About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the tennis racquet, which I tested for 5 days in October of 2022.

My take

The Babolat Pure Aero Team takes the incredibly popular Pure Aero, making it lighter and more maneuverable for intermediate-level players. With easy power and loads of spin, improving players who want to play aggressive tennis should give the Pure Aero Team a test.

About the gear I tested

• Model: Babolat Pure Aero Team
• Grip Size: 4 ⅜ / EU 3
• String and Tension: Babolat Addixion 16g 55lbs
• Head size: 100
• Racquet Length: 27

About me

• Height: 5’11”
• Weight: 185lbs
• Previous Racquet Played With: Head Graphene 360+ Gravity MP with Head
• Experience: 28 years of playing tennis
• NTRP/UTA Rating: 5.0

Test conditions

• When I tested these: October 2022
• Days tested: 5
• Court Surfaces: Hard
• Match Play/Practice Session/Both: Both
• Where I’ve used it: Eastside Tennis Courts, Iron Mountain, MI

How it performs

What I was looking for

As a Curated Tennis Expert, I feel responsible for knowing our products as intimately as possible, which means testing them for extended periods, even if they are not a product I choose to use daily. The Pure Aero Team is a lighter version of a racquet that I might choose.

Why I chose to test this gear

It's particularly well suited to a broad range of our shoppers at Curated, so I chose to compare it to other racquets in the category, including the Dunlop SX300 LS, Dunlop CX400, Head Speed Team, and Babolat Pure Strike Team. While the Babolat Pure Aero Team doesn’t fit my game well, it should be a very appealing racquet for 2.5-4.0 level players looking for a fast-moving racquet with great power and easy access to spin. It will definitely help players to develop longer, faster strokes and improve their game in a modern style.

What I love about it

• Maneuverability: The Pure Aero Team is very fast-moving thanks to its low swingweight and aerodynamic-shaped throat and beam, making it easy to get lots of racquet head speed.
• Power: Power is a hallmark of Babolat’s racquets, and the Pure Aero Team makes that power accessible for intermediate players. The ball jumps off the strings with a stiff construction, open string pattern, and easy swinging feel.
• Serves: My second serves were very effective with the Pure Aero Team, thanks to its spin-friendly nature. I could hit high kick serves or sweeping slice serves seemingly at will.
• Ground Strokes: The Pure Aero Team is very easy to play an aggressive style of tennis with off-the-ground strokes. With good power and lots of spin, my forehand was tough to handle for my opponents once I adjusted my strokes to harness the power. I didn’t get as much depth as I do with a heavier racquet, but it was still very effective shots.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Control: With such a powerful frame and firm feel, it took me quite a bit to dial in the depth needed to control my shots as I like. I found I was overhitting on my forehand and spraying balls all over the place.
• Feel: I am just not a fan of the firm feel of the Pure Aero racquets. I prefer a more dampened response with more dwell time of the ball on the strings, whereas the Pure Aero racquets are very crisp and springy.
• Stability: The Pure Aero Team struggled to handle the pace of some hard-hitting playing partners, which is to be expected of a racquet in this weight range. It should do just fine in the hands of a 2.5-4.0 level player, though, as their opponents won’t have the pace of my former college-level friends.
• Volleys: The Pure Aero Team does well at the net thanks to its supreme maneuverability, but the poor stability showed against hard passing shots.

Favorite moment with this gear

The Babolat Pure Aero is Rafa Nadal’s racquet of choice, and his looping topspin strokes work very well with the racquet. While I like to hit a flatter ball still with plenty of topspin, I took advantage of the extra topspin the Pure Aero Team gave me to play like Rafa for a day. My wife hates to play against heavy, looping balls, so I drove her crazy one day by adding extra height and spin to my forehand.

Value for the money vs. other options

The Babolat Pure Aero Team provides good value right now as it is a previous version of the updated 2022 model. The new version has increased in price, leaving the old version to undercut it by $30 or more. It also comes in $20-30 less than competitors like the Dunlop SX300 LS and Head Speed Team 100.

Final verdict

The Babolat Pure Aero Team gives intermediate players a taste of the power and spin that Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz use to dominate the ATP tour. With an easy-to-swing nature, it will help improving players further develop their games with a modern, aggressive style.