Babolat Pure Drive GT Tennis Racquet Review 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
-At first glance the ultra-recognizable Pure Drive has an attractive blue/white paint scheme, a thick, stiff beam and a 100 sq inch head size. It feels relatively light and well balanced.  With this particular racquet’s reputation and robust, die-hard fan club I couldn’t wait to try the Pure Drive GT out.

GROUNDSTROKES
-I could say that hitting groundstrokes felt “solid” with the Pure Drive but that would be a gross understatement.  It felt like I was hitting the ball with a hammer. Virtually zero flex in the frame (rated at a very stiff 70) and the dampened feel was misleading until I heard the crack of the ball once I connected. This racquet produced a loud; rather intimidating sound when cleanly hit with and I enjoyed every minute of it. Forehands were crisp, accurate and came with loads of spin. I could hit the ball hard and keep it under control, what a weapon this thing is!
-The backhands were not as good of a fit for me though, especially having a one-handed backhand. ;However the Pure Drive GT did slice incredibly well, that I noticed immediately. I could tell right away this particular frame was tailor-made for two-handed backhand players. Although it features a 16x19 string pattern the frame seemed to have an ideal feel for two-handers. The meaty frame, stiffness and balance all told me so.

VOLLEYS
- Volleys were magnificent with this frame. Its light weighing in at about 11.2 oz strung so the maneuverability was outstanding. And the stiffness and overall swing weight (rated at 327) made this an ideal racquet to put away volleys.  The Cortex vibration-dampening system did it’s magic to erase miss-hit shots and the graphite/tungsten technology (hence the “GT”) really erases unwanted vibration throughout the racquet. I loved volleying with the Pure Drive, and overheads, and drop shots, and lobs, and.. well you get the picture.

SERVES/RETURN OF SERVES
- This racquet was made for serving, plain and simple. I found the balance to be perfect (4pts head light). Effortless strokes with good timing equaled brilliant serves. It was one of the easiest, most fluid-feeling racquets I have ever served with. It had great power, ideal accuracy and had access to a ton of spin. Whether it was flat, hard first serves or cradled, super torque second serve spinners the Pure Drive GT did it all with flying colors. The lighter weight, stiff beam, dampening and loud thunderous crack that this Babolat exhibited was awesome, I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about it.
- Returns proved to be thrilling as well. All the serving characteristics also come to life on returns. I just loved how solid and stable this thing was. It mastered counter shots as well as slice returns, block-backs and flat-out blasted returns deep into the opposing court with supreme confidence.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS
- Well my suspicions were correct; the Babolat Pure Drive GT serves like a pro, is very stiff, stable and solid on groundstrokes, volleys with the best of them and is extremely well made. If you are looking for some help with your serves, have a two-handed backhand, like playing the net and also ripping forehands with pace this racquet may be for you. It’s relatively light, very maneuverable yet feels like an iron sledge hammer when connected with properly. The Babolat Pure Drive is made for aggressive players who want the ultimate mix of power, control and superior serving characteristics. Is this what you are looking for? If so hurry up and see what all the fuss is about.