Our playtesters loved hitting groundstrokes with the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024. Even those who prefer more open string patterns could not argue with this racquet's solid feel and controllable power. Not surprisingly, Chris, who is no stranger to higher swingweights and dense string patterns, had great success with the Pure Strike on groundies. He explained, "Everything from the head size to the weight, balance and string pattern felt like a natural fit for my game with the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024. I liked the solid feel at impact, along with the useful power. The stringbed did a good job of gripping the ball, encouraging me to trust my shots, swing quickly and maximize pace and spin. The racquet felt great on my slice backhand, with enough mass to drive through the ball and plenty of spin coming off the racquet face. My topspin shots also felt very controlled. I liked the controlled response of the stringbed and I didn't have to worry about missing long. Even when I hit a little late or flatter than expected, I was still able to control my shots. The Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 felt firmer than the Head Speed Pro that I’ve used the last couple of years, and it gave me a little more free power. With the Speed Pro, I can feel the racquet flex and cup the ball more for better feel and control, albeit with slightly less pace."

For Troy, the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024's consistent and precise response led to confident shot making. He said, "From the very first time I hit with this racquet, I loved the control and predictability. I could swing aggressively on my forehand side, and not only was I getting a ton of control, but it also seemed like I was hitting a consistently deep ball. The feel on contact was nice and solid, and with the average swingweight coming in above 330, this racquet played heavier than the 305-gram unstrung weight would indicate, which is good for me because I typically favor heavier racquets. Besides letting it rip on my forehands from the baseline, I was finding that this Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 plowed through on the backhand slice with ease. Dirty, deep and low is how I would describe the majority of my slice backhands with this racquet in my hand. I wouldn't say that this racquet had easy access to topspin, but for being a dense string pattern, I wasn't all that bothered by the launch angle. My baseline game was primarily based on hitting heavy drive forehands, and on the backhand slice I was mostly neutralizing my opponents with a deep, low-skidding slice."

Although Michelle prefers more powerful racquets, she ultimately found a groove with the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024. She said, "This racquet offered me a lot of precision and control. It was good to practice with or use when I wanted to work on creating smarter, longer, intentionally built points, but I often prefer a racquet with a little more free power. Some days I don't want to work as hard to win my points, and I felt I had to hit pretty big to get this racquet to work for me. With that being said, it was fun mashing shots and hitting deep and flat into the court. I did love drilling with this Pure Strike 98 18x20; I think I could hit cross courts all day with it. I was able to hit fairly low over the net and still gain enough depth into the back quarter of the court. The racquet put nice mass behind the ball, and I could mash and swing big and fast, which worked great with my linear swing path. It is hard to explain; this racquet offered me the confidence to swing big and fast, but I also missed the easier power from a more open stringbed (but then with those racquets, I find I overhit and crave control)."

"Babolat's update to the Pure Strike 98 18x20 was predictably great from the backcourt," added Mark, who couldn't argue with this racquet's accuracy off the ground. "Instead of raw frame power from the baseline, I felt the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 moved closer toward the precision scalpel racquet category. Groundstroke-wise, it was pretty much point-and-shoot, with maybe a little extra swing speed required from me to compensate for the low rise of the ball off the tight 18x20 pattern. Paired with an edgy string, I was able to develop a tight rotation on the ball and shape my shots with topspin without having to sacrifice an effectively low backhand slice. Within an hour of play, I went from aiming groundstrokes to either side of the court to confidently hitting 'welcome mat' sized targets off both wings from the baseline."

The Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 proved quite versatile at net for our playtest team. In addition to its solid feel against higher levels of pace, it gave our team enough power, precision and touch to hit the full spectrum of volleys. Troy, who tends to gravitate toward heavy racquets, felt right at home with this Pure Strike 98 18x20 at net. He said, "Solid, stable and predictable is how this racquet felt on my volleys. With the solid feel and substantial swingweight built into this racquet, I found that I didn't have to do much to be effective with my volleys. When I was able to get the racquet behind the ball in the proper position to hit my volleys, this Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 made it easy to place the ball deep in the court. I also noticed that this update felt plusher and more comfortable than some of the previous versions, even when I made contact slightly off center. Compared to the other Pure Strike racquets in the 2024 line, this 18x20 string pattern was the best for my touch and feel shots. When going for the occasional drop volley, the 18x20 pattern allowed me to feel more connected to the ball, and that added control to carve up those sharp angles. I would like to try some handle or tail weighting with this racquet for a more head-light balance, but other than that, it was very good overall up at net."

