Babolat brought its Grand Slam champions out to teach a kids clinic in Paris.

US Open champions Carlos Alcaraz and Dominic Thiem and Toni Nadal, uncle and original coach of Rafa Nadal, hosted a kids clinic in Paris.

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The clinic shared some of Toni Nadal's championship coaching with the kids and helped launched Babolat's new racquet line designed specifically for kids aged 4 to 12.

Working with scientists, coaches and behavioral experts in France and America, the Lyon- based brand has now brought out a whole range of racquets conceived, designed and developed with the specific needs of 4-12 year-olds in mind.

The lucky participating juniors were selected from Parisian tennis associations, Yannick Noah's Fête le Mur charity and Lagardère Paris Racing, the country club that hosted the event.



The kids learned how to string a racquet – as Babolat believes 50% of a racquet's effectiveness comes from strings. Babolat teamed up with two respected partners and a group of coaches to create the world's first racquet range designed to meet the specific needs of young players.



Scientific input came from the French laboratory LIBM (Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Biologie et Motricité), which looked at what a racquet needs to offer a child for optimum development to prevent injuries in growing bodies. LIBM analyzed more than 300 children from 15 tennis clubs in France to determine the best characteristics, like size, balance and grip.

Advice also came from a group of around 10 top coaches who specialize in techniques of learning and teaching tennis.

Psychological and behavioral expertise came from Court 16, the tennis club in New York for children, which looks at exciting new ways of teaching and practicing tennis.

Photo credit: Babolat