoming ball,...

 

[haqq777]

We tried to use Babolat POP in Dec 2017, Nov-Dec 2018. Now we use it on a daily basis (me and my children - national level juniors).
The main goal is to track the racquet velocity over the time. This helps to estimate development progress.
We see the results on the Android smartphones but it is quite difficult because there is no option to build time-based charts.
Also if phone number is changed, the sensor is not connecting to the mobile phone and you will lose the historical data.

Here I have some questions:
Do I understand right that Volleys and Smashes are counted but without measuring their parameters? - they are just not clickable.
Is there any possibility to get more data-based analysis e.g. on the POP web site?
It is not clear what does Spin mean. Spin is technically a result of a velocity when the racquet if moved through the ball under the certain angle. Do I understand right that Spin is estimated as a quality of a racquet trajectory from bottom-back to top-forward?

And 'bugs' to describe:
Sometimes the results on the certain date are not loaded when I click on them - only 'Loading...' window is shown for a long time.
A daily report about sensor using has not been sent to my e-mail from last week. The score in the App is also remains unchanged. We have last firmware (at least a new one is not found)
Thank you!

Can't comment on other points in your post but I have observed that POP lays a lot of emphasis on spin on groundstrokes especially keeping your takeback and follow through under consideration. Very very clear difference if I hit flat for the session or with topspin. Even with lower intensity spin groundstrokes, the PIQ score gets higher as long as takeback and follow through is exaggerated. And it doesn't get affected much even if I am hitting flatter than usual but with very high tempo and pace. My avg PIQ range recently has been from 8500 to 9200 depending on who I am training with. And best PIQ has been much higher than 9200 at times.

Without Exaggerated Takeback & Follow Through:

With Exaggerated Takeback & Follow Through:

My highest PIQ was 9200 and that was nothing more than just hitting fast paced topspin rally balls with a very good D1 player.

 

[Archie]

Can't comment on other points in your post but I have observed that POP lays a lot of emphasis on spin on groundstrokes especially keeping your takeback and follow through under consideration. Very very clear difference if I hit flat for the session or with topspin. Even with lower intensity spin groundstrokes, the PIQ score gets higher as long as takeback and follow through is exaggerated. And it doesn't get affected much even if I am hitting flatter than usual but with very high tempo and pace. My avg PIQ range recently has been from 8500 to 9200 depending on who I am training with. And best PIQ has been much higher than 9200 at times.

Without Exaggerated Takeback & Follow Through:

With Exaggerated Takeback & Follow Through:

My highest PIQ was 9200 and that was nothing more than just hitting fast paced topspin rally balls with a very good D1 player.

Thank you for sharing your results.
I'm also posting the results of my younger boy from today's session.

You can see the speed is a bit higher there (I set measure unit to 86MPH) but the PIQScore is considerably lower (7945).
I suppose the difference is in Spin. To be sure, can you also show your distribution of an average PIQScore components (Speed+Spin+Style) - such as on theimage below?