![]() In stock form, I would say that this racket is best suited for someone with long strokes that allow for heavy topspin and a 2 handed backhand (Read more about my criteria for certain strokes). Despite a bit different feel I felt connected to the ball and I knew where the ball was going on softer shots like slices and drop shots. On the other hand, I thought that the Strike 100 was comfortable, event though I prefer the raw stiff feeling that Babolat is famous for, which I also really like in the first generation of the Strike. I was reminded of the stiffness when I started feeling my arm a bit when playing with the Team version, but that was more because of the lack of weight and my strokes that are optimized for much heavier rackets. The racket is following the trend in recent years when manufacturers are using materials to make stiff rackets feel softer or more muted than they actually are. I had to adjust my forehand a bit, as I’m used to a bit lower twistweight, but nothing I couldn’t work around. Maneuvrable enough because of the lightweight and stable enough because of a bit higher swingweight for its weight class and a high twistweight. You can’t have a very stable and very maneuvrable racket at the same time, as the basic laws of physics don’t allow for that, but this racket has a healthy measure of both. I don’t utilize drop shots much in my game, but with this racket, I had the confidence to go for more drop shots. It’s worth mentioning that I found great control on my slices and drop shots. The racket is stiff enough so it doesn’t flex that much on contact, consequentially providing sufficient directional control despite its low weight and quite open string pattern. Directional control wasn’t the best, and I couldn’t really go for the lines or corners, but like already mentioned I had to use more angles and spin. The control with these rackets has to come from utilizing the spin. I preferred the Strike Team for flatter serves. But if you are looking to hit some flat serves, or some slices close to the line, look elsewhere. I always liked Babolat rackets for my serve, as they give you the power and spin to hit a decent kick serve. I didn’t really sacrifice the pace, but the ball was much more penetrating. If I just went for pace I often lost control, but when I focused on hitting with top-spin I could really hit out. For me, power is always a combination of spin and pace, as this is the energy that the ball carries. The most power I could access was with long strokes aimed to hit a heavy top-spin. It also has a bit higher twistweight, I’d say around 14,5, so it’s also quite forgiving with a big sweet spot, meaning that it’s not lacking power on slight miss-hits. The power comes from a higher 69 RA stiffness and a bit higher swingweight for its weight class. It stands somewhere between the Pure Drive and the Head Speed rackets, or maybe even the Blades. The racket had plenty of power, which is to be expected with Babolat these days. For me, it will be interesting to see what the average swingweight will be for these rackets. The SW bump on the Strike might just be the fact that I had an »off specs« test racket, which had a beefy (for its weight class) 329 SW. The bumped the SW up a bit on both and making them less headlight, more noticeably so on the Pure Drive which went from just over 32 cm balance to 33 cm strung. They used the same technologies to keep them stiff and feeling dampened at the same time, while the Pure Drive still has a thicker beam and higher RA stiffness sitting at 71 while the Strike is at 69. I felt that the Strike 100 was made to be a slightly more controlled version of the new Pure Drive. The following thoughts are for the Pure Strike 100: GENERAL IMPRESSIONS The Team version, on the other hand, was the best when I could shorten my swings, step inside the baseline and hit flatter shots. ![]() I enjoyed hitting anything with spin (slice and topspin), but due to lover MGR/I, then on the Team version, I felt I lacked control on flatter shots. I was playing my best tennis with the 100 right on the baseline moving the ball side to side with angles and topspin. It was sometimes hard not to get pushed behind the baseline because I couldn’t find the depth I’m used to. I had to focus on hitting topspin and sharp angles instead of deep penetrating balls. With the Strike 100, I felt comfortable on the baseline, but not too far behind it, because it’s still a pretty light racket and the balls can land short. This also translates to a lower MGR/I compared to the Team version. The 100 also has a higher mass, swingweight and is more headlight. Generally, the rackets have the same mould, string pattern, string spacing and so on, with the 100 having a bit more weight in the hoop and handle making it more polarized. They were both strung with RPM blast 1,25 mm at 24 kg.
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