Bonjour from Babolat

[thejackal]

Hey Dan, you do know Yvon (the head stringer at the Roger's Cup and for the Canadian Davis Cup team)?

saw him this weekend trying to fit a Babolat Star 5 into a Dodge Caravan. Think it took 5 guys to help him fit everything in in the end.

[Babolat Official]

Originally Posted by mikeespinmusic

I'm guessing to take advantage of the technology updates?

And Rafa is back and has announced a new model and changes to his personal specs too.

The APD has somewhat got a famous reputation for being THE spin racquet. Wilson's now boasting this claim with their new steam frames with a 16 by 15 string pattern. With out being forced to talk lowly about a competitor - why hasn't Babolat bothered about reducing the amount of strings for more supposed spin?

The news story about Rafa playing with a new model was a journalist watching the Babolat Play&Connect video from Roland Garros last year....and thinking he was switching.

For every advantage, there is a drawback. I.E. tighter string pattern, more control but less spin/power. We find our products offer a nice range of options and balance between the demands of products.

I have not hit with the new Wilson racquets but probably will in the next couple weeks. It sounds like a cool innovation and I'm curious to see how it plays. I've always liked open string patterns (hence playing with Babolat and the Presitge Pro). I'm also curious to see which pro players use it.

[Babolat Official]

Originally Posted by thejackal

Hey Dan, you do know Yvon (the head stringer at the Roger's Cup and for the Canadian Davis Cup team)?

saw him this weekend trying to fit a Babolat Star 5 into a Dodge Caravan. Think it took 5 guys to help him fit everything in in the end.

I do not know Yvon, but he must be doing something right because Canada won their first round and is in the R16 for the first time ever.

The 5 Star is big. You are correct. Wasn't there so can't comment on strength of guys helping him. Just kidding.

I haven't talked to stringing equipment R&D in a couple months, but it is only natural to think reduction of size is something they are working on.

[zapvor]

i love the star 5. how much are they going for now?

[Uvijek Argen]

[Babolat Official]

Originally Posted by Uvijek Argen

Again, I used to represent Aga and was at this match...they don't show her clamming the ground and cracking the racquet the point before. But the force is strong in her!

[db10s]

Any updates on RPM Dual?

[thejackal]

Originally Posted by Babolat Official

I do not know Yvon, but he must be doing something right because Canada won their first round and is in the R16 for the first time ever.

The 5 Star is big. You are correct. Wasn't there so can't comment on strength of guys helping him. Just kidding.

I haven't talked to stringing equipment R&D in a couple months, but it is only natural to think reduction of size is something they are working on.

was at the tie the whole weekend. the crowd was crazy. marc lopez rlu surprised me with how smooth his forehand is.
got a bunch of pics on my instagram account

yvon pulled a.couple of all nighters during the.tie to keep milos and rveryvody else's rackets on schedule. I definitely did a doubletake when he told me hes the only team stringer.

for him the issue is more about the custom tariffs he has to pay for the machine at away ties than the size...

[Uvijek Argen]

Originally Posted by Babolat Official

Again, I used to represent Aga and was at this match...they don't show her clamming the ground and cracking the racquet the point before. But the force is strong in her!

Oh no need to apologize, the post was just for fun since I found it.

And yes the force is strong with her.

[Babolat Official]

Originally Posted by db10s

Any updates on RPM Dual?

In the US, scheduled for mid April, we're trying to push it up. I hit with 16 yesterday strung at 45 (constant pull). Liked it more than my original test but still prefer RPM Blast.

[Babolat Official]

Originally Posted by thejackal

was at the tie the whole weekend. the crowd was crazy. marc lopez rlu surprised me with how smooth his forehand is.
got a bunch of pics on my instagram account

yvon pulled a.couple of all nighters during the.tie to keep milos and rveryvody else's rackets on schedule. I definitely did a doubletake when he told me hes the only team stringer.

for him the issue is more about the custom tariffs he has to pay for the machine at away ties than the size...

