Babolat Pure Drive Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 86

There was no shortage of praise for the Pure Drive's power and spin potential from the backcourt. Granted, we had some minor issues with the control and feel, but this racquet's raw speed, explosive delivery and ease of use won the day. As a long time user of the Pure Drive, Tiffani warmed up to this version, especially after finding the right string setup. She explained, "As an on again, off again Pure Drive user, I'm always excited to see a new model come out. My history goes back to the 'swirly' paint scheme days, and with each model of the Pure Drive I find it exceptionally easy to find my rhythm. It took me a bit longer than expected to find my happy place with this latest version. The Pure Drive had a full bed of RPM Blast installed the first time I hit with it, and honestly, I just don't hit the ball hard enough to get the most out of that string. Once I switched to the racquet strung with ALU Power, which feels softer to me, I enjoyed the experience much more. I found the stringbed to be forgiving, and my favorite attribute of this Pure Drive was that I could pick up balls hit at my feet easily and still hit effective shots because of the easy power I got from this racquet. I thought my shots had more arc to them than they did with past models, which I would think makes this racquet more spin friendly. I enjoyed the depth of my shots, but since I hit rather flat balls I struggled with my depth control when I wasn't mindful of adding some spin to my shots. The feel of this racquet isn't jarring at contact and is rather muted compared to past models, but I've had some issues with tendinitis in my wrist, and I could definitely feel it after long sessions with the Pure Drive."

Chris helps us put this Pure Drive in context by comparing it to its predecessor. He said, "More depth and more spin were the two immediate differences I noticed with the new Pure Drive. When I hit the old and new side by side I also noticed a more dampened feel from the new version. I liked the overall response of the racquet in regards to power, spin and comfort, but it was missing some feel on touch shots. The big plus for me was hitting a heavier ball when driving shots with topspin. I experienced this from both sides of the net when hitting with Hannah. We both hit faster, deeper and higher kicking topspin groundstrokes with the updated Pure Drive without any additional effort. However, I had to learn to trust the racquet because my shots didn't feel as pinpoint with this update. I was still able to find my targets, but I did so with a loopier shot. It took some time to trust the ball would arc down inside the lines when I was going for the corners. Thankfully, this racquet offered excellent topspin to help me get my shots to drop very quickly. I did have a tendency to float my drop shots too high and deep. When I switched back to the 2015 version I was immediately able to control the ball to close to the net and get it to drop out of reach of my opponents. While I'm confident my touch would come around with the new version, it would take some additional time to reach the same level."

"The Pure Drive has always been a go-to option, especially for a longtime Babolat user like me," said Hannah, who also found this update to be quite powerful and spin friendly. "The feel is familiar, and it is no secret how easy this racquet is to use. The Pure Drive has always allotted effortless power in large quantities from the baseline, and this update was no exception. There was no need to work for power with this racquet; it was just there. The difference in feel from the previous version, however, was prominent. Although I always felt connected to the ball and confident in going for my shots with this racquet, my initial impression was that the new Pure Drive gave me more depth, power and spin. This allowed my shots to penetrate through the court, but it did compromise some aspects of control. The spin potential was excellent and added a bite to my ball that made it difficult for my opponent to play offensively. I had to adjust my aim and focus more on spin, however, to allow for the extra power on my shots and the more muted feel. Overall, as an aggressive baseline player this racquet played to my strengths, and I think with some adjustment time I would adapt to the feel and consistently access even more spin."

For Michelle, the new Pure Drive was a double edged sword. She loved the speedy feel and powerful response, but she had some issues with control. She explained, "I was so excited about this playtest. The Pure Drive was one of my first loves, and I played with a Pure Drive back in college. At first hit it felt just how I expected! That sweetspot is always something I enjoy. Since using the Pure Drive I have learned to appreciate heavier racquets, and I progressed to a Pure Drive Roddick and then the Pure Drive Tour. I now use the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph. I still love using the lighter, easier to swing Pure Drive, but it sometimes causes me to slap my groundies. This update was no exception, and I found it was just too powerful when I had the adrenaline flowing and really stepped up to crack a ball. I would love to play around with some weight and am excited to see what the heavier version will bring. The endless amounts of power coupled with the ability to swing fast through the ball was the ultimate guilty pleasure for me. It was the best, but it came with a price. For instance, when I was playing points I had to remind myself to dial back the power and focus on being consistent until I got a short ball to put away. Also, I struggled when I was knifing my slice compared to my usual racquet. Perhaps it's unfair to measure the Pure Drive's slicing ability to the RF97, which feels more solid in the upper hoop and has extra mass and plow through. The string pattern of this Pure Drive did seem to play a bit more open than the 2015 version, and it was easy to generate good spin when needed. The feel was slightly more muted, which I liked."

Volleys - Score: 84

Despite some minor complaints about the feel, our team definitely appreciated the speed, power and overall responsiveness of the Pure Drive at net. For Michelle, this Pure Drive fit perfectly with her aggressive style. She said, "The Pure Drive has always been super easy to take to the net. This version was no exception. I could be aggressive with my volleys and place them where I needed to. Swinging volleys were straight up dangerous -- and so fun to hit! It's a stiffer frame, so it didn't have a whole lot of touch, but that's not my game so it's not a deal breaker for me!"

