Comments: The Babolat Addiction 16 is definitely the midway path to the feel and touch of the VS Natural Gut. It works particularly well in the Pure Strike series. Transformed my PS 18x20, and made me realize it's not always the racket you need to demo. This is a slightly underpowered string meant for someone with a flat game with powerful forehand finishing into volleys. Overall I rate it 9.5/10.
From:Mahindra, 5/31/18

Comments: Being a broke college student, I've always tried to find the cheaper route in the expensive sport of tennis. But I decided to treat myself for once with this string. I have been using a poly, Gosen Poly Professional 16 for 13 months straight now. Yes 13 months. Two 17G 660' reels and 3 16G 660' reels. TW can use my email to check my purchase history -- I'm not lying. The switch was terrible. Babolat's Addiction splays every shot after the thin outer coating comes off (which only takes a few big topspin serves). The strings notch and break very quickly too (2-3 hours of continuous play depending on string tension). Even when I hybrid with a poly, it just doesn't feel good. I guess I'm just polyester bias? I would trade in this $175 reel for another $54 reel of Gosen Poly Pro in a second. My fault for not buying 40 feet of this string first. I've also tried Babolat's RPM Blast several times and I literally can't tell the difference between it and the Gosen Poly. But that's another review. I see why no major touring pros use this string. Babolat Addiction 16G (full bed of stringing) -- Pros: 1) String does not fray at all; 2) Excellent tension maintenance. Cons: 1) Strings splay constantly causing hinderance in shot accuracy, consistency and feel; 2) Strings notch quickly affecting spin potential and accuracy, consistency and feel; 3) $175. I hope this helps out some people. Demo the string first!
From:Ben, 4/1/17

Comments: Sorry, but I felt like there was no power in this string. I had to hit hard to make the ball move. I even had others try it out to make sure it wasn't me and they agreed. I use a Babolat Pure Drive Lite and strung it at 58 lbs.
From:Kenny, 3/16
Note from TW: Hi Kenny -- You may want to experiment with a lower tension to try and find a bit more power from the string.

Comments: Most comfortable string on the market for me. I like to demo racquets and notice the different strings but these are always easiest on my elbow and knuckles (I get a lot of middle thumb cracking from other strings and racquets). I have it in a BLX Team 104 at 58 lbs. Another plus is they don't fray on me, just notch.
From:Anonymous, 11/16

Comments: Strung this up hybrided with ALU Power 16L in both my Yonex VCore 97 330 and it is better feeling for my style in a hybrid than any gut I've used. The string really allows you to hit through the ball and provides more spin with great pocketing. One recommendation is stringing 2-3 lbs lower than your normal multi or gut so you can get a bit more response off this low elasticity. So far, I've got two 4 hour hitting sessions in on it and it hasn't snapped yet which is a good sign because usually the only strings that last me this long are polys. Probably going to cut it out after next time I hit, though it hasn't lost too much feel. (I am a 5.5 varsity highschool singles player and tournament player)
From:Anonymous, 10/15

Comments: Hated this string. Had to work so hard to hit the ball. No feel or power. Hard to play with as it feels dead. It was strung on my brand new racquet. Had to restring right away.
From:Deb, 10/15

Comments: I string a hybrid with Addiction on the mains and RPM on the crosses at a 57 lbs tension on my Pure Drive -- it's great for a good mix of control, power, and all around playing.
From:Sam, 7/14

Comments: Strung at 58 lbs 16gauge on a new 95 Pro Staff and I love it. Was using Nrg 17g which was way too bouncy. I am a 4.0 with long strokes, will stay with this string. I play 3 times per week and find the string very consistent, it seems to hold tension very well.
From:Jose, 7/14

Comments: I tried this string to save money. Bad choice on my part, going back to Alu Power.
From:Kyle, 2/13

Comments: I play with a Babolat AeroStorm, so I wanted to find a nice and affordable multifilament string by Babolat, and could not find one yet! The Addiction plays firmer than Xcel, and played well for a week or two, but after that its playability dropped real fast and went completely dead. So I re-strung with Xcel, and that was a nice comfortable hit (maybe too soft), but the same story there after two weeks of play! I just can't afford to re-string every other week. I think this string is way over priced for its performance.
From:Pete, 11/12

Comments: My son uses a Head Sonic/NRG2 hybrid on the Babolat Pure Storm. We tried Addiction as it came free with the racquet, and he noted that ball control was better with his hybrid setup than Addiction ("..could not get addicted to this Addiction..." he said)
From:Anjan, 10/12

