I played RF97, and I agree, it is great if you hit the ball perfectly, if not it is always short. But serves are are killer with it. Now testing SHIFT, game wise much better, serve however is a disaster…
I had tested RF97 along with Vcore Pro 330 (2018). RF97 was better in all aspects. However due to stiffness (and my elbow condition) I had to choose Vcore Pro. Later I got a regular Pro Staff v13 but it was not the same thing (and its 66 stiffness was also hurting my elbow) A better choice would be Volkl C10 Pro. Today I am using Blade 98 v8. Although static-wise it's 35 g lighter, it feels cumbersome compared to RF97 when it comes to forehands.
I am 67 years old and play PS97 V13 with 2 grams under the bumper at noon which brings SW up to about 325. With over grip and O ring dampener it weighs around 340 grams (approx 12 oz). I like this setup but am thinking of reducing weight for my next rackets. I 100% agree the Rafa racket with 371 SW and 70 RA should not be used by any amateur players. I keep expecting to see a small amateur playing with one of these beasts on the court because the colors are so pretty. The high SW and high stiffness of the Rafa racket is whacky and I don't think I could play it without injury. I do think a physically strong amateur player at intermediate or advanced skill level could use the RF97 as its 335 SW isn't that high. Many of the wood rackets and early graphite rackets in the 1980s had SW of 335 or higher. I do think the PS97 with lower SW and lower weight is the better option for the vast majority of amateur players as you can always add a little weight to increase SW to add a bit of power or plough through. Thanks for the video.
Hey man thanks for watching and taking time to answer and sharing that. The RF97 is managable no doubt. I agree and in my opinion the Rafa Origin is probably the most dangerous racket you can buy right now if you cannot handle it.
Reguarding the RF97... I played a Head Ti.Fire for 20 years. 363 g strung High RA (didn´t measure it, but it was stiff like hell, had an extra bar through the throat) 93 sq in head size 18/20 string pattern 1.30 mm poly string at 29 kg tension (Kirschbaum Super Smash Yellow) THAT was a beast to play with! And it was fun... until my arm said "no". The RF97 sounds like a granny stick compared to that.
@@servingaces Well, the last few years were not that pleasant, but I didn't realize until my arm hurt. Switched to a Blade V7 18/20, which was lighter, softer (RA62), and lack of power could be compensated with a softer String at lower tension. But I had to add weight on this one, until it became an awesome weapon at 357g - but my arm started hurting again. Now I swing a pair of Yonex Regna 98. Stock. Awesome racquet, feels like taylor made for me. I will never have to buy a new racquet until my arm falls off.
the babolat rafa origin is a great raquet i bought of 8 of them and now i can finaly play tennis, i have no arm issues i guess i have been looking for this unique spec, as i have been buying raquet after raquet i have 70 raquets basicly every raquet u can think of and they are all rubbish. built for amatuer play, 300g. 305g, i jsut cant get my game out of it they always fail in some area, but the rafa origin is good as it gets, in my opionon if u want to take your game to the next level u need a pro raquet, if u are beginer then use they basic 300g raquets
That is good for you :) You do not have to buy a racket that is that beefy if you want to up your game because there are many rackets in between those 300to305g rackets and that rafa origin. A gravity pro which I used, A Prestige MP, Percept 97H, Pro Staff 97 and more which have 315g-320g and high swingweights. And if you are a pro or a proabably utr around 12 and higher as I said in the beginning you can absolutely play with this thing
@@servingaces yes, but those raquets balance is tooo HL for me goes against my natural swing and forcesd me to swing unnatural and makes playing tennis a grind and not fun, tennis specs very personal and what u are looking from a raquet, but 90% are really unstable when trying to hit big and crush attacking shots and sending them back with intrest, but think your review is too harsh on the rafaorigin, i think theres no middle in this raquet, u either can play and like to play with it or you dont
ok that is fine :) yeah gravity pro is more headheavy I believe :) It is harsh and here is why? I do not say that it is bad because I do not say that. I just say that it is to heavy for probably 99% of tennisplayers. If you are a pro and you want to play with heavy top spin then it is surely a good racket. But for the rest of us it is too much racket and the risk for injury with this racket when you have not proper technique is very high.
got a a pair of rf97 for collection and planning to get a pair of origin once its on sale, agree they wont do any recreational player any good with their game,
Wilson sent me an RF97 for a playtest back in 2017. I had a lot of problems with it stock because it was so light so I added 10 grams of lead between 10 and 2 and then it felt like my normal racquets. It is a lot stiffer than what I normally use but it has a pretty good twistweight, probably because of the PWS and I felt that it was comfortable even though it's stiff. I like it for generating spin but the open string pattern had me often guessing where the ball would land. It seems like I could hit it in a region but it wasn't as nice as my Head Prestiges. I'd love to try Rafa's racquet as the specs are closer to what I normally use but I think that the stiffness would be a problem for me and I'm more of a precision player than a heavy topspin player.
Really? It was too light for you. Nice though. The RF97 is a fun racket. Yeah the Rafa Origin is pretty hard to use. The shock absorption really helps but it is made for disaster for most of us. I am not good enough to play with it
I played RF97, and I agree, it is great if you hit the ball perfectly, if not it is always short. But serves are are killer with it.
