Yesterday I’ve hit with the new Pure Strike 100 16×19 2024 and Pure Strike 98 16×19 2024 for 2,5 hours. And right from the start I’ve felt like in 2019/20 when I was hitting with the 3rd generation. Super fast swing, super fast head speed, amazing control, exceptional stability and loads of power.
Best shots so far – serve, forehand, slice. Foerhand is massive with these rackets. You can spin, you can hit flat and the ball penetrates the air with great accuracy and great speed. I can’t stress enough the racket speed. It goes so fast it’s probably the fastest racket on the market. The aerodynamics is unmatched. Thanks to the oval head shape, that is little bit more flat on the sides this racket has probably the lowest air resistance among all the top frames on the market.
The downside of these rackets so far – double handed backhand is hard to control and is less stable. Because of the flatter head at 3 and 9 o’clock the sweetspot for double handed backhand is smaller. You have to open the racket more. But that creates power that is hard to control. You have to use your second hand (near the throat) to quickly close the opened head.
Otherwise the ball will go long. I was hitting most of the times too long with my double handed backhand. With one handed backhand you don’t have this problem because you have a similar swing path and swing speed like with your forehand.
From the two rackets I quickly adapted to the heavier 98 version with 16/19 string pattern. And even when strung with a super stiff string Dunlop Explosive Spin 1.25 mm, I did not have arm pain. And I did not use a dampener for both of the rackets just to take it as raw as possible.
So the comfort is not bad. It’s still stiff, but not something a healthy players arm with a healthy swing technique can’t handle. I will be testing these rackets for more hours to get to the bone. So far, so good. I should say, so far, so great. I really enjoyed my first session with Pure Strikes 2024. For now, that’s all. As always enjoy the manooovrlbity!
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