Comments: I play high school tennis and the occasional tournament. I'm using the Pro Staff BLX 90. I strung it at 57lbs in a full bed. I've been playing with this string for about 2 to 3 weeks. My initial impressions were that the string plays very stiff and board-like with no pop and little spin. I usually play with a dampener as in the case with this string. When I removed the dampener the strings got a lot better in spin, feel, and power, but (and this is a big but) the strings felt like a super stiff poly strung at 68+ tension. I've never had a string which gave me tennis elbow, even with the stiff poly's (i.e. Tour Bite, Alu Rough,Alu Power, Tourna Blue, and Tour silver). I could only imagine that this would be good in a hybrid at around 50bs. Other then that specific application I would say this string is not very good. So if you want a decently priced string to use in hybrid with a pretty firm feel this is it, but in a full bed forget it. I'm going back to X-One Biphase or NRG2.
From:Gary, 10/12

Comments: Really good strings, but hits like a board right now, good spin, but couldn't muster toomuch pop and I'm whacking the pee out of the balls. I'm 5'-8", 135lbs. I have a lot oftouch with the strings so that's not an issue. One hour of singles today, 2 hours of doubleson Sunday, 3 hours of singles a couple weeks ago. Works pretty well...
From:Eric, 7/12

Comments: I got my Babolat Pure Drive Roddick strung with this for free when I orderedfrom tennis warehouse (I love TW). This string feels good after you use it for 2 hours.Definitely not the best right away. It has good feel especially after I tried the pure drivewith full poly (HARSH). I had it strung at 58. Now for the bad part, received my puredrive from tennis warehouse on friday and popped the strings on tuesday!! 4days@$10 a set? Ehhhh, not worth it.
From:Zev, 5/12

Comments: I am pretty happy with it so far, after 5-7 hours of play. It has very good pocketing, feel, and power. It moves a little bit, but not out of the realms of a typical soft multifilment. It is a very good value compared to similar products from Gamma, Tecnifibre, Wilson, etc. in the multifilament segment of the string market.
From:BLB, 7/11

Comments: I felt the strings were great for a while. However, I did see a decrease in performance after about 3 or 4 matches though.
From:Ben, 7/11

Comments: I bought 5 thinking it would be the string for me. It lost its tension well before it broke leaving me with no pop.
From:Carson. 7/11

Comments: Absolutely love this string! People may say it's less durable than other strings, but this string lasted just as long for me as other poly's have. I am a tournament-level junior player, and I recommend this string to any player looking for a great multifilament string!
From:Sidd. 6/11

Comments: I really liked this string. It has good power and feel but the durability is severely lacking. I'm a fairly hard hitter but these strings would only last an average of 10-12 hours.
From:Kevin, San Ramon, CA, USA. 5/11

Comments: @ Chan, I have the same setup except I had PHT and Addiction both at 60. As for durability, these were put on my Wilson k blade tour and has lasted a very very long time. The multifilament in the crosses with the long durable pro hurricane tours in mains shouldn't be breaking on you, I believe. Either I'm not hitting enough or I'm doing something wrong, but this string combo just won't break. Though I do feel it being dead after some months (can't think of the exact number) but I think as for durability and feel where great.
From:Kevin, CA, USA, 01/11

Comments: This string is the worst string I've ever used!!! It felt like I was just hitting with some solid wall. There's no feel at all. I could barely even hear the ball come off the strings. I also got absolutely no power. And on the second day with it my elbow felt like it was going to shatter. I strung it at 56 tension on my Aero Pro Drive Cortex racquet. I deeply regret it. If you're a 3.5 player and you hit with spin and power with great control try Babolat RPM Blast or Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour. I got it restrung the next day with Babolat RPM Blast at 55 tension and it felt so much better!!!
From:Jay, Syosset, NY, USA, 12/10

Comments: I played with this string several times. It is lively and good spin but I broke one set in a few minutes and I have another that I can't brake but it went completely dead fast. Durability is bad but everything else is good. I switched to a hybrid of Luxilon big banger alu power spin and KLIP legend natural gut and it actually has more power and a whole lot of spin. If you want to pay the extra money then you definitely want that.
From:Justin, Orland Park, IL, USA, 09/10

Comments: I strung this with Kirschbaum Helix 17g gauge in the mains and Babolat Addiction 16g in the crosses. Mains at 49lb, Crosses at 51. It felt really great and is a very quality string. Durability seemed normal to good and didn't move much. Definitely a quality string with great pop and overall feel. My first exposure to Babolat strings and I was impressed. If you're looking for something with a slight dampness but with pop and great overall feel then try this. Recommend for hybrids.
From:Anon. 8/10

