By Ted LePak
Babolat balls are once again bouncing around Roland Garros! It appears Babolat, which is a large sponsor and the official ball supplier of the French Open, has met the players’ request for adjustments from last year’s balls.
"I think they're heavy," said Roger Federer. "I think they're slower than last year. Conditions here are always faster during the day. “Courts are on the harder side, especially when it's good weather like today. Feels like it's faster. I feel the balls are not the fastest ones. I just think that also is just taking some adjustments to that, because the ball is different here again than the last six, seven weeks for us. I think that also maybe takes some getting used to, which is normal. Last year they have made that switch with balls, and they were really fast and tough to control with conditions that are present in the Roland Garros, which are a little bit different from other clay court events, and the conditions here are a little bit faster than maybe comparing to Monte Carlo or Barcelona or Rome. But many players complained a little bit about the speed of the balls last year, so it was really difficult to control. So this year, they're a little bit heavier, which I like. I really don't have any complaints about it.”
No. 1 Novak Djokovic concurred with Federer. "Many players complained a little bit about the speed of the balls last year, so it was really difficult to control," he said. "So this year, they're a little bit heavier, which I like. I really don't have any complaints about it."
In addition to their balls, Babolat will also premier their revolutionary “Play & Connect” racquet at the French Open.
Babolat is presenting the prototype of the first interactive racquet with organized demonstrations featuring amateurs and pros from Team Babolat including Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Roland Garros. With "Babolat Play & Connect" the specialized brand is trying to take tennis into a new era.
"The Babolat Play & Connect racquet is a tremendous tool," said Nadal. "Having this new technology to capture information from my matches will mean a new way of analyzing my game."
For its technological partner, Babolat has chosen Movea, leader in capturing and analyzing movements. The primary objective was to create a racquet identical to a standard model, with no change to the sensations during play. The racquet handle is equipped with sensors that record the flow of data. Once the training session or match is over, players can transfer and read the captured information on a computer, tablet or smartphone with a wireless connection or USB.