The highest selling racket in the world gets a new edition to its family with the Babolat Pure Drive VS in 2019. Featured in a unique 98 sq. inch head size, this thinner beam version of the Pure Drive offers a tad more control than its conventional version, and is sold in pairs. The ideology of selling two rackets at the same time was to ensure that the weight of the frames was within 1.9 grams of each other.
The 16×19 string pattern kept intact the power quotient of this frame, but there’s no mistaking that the regular version of the Pure Drive does in fact have more power for the baseline player. That said, for those players that are currently using a Pure Strike, this racket is definitely worth a try. The thinner beam will add more control to your game, and the high stiffness index of 68 will provide enough power (albeit not as much as the regular Pure Drive) to be present.
Stringing my rackets at 45 LBS historically, I found that the Pure Drive VS responded very well with RPM Team or Babolat Origin placed in it. Baseline shots were hit with ease and volleys at the net were struck with even more precision compared with regular Pure Drive. Serves on the other hand weren’t hit as hard when struck flat, but the spin and placement of second serves were more than effective.
The strung weight of 11.2 ounces will be welcomed by advanced players as flow-through on ground-strokes and returns were hit in a solid and balanced manner.
All in all, if you’re in the market for a Pure Drive with more control and natural weight, then the Pure Drive VS will be your go-to racket this Spring/Summer.
You can purchase the Pure Drive VS at the following stores:
