Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.5

According to our playtesters, the Babolat Pure Drive 98 2025 provided an outstanding blend of power and control from the baseline. Having tons of experience with previous Pure Drive models, Brittany was quite excited to try the new Pure Drive 98. She said, "Being a fan of the previous two generations, I was able to confidently use this update from the baseline with no adjustment period. I still have that Pure Drive mentality of being aggressive and going after my groundstrokes. With the smaller head and added cross string, I was more in control and could be more precise with my shots. This translated to taking more risks on smaller targets and reaping the benefits. I would say the launch angle was somewhere between medium and high, so my shots were landing at a good depth. I also liked my defensive slices because they were staying low and keeping me in a neutral position."

The new Pure Drive 98 impressed Tiffani with its striking blue and red design and familiar power and spin, but its firm feel and power-oriented build required her to make some adjustments for more consistent targeting. She said, "When I first laid eyes on the new Pure Drive I loved the mix of blues in the cosmetic, especially with the Pure Drive 98's hits of red in the top set of grommets. Once I got on court, it was a familiar level of power and spin. However, I've been trending toward control-oriented racquets recently, so it took me a while to settle into consistent targeting. Although the Pure Drive 98 has more precision than the standard Pure Drive, I was still missing some targets long and slightly wide. I needed to pull my shots in a few feet to give me more room for error. I also found a firm feel from this Pure Drive 98, especially because my preference is for RA ratings in the low 60s. Still, the put-away power can be addicting, which makes mixing this Pure Drive 98 into the racquet rotation fun."

Once he settled in with this Babolat Pure Drive 98 2025, Munish found that the racquet gave him exceptional spin, power and control, allowing him to hit more precise groundstrokes and sharper angles on the approach. He described, "My groundstrokes were flying out a lot at first, but with a few adjustments, I was able to rein it in and get more balls into play. I brushed up more on my groundstrokes rather than driving through the ball, which allowed me to hit with a whole lot of spin and power. I felt very connected to the ball and found a lot of ease in opening up the court. My approach shot was phenomenal with the Pure Drive 98, and I was hitting angles that I usually wouldn't even attempt because I would often hit the ball just a bit deep. All my balls were landing in at the very last second, and I was able to set up for perfect volley finishers."

The new Pure Drive 98 2025 is the controlled version of the Pure Drive Michelle always wanted, with a great balance of power and control. She said, "There are a few racquets I have wished for in my head, and a more controlled version of a Pure Drive has always been one. Power and control and precision? Yes, please! The updated 16x20 string pattern and 'boxier' beam at the tip were much appreciated. I spent a lot of time playtesting this racquet, so I could seriously consider it as a possible new racquet of choice. Easy power and depth came from the ground, and it was fast to swing. I did find the swingweight to be a tad low for what I like, and I had the opportunity to add some weight to bring it up to a 330-ish swingweight. I also had a chance to try it with a leather grip. Both modifications only made the racquet better for my game. The sweetspot was forgiving, and the extra cross string helped with targeting. I noticed a tiny flutter on off-center hits, but this went away once I weighted up the racquet a bit. Aside from that, I really had no complaints and am enjoying this racquet for everything from drilling to point play to coaching to dingles, and everything in between!"

Volleys: 8.6

Volleys may be one of the easier shots to hit with the Pure Drive 98 2025. This is mostly thanks to the excellent maneuverability of the frame paired with the classic Pure Drive power, which allows users to go from sharper angled drops to deep and stable drives. The Pure Drive 98 offered Brittany easy depth, great feel and enough stability to handle even hard-hit passing shots with confidence. She explained, "I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed the Pure Drive 98 2025 at net. Of course, I could punch volleys deep with ease to end points, but I still felt like I had some good feel and could hit a variety of volleys. I had the confidence to hit shorter, more angled volleys to keep my opponents on their toes. I also found plenty of stability, so I felt secure sending the hardest hit passing shots back even when reaching."

Munish found that volleys felt crisp and had excellent feel, especially with the leather grip he added, but he did notice slight wrist and elbow fatigue after extended play. He said, "My volleys felt very crisp, and I was getting a ton of feel. The leather grip I put on one of the test racquets also helped a lot. I was able to punch through the ball and create some crazy angles. However, after a few rallies or some good dubs, I felt a little soreness in my elbow. It wasn't anything that hurt me or my game, but it was something I noticed. It could be the leather grip I added since I didn't get that soreness when the racquet had its original grip."

Michelle could hit volleys deep into the court with ease with the Pure Drive 98 2025 in her hands. She said, "This racquet was maneuverable and stable at the net. Punching volleys deep or dropping them short was easy. Swinging volleys were fun to hit.”

