Reviews 147 pieces

All reviews.

Every string and racquet we've put through the testing cycle, newest first. Scored against a long-running reference set, with the testing protocol shown on each page.

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121
Racquets ·6 min · June 2026

Comfort vs. Control in Tennis Racquets: Where the Standard Advice Holds and Where It Breaks

The advice you will hear in nearly every pro shop and forum thread goes like this: beginners should buy a comfortable racquet, and as you improve you graduate to a control racquet. It sounds tidy.

122
Racquets ·5 min · June 2026

Tennis Racquets by Skill Level: What Actually Changes from Beginner to Intermediate

A reasonable assumption, when you start shopping for tennis racquets, is that the frames marketed to advanced players are simply better — stiffer, more expensive, more capable — and that buying one is…

123
Strings ·6 min · June 2026

Ball Pocketing and Power: Does the String Bed Really Give You Free Pace?

You have probably asked it after a string job felt suddenly alive: did the new setup actually give me more power, or am I just swinging looser because the racquet feels better?

124
Strings ·6 min · June 2026

Comfort vs. Control: Are Natural Gut Tennis Strings Worth the Premium, or Is Hybrid the Smarter Play?

For a string that costs three to four times what a quality polyester does, natural gut tennis strings carry a stubborn reputation: relics for purists, priced for people who don't read the spec sheet.

125
Babolat ·5 min · June 2026

Babolat Pure Drive Review: The Standard, Tour, and Lite Compared on the Stringbed

The Babolat Pure Drive is not one racquet. It is a family, and the most common mistake we see from intermediate players shopping it is treating "the Pure Drive" as a single buying decision when the…

126
Strings ·6 min · June 2026

How We Playtest Natural Gut Strings: A Methodology That Survives the Arm-Fatigue Question

The advice you hear in every pro shop and every elbow-pain forum thread is simple: if your arm is hurting, switch to natural gut.

127
Strings ·10 min · June 2026

Babolat Touch VS Review: Why Natural Gut Strings Still Beat Polyester for Arm Health

A string design patented in the 1870s has no business outperforming a polyester engineered with last decade's polymer science.

128
Babolat ·6 min · June 2026

Babolat Pure Aero vs Pure Aero VS: A Spin Frame Racquet Comparison That Follows the Ball

There is a comfortable assumption among players shopping for a spin-focused frame: that the Babolat Pure Aero and its stiffer cabinet-mate, the Pure Aero VS, are close enough that the choice comes…

129
Racquets ·4 min · June 2026

How We Build a Tennis Racquet Review: The Playtest Methodology Behind the Verdict

Two frames of the same advertised model sat on the diagnostic bench last spring — a current-generation control frame and the version it replaced.

130
Racquets ·5 min · June 2026

Babolat Pure Drive 2025 Review: When "Effortless Power" Helps and When It Hurts

The standard advice goes like this: if you want more pace without swinging harder, buy a Babolat Pure Drive 2025 and stop overthinking it.

131
Racquets ·5 min · June 2026

Mid-Sized Control Racquet Review: Is the Gen-4 Actually an Upgrade Over Gen-3?

You have probably stood in the demo rack with both frames in your hands and asked the only question that matters: is the 2024 mid-sized control racquet genuinely different to swing, or is the gen-4 a…

132
Strings ·5 min · June 2026

String Setup Is the Racquet Comparison That Actually Matters Between the Pure Aero and Pure Drive

Here is the claim we will spend the rest of this piece earning the right to make: if you are cross-shopping the Babolat Pure Aero and the Pure Drive, the string you install matters more to how the…