Babolat Pure Drive Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 85

Keeping with tradition, the 2015 edition of the Pure Drive was a joy to use from the baseline. It offered the same seemingly perfect blend of power, control and spin. The biggest difference our testers noticed between this Pure Drive and the previous version was the sweetspot being higher up in the hoop, which affected each playtester differently. Chris found more control and responsiveness from the stringbed. He explained, "I found my groove quickly with this racquet. It was just such an easy racquet to use. There was a nice level of power that made trading groundstrokes super easy. I also liked the improved response from the stringbed. The response offered more control, and that led to me hitting more aggressively more often. I also found it easy to rally with this racquet. I would give this racquet more praise on its ease of use, but the Plus length version overshadows it. This one just didn't offer quite the power of the Plus, while I found control to be about the same between the two. I was getting more spin on my shots and I was finding my targets better compared to the previous version."

For fellow Pure Drive veteran Brittany, it was the improved power that stood out. She said, "I grew up playing with several versions of the Pure Drive in high school and college. I also picked up the 2012 version when I was in between racquets for several tournaments I played over the summer. So, when I picked up this update of the Pure Drive I was relieved to find I enjoyed it just as much as the previous versions. There was a small adjustment period due to the raised sweetspot, but I found more power instantly. Once adjusted, I felt comfortable with this racquet in my hands. It was very maneuverable, which was required because I needed that racquet head speed to add spin to my groundstrokes. I was able to get plenty of spin, especially on my shorter angled groundstrokes and passing shots."

It took Tiffani no time to adjust to the 2015 Pure Drive, and she preferred the raised sweetspot. She explained, "From the first hit I was reminded how easy the Babolat Pure Drive is to use. No matter what I've been hitting I can come back to this racquet and seamlessly find a groove. I liked the sweetspot's location on this new version, but I noticed that I was slightly less consistent than with my older Pure Drives. Since I don't use much spin to get the ball to drop in, I was missing a bit more. With more time I'm sure I could dial in the power level and my targeting. I hit with more power with the Pure Drive Plus but I was much more consistent with the standard, and I felt more in tune with the ball at impact."

Jason also found even more power than in previous versions. He raved, "Could Babolat possibly squeeze out even more power with the latest Pure Drive? I think so! I felt like my shots had just a bit more pop to them because they moved the sweetspot up in the hoop, and that's where I tend to hit my shots. The maneuverability, spin potential and feel are all pretty much identical to the previous model, which isn't a bad thing. I felt like I could hit a wide variety of offensive shots with this racquet, but the easy access to power made it a good defensive weapon as well."

Volleys - Score: 81

The Pure Drive proved to be just as effective around the net as it was from the baseline, providing a crisp, solid feel and making deep volleys as simple as point-and-shoot. Jason was a fan of the stability at impact. He said, "I really appreciated the stability of this racquet on my volleys, especially since I'm not the cleanest striker of the ball up at net. Another positive for me was that it was fairly maneuverable. When I needed to volley a ball that was hit at my body I could quickly get the racquet into place."

Tiffani enjoyed the modern feel of the 2015 Pure Drive on her volleys and found herself attacking the net with uncharacteristic aplomb. She praised, "Crisp and clean is how I would describe this Pure Drive at net. I didn't try anything fancy, and I felt at home (as much as I can be at net) with the Pure Drive, punching volleys deep and away. Unlike the Plus, I rarely felt late on my volleys and I was in front of my shots, so I was more confident with the standard Pure Drive."

Sharing a similar sentiment was Brittany, who was putting away volleys with ease but struggling a bit with shots that required more finesse. She explained, "I felt unstoppable at net with the 2015 Pure Drive. The maneuverability and stability allowed me to access a variety of volleys. I found most of my success hitting volleys deep in the court behind my opponent, wrong-footing them. I really enjoyed the feel of this racquet when volleying, which gave me some extra confidence to go for shots. I had average touch, but it worked for me since I do not use touch all that often."

Chris liked the ease of use but noticed a little lack of feel. He also would've made some alterations to get more stability. He said, "I thought this was a good doubles racquet since it felt fast and crisp. I found it easy to get the ball away with this Pure Drive. I also felt pretty connected to my targets. Again, I preferred the response of the Plus version because it had a more solid feel. I'd add weight to this standard version to bump up the swingweight around 10 points and then I'd be good to go. In stock form I found this racquet to be precise on punch volleys but lacking feel on touch shots."

