Babolat Pure Aero VS Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 87

All of our playtesters found good results from the baseline when they were swinging aggressively with the Babolat Pure Aero VS. Mark used to play with both the Cortex and the GT versions of the Babolat Aero Storm. Carrying that experience with him, he said, "At a strung weight of around 11.1 oz, the Pure Aero VS was very maneuverable, which allowed me to get pretty wristy with my groundstrokes. The VS exhibits a semi-tight 16x20 pattern. Accessing spin, creating angles and keeping my opponent on the run were all easy. For whatever reason, I also find that tight patterns benefit my backhand slice, and that was certainly the case for this playtest."

Brittany reviewed the Babolat Aero Storm in 2010 (fun fact: it was one of her first racquet playtests). She said, "I was interested to see how it played and how my taste in racquets has changed since then. First and foremost, I could definitely feel some similarities, mostly in the feel. The racquet was extremely easy to use. The first time I went to playtest it, I picked it up and played a set without having to make any adjustments. I found a nice combination of power and control; there was slightly more control than power on my groundstrokes. The 16x20 string pattern offered a good blend of control and spin, and I felt very comfortable going for riskier shots."

Hannah felt her groundstroke shots came off the strings with a good amount of force even though the Pure Aero VS is lighter and less stiff than the Babolat Pure Aero, which is her racquet of choice. She explained, "The lighter swingweight did make it slightly harder to get the same amount of power as I get from the Pure Aero, but the difference was almost impossible to tell. It was easy to drive through the ball on both sides, take balls early and gain depth on my groundstrokes. This racquet has enormous spin potential, and it felt extremely lively from the baseline without compromising control."

The Aero Storm is one of Jason's favorite Babolat racquets of all time. He said, "The Pure Aero VS felt more maneuverable and easier to swing than the Aero Storm. For the most part, I thought the directional control was very good. I especially found good results when hitting an inside-in forehand. This racquet required me to be confident in my shots and take full swings at the ball to generate the depth and power I wanted. Even so, it still felt slightly underpowered."

Volleys - Score: 84

The light feel and quickness of the Pure Aero VS were factors for our testers when they approached the net. Jason said, "The responsive feel really helped with touch volleys. I was able to quickly get the racquet into place to hit the ball. However, off-center shots were met with some torsional stability issues. I had no problems with overheads."

The versatility Hannah found at the baseline was again evident at the net. She said, "With a lighter racquet there is often a minor loss of control on volleys, but it was not a problem with the Pure Aero VS since I was able to keep my hands out front and get in position early. The comfort and mobility of this racquet complemented my net game by allowing me to adapt quickly."

One of the features Brittany enjoyed was the quick, maneuverable feel. She noted, "I had no issues getting the racquet into place up at net and hitting any volley that came my way. The Pure Aero VS is slightly lighter than the Babolat Aero Storm (11.1 oz strung vs. 11.4 oz strung), and it did feel a little unstable at times. This was most noticeable when I hit outside the sweetspot and could feel the racquet twisting slightly in my hands."

Mark found the new Babolat Pure Aero VS to be very stable under most circumstances. He said, "My mid-court volley was solid, and that is where I can sometimes get a flutter of instability (none with this stick, though). If I got two steps inside the service line with this racquet I was able to end most points with an angled volley."

Serves - Score: 79

The serve was the shot where most of our testers had some issues. Brittany struggled to serve with the Babolat Pure Aero VS throughout the playtest. She explained, "I'm not sure exactly what the issue was but I just wasn't getting into a groove on serves. I was left wanting more control and power. I didn't feel like I had anything behind the ball, and I think a little extra weight may have fixed this problem. Over the course of the playtest I was getting more comfortable and going for riskier serves, but I never felt 100 percent confident."

Jason commented, "Although it's not the most powerful racquet to serve with, it was still effective. I was able to control my serve placement with relative ease and put enough pace on the ball to keep from getting killed by the return."

After an adjustment, Mark was effective serving with the Pure Aero VS. He said, "I usually prefer heavier racquets. I play with the Babolat Pure Aero Tour, but with the lighter Pure Aero VS I could sort of get around the 'lack of weight' thing by using a little more wrist action through contact. My serve never ventured above 100 MPH, but I got some great action on the ball."

The only difference between the Pure Aero and the VS that Hannah found on her serve was less power and drive on her kick serve due to the lighter swing weight of the VS. She finished, "The difference was extremely minor, and I still appreciated the crisp feel coming off my kick, flat and spin serves."

Returns - Score: 84

Most of the playtesters were very effective returning with the Babolat Pure Aero VS. The return was Hannah's favorite stroke with this racquet. She said, "It was easy to return with spin and depth, which put me in an offensive or neutral position off the serve. The lighter frame and swingweight allowed me to take the serves early and convert the power into effective returns with great amounts of spin."

Jason noted, "The lack of power (especially compared to the standard Pure Aero) was most noticeable on my returns. To hit my returns with enough depth I had to be aggressive on my swings. Luckily, the control and mobility of the racquet were excellent. It didn't feel sluggish at all on my full swinging returns. Slices tended to float on me a tad, and I had some difficulty knifing the ball and keeping it low."

Mark was also challenged a little with the racquet's 11.1 oz weight. He offered, "Returns were a little difficult because I like to use the mass of the racquet to chip the serve back into play."

Brittany really enjoyed returning serves with this racquet due to the maneuverability. She said, "I could really be aggressive with my returns, and I felt confident hitting closer to the lines thanks to the control and spin. I did have a couple instances of instability. This was most noticeable against bigger serves when my contact was outside of the sweetspot. However, this did not affect my overall performance on returns."

Overall - Score: 84