I could still hit a big ball and put balls away, but it wasn't as easy for me to slap a running forehand winner up the line or hit two consistent forehands in a row. I like to play offensively from all areas of the court, and this racquet forced me to play slightly smarter and access my defense more. My groundstrokes felt pretty solid, but I struggled because the sweetspot felt smaller than what I'm used to in my Pure Drive, and there wasn't a consistent feel throughout the stringbed. I have never loved any racquet that has an 18x20 string pattern, so this was a challenge. There is definitely a flexible feel to this racquet and newfound comfort, which explains why I am seeing players who never would pick up a Babolat racquet really enjoying these Strikes. I think the Pure Strike is a move in a different direction for Babolat. She explained, "It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Babolat frames and have used some form of a Pure Drive for more than 12 years. However, she found less power and a smaller sweetspot from this racquet. Michelle knew this was going to be a challenging playtest because of the 18x20 string pattern, but as a Pure Drive user with an aggressive game, she was excited to try a racquet designed for first strikers. I could play this racquet with a poly, a poly/multi hybrid or even go with a tightly strung multi - it was that versatile." The overall response was fast, accurate and surprisingly solid. I liked the way I could change the direction of play with it, and it was a great racquet to be aggressive with. It just felt very fast and responsive when I moved inside the court. I loved the way I could take the ball on the rise with this racquet. The power level was about medium for a player's racquet, and that left me with a lot of confidence to swing aggressively. He said, "I found excellent control with a very accurate and precise response. Our playtesters were able to experiment with several string setups - from full beds of poly to multis to hybrids - to make sure that they got the most out of this playtest.Ĭhris really enjoyed this racquet from the baseline. However, there was some concern with a slightly small sweetspot, which left some of our bigger hitters craving a bit more from this racquet. The tight 18x20 string pattern in the Pure Strike added precision to our playtesters' groundstrokes and ended up giving them enough confidence to swing out.
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