Is the Babolat Aeropro Drive a good racket for me?

Question

I have a NRTP level of 3.5 and I want a good racket that last me a while. I am a baseliner, have a good forehand and a mediocre backhand and a pretty good serve. If you have any other suggestions please tell me.

Answer 1

This was the racquet I favored over the Wilson K-Six One (too small of headsize and very inconsistent ) so I bought 3 of them to use in the tournaments to replace the Wilson. I personally love it since it suits my playing style ( Heavy spinner, kick server, and aggressive baseliner). I recommend the Cortex version of the racquet.

Here are the pros:

-- Provides powerful flat serves while generating so much spin on your kick serves. Many complain about how it is terrible at serving but I actually think my best serves came from this racquet.

-- Able to make a fluent, flat stroke while generating spin. With its aerodynamic throat you will make a very consistent swing without straining yourself while placing so much rotations on ball. Slices will be mastered with this racquet.

Cons:

-- Very heavy. Biggest problem for many begginner players. It will make your wrist sore and elbow very sore during your first time using this racquet and that will shorten your swing and cause inconsistent shots. I got used to it's weight after a month of playing it and afterwards I no longer could tell.

-- No feel in shots and serve. You will notice how stiff this racquet feels when you strike a ball compared to most other racquets. It's not much of a problem but for most people, it bothers them and keeps them uncomfortable.

-- Low power. For this racquet you will need to generate the power in your shots yourself unlike most other racquets who give you power. You can lower the tension if you want more power and less control (YES LOW TENSIONS GIVE MORE POWER)

Overall, I recommend you demo this racquet and feel it's weight and shots before you order it. This racquet is more of a spinner player and a baseliner who can generate their own power. If you want power rather than spin, buy the Babolat Pure Drive.

Answer 2

I would say yes, I have one but not a new one. It has a lot of spin. If you want a racket with a lot of pop. I wouldn't recommend it. I use Kirchbaum on my racket for string.

Answer 3

Depends on how strong you are.

My own experience: I am an Intermediate level player. (Sorry, I'm British, we don't have the same rating system as you, I play for my local club in singles, doubles and mixed doubles leagues) I 'm a girl who is 5'2", weights 45 kg. As you can see, I am small, and I've had wrist injury. I've tried Aeropro Drive, found its a bit too heavy for me, though it's powerful, it helped my serve the most, I hit with heavy top spin on both forehand and backhand, I felt that the racquet is great for top spin. however, it hurt my wrist. My coach suggested that I changed to Aero Strike that has the weight (untrung) of: 275g, headsize: 100sq in, balance 34cm. The major difference is that it's lighter than Aeropro Drive. Because it's light, it doesn't hurt my wrist when I squeeze the handle during volleying, I feel that I have more control on the volleying. It suites me perfectly, doesn't hurt my wrist and I don't feel that I lose any power.

So it all depends on how strong you are, if you are a strong bloke, I don't think that you have troubles with handling this racquet, yet again, everyone's different, you never know until you've tried. If you can, get a demo racquet, see if you like it.

Hoping it helps.

Ta.