Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 Tennis Racket

White/Red/Black

One of the sport’s most historic brands, Babolat’s tennis story began all the way back in 1875, when, utilising their expertise in the processing of natural gut for musical instruments and archery bows, Pierre Babolat and his team produced the first ever natural gut racket string.

A series of innovations followed, including the tension-resistant Babolat VS string in 1925, which remains popular today, through to the Cordynel – the world’s first electric stringing machine – in 1981. The Lyon-based brand are also responsible for some of the most technologically advanced synthetic strings on the market, such as the RPM and Xcel ranges. In short, they are the masters of strings.

But what about rackets? It might surprise you to learn that Babolat’s first range of rackets was released relatively recently, with another Pierre Babolat, great grandson of the family company’s founder, creating the Pure line in 1994.

Having cleverly gifted their frames to talented up-and-comers, Babolat’s name began to ring out on the pro circuit, chiefly thanks to the Pure Drive. After Carlos Moya won the French Open in ’98 using the power-focused racket, Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters became ATP and WTA No.1s with the same frame in 2003. A couple of years later, a youthful Rafael Nadal won his first Slam title, conquering Roland-Garros with the Aeropro Drive, which was specifically designed to suit his spin-based play.

Nowadays, Babolat split their rackets into three categories: the Pure Drive for power, the Pure Aero for spin, and the Pure Strike for control. Each series comes in a range of headsizes and weights to suit all ages, body types, and skill levels, with comfort-focused EVO editions available for players who prioritise fun and gradual improvement.

First released in 2014, the control-focused Strike series takes the feel and precision of more traditional rackets and updates it for the modern game, offering a wide range of headsizes, string patterns, and stiffnesses to give you the exact performance you’re after. For players who grew up using frames with thin beams and smaller headsizes, it’s the ideal up-to-date option. Or, if you’re a younger player who favours control and wants to sample the “connectedness” the old guys are talking about, the Strike is the way to go. As with all Babolat’s main racket collections, there are Pure, Evo, and Boost editions available to cater for experienced, improving, and casual players alike.

Control rackets usually have closed string patterns – essentially, more strings per area – to increase ball contact and give you more control over your shots. They tend to have thinner beams to allow more flex and often utilise material technologies to make you feel more connected to the ball.

Precision rackets are usually tightly strung with thinner beams for improved feel, allowing you to manipulate the ball more precisely. Typically designed with smaller headsizes, they’re often preferred by more experienced players who favour accuracy over easy power or spin and rely on pure technique to make sure shots hit their mark.

• Headsize: 98in
• Beam: 21/23/21
• String Pattern: 16X19
• Weight: 305g