Babolat Pure Drive Tour Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 88

Continuing the tradition of the Pure Drive Roddick, the Pure Drive Tour packs a powerful punch. With a responsive sweetspot that has been strategically placed higher in the stringbed, this racquet piqued the interest of our playtesters. Chris, who used to play with the Pure Drive Roddick Cortex, was really looking forward to seeing what this update could do for his game. While he realized this racquet wouldn't be one to win him over with a silky smooth, plush feel, he knew power was in store. He said, "I immediately found that familiar power, control, stability and spin I used to love with my old Roddicks. For me, this Pure Drive Tour continues on the trend of getting the point won in a quick and decisive manner. It just makes it easier for me to end points quickly. It is as simple as that. With this racquet every point becomes a waiting game for the next big forehand or backhand. I love that I can rally consistently with little effort and then step in and crush the ball when given the chance. The added weight of the Tour version brings some additional comfort to every hit, and I never felt any harshness even when hitting with stiffer poly strings. When measuring my hitting with our PlaySight smart court I discovered I was hitting consistently bigger with this racquet over the Pure Drive Tour Plus. My average shot speed was higher for both forehands and backhands. Most impressively, I was also more consistent. It's too close to call whether I prefer this racquet or the lighter Pure Drive Plus off the ground."

Considering her current racquet of choice is the Pure Drive Roddick, Michelle was hoping for the best in this update, and Babolat didn't disappoint. She said, "This racquet felt awesome on groundstrokes, simple as that! In 2013 I switched from the Pure Drive to the Pure Drive Roddick, and since then I have really enjoyed the extra weight and beefier feel from that racquet. This Pure Drive Tour is right on par. It just felt like what I know to be right from a racquet. This update remains maneuverable, powerful and fun to play with when paired with my aggressive game. I didn't have to worry about an adjustment period or anything; it was a simple transition for me. I had no comfort issues at all but don't normally suffer from comfort problems with any of the Pure Drives. I did notice a bit more power coming off the sweetspot now that it's been moved a bit higher in the stringbed, which honestly, I didn't necessarily need. The spin potential was there when I needed to change up the arc of the ball or throw in a defensive lob. Despite the tighter string pattern I didn't really notice (or receive) any extra control, which I was hoping to find in this update. The devil and angel always seem to appear when I play with the Pure Drive racquets -- I love the power but am not sure I need that extra pop -- mainly because when I get into pressure situations I have a tendency to overhit, which can be a dangerous combo with a powerful racquet. At the end of the day, this racquet is just too much fun to hit with, and if I can find a little extra control with some low powered strings, it'll work for me!"

Finding amped up pace was Troy, who made hitting heavy shots from the baseline with this racquet look easy. He commented, "I found the control aspect of this racquet to be slightly better than previous versions, possibly due to the FSI technology providing a denser string pattern in the sweetspot. My baseline game was very consistent as long as I hit with heavy topspin and aimed for big targets. The one knock that I have with this racquet, compared to racquets that I typically favor, such as the Wilson Six.One 95 and RF97, is that I just don't feel as confident hitting targets close to the lines. When I'm trying to be offensive I like to hit to the corners of the court and make my opponent run; with this racquet I don't find the same precision."

The extra weight of the Pure Drive Tour made a world of difference in feel for Karly and her game. She said, "The racquet felt extremely solid on contact and drove through the ball easily, with good plow through. I could swing through the ball without losing any momentum on my stroke, which I loved. Along with the extra mass and easy drive, the response was very lively. The ball hardly stayed on the strings at all before it jumped off the racquet. Like the standard version, the easy power is still there, but I also thought the added weight helped give this racquet a little more control. I had an easier time placing my shots where I wanted with the Tour than with the regular version. The maneuverability wasn't quite as good, but it was very manageable and it didn't take me as long as I thought it would to adjust to the heavier weight. It actually felt faster than the swingweight states and was easy to get used to. All in all, this was a very solid racquet to use from the baseline."

Volleys - Score: 80

While Pure Drive racquets aren't known to have the best touch at the net, offensive tennis was the name of the game when moving forward and taking control of the point with the Pure Drive Tour. Continuing to have a seamless transition with this racquet was Michelle, who had no issues volleying. She offered, "Just like with my Pure Drive Roddick, volleys were easy to put away, because the Pure Drive Tour is super stable and maneuverable. Touch has never been the forte of this racquet, but since I have used Pure Drives forever I had no issues carving out a little touch here and there. Blocking big balls back was simple, and swinging volleys were awesome and always a favorite shot of mine to hit at the net."

"This racquet was very stable when coming to the net," said Troy. "It made it easy to block volleys back with good depth due to the mass and the firm feel. I found good maneuverability when having to react quickly on hard shots drilled at me. The aspect of this racquet that I didn't favor was the overall lack of response or feel. I was able to hit drop volleys and short angles, but I didn't feel connected to the ball."

Karly charged the net ready to attack with this racquet. She said, "It played like a weapon at net. The lively response and power were magnified compared to all other areas of the court. There was so much pop off the stringbed that generating powerful shots was extremely easy. I also thought the mobility was faster, so I didn't have to put much thought into getting into position to hit a powerful volley. Instead, I had to put most of my effort into controlling where my shots went, which didn't come as naturally as it did at the baseline. It was easy to overhit and the racquet lacked any type of touch at all, so controlling my volleys took more work than hitting them with power."

