The controlled, predictable response of Pure Strike 97 quickly translated into confidence for our playtesters when they were swinging big and building points. Compared to the outgoing Pure Strike VS, Chris found an improved response from the upper hoop of this racquet. He explained, "I liked the VS when strung with a forgiving multifilament or with a poly string and some weight added to the upper hoop. This updated 97 felt good to go in stock form with my favorite poly strings. The response felt much more solid, providing additional depth and pace without any loss in control. I liked that I could take full cuts at the ball and be confident I wouldn't overhit with this racquet. I found the racquet very spin-friendly, and I think that partly came from my ability to constantly carry a lot of racquet head speed through my swings."

Right away, Troy found the levels control and precision he likes in a racquet. He said, "The strength of my baseline game isn't necessarily raw power, but when I am playing my best I hit a pretty heavy ball (so a combination of spin, depth and pace), and I also like to move the ball all over the court. I felt like I could swing big with this racquet, hit a heavy ball, and there was enough control and feel for me to place the ball where I wanted to. I will also mention that even though this racquet has a 16x20 pattern, the string spacing is relatively wide, so I felt like I got just as much if not more spin potential and easy launch angle as I did with the Yonex Percept 97 or Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14. This Pure Strike 97 felt pretty stable on most shots, although I wouldn't mind adding a bit of weight in the hoop (around 3 and 9 o'clock) to see how that might improve the stability and plow through."

"In the past, with this is the type of racquet I would look at the specs and realize it wasn't a perfect match for me based on some specs like the swingweight; but going into 2024, I am potentially searching for a new racquet of choice, so I am trying to be as open as possible," began Michelle. "The swingweight suggested it would be fast to swing, and I was happy to find the racquet offered good stability and wasn't feeling like it was pushed around even against big hitters. I could play a really creative game when using this racquet and was mixing it up with slice, droppers as well as bigger flat shots, but I was searching for a bit more sting behind my shots. I appreciated the updated feel and remembered not loving the feel at impact, possibly noting a tinny feel, and this was fixed for me in this update! I will critique the leather grip, though. As someone who enjoys the feel bare leather, this grip was a tad slippery, and I always was looking to add an overgrip. However, on the positive, I loved coaching with this racquet and found it so stable yet fast to whip through one-handed backhands (like when my hands were full with balls) and could get the ball back in play."

After just a few shots exchanges from the baseline, Mark felt right at home with the familiar and fast feel of the Pure Strike 97. He explained, "My rally tolerance was pretty good. The high 11-ounce strung weight and low 320 swingweight absorbed pace and allowed me to change direction of the ball from the baseline without a fuss. The 16x20 string pattern is a favorite of mine because it strikes middle ground in terms of an open pattern launch angle for safety over the net and easy access to spin, but it is still tight enough to help keep my backhand slice linear and low over the net."

Our TW playtesters found the Pure Strike 97 to have a nice balance from all areas of the court, but especially when they came to the net to execute volleys. "There was a solid amount of mass built in, which translated to good stability," stated Troy. "That mass made it relatively easy to punch my volleys deep in the court. Quite possibly the best attribute of this racquet was the control and precision, which allowed me to place the ball in the corners and finesse the drop volleys. The solid feel, head-light balance, and overall precision reminds me a lot of the Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14, which is one of my favorite racquets to volleys with. I also liked the firmer feel of the leather grip underneath the overgrip, which I felt enhanced to overall connectedness to my shots."

Michelle liked how maneuverable the racquet was when she came forward and said, "It held up well to big shots. I had no issues executing volleys with this racquet and enjoyed coming to net to finish my points."

Exuding confidence when executing his volleys was Mark, who said, "I detected improvement here compared to the Pure Strike VS in terms of the size of the sweetspot. It also had a more solid feel outside the sweetspot. I would like to think I almost always hit dead center when volleying, but that simply is not the case. Luckily, my lack of precision was protected by the Pure Strike 97's improved feel and stability."

"I felt very connected to my volleys with the Pure Strike 97," added Chris. "I loved the controlled feel from the racquet. My drop volleys and angles were finding their targets nicely. The racquet had just enough mass to feel stable, yet a nice head-light feel for maneuverability. Again, I felt this racquet was a good fit for my game, and all of my shots were working well with it."

When it came to serving with the Pure Strike 97, the playtesters enjoyed the ability to hit their targets but were missing a bit of pop. "I thought the racquet was very predictable when serving and offered me the option to execute strong slice serves, fairly flat bombs and kickers that popped up and out of the strike zone," expressed Michelle. "It offered a good blend of power and control when needed, but I would say it was more precise rather than powerful. As someone who lately just wants to hit big first serves, I just wasn't hitting my fastest serves with this racquet, but I could be more creative with my slice serves."

Lately, there have been quite a few playtests where the serve ended up being Mark's favorite shot to hit; and while he loved this Pure Strike 97 all over the court, the serves was once again his favorite shot to hit. He continued, "I cannot name just one single trait that made me feel so effective, but it was probably a cumulative result of the weight, balance, swingweight, stiffness and string spacing that made my serve a little harder to deal with."

The one area where Chris would have liked a little more power was on serve. He said, "I felt like I got out what I put in with this racquet. My consistency was very good, and I was also very happy with the amount of spin I could generate. However, I get more power from the mass of my Head Prestige Classic 2.0 and also find more zip out of my old Speed Pros."

"When it came to hitting serves, it was all about the control and spin potential," stated Troy. "Like I previously mentioned, the precision and my ability to place the ball where I wanted was really good with this Pure Strike 97 in my hand. I could locate my targets on serve and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of spin and kick I could generate. Even though it is a 16x20 pattern, I could generate easy spin on my serves, just as much if not more than some 16x19 patterned racquets. I wouldn't say that power was necessarily this racquet's strong suit, but I still found a good amount of pace when I needed it. I think that with the head-light balance and relatively manageable swingweight, this aided with generating racquet head speed and resulted in easy spin and decent power (considering it is more of a control type of player's racquet)."

The positive reviews continued when our team was asked to critique returning with the Pure Strike 97. Mark continued to be impressed with the all-court versatility he found from this racquet. He said, "I bumped at least 50 percent of my returns back into play like a half volley, but the more time logged with it, the more often I successfully took an aggressive topspin cut at the return."

Having some fun with his return and this racquet, Chris offered, "I was able to redirect pace with it very well. From a compact backswing I was swinging aggressively and found controlled power with ample spin. As from other areas of the court I found all of my shots to be working consistently, which led to lots of confidence."

"This racquet rewarded me when I was being aggressive with my returns," said Troy. "There was a solid feel when I moved forward and attacked with my forehand return; it felt smooth, and the ball felt like it was coming off the racquet with some zip. It was relatively easy to use the mass of this racquet and hit my returns deep in the court. With that said, I might try adding just a bit of weight in the hoop, so I could plow through the ball even easier. I loved the backhand slice return and noticed a lot of feel for the ball; I could keep the ball low and deep in the court. When playing doubles, the control and precision worked well for me, finding I could place the ball confidently."

Michelle was feeling creative when returning with this racquet and added, "I took advantage of the maneuverability and pulled my opponents off the court with my first strike. As per usual, I enjoyed tattooing the down-the-line returns too. The racquet felt more stable than what I was expecting. I also felt like I could take the ball nice and early and keep things out in front and found some effective returns."