Babolat Pure Drive & Pure Drive Plus Racquet Review

Babolat debuted their Woofer technology racquets in Europe in 1999, then brought them to the US in 2000 (click here for Babolat's description of Woofer technology). At first, only a few clay court specialists like Carlos Moya and Nicolas Lapentti were seen using racquets with the visible Double Line logo on the frame. Soon after, Alex Corretja and Kim Clijsters were also swinging Babolat racquets. This created some initial interest in the racquets, if for no other reason than to identify what those two white lines were.

In the Fall of 1999 Babolat came across a promising American junior player named Andy Roddick. After a first round loss at the U.S. Open Juniors, Andy switched to the Babolat Pure Drive Plus and proceeded to win the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl tournaments. Since then, Andy Roddick has become the hottest new player on the ATP tour, winning back-to-back clay court tournaments in Atlanta and Houston. He was also the player to watch at the French Open and Wimbledon. Roddick's success (along with his personality, style of play and huge serve) has had a big impact on the popularity of the Babolat Pure Drive racquets. In fact, it's difficult not to see a Pure Drive or Pure Drive Plus at almost any professional tournament. There are over 30 ATP and WTA players using Pure Drive racquets (over a dozen in the Top 100), as of the 2001 US Open.

Interestingly, the Pure Drives aren't what most people would consider true player's racquets. They fit better in the 'tweener racquet category, which means they're stiffer, lighter, and more powerful than a traditional player's racquet. It also means they'll probably appeal to a broader cross-section of players.

We playtested the Pure Drive and its longer brother, the Pure Drive Plus for two weeks. Here are our purely candid comments.

Pure Drive Standard

Groundstrokes

The Pure Drive Standard is light enough to generate good racquet head speed, yet still offers above average stability and comfort. Granville offers, "the Pure Drive is very solid from the baseline, although I thought the racquet felt lighter than its 11.1 ounces. The sweetspot seems located right in the center of the stringbed, which I liked, and the racquet is one of the softest I've playtested. This sensation was almost like a trampoline-effect, and may be a result of the Woofer System grommets. This can be good and bad. As a flat ball hitter, I found myself having to adjust my swing to generate some spin to keep the ball from sailing. Fortunately, the 100 square-inch head makes this adjustment easier to make and provides a larger margin for error. Perhaps a slightly tighter tension would have been in order, too." Dan adds, "it didn't take me long to conclude that this is one of the most forgiving and softest feeling racquets I've playtested. There is a supple feel when hitting off-center that's hard to define. When I hit the sweetspot there was almost no vibration - a bit like a trampoline feel, but with control, thanks to the spin I was able to generate. This allowed me to hit forehands and backhands with a variety of spins, and complete confidence. I found the Pure Drive swung a half-ounce heavier than its published weight but was still very maneuverable." Keith says, "I found it easy to generate good pace when moderately stroking the ball. However, I found it hard to 'bear down' and still control the ball when I needed to go for a winner. Slice shots were very effective and I could really feel the ball when executing drop shots."

Mark comments, "I was able to hit good groundstrokes with the Pure Drive as long as I swung hard. Either the racquet's stiffness (70 RDC units) or Woofer grommets took all the feel out of softly hit groundstrokes. When I hit the ball hard I had good control and a fair amount of power. I was able to generate a lot of topspin when I wanted, and nice slice too." Drew continues, "I felt like the Pure Drive required a certain style of play to get good results. That meant playing aggressively, hitting hard and with lots of topspin. Hesitating or playing conservatively just didn't pay off. I found the Pure Drive had a very head-light feel and was easy to whip around, which meant producing enough racquet head speed for heavy topspin was no problem. Although the racquet has a solid and comfortable feel, I felt the head lacked a little mass. My touch and finesse shots were a little iffy; it seemed like if the head wasn't coming through quickly, the ball pushed the racquet around a little. I also found it necessary to prepare early and have good weight transfer. If I was stretched wide or caught off-guard it was tough to generate either pace or control." Don says, "I liked the weight and comfort of the Pure Drive on groundstrokes. It fits right into my preferred weight and swingweight range, and the Woofer System seems to work in softening ball impact - a very cushioned feel. The recommended tension (50/57) seems too low, though, for a 100 square-inch racquet, and I had some control problems. We strung our playtest racquets at the highest allowed tension of 57 pounds*. However, I'd want to string it at 60-62 pounds for more control and predictability of shots. The medium-open string pattern allowed for good topspin and slice but the stringbed was too loose for my liking."

