Adidas Barricade Tour Light Racquet Review

After rising to the height of popularity in the days of Ilie Nastase, and again during Ivan Lendl's reign at the top of the ATP Tour, adidas has jumped back into the racquet market. With the huge success of its flagship Barricade shoe line to build upon, adidas has unveiled the Barricade racquet series, featuring three models, the Barricade Tour, the Barricade Tour Light and the Barricade.

With three racquets to choose from, players can choose the right recipe for them. The Barricade Tour Light is one part Barricade Tour and one part Barricade. It has the same tight string pattern (18/20) as the Barricade Tour, while the racquet is built to the lighter specs of the Barricade.

Our playtesters hit the courts to see how this Barricade blend worked for them. Here's what they had to say.

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

With the tighter 18/20 string pattern of the Barricade Tour Light, our testers noted good control without a sacrifice in power. Chris loved this one from the baseline. "This was my favorite of the three Barricades off the ground. For me, it offered the control of the Tour, but with the maneuverability of the lighter Barricade. I was able to generate more racquet head speed more of the time compared to the Tour. Faster swings allowed me to generate more spin off both wings, and I felt I was doing a pretty good job of carving up the ball. I felt confident staying back and rallying, as well as stepping into the court and taking a good crack at the ball."

Jackson had a mixed review. "Shots were a little easier to control and direct with this stick compared with the Barricade. The dense string pattern really made for good control. I found myself painting the lines when I was directing the point. However, I had to make a more conscious effort to generate the level of topspin I'm accustomed to. Touch and feel were also a bit muted, due to the dense string pattern."

With the ample power of the Barricade Tour Light, Kana was unstoppable. "My swing style is fast-paced and through the ball, so I had to focus more on controlling my shots because of the power of this racquet. When I made the necessary adjustments to my swing, I felt I could do almost anything I wanted with my forehand. Hitting flat winners was easy. My backhands had more topspin than usual. This helped during match play as my shots landed deeper into the court."

Tiffani was satisfied all-around with groundstrokes. "I'm a fan of the tighter string patterns off the ground, so I was excited to playtest the Tour Light. I wasn't disappointed. Power was impressive, and I was able to put the ball where I wanted with good pace. I use a pretty whippy racquet, so the Barricade Tour Light wasn't quite as maneuverable as I like, but it wasn't what I would describe as sluggish. Topspin was decent, but I found slices to float on me with a multifilament string setup. When strung with a poly, though, I was much more successful. The only downside off the ground for me was the feel. It felt quite stiff, reminding me of my days of playing with the pre-Cortex Pure Drive, and without a dampener it was too pingy."

For Troy, finding the right string setup was key. "The first few times I hit with this stick it was strung with a multifilament, and I found it to be too powerful. When it was strung with a poly at the high end of its range, I felt much more dialed in with my groundstrokes. I found a great blend of power and control from the baseline. Despite the dense string pattern, it was easy to generate lots of topspin and slice. I found myself enjoying the control I had from the 95 square inch head, and found just the right of amount of power when it was strung tight with poly."

Volleys - Score: 74

The Barricade Tour Light offered plenty of control and pop at net. Kana found the feel to be outstanding. "My volleys felt great. They were powerful when I was aiming deep, while my touch was still there." Chris concurred. "This racquet felt very mobile for me at net. I felt like I could always get it into position and felt very comfortable. I liked the response of the stringbed and was finding a good blend of power and control. My deep volleys had plenty of stick on them, and I was also very pleased with the amount of feel I had on touch shots."

The racquet had a maneuverable feel for Tiffani. "The racquet was solid at net. I found it maneuverable enough, with good punch from the stringbed, and stability was not a problem. Directional control was good, but I don't have 'soft hands', and I didn't have much feel."

Troy found a good balance of power and control at net. "I first noticed the stiffness of this racquet while at net. The power allowed me to get good depth on volleys. While playing doubles I was able to hit mid-court volleys well, which typically is a place that is hard for me to return a volley. I found placement that I like in most player's frames, with some added pop that I enjoy from most 'tweener frames."

Getting a lot of feedback was Jackson. "Volleys were a little easier with this racquet, but the lack of maneuverability and feel kept this racquet from reaching its full potential. Also, hitting shots that are off-center are particularly jarring with this racquet. When you do hit volleys dead center, they stay low and deep."

