Babolat Pure Strike VS Tour Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 75

It took a bit of time for our playtesters to adjust to the Pure Strike VS Tour when hitting from the baseline, but once they did the control and maneuverability it offered turned out to be our favored attributes. However, almost everyone noted a lack of feel. "I liked the fast, whippy feel as soon as I picked this racquet up and began swinging away from the baseline," Troy explained. "The weight and balance of this racquet felt similar to the previous iteration, the Pure Control Tour, but with the Pure Strike VS Tour I found a crisper and more modern feel. When I started hitting with it my timing was off on my groundstrokes because the swingweight is about 10-15 points lower than my usual racquet, and I was noticing a lack of plow through. Once I adjusted to the swingweight I was getting loads of spin due to the easy maneuverability, and I thought the 16x20 string pattern allowed for good bite on the ball. As I did with the Pure Control Tour, I was finding good precision, and I felt like I could place the ball where I wanted within the court. I was able to hit my slice backhands with lots of backspin to keep the ball skidding low, although I would have liked more weight in the head of this racquet to help generate easier depth. Overall, I enjoyed the performance of this racquet from the baseline, but I think it would benefit from some added weight in the head to help with put away power and easier depth of shots."

Chris thought this Pure Strike VS Tour felt more similar to prior iterations than its direct predecessor. He shared, "With the Pure Strike VS Tour, Babolat has resurrected the feel of the old Pure Storm Tour GT. I wish they'd cosmetically updated the Pure Control Tour instead. Let me explain. Just like the Pure Storm Tour GT, this Pure Strike VS Tour provides a classic low powered player's racquet response, but both also lack feel. The response of the Pure Strike VS Tour left me feeling disconnected from my shots. On the other hand, the recently discontinued Pure Control Tour offered superb control, more power, and most importantly, tons of feel for touch shots. I found the Pure Strike VS Tour to play a little better at the bottom end of the tension range and with a very soft poly or a multi/poly hybrid to improve comfort. When strung at anything close to or above mid tension, the Pure Strike VS Tour lacked comfort and was very underpowered for its weight. My spin production was OK, but nothing approaching what I get from my Pure Drive Plus. I did like the response of the racquet on my slice backhand, and the controlled response worked well on approach shots and short put-aways."

Michelle took a bit of time to adjust to the racquet as well, but she preferred it over another VS Tour racquet that she recently playtested. She offered, "First, I have to say that the paint job of this racquet confused me a bit because it played much differently than the Pure Strike 16x19 (Project One7) that we tested. Second, something about the VS Tour racquets have messed with my swing a bit. I've been whipping up through the ball instead of extending out, which is a problem for my game, so I didn't love that it has thrown my game off a bit. That said, I did enjoy this VS Tour much more than the Pure Aero VS Tour. I felt more connected to my shots with this racquet, and the ball felt more solid at contact. The racquet was whippy and fast but still had enough plow through to allow me to hit deep and attack. The tight string pattern helped me with accuracy and pinpointing targets. There were times when balls I hit should have gone out but instead landed inside the baseline because of the extra spin and lack of plow through."

Although there were aspects of the Pure Strike VS Tour that Andy appreciated, he never really felt at home with it from the baseline. He critiqued, "I had a hard time dialing in my groundstrokes during this playtest. I found the feel of the Pure Strike VS Tour to be very stiff, and at times uncomfortable. I also didn't feel much connection to the ball. The modern feel did lend itself to good power when I hit inside the sweetspot, but I was feeling some discomfort from off-center contact all through my arm. I also thought the string pattern provided some decent directional control but not much spin potential, so I couldn't really get the ball moving and diving down at the baseline on my topspin shots. When I was going for more spin I struggled to control the depth, either sending the ball sailing long when I caught it in the sweetspot or dropping it short if contact wasn't just right. I appreciated the racquet's stability (though not its comfort) on off-center contact, but I wasn't a fan when hitting from the baseline."

Volleys - Score: 77

The TW playtesters enjoyed the head light and maneuverable feel of the Pure Strike VS Tour around the net, but they would've liked a little better connection to the ball as it left the stringbed. "It was easy to get the Pure Strike VS Tour around at net," Chris remarked. "I enjoyed the head light balance, and the racquet felt solid and stable. The ample control let me punch volleys aggressively, but I would have liked a better connection with the response on touch shots. I also found the racquet to play a tad harsh if I caught the ball toward the tip of the hoop."

Andy appreciated the racquet's directional control and solid feel on his volleys, but he shared Chris' laments when it came to feel and comfort. He said, "I had a little better experience volleying with this racquet. I enjoyed the racquet's stability and solid feel. It was easy to punch volleys deep in the court with a short, simple swing. However, I once again struggled with the feel, and I didn't feel all that connected to my shots. This especially came into play when I was going for a shot that required softer hands and more finesse. The net was my favorite place to be during this playtest, although I can't say that this was a great racquet to volley with."