*We have since confirmed with Babolat that the tension listed on both Pure Drive models (50/57) is designed to "optimize Woofer performance". We were told the racquets may be strung up to 65 pounds and that traditional tension ranges for all Babolat racquets are forthcoming."

Volleys

The Pure Drive's weight and 100 square-inch head make it inviting for net play. Granville comments, "the slightly larger head and cushioned stringbed made this racquet very comfortable to volley with. Once again, though, I found myself having to modify my strokes just a bit due to the lively stringbed. I wasn't able to punch my volleys as aggressively as normal as the racquet does deliver more power than I'm used to." Drew says, "the racquet is very maneuverable, which helps when reacting to tough passing shots. The downside is a tendency to swing too much on volleys. As a result, my volley control was only so-so." Dan offers, "I really enjoyed volleying with the Pure Drive. There was just something about the weight/balance ratio and feel of the racquet that made it appealing to attack volleys. There's also good spin control for deft dropshots and short, angle volleys." Mark counters, "I didn't like volleying with the Pure Drive. It had no feel, except on really hard-hit balls. Volleying soft or medium speed shots was very frustrating. I just couldn't feel the ball on the strings. It was like volleying with a glove on my hand." Don says, "I was able to get a lot of balls back and the racquet was comfortable, even on off-center shots. However, I couldn't really stick my volleys without fear of the ball flying. Bumping up tension a few pounds and adding a small amount of weight at the sides would make this racquet perfect for me."

Serves

We weren't surprised to find the Pure Drive effective in hitting slice and kick serves. Mark explains, "I didn't have as much pop on my flat, first serve as I would have liked, but I could hit good spin and kick serves." Drew agrees, adding, "spin is king when serving with the Pure Drive. My topspin serves really jumped and the slices had plenty of movement. This added action more than compensated for the somewhat reduced velocity. I hit a few decent flat serves but the racquet head comes through so fast that getting the timing right was difficult."

Gran counters, "the unique feel of the Pure Drive comes through on serves. Perhaps it was the slightly larger headsize or the Woofer grommet system, but I could really get some heat from this racquet on the serve. The semi-open string pattern also allowed me to put plenty of bite on the ball. My kickers were a 'kickin!" Dan adds, "the spin potential of the Pure Drive impressed me. Kick serves jumped at a more pronounced height and slice had that extra sauce that allows for better benders into the body and serves out wide. Cranking the dial for the big flat serve was no problem either; excellent combination of weight and balance for big servers." Don comments, "I've hit bigger serves with other racquets but the Pure Drive delivers adequate power and above-average spin. Rather than trying to overpower my opponents, I started focusing on hitting deep spin serves. These proved to be very effective."

Returns

The Pure Drive is maneuverable, yet stable, making it a versatile racquet on serve returns. Drew offers, "staying aggressive on returns is key. As long as I took a pretty good cut and kept my weight moving forward I could blast away and often take control of a point from the return. I had good results even though I was playing more aggressively on returns than I'm normally comfortable doing. The Pure Drive seems to reward aggressive play more than just about any other racquet I've played with." Dan comments, "the Pure Drive is light enough to swing and respond quickly, but has enough mass to send balls deep and with good bite." It was also one of the few racquets I could hit a solid forehand slice return with." Granville says, "unlike some other 'tweener racquets, the Pure Drive seemed to deliver more than I 'paid for', which makes it great for returning serves. When I was ahead of the ball I could direct it easily and add pace or bleed some off. When I was late or hit the ball slightly off-center I could still get the ball back with reasonable pace and depth."

Summary

The Babolat Pure Drive is a solid 'tweener racquet with an extra twist - the Woofer System. This grommet technology seems to really work in cushioning the impact of the ball on the strings, making for a very comfortable feel. Also, while the Pure Drive's weight, balance, and swingweight will make it popular with many players as is, they also make it a great "platform" racquet for customizing. The Pure Drive will appeal most to 4.0-5.0 players, although Carlos Moya and Kim Clijsters show us it's suitable for tour level players as well. We encourage you to take one for a pure test drive. Note: We found grip sizes to run about 1/2 size large.

Pure Drive Plus

On paper, the Pure Drive Plus looks to be just a slightly longer version of the Pure Drive. Our playtest, however, suggests more subtle differences exist beyond the extra 1/2 inch of length. This is the model used by Andy Roddick.