Now testing SHIFT, game wise much better, serve however is a disaster…
I had tested RF97 along with Vcore Pro 330 (2018). RF97 was better in all aspects. However due to stiffness (and my elbow condition) I had to choose Vcore Pro. Later I got a regular Pro Staff v13 but it was not the same thing (and its 66 stiffness was also hurting my elbow) A better choice would be Volkl C10 Pro. Today I am using Blade 98 v8. Although static-wise it's 35 g lighter, it feels cumbersome compared to RF97 when it comes to forehands.
The blade 98 is a good choice
can add some led to improve the racket
thanks for sharing 🙌
Do you play with a Pro Staff RF97 or Babolat Pure Aero Rafa Origin? Do you think I am wrong? Let's have a discussion
I am 67 years old and play PS97 V13 with 2 grams under the bumper at noon which brings SW up to about 325. With over grip and O ring dampener it weighs around 340 grams (approx 12 oz). I like this setup but am thinking of reducing weight for my next rackets. I 100% agree the Rafa racket with 371 SW and 70 RA should not be used by any amateur players. I keep expecting to see a small amateur playing with one of these beasts on the court because the colors are so pretty. The high SW and high stiffness of the Rafa racket is whacky and I don't think I could play it without injury. I do think a physically strong amateur player at intermediate or advanced skill level could use the RF97 as its 335 SW isn't that high. Many of the wood rackets and early graphite rackets in the 1980s had SW of 335 or higher. I do think the PS97 with lower SW and lower weight is the better option for the vast majority of amateur players as you can always add a little weight to increase SW to add a bit of power or plough through. Thanks for the video.
Hey man thanks for watching and taking time to answer and sharing that.
The RF97 is managable no doubt.
I agree and in my opinion the Rafa Origin is probably the most dangerous racket you can buy right now if you cannot handle it.
Reguarding the RF97...
I played a Head Ti.Fire for 20 years.
363 g strung
High RA (didn´t measure it, but it was stiff like hell, had an extra bar through the throat)
93 sq in head size
18/20 string pattern
1.30 mm poly string at 29 kg tension (Kirschbaum Super Smash Yellow)
THAT was a beast to play with! And it was fun... until my arm said "no".
The RF97 sounds like a granny stick compared to that.
oha that is something ultra controlled not many can handle properly 😅
Almost unbelievable nowadays
What do you play with now?
@@servingaces Well, the last few years were not that pleasant, but I didn't realize until my arm hurt.
Switched to a Blade V7 18/20, which was lighter, softer (RA62), and lack of power could be compensated with a softer String at lower tension.
But I had to add weight on this one, until it became an awesome weapon at 357g - but my arm started hurting again.
Now I swing a pair of Yonex Regna 98. Stock.
Awesome racquet, feels like taylor made for me.
I will never have to buy a new racquet until my arm falls off.
@@sebastiandomagala9233 ah yeah
I heard so many good things about about the yonex regna
I have to try it again 👍
the babolat rafa origin is a great raquet i bought of 8 of them and now i can finaly play tennis, i have no arm issues i guess i have been looking for this unique spec, as i have been buying raquet after raquet i have 70 raquets basicly every raquet u can think of and they are all rubbish. built for amatuer play, 300g. 305g, i jsut cant get my game out of it they always fail in some area, but the rafa origin is good as it gets, in my opionon if u want to take your game to the next level u need a pro raquet, if u are beginer then use they basic 300g raquets
That is good for you :)
You do not have to buy a racket that is that beefy if you want to up your game because there are many rackets in between those 300to305g rackets and that rafa origin.
A gravity pro which I used, A Prestige MP, Percept 97H, Pro Staff 97 and more which have 315g-320g and high swingweights.
And if you are a pro or a proabably utr around 12 and higher as I said in the beginning you can absolutely play with this thing
@@servingaces yes, but those raquets balance is tooo HL for me goes against my natural swing and forcesd me to swing unnatural and makes playing tennis a grind and not fun, tennis specs very personal and what u are looking from a raquet, but 90% are really unstable when trying to hit big and crush attacking shots and sending them back with intrest, but think your review is too harsh on the rafaorigin, i think theres no middle in this raquet, u either can play and like to play with it or you dont
ok that is fine :) yeah gravity pro is more headheavy I believe :)
It is harsh and here is why? I do not say that it is bad because I do not say that. I just say that it is to heavy for probably 99% of tennisplayers.
If you are a pro and you want to play with heavy top spin then it is surely a good racket. But for the rest of us it is too much racket and the risk for injury with this racket when you have not proper technique is very high.
got a a pair of rf97 for collection and planning to get a pair of origin once its on sale, agree they wont do any recreational player any good with their game,
if you are fan that is fine for a collection 👍 nice man
Wilson sent me an RF97 for a playtest back in 2017. I had a lot of problems with it stock because it was so light so I added 10 grams of lead between 10 and 2 and then it felt like my normal racquets. It is a lot stiffer than what I normally use but it has a pretty good twistweight, probably because of the PWS and I felt that it was comfortable even though it's stiff. I like it for generating spin but the open string pattern had me often guessing where the ball would land. It seems like I could hit it in a region but it wasn't as nice as my Head Prestiges. I'd love to try Rafa's racquet as the specs are closer to what I normally use but I think that the stiffness would be a problem for me and I'm more of a precision player than a heavy topspin player.
Really? It was too light for you.
Nice though. The RF97 is a fun racket.
Yeah the Rafa Origin is pretty hard to use. The shock absorption really helps but it is made for disaster for most of us. I am not good enough to play with it