Babolat Pure Control Tour Racket Review
Summary
The Babolat Pure Control Tour lives up to its name, providing exceptional control with above average maneuverability and feel. Our playtesters found themselves in total command of their shots from all areas of the court. Little effort was needed to generate racket head speed, leading to lots of pace and spin. There were mixed feelings amongst our playtesters regarding where the Pure Control Tour performed the best, but they all agreed that it performed very, very well. Players looking for a control-oriented racket that's easy to swing will appreciate the precision and feel of the Pure Control Tour.
| Babolat Pure Control Tour Scores | |
|---|---|
| Power | 78/100 |
| Comfort | 83/100 |
| Touch/Feel | 87/100 |
| Serves | 81/100 |
| Groundstrokes | 84/100 |
| Returns | 81/100 |
| Slice | 82/100 |
| Topspin | 82/100 |
| Volleys | 84/100 |
| Overall | 85/100 |
Overall - Score : 85/100
Groundstrokes - Score: 84/100
Our playtesters really enjoyed the Pure Control Tour from the baseline, particularly its level of precision and maneuverability. By offering lots of control this racket is inherently low on power. Most testers noted it was harder to produce a heavier ball on groundstrokes. Overall, they all enjoyed the excellent maneuverability, great control and nice crisp feel.
Volleys - Score: 84/100
The team found plenty of feel and control on their volleys with the Pure Control Tour. The plush feel offered comfort without leaving them feeling disconnected from the ball. While some of the players were impressed by how stable the Pure Control felt considering its swingweight, others wanted a little more weight to make it easier to hit penetrating, deep volleys.
Serves - Score: 81/100
The low swingweight and exceptional feel of the Pure Control Tour allowed most of our playtesters to serve really well. The low swingweight made it easy to attack the ball with pace and spin. Stronger serves will find ample room to add weight to the racquet so they can hit a heavier ball. Apart from the lightweight there were no complaints and our players enjoyed what this Babolat offered.
Serve Returns – Score: 81/100
There were mixed results for the team when it came to returning serve with the Pure Control Tour. Some playtesters really got dialed in, while others wished for a bit more heft for more stability and easier access to depth. Two testers felt this Babolat needed more power and thought a hybrid string would be the best match for this racket. The other two testers enjoyed the controlled response as it allowed them to swing aggressively and go after their shots.
Likes:
Chris - "A fantastic racket! I loved the spin, control, feel and maneuverability. The balance felt great, and I loved how I could accelerate the racket through the ball for maximum pace and spin."
Mark - "I love the grip shape, along with just about every other aspect of this particular racket. The feel of it is deserving of the name. I was generating some excellent pace as long as I wasn't exhausted from too much play."
Troy - "Pure Control is a very fitting name, since I felt in command of the ball at all times. There was good stability during heavy exchanges. I like the feel of this racket more than the previous Pure Storm Tour."
Andy - "It has a nice crisp feel, it's maneuverable and surprising stable for its swingweight. I found excellent control and responsiveness as well, which kept me connected to the ball."
Dislikes:
Chris - "None. This racket felt great, and I played very well with it in stock form. I could add some weight since I like heavy rackets, but there is really nothing wrong with this racket for me."
Mark - "We tested this racket with a polyester string. I would go to a poly mains / multifilament cross hybrid setup to incrementally add a bit of power to my swing."
Troy - "Not much, besides a slight lack of plow through. I would add lead tape to the hoop and then put on a leather grip. If I could get the swingweight to about 325 then this could definitely be a go-to racket for me."
Andy - "A little more weight would add enough power and stability to make it a super solid offering."
Comparing it to other racquets they've used, our testers said:
Chris: "This is my favorite Babolat racket ever. I loved the control and feel I found with it from all areas of the court. The head light feel and low swingweight was reminiscent of the Head YOUTEK IG Prestige Midplus. The old Dunlop Biomimetic 200 Plus offered similar access to spin on serves but not nearly as much feel and control as this racket. It has more touch and feel than previous Pure Storms and the old Pure Controls that preceded them. The previous offerings had me feeling a little disconnected from the ball (Pure Storm Ltd excepted), but this one offered a sublime connection."
Mark: "I can favorably compare the newer Pure Control Tour to frames like the Head Graphene Speed Pro, the Donnay Pro One 97, the Wilson BLX Blade 98 (18x20) the Prince Response 97 and the Yonex VCORE 97 (310g)"
Troy: "There are some definite similarities with its predecessor, the Pure Storm Tour, when comparing control and spin. I found the feel of this Pure Control Tour to be a little crisper, and I felt more connected to the ball than I did with the previous Pure Storm Tour, although the Pure Storm Tour had a bit more power and plow through, and a more muted feel. I found similarities with rackets like the Dunlop Biomimetic Max 200G, the Yonex VCORE Tour 97 (310g) and the Volkl Organix 10 (325). All of these had great control, feel and stability but were lacking some plow through. I am very swingweight-sensitive, and all these rackets have near identical swingweights."
Andy: "This racket is in the same weight class as the Head Graphene Prestige Pro, the Dunlop F3.0 Tour and the Babolat Pure Strike Tour. They are all modern-feeling control-oriented sticks with an emphasis on maneuverability. With a little more weight I could definitely get totally dialed in with the Pure Control Tour. Impressive playtest!"
Playtester Profiles:
Chris: 5.0 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.
Mark: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a one-handed backhand. He currently plays with the Wilson Steam 99S.
Troy: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a full Western Forehand and a two-handed backhand. Troy currently plays with a Wilson BLX Six.One 95.
Andy: Open level all court player with a semi-western forehand grip and a two handed backhand. Andy currently using a Wilson Blade 98 18x20.
Review date: January 2014. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us: information.en@tenniswarehouse-europe.com.
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