Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.6

Groundstroke exchanges from the baseline proved nothing short of remarkable for our testers, and they all found ways to leverage the extra power on demand from the Pure Drive Plus 2025. Michelle, one of our Pure Drive specialists, found a lot to love from this even more powerful option. She explained, "I was already lusting over the Pure Drive 98 going into this playtest, so I wasn't expecting another racquet in the family to be tempting me, but this new Pure Drive Plus is awesome. Lately, the extended racquets have been pretty demanding and a bit chunky to swing, but this Pure Drive Plus, like the previous version, has a swingweight under 330, making it maneuverable for a racquet that is 27.5 inches long. It’s also loaded with power and massive amounts of spin. The Pure Drive Plus 2025 is stable yet explosive; it's one of those racquets I consider a 'guilty pleasure' because it is probably more power than I need, but it makes it so fun to swing big and go for big shots! It provides easy depth and makes it easy to mash through the ball, plus that extra half inch really felt amazing off my backhand. I could get around the ball hit my targets. The specs allowed me to pick up balls from the baseline and just play aggressively for the majority of my points. That extra reach was appreciated as well, and I could swipe at balls to get myself back into a good position if I was pulled off the court. My only complaint would be that it probably has more power than I actually need, and this was more apparent when my adrenaline was flowing a bit more."

Chris found himself dialing up the pace and spin, and he was able to maneuver the racquet to create newfound angles, both offensively and defensively. He said, "The Pure Drive Plus 2025 brought a really fun level of power to my groundstrokes. When I had time to set up, I was able to drive through the ball and hit a very heavy shot, and I was very happy with the spin I was able to generate. The added leverage felt especially useful on my backhand slice, where I was able to knife through the ball well. I was also getting more power on passing shots and big groundstrokes when I was hitting on the run. The only time I got into trouble with this racquet was when the ball came deep and fast, landing near my feet. I had a tougher time digging out those deep shots than I do with the standard-length version."

The Pure Drive Plus 2025's unusual maneuverability was a welcome surprise for Troy, and it helped him get the most out of his two-handed backhand. He described, "Considering the extended length, I found this racquet to feel super maneuverable. The extended racquets that I enjoy playing with, like the Yonex EZONE 98+, Babolat Pure Aero Plus and Solinco Whiteout 305 XTD 18x20, all tend to have swingweights in the 330-and-up range. This Pure Drive Plus 2025 comes in on average at about 325, so it felt very maneuverable. It doesn't carry as much plow-through power as my weighted-up EZONE 98+ (2022) or the Solinco Whiteout 305 XTD+ (28 inches), but there is that Pure Drive pop. It has a firm feel on contact, with that sort of easy energy return that is a signature trademark of a Pure Drive. I love the extra half inch of length because it really rewards my two-handed backhand, helping me with reach on the ball and easier depth."

As a big fan of extended-length frames, Mark immediately clicked with this updated Pure Drive Plus. He said, "As with prior versions, I had a great time playtesting the 2025 Pure Drive Plus from the baseline. Tight angles were not the easiest to hit with the extra half inch in length, but most every other shot was, including my backhand slice. I felt like the 2025 Pure Drive Plus was made for generating pace, but it also made it easy for me to gauge shot depth. This update was also more comfortable overall and better at absorbing pace than previous editions. As a result, my down-the-line shots, particularly on the backhand side, were more effective and consistent with this Pure Drive Plus 2025.”

Volleys: 8.5

Up at the net, our playtesters found better maneuverability than they'd expected given the Pure Drive Plus 2025’s 27.5-inch length. Troy's volleying experience was defined by the racquet's speedy handling at net. He described the Pure Drive Plus 2025 as "nice and fast”, adding "I also noticed a firm feel on contact, giving the racquet that point-and-shoot sensation that Chris refers to from time to time. For an extended-length racquet, I found easy maneuverability, making this Pure Drive Plus very rewarding in doubles. It felt very light and fast to me, so I will definitely be adding some weight, but I was able to volley effectively with it in stock form. Considering how stiff the Pure Drive Plus 2025 is, it felt pretty stable for being so light (My racquets are usually closer to 330 grams unstrung and about 10 points higher on swingweight, so 300 grams unstrung is pretty light for me). I found that when the ball was hit hard at me I could deflect it with ease."

Michelle loved how the Pure Drive Plus 2025 performed at the net, giving her the confidence to go for some more unorthodox shots. She said, "Extended racquets are always awesome at the net, and this Pure Drive Plus 2025 was no exception. The extra reach was appreciated, and the racquet was maneuverable and stable. This is a racquet that encourages two of my shots that aren't always seen as 'textbook' options at the net. First is my swinging volley, even on balls I could (and maybe should) just punch away, and second is my lefty forehand volley; something about the extra half inch adds to my confidence and improves my execution with that shot." 

