Rafael Nadal is red hot off a second Wimbledon title and a fifth French Open title along with Babolat compatriot Francesca Schiavone taking home the French Open Women’s singles title. Many people have recently been asking about the black strings Rafa has been using. The strings are a new copolyester called Babolat RPM Blast. Many of the other Babolat touring pro’s have switched to the new string including Womens French Open Finalist Samantha Stosur, Andy Roddick, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. I decided to put the new string to the test and see if this mysterious black string is all its cracked up to be.
Babolat says the string is a powerful copolyester string designed to give players extraordinary topspin along with a unique feel. The string has a unique design to it as it is octagonally shaped. The string also has a cross-linked silicone coating. These unique features combine to help the player achieve extra topspin on their shots. The octagonal shape is designed to give the string extra grip and the cross-linked silicone coating is designed to help the main and cross strings slide easily along each other. Babolat claims on their website that the string gives players more power and spin. Testimonials include Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfied Tsonga saying they get more spin, power, and control with the RPM Blast string. 
I strung up my racquet with the RPM Blast string at 60lbs and hit the courts. With the string being a polyester and strung in the mains and crosses I was worried it would be a little brutal on the arm. I have been really impressed with the feel of the RPM string on the arm. I have not noticed the string to have as stiff a feeling as many other polyester strings. I would attribute this to the string being a copolyester. The string felt relatively smooth from all areas of the court, especially on hard hit balls. The only complaint I had about the feel of the string was on touch shots, such as drop shots. I always seem to feel this way when a racquet is strung with all polyester. I strung at a relatively high tension for all poly, so I would like to drop the tension 5-8lbs and see if my feel on touch shots improves at all because of a looser string bed. 
I was really impressed with this string from all areas of the court. I can sum it up in two words, “game changing”. I thought the string offered tremendous control from all areas of the court as I was able to directionally place the ball right where I wanted. I strung the racquet relatively tight so I was concerned about having depth issues, as I thought I would drop the ball short a lot. This was not the case at all. The Babolat string allowed me to take big cuts at the ball with now worries of it flying long or slower strokes without the ball dropping too short in the court. The spin I can produce with this racquet is unbelievable. I really found that when I hit the ball with topspin it just jumped right off the court. I could hit angles with ease as the ball really dipped when I wanted it too. Passing shots and balls at the feet of an opponent at net came easily for me and unexpected for them. I had no problem hitting the ball high over the net and pushing my opponent way back as my balls dipped and bounced heavily up and toward them. While playing doubles I hit several high passing shots that my opponents left thinking the ball was flying long, just to see the ball drop inside the lines. I found that when I hit the ball flat and hard the string seemed to save me. I hit several balls that felt like they would normally be long and ended up dropping in, which is a great feeling. Not only was I impressed with the topspin I could generate with the racquet. I was also astonished with the bite my slices had. I rarely found myself hitting slices long and the ball seemed to stick to the court after it bounced as it rarely bounced higher than knee level. The way this string creates spin is something special.
I found nice pop on volleys and depth came easily. The string performed well when hitting deep volleys, but again I would have liked a little softer feeling on touch shots. I was really impressed with the RPM Blast string on serves. I found I had good pace on my first serve and the great spin I found on groundstrokes continued on serves. I found I had great topspin on second serves and could easily get the ball around the shoulders of my opponents. The shot that impressed me most was my slice serve out wide. This serve is not usually a strength of mine, but I found myself hitting several slice aces out wide from the deuce side, which is not a normal thing to me. I attribute this to the extra action I was getting on the ball because of the string. 
I think the hype behind this new mysterious Babolat RPM Blast string can be put to rest. I found this string to perform tremendous for me, and I plan on playing with it from now on. The string feels comfortable in an all polyester string job, which is a definite plus. This string produces spin which is unparalled by anything else I have ever tried. I found it to offer good pop coupled with good control. I can see why several pros have switched to this string, and I would recommend it to many players. Anyone who hits with long full strokes and spin will greatly enjoy this string. Younger players and hard hitters who can handle a full polyester string job will get the most out of this string, as it performs its best this way instead of a hybrid. The string really seems to slide back into place after you strike the ball. I never once had to strighten out my strings. I found the string to be reasonably priced as I got a set of 17 gauge for $17. The string comes in 16 and 17 gauge. The Babolat RPM Blast string is a great new product and I would suggest giving it a playtest as soon as possible if you are a power hitter.
