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Babolat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Babolat
IndustrySports equipment
Founded1875; 150 years ago (1875)
FounderPierre Babolat
HeadquartersLyon, France
Key people
Éric Babolat (CEO)
ProductsRacquets, strings, accessories and shoes
Revenue€141.2 million (2014)
Number of employees
369
Websitebabolat.com

Babolat (/ˈbɑːboʊlɑː/) is a French tennis, badminton, and padel equipment company, headquartered in Lyon, best known for its strings and tennis racquets 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, producing also 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[1] and a connected wrist-worn tennis wearable with PIQ in 2015.[2] The Babolat Pop is one of the leaders in tennis sensors worldwide.

Notable products

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Strings

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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

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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.

Sponsorships

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Rafael Nadal holding a Babolat AeroPro Drive at the 2007 edition of Roland-Garros

Some of Babolat's sponsored players include:[3]

Tennis

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Men

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Women

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Retired players

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Badminton

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Men

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Women

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Controversy

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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.[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ Kiss, Jemima (2015-05-04). "Tennis just got smarter with the Babolat Play connected racket - review". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  2. ^ Palermo, Philip (2015-08-28). "Babolat and PIQ team up for a pair of wrist-worn tennis wearables". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  3. ^ "Babolat Players Sponsored". babolat.co.uk. Babolat. Retrieved Jun 12, 2020.
  4. ^ Shehadi, Sebastian (2023-07-25). "WeWork, Nestle and Babolat among the Western companies who reneged on promises to leave Russia". Investment Monitor. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  5. ^ Tian, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,Steven. "'The Feckless 400': These companies are still doing business in Russia–and funding Putin's war". Fortune. Retrieved 2024-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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