Volleys ended up being an unexpected highlight of this playtest for Tiffani. She said, "Surprisingly, I found volleys to be one of my favorite shots to hit with the Pure Drive 98 2025. I'm typically more of a reluctant volleyer, but the inherent stiffness of the frame really helped me out here. The firmer layup let me hit more effective shots even on less-than-confident strikes of the ball. There was good power, yet I could still bleed pace off to drop the ball short."

Serves: 8.8

Reviews of the 2025 Pure Drive 98's serves were similar among all our playtesters, which is surprising considering how different each of their playing styles are. All of the playtesters were able to hit their spots with great accuracy and variation, a great testament to the versatility and user-friendliness of this Pure Drive 98. Serving was Munish's favorite part of this playtest. He said, "Serving was the highlight for this playtest. I was hitting all my spots with all my serves. The Pure Drive 98 2025 has a lot of power, so I didn’t really have to do much. The smaller head and slightly denser string pattern aid in direction. All my flat serves were hitting the backboard after bouncing in the service court, and I was able to get tons of spin on my kickers. I would like to mention that my elbow did feel a little sore after hitting serves for a while, but it's nothing that really hurt my game or would pull me away from the racquet."

Tiffani's serves with the Pure Drive 98 had tons of power and a smooth feel through the hitting zone. She said, "Although I do think it's easier for me to serve with the standard Pure Drive, my serves with the Pure Drive 98 were a highlight. I liked how the head pulled through the hitting zone, and I could hit with more power than usual. The only difference from the regular Pure Drive is that I did need to up my effort just a little with the 98, whereas the Pure Drive was easier to maneuver for a longer period of time.”

The Pure Drive 98 2025 might just be Brittany's favorite 98-square-inch racquet for serving. The racquet amplified her ability to hit a variety of serves, including flat, slice and kick serves. She said, "While the Pure Drive 98 doesn't have the pure power of the standard Pure Drive, it is really fun and easy to serve with. Just like every other shot, I felt a little more dynamic serving with the Pure Drive 98 2025, and I could hit a variety of serves. Yes, the most fun serve to hit was the flat serve, but I loved throwing in a slice out wide or a kick serve to keep things interesting, because I could access enough spin to get the ball to really rotate. My second serves were decent as well, and nothing stood out bad or good."

Michelle found the Pure Drive 98 just as fun to serve with as her other Pure Drives. The racquet clicked with her style of play, offering plenty of power, spin and precision, which gave her the confidence to go for some really sharp slice serves. She described, "There's not as much power as the Pure Drive Plus, but there was still plenty to go around. I also found plenty of access to spin, slice and precision. I was serving well with this racquet, and I felt confident stepping up to hold serve. Slices seemed to really ignite with this racquet, and I found my spots well when going body or wide on the deuce side or T on the ad side."

Returns: 8.5

The Babolat Pure Drive 98 2025 gave our playtesters a lot of power and maneuverability on returns. The maneuverability came at a cost, though, as some reported stability issues when dealing with stronger servers. Michelle could hit big returns, but she was one of the testers who noticed some slight instability on off-center hits. She said, "I enjoyed returning with the Pure Drive 98. That 16x20 string pattern allowed me to be a bit more precise with my targeting. The racquet swung explosively fast and still allowed me to feel like I could hit attack returns with some mass behind them or pull my opponents off the court with an angle. Again, I noticed just a tiny bit of instability when I hit off-center, but the Babolat Pure Drive 98 2025 was so forgiving that the ball would still go in. It just didn't feel as stable as the heftier racquets I have been known to swing, which is an easy fix with some customizing. With that more maneuverable feel, I was rewarded when angling returns or pulling my opponent off the court, so I could open up with the next shot."

"I tend to prefer returning over serving, but it was more even when it came to this Pure Drive 98," added Tiffani. "I returned confidently with the Pure Drive 98 2025, but I also felt like I served better than usual. I didn't feel like I could aim for the lines, but I could still be offensive with my returns. There was good stability, and that allowed me to step in to take returns early."

Munish found the Pure Drive 98 tough to control on certain returns, especially against heavy hitters. He said, "This racquet can be hard to control on returns. I found it difficult to keep the ball in when I was dealing with bigger serves, and I was mostly hitting a bit long. I had to tell myself to take little to no swing to get the ball back into the court. When returning second serves I had a bit more time to slow down, add more spin to the ball and be aggressive with it. The racquet felt whippy and maneuverable enough to get around my body; it's just the power levels that threw me off at first."

Brittany's favorite shot with the Pure Drive 98 2025 was the return. She said, "I didn’t have to make any adjustments on my returns. The Pure Drive 98 2025 did everything I needed it to do without me having to think about it. Against first serve returns, I could block my return back deep without losing any control. On second serve returns, I could take full swings and really go after my targets. There was a nice blend of maneuverability and stability, so no matter what serve came my way, I was ready for it."

Breakdown Summary