Babolat Pure Drive Tour Plus Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 88

The powerful beam, livelier stringbed, useful mass and healthy sweetspot made the Pure Drive Tour Plus a heavy ball hitting machine from the baseline. Michelle developed quite the crush for the Pure Drive Tour Plus, while simultaneously crushing groundstrokes. She said, "I'm quite smitten with this racquet. The specs align perfectly with what I love in a racquet - it's powerful, stable, maneuverable enough and forgiving. I constantly felt in control when playing with this racquet. The Pure Drive Tour Plus was like a magic wand in my hand. I could easily load my shots with power and depth. I kept expecting some of my shots to fly out, but they were landing right inside the baseline. Hitting with this racquet was a pleasure, and my biggest issue was figuring out when to step on the gas because it was the type of racquet I want to go all out on every ball. Since this is the Tour Plus version, I think I didn't slap the ball as much or as often as I did with the standard version. If I had a complaint, it was that I was sometimes off with my backhand. Getting around the ball was slightly demanding if my opponent pushed me back or hit a knifing slice deep. Luckily for me, even if I caught my backhand late it usually worked for me because I could get the ball going inside out and still pull my opponent off the court. My favorite thing about these powerful, extended length racquets is that I can play offensively 90 percent of the time. The extra length really let me remain offensive even when pulled wide - a nice benefit since I'm not getting any younger. There were many times when I was scrambling and just got the racquet on the ball, which I probably would have missed without that added length."

Enjoying easy power hitting, Troy said, "After a few clean strikes on the ball with this fifth edition of the Babolat Pure Drive Tour Plus (formerly Babolat Pure Drive Roddick Plus), I was reminded of the easy power and depth this racquet supplies, especially on my two-handed backhand. My two-handed backhand, in comparison to my forehand, is the more compact stroke. This new Pure Drive Tour Plus helped me hit my two-handed backhand aggressively and got the ball to penetrate through the court more than my typical standard length player's racquet. On my forehand I could hit big, heavy topspin shots with more ease than my racquet of choice. When I tried to step into the court and flatten out my forehand I found it was a bit more difficult to gauge the depth of the ball. Adding a bit more margin and spin to my groundstrokes helped me keep my approach shots from flying long. My backhand slice was getting some easy depth, although I didn't quite get the low trajectory and court penetration that I get with my usual racquet. I have noticed with previous versions, and with this update, that my backhand slice doesn't come off the racquet with a point-and-shoot type of precision. There wasn't quite enough feel for me to be confident hitting close to the lines. All in all, this was a very fun racquet to hit big topspin groundstrokes with. The easy power and spin from this racquet made me feel as though I could hit offensive shots from anywhere on the court, even from far behind the baseline."

Another tester to fall for the power of the Pure Drive Tour was Chris. He confided, "There's something addictive about the power and drive this racquet delivers off the ground. I also really enjoyed the solid response. With some added mass over the Pure Drive Plus, the Pure Drive Tour Plus felt more comfortable at contact. On a full swing I was able to drive the ball through the court and push opponents off the baseline. The one downside was the added set up time required by the higher swingweight. Still, it proved to be an easy adjustment, which left me to enjoy the attributes of the racquet. I much more enjoyed hitting through the ball rather than whipping it with this racquet. Knifing sliced backhands was also fun. The mass and the extra leverage of the longer length allowed me to really attack the ball. The issues I had when it came to over-hitting with the new Pure Drive Plus were also present here. The weight of this racquet did a good job of pushing the ball deep. Add in a higher launch angle from the new stringbed design and my errors would almost always come from hitting long, and rarely into the net. The change wasn't anything I couldn't get used to, but it was an adjustment coming from an older version of the Pure Drive Plus to this one."

The Pure Drive Tour Plus met Mark's expectations from the baseline. He offered, "Within the last year of my tennis life I have finally realized the benefits of extended length frames. Ironically, the 2015 Pure Drive Tour Plus is the racquet that I can credit most in terms of me gaining an appreciation for the longer length frames. I was excited to be on this playtest for the 2018 Pure Drive Tour Plus, and after just 20 shots from the baseline I knew that I got exactly what I had hoped for: raw, yet predictable and useful power. Good depth was immediately easy for me to achieve from the backcourt because of the Pure Drive Tour Plus' extra length, its (strung) 11.6 oz weight and its 320 swingweight. By the third hour I was able to land my shots near the lines with an effective combination of ball velocity, height over the net and spin. Typically, I get the best effect on my backhand slice when the frame is longer than standard and paired with a tight string pattern, so it was yet another bright point for this playtest when I could use my slice to end points and not just to stay in them."

