Babolat () is a French tennis, badminton, pickleball, and padel equipment company, headquartered in Lyon, best known for its strings and which are used by professional and recreational players worldwide. The company has made strings since 1875, when Pierre Babolat created the first strings made of natural gut. Babolat continued to focus on strings until 1994, when it became a "total tennis" company, also producing racquet frames and selling them in Europe. It then expanded sales to Japan, and later to the United States in 2000. Sales of Babolat racquets increased rapidly in North America and Europe. Babolat is also a pioneer in connected sport technology and launched a connected tennis racket in 2014
Notable products
Strings
Some of the strings produced by Babolat include
RPM Blast, one of the most popular polyester strings known for its spin potential, and
VS Gut, a leading and original natural gut string.
Racquets
Babolat's current tennis racquet line-up includes
Pure Drive, a power-oriented racquet used by players such as Carlos Moyá,
Kim Clijsters,
Andy Roddick and
Li Na,
Pure Aero (formerly
AeroPro Drive), known for its spin potential and usage by
Rafael Nadal, Caroline Wozniacki and
Carlos Alcaraz, and
Pure Strike, a control-oriented racquet used by players such as
Dominic Thiem and
Cameron Norrie.
Sponsorships
Some of Babolat's sponsored players include:
Tennis
Men
Women
Retired players
Badminton
Men
Women
Controversy
Despite initial statements indicating a cessation of business with Russia following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Babolat products remain available in the country. According to research from the Yale School of Management, Babolat’s operations in Russia are conducted through an independent distributor, with whom Babolat has reportedly ceased direct transactions. However, this distributor continues to sell Babolat products and identifies as a Babolat-affiliated distributor.
External links
