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A round racket at advanced level is unusual, and the Counter Viper 2.6 makes a strong case for it. A centred sweet spot delivers outstanding precision, while a 3K Carbon face and head-heavy balance add more responsiveness and overhead power than round rackets typically offer.
A round racket at advanced level is unusual, and that's exactly what makes the Counter Viper interesting. Most pro-level rackets are diamond or teardrop — Babolat went the other way. The round shape centres the sweet spot perfectly, giving pinpoint precision on every shot, and the 3K Carbon face ensures you still get responsiveness and ball speed despite the round shape. This isn't a soft, passive racket.
The head-heavy balance is the surprising detail: it adds more power than you'd expect from a round, pushing weight into overheads without shifting the sweet spot away from centre. The Vibrabsorb System, Holes Pattern System and 3D Spin+ surface carry over from the wider Viper range, and the X-EVA core gives excellent vibration absorption and comfort across long rallies.
This is for the advanced player whose game is built on placement, lob defence, and winning rallies through consistency rather than brute force — think Majo Lamperti's style, but with Babolat's carbon engineering behind it. It won't win you many points through raw power, but it will rarely lose you points through mishits.
For a round control racket at a more accessible price, the NOX ML10 Pro Cup is the benchmark, or if you want more attack from Babolat, the Air Viper switches to a teardrop.
Advanced defensive players who win through placement, consistency, and net craft rather than power.
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