By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 26, 2022
Babolat stars took flight in Flushing Meadows last summer—and took thousands of fans on a memorable thrill ride.
US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime reconvened in Queens for a festive launch party yesterday.
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The trio of Babolat stars joined forces to officially launch the new Babolat Pure Aero racquet.
Grand Slam tennis is hardly child's play, but Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime and Fernandez thrilled local kids hitting with them at Court 16, an innovative tennis club in Long Island city billed as "first tennis club in the world to use customizable LED-illuminated courts."
It was a fitting setting for three of the sport's brightest stars who electrified New York City last summer on the game's biggest Grand Slam stage.
All three return to New York as legitimate contenders all wielding the Babolat Pure Aero.
"They are very passionate, exciting young players with great personalities," Babolat CEO Eric Babolat told Tennis Now. "They play with a lot of energy and passion and that's exciting for fans and inspiring for kids to see."
Last September, a 19-year-old Fernandez put Babolat on center stage upsetting two ex-champions—defending champion Naomi Osaka and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber—and toppled three Top-5 players en route to the US Open final, including her riveting 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina and 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 upset of second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.
"It's a huge honor to be in the little postcard with not only Felix and Alcaraz, the next up-and-coming, but also Nadal," Fernandez said. "I've seen all the racquets, all the pictures on the racquet, and I was always dreaming like, One day I want to be there with him, kind of be there side-by-side. That dream did come true."
The rising stars are not only Babolat ambassadors, they're brand influencers helping designers make the innovations for the new Pure Aero. Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime and Fernandez, who said she's played with the racquet since age 12, also provided the brand insight and feedback on the new Aero.
The racquet is designed to amplify the rotation, velocity and control for today's spin doctors.
The Babolat Pure Aero racquet has taken another step forward as part of a unique game style approach driven by on-court player observations and research in partnership with clubs and universities. In 2003, convinced that players would increasingly lean towards spin to dominate their opponents, Babolat released the Aero – the world’s first aerodynamic racquet.
Adopted by Rafael Nadal in 2004 and year after year by other top players, Babolat says "it has evolved continuously to become the ultimate racquet in the spin category. Initially used defensively to slow the game, spin is now deployed as an offensive weapon to outperform opponents."
Babolat's bold new generation of stars are at their best attacking the ball.
Some of Babolat's racquet innovation is inspired by the players themselves. Working with players over the years to identify different spin styles and their needs, the Babolat performance laboratory said it focused research and development on player observations.
Through its research, Babolat says identified three types of Spin Players:
The Fast Spin player hits the ball on the rise, early after the bounce and uses sharp angles. The racquet best suited to their playing style is the Pure Aero 98, used on the circuit by Félix Auger-Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz, and Holger Rune, among others.
The Strong Spin player hits the ball at peak of the bounce, drawing on their personal strength rather than ball speed to rotate the ball. The Pure Aero suits the needs of Leylah Fernandez, Jennifer Brady, and Danielle Collins, just to name a few. The Pure Aero Team and Pure Aero Lite are lighter options for these types of players.
The Heavy Spin player makes contact as the ball is coming down from the top of the bounce, imparting spin from the baseline with explosive power. Rafael Nadal embodies this type of player and uses the Pure Aero Rafa racquet.
Babolat cites new innovative technologies in the Pure Aero designed to meet spin players’ needs.
The new FSI SPIN (Frame String Interaction) string pattern adapts to game intensity, allowing for more string movement and higher RPMs to generate maximum spin according to player type.
NF2 TECH (Natural Flax Filtration Technology) has flax fiber inserts in the grip and at 3 and 9 o’clock on the racquet head to dampen vibrations and deliver optimized acoustics with a much softer sound for enhanced feeling at ball impact.
The SWX (SMAC Wrap Extended) Pure Feel makes advanced use of SMAC dampening material: a revolutionary vibration filtration system integrated into the lay-up, it delivers a pure feel and a unique sound on every shot.
Photo credit: Babolat