Pure Drive+ 2025 Review
Specs unstrung: 304, 32.1cm balance, 294 Swing weight, and Twist weight of 12.9. Strung swingweight is 328.
Comparison specs of my 2021 Pure Drive+ unstrung: 300g, 32cm balance, 297 swing weight, and twist weight of 12.5
String and tension used for test: Tru Pro Pure Rush Mains and Ghostwire crosses, both 17g
Tennis experience/background: 25 years playing, former tennis club president of a BigTen university program; currently USTA 4.5 rated
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Lefty, aggressive serve; Try to mix it up and play attacking tennis.
Current racquet/string setups: Pure Aero Rafa 290 with a leather grip (300g total). No other mods. But that was on the tailend of a racket journey of 2023/2024 that included the Prestige Classic 2.0, Blade Pro, C10 Pro / PB10 Mid, and Boom Pro (and countless other rackets!). So I'm more of a "classic racket" player despite my current racket of choice.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? 10+
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: The highlight of this playtest is the groundstrokes. Forehands specifically. This is a perfect grip and rip racket. I got plenty of spin (not Aero levels), and launch angle felt slightly lower than prior gen. The extra length helps on the 2 handed backhand. Slices were adequate but sat up more than I would like. Very solid feeling, no wobbling. But power drops off dramatically if you catch the ball south of the sweetspot.
-Serves: Serves and an extended length Pure Drive are the benchmark for serving. Easy power, spin, placement. I still think its the gold standard. I'll take the feel of a solid contact players frame serve over the Pure Drive anyday, but the Pure Drive is what is giving be better results. I didn't modify my frame at all, but I think a bit of lead to help polarize it more would really open it up on serves.
-Volleys: Volleys are where I struggled the most with this frame. I just could seem to not launch them. I suspect the extended length slowed me down just a bit, but I would often find myself punching volleys long. I wouldn't even think to try a drop volley, as I just couldn't hone it in. Probably speaks more to me than the racket.
-Serve returns: The racket is very stable. No concerns with serve returns. Returns were flatter than with the Rafa, but overall no complaints. When given the opportunity, its a great frame for ripping returns.
Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- This categorization always puzzles me. I consider most frames to be "power" frames, outside of the dying breed of mids like the Prestige. I would put this in the 7.5/10 for power. It packs a punch, but isn't an un-tameable rocket launcher. Control comes from spin, and the spin is there.
Top Spin/Slice- Compared to the Aero, it has less spin and a lower launch angle. But compared to every other 300-305g frame I've used, I'd say its very similar. My slices sat up a bit more than I prefer. But compared to say the Elevate, Blade, Boom Pro, Whiteout/Blackout, VCore 98...I'd say spin is very comparable.
Comfort - I've never been one to have comfort issues with a racket. The only exception was a Pure Aero Tour from the mid 2010s. The 2025 Pure Drive Plus is plenty comfortable. I think it pairs nicely with softer polys. Although I imagine it would also pair nicely with a deadened poly to really go after the spin.
Feel- I put rackets into 3 categories for feel: Hate, Love, or Fine. This is firmly in the fine camp. It's not terrible like prior gen Strikes, but its not love like a Prestige Classic, PS85, or Gravity Pro. I think manufacturers are finally moving away from the overly muted era of tennis rackets, and I'm happy about that.
Maneuverability - No issues here, other than on my volleys. Again, thats on me more than the frame. I played a good amount of doubles while playtesting this frame, which is probably why I'm highlighting my volley issues.
Stability - See above. Very stable thanks to the stiffness and beam width. I personally plan on adding a bit of weight down the road to see if I can kick it up a notch.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
This is a win for Babolat. The Pure Drive is a modern classic, arguably "the" modern classic tennis frame. While it's lacked star power endorsements, its still a fantastic frame for the masses. For anyone looking for some extra free pop on their serve, I definitely recommend reaching for the Pure Drive Plus. This is a racket that can be used from anyone from a beginner all the way up to advanced players without issue. I'm personally curious how the Pure Drive 98 will review, as I think it will likely be the racket that higher level players may prefer. But in a world of disappearing extended lengths frames, this is probably the one I'd reach for personally. The new cosmetic is great. Looks better in person than online. I expect to see these on the courts for years to come.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, if you like to channel your inner Del Potro and hit big serves and big forehands, this is the perfect racket for you.
Thank you TW for the opportunity to participate in the playtest. Happy Holidays to everyone!
Future plans for me to tweak this frame: Add a few grams at 12 to bump up the SW closer to 338-340. I'm a sucker for leather grips too, but this frame is already fairly headlight, so I'll start with lead at 12 and then decide if additional handle weight is needed.