That rock solid feel at net was something Chris appreciated from this racquet, and he was able to put the racquet's mass to good use on both defensive and offensive volleys. He explained, "When I was caught around the service line this racquet offered enough pop and stability to help me dig out a tough volley. When I was closer to the net I loved the way it came through the ball on punch volleys. As with other Pure Drives, feel was not its strong point, but the solid response allowed me to hold it gently for added touch without compromising too much stability."

Serves - Score: 88

Our playtesters really keyed into the raw power the Pure Drive Tour offered when it came to serving. They also were satisfied with the spin they could access when changing things up. "This racquet definitely packs a punch on serves!" exclaimed Troy. "I found I was hitting first serves with lots of pace, and the spin I could create on slice and kick serves was plentiful. The maneuverability of this racquet helped me get easy wrist pronation, which resulted in some added RPMs on my spin serves and pop on the flat ones. The control on serves wasn't the best, although I felt that was outweighed by the added pace."

Karly had no issues whatsoever accessing power with her serve, but serving with control was another story. She said, "That lively response and easy power dominated yet again on serves. Serving with pace came so naturally that at times it was overwhelming. I was more comfortable serving with spin to keep the ball from going long. Thankfully, the Pure Drive Tour offered good access to spin to make that task simple. The combination of power and spin made my kick serve lethal."

The serve became Chris' favorite shot during this playtest, and he was happy with how well he performed with the Pure Drive Tour in hand. He noted, "I found easy access to power, spin, depth and accuracy. I was able to keep both serves cooking without making many errors. There was so much power from this racquet that I found I could relax and focus on dialing in my targets. The racquet also impressed me with ample comfort, as it plowed through the ball very well while never tiring my arm."

"Again, this was an easy adjustment, and it felt very similar to serving with the Pure Drive Roddick," Michelle added. "It's possible that the FSI technology may have even helped amp my power up on my first serves compared to my Pure Drive Roddick. I loved how I could use this racquet to hit an aggressive flat first serve or change things up and hit some heavy slice. Hitting a big kicker for a second serve was no problem. This racquet provided great plow through and access to whatever spin I wanted to hit, leaving me with endless options when serving."

Serve Returns - Score: 88

Stability, maneuverability and controlled power all came together perfectly for our team when returning with the Pure Drive Tour. Karly was much happier returning with this racquet than she was serving with it. She felt like she was back in control of where her shots were going. She said, "The racquet still felt lively and very powerful, but it just wasn't as overwhelming for returns. That solid feel, the stability and the zippy response made it great for hitting aggressive returns."

The weight and balance of this racquet felt spot on for Chris on his serve returns. He said. "I found that elusive balance of maneuverability and stability. The racquet always felt fast and easy to accelerate through the ball, yet it also felt rock solid at impact. On offensive returns I was hitting a powerful shot that would punch an opponent off the baseline. When defending, I had the stability and power needed to block serves back accurately and with little effort. This was simply a great racquet on returns and one that is tough to beat for me."

"My love for the Pure Drive line comes from how I feel when returning with this racquet -- it's just awesome to attack with complete confidence with such a stable, fast and powerful racquet," Michelle raved. "Like the Pure Drive Tour Plus and my Pure Drive Roddick, I loved returning with this racquet. I could dictate and control the point right off the bat and be as aggressive as I wanted. It was easy to get my racquet moving quickly through the ball and accelerating to attack. I could place returns deep into the corners of the court or deal with a bigger serve by blocking it back or knifing a slice deep in the court. I was rewarded when I was swinging big with this racquet, and it felt perfect when it all came together.

Troy liked this racquet as much on returns as he did on serves. He added, "The fact that this racquet was giving me easy depth and a big sweetspot on returns was making me all warm and fuzzy inside. The lack of precision that I mentioned on groundstrokes and volleys wasn't an issue on returns because I focus on hitting big targets with good depth. Overall, I found that my return game was enhanced with this racquet."

Overall - Score: 86

Technical Specifications Length 27 inches 69 centimeters Head Size 100 square inches 645 square centimeters Weight 11.8 ounces 335 grams Balance Point 12.75 inches 32 centimeters 6pts Head Light Construction 23.5mm / 26mm / 22.5mm / Composition Graphite String Pattern 16 Mains / 19 Crosses

Babolat RDC Ratings Score Grade Flex Rating 70 Range: 0-100 Swing Weight 327 Range: 200-400

Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester Profiles

Chris: 4.5 all-court player currently using the Wilson Six.One 95S. Chris uses a full-western forehand grip, has a fast swing style and hits a one-handed backhand.

Michelle: Open level baseline player with a semi-western forehand and a two handed backhand. She currently plays with the Babolat Pure Drive Roddick.

Troy: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a full Western Forehand and a two-handed backhand. Troy currently plays with a Wilson BLX Six.One 95.

Karly: 4.0 baseline player currently playing with the Volkl Organix 10 Mid. She hits with a semi-western forehand grip and uses a two handed backhand.

Review date: December 2014. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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