Lucky! I really enjoy DC matches. I might have to head to Boise for US/Serbia, especially if Djoko plays.

[NE1for10is?]

Hi Babolat Official. It great to see you onboard here! I don't know if anyone has asked you this already, but I am wondering why Babolat changed from their regular natural gut which was so great, to making it with the BT7? The BT7 makes it much stiffer and it loses of lot of the great playability the string used to have. I have had to find other companies that come close to what the Babolat natural gut used to be like. A lot of people on the forums here complained about this, so it would be great to get your input.

[pfchang]

Babolat official,

I'm not quite sure if this belongs here, but do you guys give out any sort of sponsorships/player packages to club teams on college campuses?

all the best,

PF

[Babolat Official]

Originally Posted by NE1for10is?

Hi Babolat Official. It great to see you onboard here! I don't know if anyone has asked you this already, but I am wondering why Babolat changed from their regular natural gut which was so great, to making it with the BT7? The BT7 makes it much stiffer and it loses of lot of the great playability the string used to have. I have had to find other companies that come close to what the Babolat natural gut used to be like. A lot of people on the forums here complained about this, so it would be great to get your input.

We're constantly looking to improve our products. Some people like the new formula and some don't (see this thread and others on the forum). With any product, we do extensive testing with tour players, pros, coaches. The new formula has to do with the threading of pieces of cattle intestine and increases durability by 15% (according to our testing).

Some shops still carry the old formula if you think you prefer it. When I was last in France I had our product manager walk me through the difference. It is a proprietary technique and although there will be strong backlash to this statement, it has not changed the way it plays if you don't know you are playing with a new version.

[Babolat Official]

Originally Posted by pfchang

Babolat official,

I'm not quite sure if this belongs here, but do you guys give out any sort of sponsorships/player packages to club teams on college campuses?

all the best,

PF

Not to club teams, sorry.

[mcnota]

despite my harsh comments earlier in this thread, i found a first gen pure drive in the attic, fixed it up, added lead around the hoop so its 350swingweight , its a beast.. spin power everything..

question is do you know where i can buy more new first gen pure drive +'s?

if not is the new pure drive much of an improvement over the first gen?

i take back the harsh comments

[Trippisthebest]

Any news on the Play & Connect racquet? Such as a release date

[JDMasFCK]

Originally Posted by Trippisthebest

Any news on the Play & Connect racquet? Such as a release date

nothing yet

[zapvor]

Originally Posted by Babolat Official

We're constantly looking to improve our products. Some people like the new formula and some don't (see this thread and others on the forum). With any product, we do extensive testing with tour players, pros, coaches. The new formula has to do with the threading of pieces of cattle intestine and increases durability by 15% (according to our testing).

Some shops still carry the old formula if you think you prefer it. When I was last in France I had our product manager walk me through the difference. It is a proprietary technique and although there will be strong backlash to this statement, it has not changed the way it plays if you don't know you are playing with a new version.

this is true i believe. i string for the guy that used to be hitting partner with Lendl and with over 8 stringjobs of BT7 he said nothing about it playing different, and he has used gut for a long time

[vsbabolat]

Originally Posted by Babolat Official

We're constantly looking to improve our products. Some people like the new formula and some don't (see this thread and others on the forum). With any product, we do extensive testing with tour players, pros, coaches. The new formula has to do with the threading of pieces of cattle intestine and increases durability by 15% (according to our testing).

Some shops still carry the old formula if you think you prefer it. When I was last in France I had our product manager walk me through the difference. It is a proprietary technique and although there will be strong backlash to this statement, it has not changed the way it plays if you don't know you are playing with a new version.

I 100% disagree. When I bought the gut with BT7 I was not expecting any difference in the way it was going to play. But I was shocked at how much stiffer it felt. Strung in the same racquet, at the same tension, by the same stringer, on the same machine.
P.S. I've been using Babolat VS Gut since the juniors.