Groundstrokes

The Pure Drive Plus possesses similar comfort qualities of the Pure Drive, but with more substance and pop. Drew offers, "the Pure Drive Plus has a very similar feel to the Pure Drive but is a notch higher in power. This was definitely noticeable. Some players might welcome this but it didn't work out for me, as I felt my control suffered. I found more of my groundstrokes carrying long or wide, requiring a conscious effort to apply spin." Don says, "I preferred the slightly higher swingweight and extra length of the Pure Drive Plus. It provides a very solid feel and just the right amount of heft." Mark adds, "I'd rate the Pure Drive Plus a little higher than the Pure Drive on groundstrokes, because it had a little more power. As a result, I didn't have to swing as hard all the time. I found I could hit with lots of spin or flatten out my shots effectively, as long as I was hitting pretty hard. When hitting softly I had little to no feel. If I wanted to feel the ball on the strings a lot of pace from either myself or my opponent was required."

Dan says, "the extra half-inch of length really makes a difference in the feel of the Pure Drive Plus. The appealing soft feel of the Pure Drive standard is somewhat lessened on the extended version. I still found great control from the baseline but had to adjust to swinging a bit earlier to compensate for the added length and increased swingweight. Nonetheless, the Pure Drive Plus still had a generous sweetspot; larger than many midplus competitors in this category." Granville comments, "I enjoyed the same comfortable, soft feel and good power in this racquet that I found in the Pure Drive standard."

Volleys

At net the Pure Drive Plus' extra 1/2 inch of length has its pluses and minuses. Don says, "the added reach was beneficial for catching up to down-the-line and cross-court passing shots that were just missed with the Pure Drive standard. The increased swingweight lent a more solid feel to my volleys, too. However, the extra swingweight also made it a little less maneuverable than the Pure Drive Standard. Granville comments, "while both Pure Drive racquets have many solid playing characteristics the net is where they shine most brightly. The Pure Drive Plus delivers good control and maneuverability. The added length was never an issue on volleys, and the 100 square-inch head provides abundant power when needed. I found it interesting how both Pure Drive racquets could provide the extra dwell time for control, while still offering plenty of power. Can you say Woofer?" Dan offers, "I found this racquet excelled at net. It provides just the right flex for advanced, attacking volleyers. Simple form and short, compact strokes do the trick. Great control, combined with a 100 square-inch head and extended length, makes the Pure Drive Plus a natural at net."

Serves

Serving with the Pure Drive Plus is where its added length is most noticeable, according to our playtesters. Granville begins, "the Pure Drive Plus really gave me some extra horsepower on serves. Serving the flat ball down the middle is lethal! Kickers wide have good juice too, which makes it that much easier to pull an opponent off the court. It's a fine-tuned serving stick." Drew offers, "if there's an area where the added power of the Pure Drive plus is beneficial, it's on serves. My pace and accuracy on flat serves climbed and there were no problems hitting strong spin serves." Dan says, "I had great control when slicing out wide or hitting a kicker into the body. I was able to generate impressive racquet head speed which resulted in faster serves. This racquet was born to serve!"

Returns

The Pure Drive Plus got mixed reactions on serve returns. John offers, "I particularly enjoyed returning serve with the Pure Drive Plus. I found the racquet to be quick and stable. When returning hard, fast serves I was not only able to get the ball back in play but could often hit the ball deep and direct it away from my opponent. Again, I was very impressed with the racquet's stability, even on off-center shots." Granville counters, "I've always felt that added length to certain racquets will make a few shots more difficult, and serve returns is one of those shots. The added length of the Pure Drive Plus made it hard to get the racquet inside against serves into the body." Mark says, "I hit my returns well, especially when my opponent got his first serve in. Returning the high-kicking second serve was a problem, especially to my backhand side. I needed to swing hard to feel the ball on the strings, but it was hard to do on a head-high backhand. I had no trouble catching up to first serves and hitting either topspin or slice returns." Dan offers, "as with groundstrokes, I found myself having to be out in front on service returns or the results were less than favorable. There was no catch-up for being even slightly late. The added length and swingweight of this racquet make it feel heavier than its static weight might suggest." Don comments, "the Pure Drive Plus requires more preparation on returns than I expected for an 11-ounce racquet. The upside is that it's possible to block big, first serves back effectively, and stability was impressive. If I shortened my backswing and prepared early I was able to hit some good returns against some pretty fast serves."

Summary

The Pure Drive Plus is different enough from the Pure Drive to warrant playtesting both. It has many of the same attributes of the Pure Drive but with more heft, more reach, and more power. This is a nice 'tweener that's almost a player's racquet. If that's your category of racquet, we suggest giving the Pure Drive Plus a test drive. Note: We found grip sizes to run about 1/2 size large.

Review date: August, 2001. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2001 Tennis Warehouse.