Babolat Pure Aero Plus Racket Review

We already know the Babolat Pure Aero is an absolute beast when it comes to spin, but what if there was something even more beastly out there?

Well, there is!

The Babolat Pure Aero Plus, extended length racket ramps up the spin and power to give you a lethal weapon.

The question with the Babolat Pure Aero Plus is whether you can tame the massive amounts of spin and power this racket offers.

Although it is longer than a standard racket, it is still extremely maneuverable, which offers you near limitless potential. 

If the two things that matter most to you in a racket are power and spin then this is a racket you should seriously take a look at.

You might not be able to play exactly like Rafael Nadal with this stick (he’s quite good) but you can sure give it a go and hit with some monstrous power and spin.

Power and spin are all well and good, but does the Pure Aero Plus offer enough control to keep hitting big without missing?

For the most part, the answer is yes, the Aero Plus offers surprisingly good control considering the amount of power and spin you get.

While this combination lends itself to players who have medium speed swings, for those players with very whippy, fast swings, it might not have quite enough control.

If you’re swinging through the ball like crazy, like Dominic Thiem, then you might find this stick is too powerful for what you need.

For me, I found this combination of power and spin to be unbelievably potent on the serve, but not quite as dazzling on groundstrokes and at the net.

As always, finding the perfect racket is a complex equation.

The problem is, what works for you on one stroke might not suit you on your other strokes, so it’s really a question of finding the right compromise.

Because I tend to lean towards control in my rackets, I strung the Babolat Pure Aero Plus with a very control-oriented setup with Babolat RPM Blast at 54lbs.

This helped me to tame some of the Aero’s power without having to compromise on spin.

If you’re looking for more advice on stringing then check out Tom’s Tennis String Tension Guide to optimize your setup.

So we’ve let you in on the not so secret news that the Babolat Pure Aero Plus is going to offer you some crazy power and spin, but how would it do when I really put it through its paces?

Find out what we thought of the Pure Aero Plus with our brutally honest review!

Groundstrokes

8out of 10

I always find power is quite a subjective thing in tennis.

You can get rackets like the Pure Aero Plus that give slower swings power, or you can get rackets that give players with big powerful swings the control they need to harness all of their power.

I much prefer playing with rackets with the second kind of power, but sometimes it is quite nice to relax a little bit and let the racket do the hard work for you.

The main area where I found the Babolat Pure Aero Plus was a big help was on the backhand, where I don’t produce as much racket head speed as the forehand side.

The Aero Plus helped add a few MPH on this side, and really helped me to keep good depth.

I found it much harder to tame the Pure Aero Plus on the forehand side, with the timing and control not working out for me.

I felt a little bit like I was Juan Martin Del Potro, with huge long arms that seem to stretch around my head on the forehand.

The timing was difficult to come by, and like Del Potro, I felt like when I connected I was absolutely battering the ball, but unfortunately, in my case, the control wasn’t there.

If you do have very fast swings and can produce plenty of power on your own then I don’t think the Babolat Pure Aero Plus is necessary.

This racket is going to be much more beneficial for players who have more medium length swings and want an immediate power boost.

As with my backhand, the Aero Plus can give you good results under the right circumstances.

In terms of styles of play, the Pure Aero Plus is quite adaptable.

I could see it working for very aggressive baseliners in the image of Nadal, but it also offers a lot of potential to play off the back foot.

If you’re someone who likes to entice your opponent into the net then you can generate huge power from difficult positions on the passing shots.

I think the Pure Aero Plus is a good racket as long as your swings aren’t too fast.

It offers a lot of upsides for all types of players and is sure to give you a power boost over pretty much any other racket on the market.

We gave the Babolat Pure Aero Plus an 8 out of 10 for groundstrokes.

Volleys

7out of 10

Just like the regular Babolat Pure Aero, the Pure Aero Plus didn’t really strike me as a vollyer’s racket.

It’s a bit like Rafael Nadal himself, he sort of finds a way to play some good volleys, but you never feel like he’s fully confident at the net.

Likewise, I found a way to play some good volleys with the Babolat Pure Aero Plus, but it never gave me too much confidence.

With a swingweight of 330, this racket is stable enough to give you a great platform from which to volley, but it just felt like there was too much happening for my liking.

Its focus is on power and spin from the back of the court and that doesn’t translate into the control you need at the net.

It probably sounds like I’m being quite critical of the Pure Aero at the net, but it really wasn’t bad.

It just wasn’t great, and for people who spend a good amount of time at the net it won’t have quite the finesse that’s necessary.

Once again, this puts the Babolat Pure Aero Plus in the bracket of aggressive baseliner.

You don’t want to be playing too many difficult volleys with this racket, but you do want to come in off strong approaches and put the easy volley away.

For singles, this suited me nicely, but in doubles I wanted a little bit more from the Pure Aero Plus at the net.

You don’t have much choice about what kind of volleys you hit in doubles, and you’re guaranteed to have to face some difficult ones!

When I did have to play these volleys I felt the Aero Plus was lacking in control and feel.

The Babolat Pure Aero Plus gets a 7 out of 10 for the volleys.

It is much better suited to baseline play, but if you’re coming into the net to put away an easy volley then it does the job.

Serve

9out of 10

The is one of the main areas where people can gain an advantage from the extended length rackets.

It might not sound like a big difference, but the extra length allows you to take the ball that little bit higher and generate more power.

I’m 6ft 2 so I don’t struggle to hit the ball at a high point, but still, the Pure Aero Plus gave me a significant power boost.

I loved serving with the Babolat Pure Aero Tour but I think the Plus took things to another level.

You’ve got so much power and spin at your disposal with this racket the big question is what you do with it.

Obviously, I got a bit carried away and spent all my time trying to see how big I could hit my first serves.

However, when I did miss the first serve, I felt I had plenty of control on the second serve, using the added spin to direct the ball into court.

For any player who struggles to produce power on their serve, I think the Pure Aero Plus can make a difference.

Just like with the groundstrokes though, if you’re already accustomed to hitting bombs, then you might find you get more power from a control-oriented racket than this one.

As we mentioned at the beginning of the piece, real power often comes from having the control to put everything you have into the ball, and I think the same thing applies on the serve.

Nevertheless, we gave the Babolat Pure Aero Plus a brilliant score of 9 out of 10 on the serve.

Overall

8out of 10

If the main things you want from a racket are power and spin then you’ve got to take a look at this one.

The fact that it is extended length makes it a little less maneuverable than the regular Pure Aero, but it’s still pretty agile, and the results can be explosive.

For players that are used to producing big power from more control-oriented rackets, I don’t think you will find any more power than you’re already getting, but for everyone else, there is certainly a boost to be had.

For me, this played out on my groundstrokes, where the Pure Aero Plus really helped me on my weaker side, but hindered me on my more powerful forehand side.

Like all the Pure Aero rackets, the Aero Plus was certainly best suited to groundstroke play, and offered a fairly middle of the road performance at the net.

For singles play, this isn’t a big issue for the majority of players, but it could be a negative if you play a lot of doubles.

One area where you won’t be let down is on serve though, where the Pure Aero Plus offers brilliant performance.

You can really add some MPH to your serve with this racket, and in my case, I didn’t feel like I lost much control to achieve this.

Overall, we were pretty impressed with the Babolat Pure Aero Plus and gave it an 8 out of 10.

If you’re be all and end all is power and spin then you’re most certainly on to a winner.

For everyone else, there are certainly some drawbacks to this racket, but it’s one of those you’ve got to try to find out.

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Groundstrokes

8

out of 10

Volleys

7

out of 10

Serve

9

out of 10

Overall

8

out of 10

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