Volleys - Score: 84

An impressive blend of power, stability and maneuverability had our testers attacking the net with confidence while testing the Pure Drive Tour Plus. Finding the power of the Pure Drive Tour Plus a benefit on tough volleys was Chris. He said, "This racquet felt rock solid at net. I was able to maneuver it better than expected and quickly found the groove. Anything hit above the net could be dispatched quickly and cleanly thanks to this racquet's easy power. I also had success digging out tough low volleys. The racquet proved to be stable enough and powerful enough to help me often hit a good volley from a bad situation. Again, I could easily overhit when given the opportunity, such was the powerful response of the racquet."

Mark enjoyed the Pure Drive Tour Plus the most when at net. He offered, "If a passing shot is aimed right at the body and the volley is executed on the forehand side it is a challenge with any frame. That scenario is amplified a little more if the frame is longer than 27 inches, but the benefits I got at net with the new Pure Drive Tour Plus far outweighed that singular drawback. I loved the Pure Drive Tour Plus from anywhere on the court, but the volley was perhaps my favorite shot of this playtest. The extra length provided the reach I needed, and the overall combination of weight, balance and swingweight made the racquet feel very stable, yet relatively nimble, anywhere inside the service lines."

Michelle used the power of the Pure Drive Tour Plus to push opponents off the baseline with powerful volleys. She stated, "This racquet felt stable and maneuverable for me at net. If I was just blocking balls back it was easy to get them back deep into the court. If I wanted to step up and add power I found I could pin my opponent back, leaving them with very few options. Swinging volleys were meant to be hit with this racquet - it's so much fun to swing away and end points in that way. Even balls hit at my feet were retrievable because I could get the racquet below the ball and get a good launch angle to keep me alive in the point."

Troy was also surprised by the maneuverability of the Pure Drive Tour Plus at net. He said, "With the headsize of the Pure Drive Tour Plus being bigger than my racquet of choice, combined with the stiffer and longer design, I found it to be very user-friendly at net. Typically, an extended length racquet will feel a bit too cumbersome. However, this Pure Drive Tour Plus felt fast, and I didn't find the extra half-inch to slow me down. I was loving the ease of use and the extra reach I was getting when attempting to control the net while playing doubles. The Pure Drive Tour Plus performed best when I drove my volleys deep. I found I could get easy depth on my drive volleys, and it was easy to keep the ball low at my opponent's feet. If I was stretched out for a volley I could get a little more reach and use the easy maneuverability to flick the ball back. Although this racquet is only an extra half-inch, I felt confident in covering more of the net. This helped to make it a bit more difficult for my opponents to hit a passing shot. If I had a knock on this racquet, it was that I didn't find a great amount of touch or feel. Compared to my racquet of choice, the Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 Tour 18x20, this Pure Drive Tour Plus was lacking some of the pinpoint precision I typically favor. When I tried to hit deft volleys and take the pace off of the ball I was slightly off my intended target. This racquet took some adjusting to, but I was eventually able to dial in my volleys enough to be effective and was rewarded with some easy put-away power."

Serves - Score: 91

If allowed only one racquet to head onto our PlaySight Smart Court and record a fastest serve, a version of the Pure Drive Tour Plus would likely be a top pick among our TW test crew. This latest version also proved to be a favorite for Troy. He confirmed, "I have found the Pure Drive Tour Plus and Pure Drive Roddick Plus racquets to be some of my all time favorites when it comes to serving. This update to the Pure Drive Tour Plus fit right in to the heritage. The easy power and the added reach allowed me to get more pace and increase consistency of my first serves. I felt I was contacting my serves a bit higher, and it was resulting in better net clearance. Whether I was going for a hard and flat first serve or slicing my lefty serve out wide, this racquet made me feel in command. The little extra net clearance seemed to help me create more angles within the service box. With the previous versions of this racquet I found it a bit more difficult to hit kick serves because it felt a bit unwieldy. With this update feeling faster and more maneuverable, I was loving the movement I could generate on the ball when hitting kickers. I wasn't as dialed into hitting my locations as I am with my Dunlop, but the raw power boost this racquet supplied was an easy trade for a little less placement."