The Pure Drive worked very well at the net for Chris, who found easy depth and plenty of touch. He explained, "The access to easy depth with the Pure Drive continued at net. Popping volleys away to the deep corners of the baseline was fun. I enjoyed a good blend of power and control on my deep volleys. At first I struggled with my touch shots and was floating them a bit. However, I was able to dial them in during the month-long test much more consistently than my touch shots from the baseline. As with previous versions of the Pure Drive, the new Pure Drive felt light enough, fast enough and solid enough for most volley situations. I enjoyed playing doubles with this racquet because it worked well at net, on serves and on returns."

Although she had minor issues with the comfort and control, Hannah ultimately settled into some confident volleying with the Pure Drive. She explained, "The stability on volleys was excellent and gave me access to easy depth. I did lose some comfort and control if the ball was closer to my body; it wasn't overly forgiving at net. Nonetheless, I could be aggressive and flexible with my net game. Overall, this racquet complemented my volleys, and I had complete confidence closing out points at the net with this racquet. "

"The Pure Drive worked well with my net game, which is to just keep it simple," said Tiffani, who clearly enjoyed this racquet at net. "I really just liked how it took care of me when I blocked the ball back. It put the ball where I wanted it to go (when I hit the sweetspot, that is), and did it with decent pace."

Serves - Score: 90

If our team has it right, the latest version of the Pure Drive is one of the more dangerous standard length serving racquets you are likely to find. In addition to its near perfect blend of power, spin and precision, this racquet's explosive acceleration makes it lethal when effectively deployed. Hannah helps us understand why the top score for this playtest was awarded for serve. "I was loving the results on my serve with the Pure Drive. As expected, the power was effortless and put my opponent on defense. I really liked the mix of control and power I felt on my serve. It is usually difficult for me to produce a consistent serve with a racquet I'm not completely used to, but with this racquet I had no trouble generating racquet head speed and consistently making my serve."

From flat bombs to big kickers, there wasn't much Michelle couldn't do with this Pure Drive on serve. She explained, "As much as I loved smacking forehands with this Pure Drive, my favorite part of the playtest was serving. I don't know if it's because I used a Pure Drive for so many years or because the string spacing was a bit more open, but I was hitting awesome kick serves. I was getting better kick serves out of this racquet than any other racquet I've hit with recently. Then, when I flattened out my first serve I was rewarded with power. I was winning a lot of points with a flat first serve that wasn't coming back. Slice serves were just as effective, but I just felt so powerful with my flat first serve and a kick serve for my second serve."

For Chris, the Pure Drive checked all the right boxes on serve. He said, "This was a great serving racquet. Easy power and spin made for fun serving. I was worried that the ball might fly on me, but I was slightly surprised to find good control on my flatter serves. The Pure Drive really came into its own when I was hitting with spin, and my slice serves had some good action on them. I was able to get the ball to swerve nice and wide on the deuce side to open up the court. While I've never had a huge kick serve, I was getting ample spin to hit with lots of pace without sacrificing consistency."

Tiffani joined the chorus of praise for the Pure Drive on serve. She said, "I was testing this updated Pure Drive alongside the new Wilson Ultra 100 Countervail, and I have to say up until I started serving I really thought the race was neck and neck on which racquet I liked more. I thought the Pure Drive set itself apart on the serve. I was finding more spin and more power from the Pure Drive. It's a really good serving racquet for me because of its inherent power. The only thing that beats it is an extended length Pure Drive."

Returns - Score: 80

Despite some control issues, our team ultimately appreciated the Pure Drive's offensive prowess on service returns. This racquet's high spin potential not only helped Chris manage the power, but it also enabled him to hit some heavy balls. He explained, "I felt very dialed in on returns with the Pure Drive. I had lots of power to help me hit aggressively. Getting spin was super easy, which enabled me to control the power of the racquet very well. I was able to take a good cut at the ball and hit some heavy forehand returns. On the backhand wing I had success both rolling the ball deep and working my slice to various targets. The racquet felt solid enough on block returns and its powerful response helped me maintain depth."

Tiffani appreciated the maneuverability and power of the Pure Drive on returns, but she needed to focus on making clean contact with the ball. She explained, "Just like from other areas of the court, this racquet was easy to wield. I didn't always find it to be the most precise racquet on returns, but I like how it was easy to find good depth. I could put myself in a better position off the return and not feel like I was on the defensive right away. I did find my control issues coming into play. I didn't find the same level of control when I missed the center of the stringbed."

Although she was able to hit some lethal returns with the Pure Drive, Michelle occasionally struggled to keep this racquet's power in check. She said, "This is always where I need to be careful with powerful racquets. I constantly try to attack bigger than necessary. I couldn't get away with that when using this racquet because it's so powerful and has that more open string pattern. I played doubles with it a few times and consciously had to pull back with my power, really focus on adding spin and pick my target. Granted, when I was in the right position to unload on the ball, and it went in, it wasn't coming back. I really liked how I could take the power level down a notch and start the point in a smarter fashion with this racquet."

"My serve returns were good, but not great," said Hannah. "I think this is where feel really came into play for me. If I connected with the ball well I could hit a solid return, but if I was reaching for a return or if I caught it out of my strike zone I was in trouble. In this area I was hoping for a more forgiving response, a little more maneuverability and extra help on tougher, well-placed serves."

Overall - Score: 85