Serves - Score: 84

Typically a favorite shot to hit with past Pure Drives, serves with this updated Pure Drive were no exception. All of the testers noticed a boost in power and effectiveness on their serves over their own racquets of choice. Tiffani felt the new sweetspot technology provided an even bigger boost in power than previous versions. She explained, "Here is where I felt the relocated sweetspot the most. I consistently was getting more speed from the updated Pure Drive compared to my Pure Drive PLAY. The stats from our PlaySight smart court show a boost of only a few miles per hour on average, but I'll take whatever I can get in the power department on my serves. I enjoy serving with any of the Pure Drives because they help me out with some extra pop."

After a short adjustment period Brittany was serving as well as ever, hitting her spots with ample power and spin. She raved, "This is such an easy racquet to get power from. While I didn't get as much power as I did with the extended length, there was plenty for my liking. My first couple of serves landed deep past the service line so I had to remind myself to add a little more spin. Once I did that, I felt in the zone when serving. Since the racquet is very maneuverable my arm never got tired and I could go all out from start to finish."

Jason was also finding greater success than normal on his serves. He said, "I was serving bigger with this racquet than I was with my leaded up Yonex EZONE Ai 100 (from PlaySight numbers), and my Yonex is heavier! Needless to say, I was enjoying serving with this stick. There was plenty of power and plenty of spin."

Chris preferred the extended length version on serve. He said, "I have always served well with the Pure Drive, and this one was no exception. I used to use the Pure Drive Roddick Cortex, and I switched to that largely because of how well I served with it. Ideally, I'd like a bit more weight, but even in stock form I was getting good pace and great spin. My serve speed was down 2-3 mph compared to the Plus on average, but I still felt like I was able to pressure my opponent."

Serve Returns - Score: 85

The Pure Drive continued to impress our playtesters when they were returning serve, once again proving to be easy to use and instilling confidence in them. Brittany's strength in her game is her return of serve, and with this racquet in hand she was as dangerous as ever. She praised, "This is one of the areas where I preferred the standard length frame over the extended length. I was able to get the racquet around faster and I was never late for the serve, and I found excellent stability. I loved returning aggressively and aiming the return wherever I wanted. I found myself starting the point on the offensive most of the time, whether I was returning a first or second serve."

Chris also had access to his full array of returns. He found more than enough stability for chipping the ball back, as well as plenty of maneuverability for taking bit cuts. He said, "This was a great racquet for taking a crack at returns. I also liked it for chipping and charging. The racquet was so fast that it just felt natural to take returns early and follow them to net. I was getting good spin and found the response to be very precise. I found my targets consistently when driving through the ball and could mix in extra spin or pace at will."

Jason was using the extra power to return serves more aggressively than usual. He said, "Like on my groundstrokes, I was finding just a bit more pop on my returns than I did with the previous version. My returns are typically a neutral or defensive shot, but with the 2015 Pure Drive I felt like I could be more aggressive and use my return as an offensive weapon."

Tiffani also appreciated the ease of use when returning serve, although at times she struggled with her control. She reflected, "I really enjoyed the power level. There's ample power, allowing me to hit my returns a bit deeper than I do with other racquets. I think I returned well with it, but I felt more consistent with my Pure Drive PLAY, perhaps due in part to the extra power in the 2015 Pure Drive. However, the 2015 Pure Drive is still more forgiving than a lot of other similar racquets."

Overall - Score: 84

Technical Specifications Length 27 inches 69 centimeters Head Size 100 square inches 645 square centimeters Weight 11.2 ounces 318 grams Balance Point 12.95 inches 33 centimeters 4pts Head Light Construction 23.5mm / 26mm / 22.5mm / Composition Graphite String Pattern 16 mains / 19 crosses

Babolat RDC Ratings Score Grade Flex Rating 72 Range: 0-100 Swing Weight 317 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.

Jason: 4.0 baseliner with a semi-western forehand and two handed backhand. Currently using a Yonex EZONE Ai 100.

Tiffani: 4.0 level baseliner with a semiwestern grip on the forehand and hits a two-handed backhand. Currently playing with the Donnay Formula 100.

Brittany: Open level player with a semi-western forehand and a two-handed backhand. She currently plays with the Yonex EZONE Ai 100.

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

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