Chris agreed, adding, "There are two racquets I can serve the biggest with, this Pure Drive Tour Plus and the Yonex VCORE SV 98+. Just like the Yonex, the combination of some useful mass, a longer length and a powerful beam design make this a great racquet for serving. I could add spin when I wanted or flatten it out for some added pace. My targeting was OK, but not great. The more open string pattern had me getting more action on my serves, but it made it a tad harder to go for the lines. More and more time with the Pure Drive Tour Plus allowed me to gain trust, and by the end of the test I felt like I was serving as well as I could."

Comparing the Pure Drive Tour Plus to the standard length version, Mark said, "Between serving with the new Pure Drive Tour Plus and the regular length Pure Drive Tour, I did not really develop any major preference for one over the other. I was effective and comfortable with both on serve, but I do get that guilty pleasure I often associate with longer than standard frames. The pleasure comes in the form of me not having to exert much effort to get my serve to an effective level, and the guilty feeling is from all the cheap points I get on serve with this stick."

Michelle was surprised at how well she served with the Pure Drive Tour Plus. She said, "I thought if there was going to be an issue with this racquet for me, it might be on serve. Glad I was wrong. I found it easy to hit big, flat serves. I could handcuff my opponent easily with body serves or pick my targets and hit service winners with my big first serves, especially to the T on the deuce side. While I wasn't clocking my first serves, I'm pretty sure I was getting some good speed on them, and the best part was that I didn't have to force it; if my toss and timing were right and I kept my head up, my first serve was a weapon. On second serves I could focus on generating some aggressive kick, and I found that I could get the ball jumping pretty well, again allowing me to feel offensive even when making more of a defensive play. Although, I must admit it was hard to not hit two first serves with this racquet. It was fun to just blast big flat first serves rather than pulling a second serve out of my arsenal."

Returns - Score: 87

Big power, some added reach and a fast feel combined to make the Pure Drive Tour Plus a winner on returns. Finding the Pure Drive Tour Plus a perfect fit for her return game was Michelle. She said, "If I could return serves with this racquet every day, I probably would. This was definitely one of my favorite parts of this playtest. When I was being offensive I worried that I could get a little carried away and overhit, but this really wasn't an issue. I picked my targets and could take big swings. I was getting weak responses off my return and could end the point quite quickly. I had opponents mention that they were struggling to get into rallies with me when I was using this racquet, which is just how I like it - big return and a put-away to win the point. The Pure Drive Tour Plus felt stable when I was returning big first serves, and I could block balls back if I needed to and they would go deep into the court."

Troy enjoyed the added reach while finding surprising maneuverability. He offered, "The easy power was once again appreciated when it came to returning serves. I loved how this racquet allowed me to block serves back with easy depth and power. The racquets I usually play with have a lot of mass and plow through, which helps me to hit returns deep. Although lighter, the inherent power and stiffness of this racquet made it very user-friendly on returns. My first time playing a doubles set with this racquet I was getting more returns back effectively than with my preferred racquet. I was ripping returns cross court with good pace, which made it difficult for the net player to poach. I didn't quite have the precision and feel to execute a chip lob or slice return as well as I can with my Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 Tour 18x20. With the Pure Drive Tour Plus in my hands my two-handed backhand returns were improved. I didn't love the feel of my backhand slice since I didn't have the laser-like precision I have with my racquet. I usually find it difficult to fend off serves hit into my body when I'm using an extended length racquet, but not with the Pure Drive Tour Plus. It seemed to give me the benefit of added reach without the downside of the sluggishness that usually comes with the added length."

"Nice easy power and a solid feel that improved comfort on off-center hits made this a winner on returns, too," said, Chris. He added, "I could defend well since I had the power and stability to block returns back with depth. I liked driving my slice backhand return with this racquet because it felt so solid through contact. I had better success with my Tecnifibre TFlash 300 PS on topspin returns because I felt like I could get it around faster, which opened up more options and angles. With the Pure Drive Tour Plus I was hitting a flatter and straighter drive backhand rather than a rolling, loopy or quickly dipping shot."

Mark continued to enjoy the all court performance of the Pure Drive Tour Plus. He stated, "For me, the positives of the Pure Drive Tour Plus were straight across the board; including my return. It was long enough to assist with digging out wider serves, yet still maneuverable enough for me to hit over the top of the ball on many of my returns."

Overall - Score: 85