Founded in 1875, the same year as tennis itself, Babolat is the first company to have specialised in racquet sports.  Right from the start, the name Babolat has been synonymous with innovation, competition and winning.  Throughout the history of tennis and throughout the world, Babolat has made a name for itself.  From the first Davis Cup, to the Masters, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open or Australian Open, the legendary VS string has been found on the most renowned podiums - sometimes even on both sides of the court!

Top players like the Musketeers, Petra, Pietrangeli, Ashe, Nastase, Borg, Wilander, Becker, Sampras, Roddick... have all been winners using Babolat strings.  And since Carlos Moya’s victory at Roland Garros in 1998 using a Babolat racquet, Babolat has become the symbol of “total tennis”.

Tennis strings

In 1875, an Englishman named Bussey, manufacturer of tennis frames and racquets, came to France to meet Pierre Babolat.  More than a century later, Babolat remains the unquestionable leader in natural gut strings and has won most of the top-ranking international competitions.  As tennis evolved, the brand was able to anticipate, foresee, and stimulate the progress of a sport that was becoming more and more popular as time went on.  Since 1925, and the appearance of the world renowned VS strings, Babolat had written a page in the history of world tennis, and at the same time, established itself as a forerunner in innovation.

With the fifties came the synthetic revolution and the development of Babolat’s “Elascord“, a nylon sheath encasing other extremely thin nylon threads.  At the very beginning of Nylon strings, Elascord brought more flexibility to the game when compared to the monofilament strings that preceded it.  In the years that followed, Babolat invented multifilament strings, whose VX quality soon became the top of the line in synthetic strings.

It was only natural that the leading manufacturer of natural gut strings would be interested in the art of stringing rackets.  So in 1981, Babolat set up its own competition department and very soon became world leader in stringing machines.  Now completely electronic, these machines provide very high-precision tensions that players can count on before the match!

Racquet equipment

Soon after the Second World War, the technicians at Babolat put their know-how to work on racquet frames. In less than 30 years, the brand has met with unparalleled success. From electronic stringing machines to grips and vibration dampeners, including the invention of the world-renowned Elastocross, Babolat has continued to revolutionise the world of modern tennis equipment.

The Racquet

More than a century after the beginnings of tennis, Babolat is still the world leader in natural gut strings.  Only one area of expertise was missing: the racquet frame.  So in 1994, right in the middle of a world tennis crisis, Babolat rose to the challenge of creating its own range of racquets.  Only four years later, in 1998, Carlos Moya won Roland Garros with a Babolat racquet in hand.  Tennis’ new star, Rafael Nadal, completed a record number of victories on clay and dethroned the great Roger Federer as world #1 using the Baobolat Aeropro racquet.  The success story began and today Babolat embodies “total tennis” in all its forms.

Tennis Balls

In 2001, Babolat confirms its goal of becoming the specialised brand of racquet sports by launching a line of tennis balls adapted to each type of player.

Tennis Shoes

Leaders in their respective markets, Michelin and Babolat have combined their know-how and innovative abilities to develop in 2003 the first range of tennis shoes with a Michelin sole.  To create this new range of products, Babolat performed precise analyses of tennis players’ movements and their needs on different types of playing surfaces.  Babolat turned to Michelin, experts in tire design adapted to different surfaces, to partner the development of a special sole delivering top performance.  The Michelin-Babolat partnership unites two companies with shared values and a single goal: optimising the winning performance of tennis enthusiasts!  Along with this new range of shoes, Babolat launches in 2003 a range of tennis technical apparel, with 360° motion concept.

After more than 130 years of total passion for tennis, Babolat offers players a complete line of the highest quality equipment.  Backed by its history, the brand is considered as a leader and an ongoing source of innovation.  Considered as a major sport at the dawn of the 21st century, tennis is continuously evolving.  For 130 years, Babolat has been a part of that evolution, committed to improving the tennis of today and passionately creating the tennis of tomorrow.