"The Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 felt crisp and solid at net," said Chris, who appreciated this racquet's balance of features when volleying. "Again, the specs aligned with my playing style, and I found plenty of maneuverability to complement the solid feel. For me, the racquet offered a nice blend of power and control. I found enough pop to help me put shots away, and I was able to consistently find my targets when looking to place the ball. I also liked the overall feel of the racquet at net. The response was comfortable, yet not too muted."

Whether hitting with power or touch, there was little Michelle couldn't do with this stick at net. She described, "I enjoyed the range of shots I could hit on volleys. The predictable string pattern allowed me to attack my targets and be super specific with what volley I was hitting. I could stick powerful volleys deep into the court or drop the ball with touch just over the net to add a little change-up."

Mark thought this racquet felt great up at net. He said, "Although the prior version performed great anywhere inside the service lines, the softer graphite layup of this fourth-generation frame seemed to hold the ball on the stringbed a bit longer. This resulted in my volleys being easier to predict and disguise."

On serve, the Pure Strike 98 18x20 was precise, powerful and very effective on flat heaters down the T. Granted, it isn't quite as speedy or spin-friendly as the Pure Aero or Pure Drive, but Mark had zero complaints, especially with the right string installed. He explained, "Hitting serves was another part of the playtest that was great for me. No doubt, flat serves were easy because of the tight string pattern, but when the racquet was matched with a thin-gauged polyester I was able to easily bend the ball with spin and put my opponent in a defensive position more often."

"I liked the way the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 came through contact on serve," said Chris, who put this racquet's mass to good use when serving. "The weight was there to help me develop pace and hit a penetrating serve. With that said, the racquet still felt fast enough to cut the ball for spin. Both my first and second serves were working well."

Although he had to make some stroke adjustments when executing spin serves, Troy appreciated this racquet's power and accuracy. He said, "Even though I found the control and precision to be this Pure Strike 98 18x20's strong suit, there was still a good amount of pop on my serves. Compared to some other 18x20s that I have tested, I would put this one at the top of the list for power on my serves, alongside the Head Speed Pro 2024, Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100P and Solinco Whiteout 305 XTD 18x20. Flat first serves were coming off this racquet with a good amount of pace, and with the 18x20 pattern, I felt very connected to where the ball was going. Initially, I had an adjustment period on my spin serves, and I wasn't quite getting the bite on the ball and the easy rotation on my kick serves that I do from more open string patterns. I was able to adjust and find more consistency with my serves after a couple of sessions serving with this racquet, but I preferred serving with the 16x20 Pure Strike 97 because I could generate spin and kick more easily.”

For Michelle, the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 shone brightest on flat serves. She said, "I was craving a tiny bit more power and more spin, but my T serves were awesome. I felt really dialed in on flat serves, but I struggled a bit more with kick serves when going for seconds. It was so fun to target the T and body that I ended up hitting fairly flat for my first and second serves, and I just went all out no matter the serve."

With its combination of stability, plow through and precision, the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 was virtually flawless on service returns. In fact, the control was so good that it allowed Michelle to do what she does best: go big. She explained, "I enjoyed returning with this racquet. The return is usually where I like more controlled racquets since I can swing bigger because I'm reined in by the tighter string patterns. I loved that I could plow through the ball and execute big returns down the line, but I also found it maneuverable enough to pull players off the court with angles."

"I returned well with the Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024," said Chris, who settled into some very confident returning with this racquet. "I liked how solid the racquet felt at impact. My drive returns were working very well, with solid pace, spin and control. When blocking returns back, the racquet felt comfortable and stable. I was controlling my depth well, and the 18x20 stringbed gave me a good sense of how much launch I had on the ball. It seemed like my confidence on returns continued to grow throughout the test, as I discovered how much I could trust this racquet's response."

Although he had to adjust to the lower launch angle, Troy was definitely impressed with this racquet's stability and plow through on returns. He said, "The best part about this Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 was the solid feel, and that swingweight coming in just above 330 made for easy plow through on my returns. I felt very confident in my ability to block the ball back with good depth. There was that solid feel on contact, so no matter how hard the serves were coming at me I could rely on this Pure Strike 98 18x20 2024 to hold up and not flutter in my hands. My slice backhand returns felt dialed in, and I could keep the ball low off the bounce, making it difficult on my opponent. If I had a downside, it was that there were times when I was consistently hitting the top of the net due to the launch angle being lower than my usual racquet of choice. That said, I made adjustments on my returns and just aimed slightly higher over the net."

"Returning serve with this fourth-generation Pure Strike 98 18x20 was great," added Mark. "Although I too am a lefty, the lefty serve typically spins in a direction that is harder for me to get a hold of or feel connected to, and I have to say this racquet helped smooth that out and complemented my return of serve, whether delivered from a righty or a lefty."