Q: What is the difference between the old Babolat Pure Drives and the new ones with CORTEX?

A: When Babolat told us they were changing the Pure Drives we were stunned. This was, in fact, a racquet they have not changed structurally since 1999! They CAN’T change a racquet that has been one of our top selling for the last eight years! Suffice it to say we were worried this change would turn some long time Babolat players away.

The new versions came out last year and our first series of play tests were favorable. Maybe Babolat knows what they are doing! We then set them free on our customers and the sales started rolling. So what exactly makes these new frames different from the older models?

Aside from the new paint jobs, Babolat implemented CORTEX material used to “soften up” the racquet. Our first thoughts when we saw this were of Wilson’s Triad system a few years back that did, in fact, soften the frames but subsequently made the racquet seem dead (no feel!!!). Babolat found a way around this dilemma. CORTEX only takes out vibrations associated with negative side effects such as tennis elbow. It lets the positive vibrations go through the frame so the player can “feel” where the ball is going. This was a relief to our long time Pure Drive users. Finally a racquet that was truly soft on the arm but, at the same time, had great touch! Impossible, you say? Try one for yourself.