Troy liked the crisp, solid feel but prefers the response of some more traditional-style racquets. He said, "The weight and balance of this racquet made it easy for me to manipulate it at the net. When I was off balance and didn't quite have my weight behind the ball I could use my wrist to hit an effective volley. I found a nice crisp feel on contact when I was able to set my feet and punch my volleys. The response and feedback of this racquet were good on touch/drop volleys, but not quite at the same level as my preferred Wilson Six.One 95 or the Volkl Power Bridge 10 Mid. The downside for me was the slight lack of stability that I found when volleying against hard hit shots. I wasn't able to get the easy depth on my volleys that I would've liked. Overall, though, I was pleased with the command I had over the ball at net."

Michelle would have liked a little more mass through the hoop, but ultimately she grew to enjoy the control and maneuverability the Pure Strike VS Tour offered for her net game. She said, "Initially this racquet felt really head light when I was at the net, which I don't like because I have a tendency to let my wrist flop back at contact. Once I got used to the weight the Pure Strike VS Tour became a good volleying racquet. I found some good touch, and I was effective hitting deep, aggressive or swinging volleys."

Serves - Score: 79

Our playtesters had a mixed bag of opinions after serving with the Pure Strike VS Tour. Some testers found plenty of power while others found it under-powered. Half our team found it spin-friendly while others struggled to get enough rotation on the ball. Andy found the Pure Strike VS Tour to be powerful and controllable, but he was one of the testers that struggled to generate enough spin. He offered, "The racquet's power and directional control worked great for hitting big flat first serves. I could generate a lot of pace and get the ball going at my intended targets pretty consistently. However, I had issues with generating spin, so my kick and slice serves weren't as effective as they normally are. I relied on going for flatter first serves and aiming for big targets with my second serves."

Chris had a similar experience. He expounded, "I struggled to find enough spin to serve consistently with the Pure Strike VS Tour. I liked the way its weight came through contact, and my pace was decent. However, I struggled to get any bite on the ball. I tested this racquet with two very spin-friendly co-poly strings but was unable to get the spin I expected, which was a shame. I was getting good pace, and with some additional spin I think I could have served at a higher percentage."

Michelle, who is normally a fan of heavier racquets, liked how easy it was to generate racquet head speed and spin. She explained, "When I first started serving with this racquet it was coming through too fast because it's so maneuverable. I felt like I was making contact way too far in front of my body, resulting in some careless errors. Once I got used to the weight and adjusted my timing I was able to take advantage of the movement I was getting off my serve. Kick and slice serves were effective, and my flat serve was pretty precise after I dialed it in."

Troy and Michelle have similar taste in racquets, and not surprisingly, they had similar experiences serving with the Pure Strike VS Tour. Troy shared, "My serve was free flowing with this racquet in my hand. I found easy maneuverability that provided some relief to my shoulder compared to some of the heavier racquets I typically keep in my bag. Spin serves came with ease, especially my kick serve. I was able to generate a lot of racquet head speed, and it helped me kick the ball off the court. The racquet's control had me feeling confident locating my targets, too. Furthermore, I was getting good pop on my first serves when I hit flat down the 'T'. The only thing that I would change/add is a little bit of tip weight to increase the power of my serves."

Returns - Score: 76

Our testers were generally pretty pleased with how the Pure Strike VS Tour worked for their return games. Michelle praised, "This racquet felt pretty forgiving on returns. Sometimes when I didn't make clean contact with the ball I still hit an effective return. There were also a few moments of instability on my return when the racquet wobbled at contact. Again, I was rewarded by the whippiness of this racquet. It gave my balls good arc or movement through the court."

Short, simple returns worked better for Chris than bigger cuts at the ball. He explained, "My block and chip returns worked well with this racquet. It felt stable, and I was able to push the ball back with depth. I would have liked more feel on my drive returns and slice backhands. I found enough pace, but I didn't feel totally dialed in."

Andy had a similar experience to Chris. He shared, "The racquet's directional control and stability worked well for my return game. If I took a short swing I could get the ball back deep in the court pretty consistently. Chipping back defensive returns was also easy because of the Pure Strike VS Tour's overall mass. I had to be careful not to take to big a swing, though, because then I could easily lose control."

Troy appreciated the fast feel, but once again, he would have preferred a little more heft and swingweight to help him get more consistent depth on his shots. He said, "I felt comfortable stepping in and being aggressive on my returns with this racquet. The fast feel allowed me to take big cuts at the ball whenever the server left the ball sitting in my wheelhouse. I also found it easy to flick the racquet and pop up a lob return to keep me in the point when I needed to be more defensive. The low swingweight of the Pure Strike VS Tour was a downside for me whenever I had to slice or block a return. If I couldn't take a big swing the lack of plow through made it hard for me to land the ball deep in the court."

Overall - Score: 74