Comments: I have a reel of this string. My racquet is APD strung with PHT in main 56lbs & Addiction in cross 59lbs. It has a excellent feel, control, spin potential, power... but it only last a week (I play four times a week). I try to use string savers but also last 2 weeks. Durability really not very well but it is a very soft, comfortable, and inexpensive string.
From:Chan, Hong Kong, China, 06/10

Comments: Love these strings! I'm a NTRP 4.0 that plays with a lot of spin and touch. These strings have given me great control and placement. Durability wasn't a problem with the first set. Some fraying but lasted well.
From:Jason, San Francisco, CA, USA 03/10

Comments: I never have elbow issues, but this string hurt my elbow. Otherwise, for a multi it's pretty normal in all categories. For me it's not at all worth the risk. I cut them out.
From:Steve, Davis, CA 02/10
NTRP 4.0+

Comments: Great feel and control with this string. Put it on the cross at 59lb. Nice pocketing effect, and give me that extra touch that I needed. The downside is that its lasted well for the first few hours, and eventually fray and breaks.
From:Bryan, Melbourne, Victoria 01/10

Comments: I am a 4.5 player who hits a hard, flat ball, mostly baseline, but looking to find more spin with my Becker Pro racquet. I have been using this string for 6 months and love it. I switched from Gamma TNT which was only lasting me about 6-8 hours and did not have much feel. I am getting much better longevity from the Addiction and better playability, too. It does not fray until it is about to go and I agree that it does not move. Great blend of soft feel and pop. It helps make the stiff power racquets more controllable.
From:Eric, Minneapolis, MN, USA 12/09

Comments: Best multi I have used. No movement and doesn't break. I also string it very low and hit with good topspin at times.
From:Karl, Sweden 11/09

Comments: I am a 4.0 player that hits with a pretty good amount of spin both sides and have a big serve with a lot of spin. I generally use a poly main with syn. gut or multi cross. I use this quite often in my crosses and liked it well enough I decided to try it in a full set. I have to say that strung up at 60 mains and 63 crosses this string feels great. I don't feel like I miss much in getting away from the Poly. Spin is excellent, power is great, control is great and it's softer as well. I hate string movement and simply will not play a string that moves, and this one does not move. Also the durability has been quite good as well. I'm not a big string breaker and this has lasted me about 12 hours of hitting so far and is in nice shape. Some fraying but not too bad. For those saying that this is cracking etc. it sounds to me like the stringer did a poor job.
From:Brian, Denver, CO USA 09/09

Comments: Just came off a wrist scope and only started hitting this week. Strung my pure storm ltds with this thinking it'd be a good choice to work back into playing with. After a very serious hitting session last night I can say confidently that this string is a great multi. Pocketing, spin, power and control were all really nice--for me the added comfort from just being a soft string bed was really a plus. I do think that after only a combined hour and maybe 20 minutes of hitting over 3 days it's on its way out and will pop. As I wasn't a big breaker before it's kind of surprising that after last night the string is done, but we'll see how it does with fraying. Highly recommend it, compared to live wire or prince synthetic, or pro hurricane tour even (ones I usually hit with) this one wins hands down.
From:JW, MA, USA 07/09

Comments: Very Nice String... but throughout a week it becomes frayed, moves, and eventually breaks. Durability is about a 2 out of 10. Strung at 60lbs on a Microgel Radical. Way too expensive for such a low durability string.
From:Adrian, Chicago, IL, USA, 07/09

Comments: Recently I tried this string and it broke in one hour. Expected the string to at least last 6 hours but was very disappointed.
From:Chris, Arkansas. 7/09

Comments: Horrible string. I just played for about a week, and the string was already twisted and cracked before it broke. I am a 2.5-3.0 player and I have a slow swing speed, so it's kind of unusual that a string of those characteristics (comfort and durability) broke so fast. Especially for a player of my level. I will never buy it again.
From:Cristian, Canada. 05/09

Comments: Very good string; has a soft feel and great pocketing effect on the ball, just as the description says. I much prefer these to Wilson's NXT or NRG! No wonder the Addictions are often out of stock.
From:D.R., VA, USA. 2/09

Comments: Great string. I played this string in the Babolat Aero Strike Racket...feels like real gut string. Very soft with pop but not too much pop.
From:Chris, Atlanta, GA, USA, 10/08

Comments: I play college level tennis and this string rocks. I use a hybrid with the Pro Hurricane Tour. With this string it offers more power, control, and I really can't feel the vibrations when it comes off the racket. This is officially my new string combination. It isn't really expensive. It's worth it.
From:B.Davis, Rome, GA, USA. 9/08