Mark didn't think this Pure Drive Plus handled as easily as his fellow testers did, but the racquet was still effective for his volleys. He explained, "I would not refer to the 2025 Pure Drive Plus as nimble, but it was very versatile and far from clunky around the net."

With the extended reach of the Pure Drive Plus 2025 at his disposal, Chris was able to be even more dangerous at the net. He said, "I've always been a fan of the Pure Drive Plus at net, and that trend continued with this update. I quickly found the groove with this racquet's stability, power level and access to spin. It doesn't seem like an extra half inch of length would make a huge difference, but I had a noticeably easier time hitting low pickup volleys, and I enjoyed how much power I could generate on high put-away volleys. I also found the power level to be very consistent and easy to control on placement and touch volleys."

Serves: 8.8

Serves were easily the highlight of the playtest for our team. The standard-length Pure Drive is already renowned for its prowess when it comes to serving, and the extra half inch on this Pure Drive Plus 2025 definitely goes the figurative extra mile. The additional power was a joy to wield, and across the board our testers found themselves dialing up the heat on both first and second serves. Any serve Michelle wanted to hit proved accessible, and she found herself even going for more aggressive second serves. She explained, "Serves were fun to go big with! I thoroughly enjoyed hitting serves with this racquet. Even on second serves, I was more likely to go for another big, flat serve instead of hitting a safer one. When push came to shove and I did lock in on a kick or slice, I had ample power to get the ball moving, and I could accelerate through the ball well. I definitely had an ace or two, which is always a good thing!"

Mark was delighted by the consistent performance he found on serve. He said, "Serving with the 2025 Pure Drive Plus was another positive for me, and my serve pace and consistency were sufficient enough to prevent opponents from hitting offensive returns. I especially relished aiming first serves toward the 'T' and down the middle of the service court."

Similarly, Chris had only glowing positives in his assessment of the Pure Drive Plus 2025 on serve. He said, "I served very, very well with this racquet. I was able to find my targets well on both flat and spin serves. My slice serve was working well, with solid pace and action on it."

Despite a slight drop-off in accuracy, Troy also had a blast serving with the Pure Drive Plus 2025. He described, "As with previous iterations of the Pure Drive Plus, or Tour Plus, or Roddick Plus, this racquet packs a punch and makes for a fun experience on serves. That very fast and whippy feel made it easy to generate a lot of spin and kick on my serves. The extra length gave me a little more leverage on my flat serves, and the firm layup of this racquet shot the ball off the strings with easy power. I really had no limitations when it came to serving, and I felt like I got a noticeable boost in power. If I had to knock this racquet on serves, it might be for a little lack of precision; it's not quite as dialed-in on hitting my spots compared to some rackets with smaller heads (like a Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 95 v14). However, in exchange for a slight drop in targeting, I was rewarded with some easy power and spin potential." 

Returns: 8.1

Although not quite as intimidating on returns as it proved to be on serves, the Pure Drive Plus 2025 was still plenty dangerous for redirecting pace off a first serve or upping the ante on a second. The racquet's easy swing speed allowed Troy to fully trust its power and spin potential when returning. He explained, "Like I mentioned above, there was easy power, and it felt maneuverable on my returns as well. My favorite shot to hit was my two-handed backhand return because of the added reach that it gave me, and it also helped with some added power. I also felt like I could hit a deep, heavy forehand return pretty consistently. Compared to my racquet of choice (EZONE 98+ weighted up), I was left wanting more mass in the racquet for easier plow through. Because of the stiffness of the frame, some added weight would help smooth things out and make for a more dampened feel. I found my slice and chip backhand lob returns to work well, but the feel just wasn't as smooth or as plush as I would have liked; this was most noticeable when facing big hitting servers."

Mark struggled at times with the extra length and pop of this racquet on returns, and he was left wanting more maneuverability for his desired method of returning. He said, "This is the one portion of the playtest where the 2025 Pure Drive Plus lacked maneuverability. I had plenty of time to slice and chip returns back into play, but I found it difficult to prepare early enough to hit many topspin returns.” 

For the rest of the team, though, the returning experience was downright dazzling. Michelle typically likes any extra leverage she can get on returns, and she found even more access to aggressive shotmaking than she expected. She described, "I love returning with extended racquets, and the Pure Drive Plus 2025 was no exception. I had access to my angles as well, which is always appreciated, specifically in doubles situations. But let's be honest, if I am returning with the Pure Drive Plus 2025, I’m going big!"

Chris was also delighted by the easy power, swing speed and spin that this racquet seemed to pack with every punch. He said, "The Pure Drive Plus 2025 felt very solid on returns. I could block back bigger first serves and start off points close to neutral. When I read the serve well, I was able to drive the ball back with lots of pace and spin. I felt like I was getting all of the bonuses of the added length while still finding the racquet maneuverable enough to fit my game."

Breakdown Summary