Serves - Score: 74

Excellent control was helping out the team when serving with the Barricade Tour Light. Troy used placement to his advantage. "While serving with this stick, I really capitalized on the control the racquet offered. I was able to move my serves around the box well, whether placing them out wide or down the T. I felt like the even balance of the racquet helped me get some added power. The dense string pattern didn't seem to inhibit spin, and I was still able to get good slice and kick on serves." Kana found impressive power. "My serves had more pop than usual. The power of the racquet was just right. "

Tiffani described the racquet's performance as middle of the road. "I found a medium power level on serve. Nothing stood out, good or bad. I got just decent pop, and I found better success when trying to hit slice serves rather than flat ones. Overall, I found that average spin and decent pace was enough to get me into the point without fear of having the return crushed back at me every time."

Wishing for more power on serve was Jackson. "I wasn't able to generate the kind of power I was expecting with this racquet, but it did allow me to hit serves with consistency and pretty good accuracy."

Chris, like Jackson, wished for more zing. "I would have liked a little more power on serves, but then I'm used to a very different racquet. I just couldn't generate the spin or the ball speed I usually get from my Becker Pro. However, control was good and I served well with this stick. It was just that I felt more serves were coming back, and I had to work a little harder as I wasn't winning as many free points."

Serve Returns - Score: 71

The Barricade Tour Light was a bit demanding for some of the testers on returns. Tiffani was coming around late. "Whereas I had no problems with maneuverability on groundstrokes, I felt it tougher to get the racquet around in time for returns. On groundstrokes, I'm able to take a full swing for better racquet head speed, but on returns I was often catching the ball late." Kana had similar experiences. "The racquet seemed heavier than what's listed, so I felt a little late on my returns."

Consistency, not power, stood out for Jackson. "Returning with this racquet had its ups and downs. The upside was that nearly every shot I got the racquet on went in. The downside was that not every one of those shots had enough pace on it to make any kind of offensive offer."

Troy settled in and loved returning with this racquet. "The 95 square inch headsize allowed for great control and placement of returns. The downside of this headsize is that it is pretty demanding, especially when facing an opponent with a lot of pace and movement on serves. At first I had some mis-hits and couldn't find a rhythm returning, but once I dialed it in I found just as much pleasure as I did with groundies."

Chris felt comfortable enough to take a good crack at returns. "I liked this stick when returning. It offered a very solid response and I felt in control of my shots. I was able to take a nice cut at the ball when given the opportunity, and felt comfortable pushing the envelope a little and staying aggressive, even when up against some tough serving."

Overall - Score: 75

Our playtest team found that the Barricade Tour Light provided a good combination of control and power. We were able to generate some topspin, or we could really could flatten it out and take advantage of the control and power to put away the point. The dense string pattern had some of our testers finding the racquet to play on the firmer side, while others found added control from the tighter pattern. Overall, we felt the Barricade Tour Light should suit intermediate to advanced level players looking for the control aspects of a player's racquet, with a solid blend of maneuverability and stability.

Adidas Barricade Tour Light Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Chris Power 7.5 Serves & Overheads 7.5 Control 7.9 Groundstrokes 7.9 Maneuverability 7.8 Returns 7.9 Stability 7.7 Slice 8.2 Comfort 7.9 Topspin 8 Touch/Feel 7.9 Volleys 8.1 Overall 7.9	Jackson Power 7 Serves & Overheads 7 Control 8.5 Groundstrokes 8.5 Maneuverability 7.4 Returns 7 Stability 7 Slice 7.5 Comfort 7 Topspin 7 Touch/Feel 7 Volleys 7 Overall 7	Kana Power 8 Serves & Overheads 7.5 Control 7 Groundstrokes 7.5 Maneuverability 7.5 Returns 6 Stability 7 Slice 8 Comfort 7 Topspin 7.5 Touch/Feel 7 Volleys 7 Overall 7.5
Tiffani Power 7.4 Serves & Overheads 7.2 Control 7.5 Groundstrokes 7.5 Maneuverability 7.2 Returns 7 Stability 7.5 Slice 7.5 Comfort 6.8 Topspin 7.3 Touch/Feel 7 Volleys 7 Overall 7.2	Troy Power 8.7 Serves & Overheads 8 Control 8.5 Groundstrokes 9 Maneuverability 7.8 Returns 7.8 Stability 8 Slice 8.2 Comfort 7.5 Topspin 8.2 Touch/Feel 7.3 Volleys 8 Overall 8.1

Review date: February 2009. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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