Babolat Pure Drive VS Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 87

Our playtesters found that the Babolat Pure Drive VS offered an exceptional balance of control and power from the baseline. Brittany is a big fan of the Pure Drive line and was very excited to see Babolat launching a 98-square-inch version of one of her favorite racquets. She said, "Once I got to the court, this racquet did not disappoint. It was very easy for me to use, and I did not need to adjust to it at all, which is surprising since I tend to prefer 100-square-inch racquets. The controllable power felt similar to my current racquet of choice, the Yonex EZONE 100. I loved how versatile I could be from the baseline. When I needed to be aggressive and step in to put the ball away, I could tap into the racquet's power potential with little effort. I could also add spin to hit some nasty shorter angles and pull my opponent off the court. Lastly, when my opponents were really crushing their groundstrokes, I liked that I could shorten my swing and redirect the ball with pace and depth."

"I loved the fast feel of the Pure Drive VS when looking to add pace and spin to my groundstrokes," continued Chris. "I found it very easy to accelerate the racquet through contact, which made it simple to find angles. I also liked the response of the racquet when hitting passing shots. I felt accurate with the Pure Drive VS in my hands, and I was confident hitting aggressively and going for the lines. When rallying from the baseline, I found the racquet didn't have as much free power as the regular Pure Drive or my Tecnifibre TFlash 300 PS. I'd likely add just a little weight to this Pure Drive VS for easier access to depth."

The Pure Drive VS definitely lived up to its lineage for Jason. He said, "I was getting all the power, spin and depth that I was expecting from a Pure Drive, but this VS model was also giving me more control than I anticipated. This racquet dials the power back just enough to keep me from overhitting. My backhand slice felt fantastic with this racquet; I could keep it low, knifing and deep. Speaking of depth, the standout feature for me was how easy it was to hit my shots deep. The main downside was that the racquet felt stiff and somewhat jarring on mishits."

Sean had some ups and downs with the racquet. He explained, "As I expect most people will be, I was excited to get out and hit a more control-oriented Pure Drive. Spec-wise, this VS is much more in tune with what I would normally gravitate toward; the thinner beam and smaller head are, as we are prone to say, right in my wheelhouse. My experience off the ground was exactly what I expected, and power and spin were abundant whether I was playing aggressively or scrambling on defense. However, although the sub-320 swingweight was enjoyably maneuverable, it weakened the top of the hoop and often felt unstable."

Volleys - Score: 84

Up at net, the Pure Drive VS provided enough easy power and maneuverability to punch volleys deep in the court and end points quickly. Chris thought the Pure Drive VS offered a solid blend of power and control at net. He said, "I was able to punch volleys deep with good pace while still feeling very much in control. I liked the amount of feel I had on my touch volleys, as the racquet had a crisp and clean response. Again, maneuverability was excellent, which made it very easy to get the racquet in position."

For the most part, Sean was successful up at net with the Pure Drive VS. He noted, "I really enjoyed how easy it was to get this racquet into position at net, and I felt the stiffness provided a crisp 'pop' at contact. Control was decent: not point-and-shoot but accurate enough to get the job done. A little more weight would've helped when dealing with heavy pace and spin, but overall I was satisfied with how this racquet performed at net."

"The Pure Drive VS' impressive maneuverability made it easy to get the racquet into position and hit volleys," added Brittany. "Punching volleys deep was my go-to shot up at net. I was also really impressed with my pick-up volley and made a higher percentage than normal. If I had to give any sort of negative on this racquet (which was hard to find), I would say that it felt a little stiff outside of the sweetspot, especially up at net."

Jason thought the Pure Drive VS felt pretty good on volleys. He said, "There was more than enough put-away power, as well as great spin and touch. I don't say this often, but I would've liked a few more swingweight points here. I thought this racquet felt slightly less stable than a standard Pure Drive on off-center hits."

Serves - Score: 90

True to its heritage, the Babolat Pure Drive VS impressed our playtesters most on serve. The serve was Brittany's favorite shot to hit with this racquet, hands-down. She raved, "This was no surprise since the standard Pure Drive is one of my top serving racquets. I enjoyed the easy power that translated into deep, heavy serves. Compared to the Pure Drive, I found I had a little more precision. All I needed to do was aim at a target, and I would produce effective first serves. I noticed I was getting more free points off my serve than normal. I preferred hitting first serves and had to be a little cautious not to overhit my second serve."

Jason's serves were zinging with this racquet. He said, "I was getting really good pace on my serves as well as great access to spin. I was winning my service games a little bit easier with this racquet, which is always a welcome outcome for me."

The Pure Drive VS was very versatile for Chris on serves. He described, "In true Pure Drive fashion, getting spin and pace was easy when serving with the Pure Drive VS. I liked hitting my slice serve with this racquet and was getting some nice action on that shot. On the deuce side, I was able to either pull my opponent wide or cut the ball into their body with my slice. My flat serves were also working well, and I had plenty of options when stepping up to the line."

While Sean found loads power with the Pure Drive VS, he was looking for a little more precision. He said, "Unsurprisingly, this racquet provided a ton of power and spin on serve. This translated to huge, flat first serves and heavy spin on the seconds. There was a bit too much power at times, though, which meant I had to pick larger targets. If you are a spot server, this racquet probably won't be your cup of tea, but if you rely on power and spin to get the job done, you'll find plenty here."

Returns - Score: 88

Our playtesters all agreed that the Pure Drive VS' power and access to spin made it shine on returns. Jason was able to tap into the Pure Drive's return potential against a variety of serves. He explained, "It's definitely a racquet that allows versatility in returns. Against bigger servers when I could only chip or block a serve back, my shots were landing with relatively good depth. When I had chances to get aggressive on a return, the power I'd expect from a Pure Drive was there, and the access to spin helped keep it down and in the court."

The return of serve was a major highpoint of the playtest for Chris. He said, "I found the Pure Drive VS maneuverable enough to take a good rip at incoming serves. The level of power also felt spot on. I could generate lots of pace, yet I also found it easy to control my returns with lots of spin. Both my topspin and slice returns worked well. The return was one of my favorite shots to hit with this racquet."

"I thought returning with the Pure Drive VS went pretty well," added Sean. "The stiffness, although unforgiving, held its own whether I was blocking the ball back or looking to be aggressive. I had some control issues early on, but I felt very comfortable returning once I adjusted to the launch angle."

Brittany had a similar experience. She said, "Since Pure Drive is in the name of this racquet, you have to expect a lot of power, and this power was most noticeable on the returns. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, just something I needed to keep in mind. In the beginning, I was sailing a couple long. Luckily, this didn't take long to iron out. All it took was a little extra spin, and my returns were dropping deep in the court, right in front of the baseline."

Overall - Score: 85