The Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 has been out since last week. Naturally, we immediately started testing this racket! Does this racket live up to the high expectations? Read it here: the Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 tested! Tested racket: Brand: Babolat Model: Pure Strike 16/19 2017 Leaf size: 98 sq/inch Weight: 305 gr Balance: 32.0 cm Stringing pattern: 16/19 Length: 27 inches RA: 67 strung, 70 unstrung Stringing: Diadem Solstice Power 17 , 24/23 kg Tester: Name: Mike Playing strength: 4/4 Type of player: more classic player, flat groundstrokes, generates little spin. Had shoulder problems until recently Player's racket history: Head Ti Fire, Babolat Pure Drive, Prince EXO3 Rebel Team, Wilson Steam 100 BLX2, Head Graphene Radical MP and the Prince Textreme Warrior 107 Technology: Babolat has given the Pure Strike series a major overhaul, both in terms of looks and construction. In terms of looks, Babolat builds on the very successful pilot of this new Pure Strike, ProjectOne7 . Since Dominic Thiem started playing with these rackets in May, there has been a lot of demand for this 'mysterious' racket. Babolat has chosen the same looks as those of ProjectOne7 for the new Pure Strike. We think it's a good choice! Even more important are the technical adjustments to the new Pure Strike racket family. What is striking is that Babolat has given the frame a bit more body for more stability and power. Furthermore, the width strings of this Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 have been pulled apart more for more power and spin potential. This technology is called FSI Power and is combined with the well-known Babolat Woofer technology. With the latter technology, the strings do not lie flat in the frame, but over curves/saddles for more freedom of movement of the string for more spin and a more dampening feel. In addition, the stiffness (RA) of the Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 is also more balanced. This contributes to a more consistent playing feel and more stability. Baseline: From the baseline, the Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 feels clearly more solid than its predecessor. Without a doubt I had more feeling with steering and placing balls. In addition, I had the feeling as if there was more mass behind the ball and the racket twisted less quickly. The racket therefore feels more stable all in all. This new Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 remains, just like its predecessor, a control-oriented racket, where you have to put sufficient speed into the ball yourself. I always lean more towards rackets with a little bit of extra (free) power, partly because of my sensitive shoulder. In that sense, the Babolat Pure Aero suits my playing a bit more. In that respect, this Pure Strike is clearly more of a control racket and therefore ideal for big hitters. Yet the racket still offers a surprising amount of acceleration! (see below) Another improvement in my opinion is the grip on the ball for spin and slices. It is noticeable that the width strings have been pulled apart more and are more 'open'. I liked the extra spin potential and (controlled) acceleration you get with this. Service: With this new Pure Strike you don't get a lot of free power when serving, but you do get excellent control. I could put the balls where I wanted with this racket. In addition, slice and kick serves are easy to hit, because of the nice grip on the ball. Just: Super! The racket plays wonderfully. There is enough touch for emotional volleys and enough stability for blocking hard shots. In addition, I found the Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 nice and fast and agile. Power: There is clearly power and bite in this racket, without sacrificing ball feeling and control. As I said before, it feels like there is more mass behind the ball. After testing, I looked up the swingweight of this Pure Strike 16/19 2017 and compared it with the old Pure Strike 16/19. The new Pure Strike indeed also has a bit more mass behind the ball: 323 grams versus 320 grams swingweight. Solid power is what I call what the new Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 has. Check: The control is perfectly fine. The old Pure Control and Pure Strike series have been merged into 1 new racket line, this Pure Strike 2017 family. This is therefore the ideal Babolat line for control and ball feeling. And in that respect, Babolat has done well with the new Pure Strikes. The control is top, the ball feeling is there and I find the racket very stable and solid to play. Comfort/arm-friendliness: The Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 is not the most forgiving racket on the market, but you shouldn't expect that from a typical control frame. For a racket with these specifications, I think it offers a fairly generous sweet spot. I would aim low in terms of kilos for the stringing. The 24/23 kg with the Diadem Solstice Power 17 is a fairly reasonable indication of this. This 'opens' the sweet spot a little more for more dynamics and comfort. General impression: The Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 is a much more complete racket than the previous Pure Strike! The racket feels more stable, offers better control, but is also more in line with the modern game due to the extra spin potential. In my opinion, the racket is clearly better balanced: control and stability on the one hand, but good power and spin on the other. This also makes the racket interesting for a larger group of players. In my opinion, the Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 is absolutely one of the best rackets of the moment! The Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 is now available at a competitive price in our webshop!