Babolat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Babolat is a tennis, badminton and squash equipment company, best known for its racquets which are used by many top players such as Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya, Fernando Gonzalez, Ashley Harkleroad, and Robby Ginepri. The popularity of Babolat racquets picked up extremely quickly in North America and Europe, trademarked by the easily identifiable double lines across the strings of the racquet face. Babolat is a company based in France that has made strings for the better part of the 20th century.
The three models of racquets Babolat produces include the "Pure Drive", the blue racquet, and of that model includes the Pure Drive Team (used by Kim Clijsters, Carlos Moya, and the Pure Drive Team Plus. The second model is the Babolat Pure Control Team and the Babolat Pure Control Team Plus, the red racquet with white stripes used by tennis players such as Robby Ginepri and Justin Gimelstob. Another model, of the 'aero' series, is the Babolat AeroPro Drive, the black one with yellow stripes used by Rafael Nadal. The Aero Range is considered to provide the most racquet head speed and spin due to its aero modular technology. Other racquets in this range include the Aeropro control. Recently brought out ranges include the Pure Drive Roddick, the plus version used by Andy Roddick, and the NS and Drive Z range.
The Pure Control line has since been eliminated from the market to make way for more variations of the Pure Drive such as the Roddick signature, Oversize and the updated Team and Plus models with babolat's new cortex vibration dampening technology. The new Aeropro Drive with Cortex will be the first "aero" model racket to be fitted with cortex technology.
Babolat offers a range of rackets for any type of player, be it social or tournament.
At the 2005 Australian Open Babolat was the most popular brand of racquet used by competitors, eclipsing traditional market leaders Wilson, Head and Prince.
Babolat is also credited for manufacturing the first set of natural tennis string in 1875. Fifty years later Babolat launched VS Brand Gut. Eighty-one years later, VS Brand Gut is still one of the most recognized brands of natural gut and is used by many top pros such as Andy Roddick.
