Rafa... New Paintjob
- Thread starter BDAZ
- Start date
bobeeto
Hall of Fame
When moya has the new paint job but Rafa doesn’t
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
Yes. He chokes up on his backhand slices and volleys.
yourtennisfit
Semi-Pro
The fact that he plays that old paintjob must infuriate everyone at Babolat HQ
I mean, I get it. He has always been super superstitious and won his last title with this, but it is super odd when you are trying to market a frame called Rafa Origin for 300 USD, and the athlete decides nope
I mean, I get it. He has always been super superstitious and won his last title with this, but it is super odd when you are trying to market a frame called Rafa Origin for 300 USD, and the athlete decides nope
mavsman149
Hall of Fame
Even Rafa agrees the new ones are hideous
mavsman149
Hall of Fame
Even better, isn't that Marc Lopez with them? They finally gave him a current PD PJ now that he's retired, he was rocking the PD 09 paint till he retired.When moya has the new paint job but Rafa doesn’t
And they still can't send Roddick some new racquets cmon now @babolatofficial
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
Pulling a Sinner (or Delpo if you’re older)I mean, I get it. He has always been super superstitious and won his last title with this, but it is super odd when you are trying to market a frame called Rafa Origin for 300 USD, and the athlete decides nope
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
gino
Legend
one hell of a final clay court szn fit, we will miss your intense flair, Rafa
the most bold style of a tennis player since Agassi & it's not close (sorry Mattek sands)
David Le
Hall of Fame
Agreed 100%.
Grew up with Agassi but his later years 2001-2006 however when Nadal burst into scene, he’s the guy with the coolest look. Still have my original Montreal 2005 sleeveless he wore when he beat Agassi in the final. My dad bought me that sleeveless so forever treasuring it and perhaps when I have kids, I’ll pass it on to them too.
Vikramkrishnan57
New User
Just like sinner he is just using the older version of the racquet
gino
Legend
Really cool story & tbh, that's one of the coolest tops Rafa he's ever worn. A true early Nadal classic:
I have a similar relationship with Rafa & his gear. My girlfriend, now wife, tracked down his 2010 WTF shirt & I still have it 14 years later. I'll never sell it. I hope one day to pass it down to a descendent as well
It's hard to explain to people not in our universe how much nostalgia we have tied to all this gear. Same goes for Fed stuff. Novak hopping so many sponsors made him a different case, but his early 2007-2010 adidas stuff, esp 2008 is iconic
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
Can’t make out the weight. But balance 32.6cm, SW333. This new batch of rackets seem to have different spec from the Origin PJ he was using before.
lulo
Semi-Pro
Can't play with the new paint job, too bright lol
bobeeto
Hall of Fame
What a sniper shot
Can’t make out the weight. But balance 32.6cm, SW333. This new batch of rackets seem to have different spec from the Origin PJ he was using before.
RoarTT
Professional
Indeed. If the specs aren't unstrung, that is!
Can’t make out the weight. But balance 32.6cm, SW333. This new batch of rackets seem to have different spec from the Origin PJ he was using before.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Really cool story & tbh, that's one of the coolest tops Rafa he's ever worn. A true early Nadal classic:
I have a similar relationship with Rafa & his gear. My girlfriend, now wife, tracked down his 2010 WTF shirt & I still have it 14 years later. I'll never sell it. I hope one day to pass it down to a descendent as well
It's hard to explain to people not in our universe how much nostalgia we have tied to all this gear. Same goes for Fed stuff. Novak hopping so many sponsors made him a different case, but his early 2007-2010 adidas stuff, esp 2008 is iconic
Slay besties
McEncock
Professional
It's unstrung 100%
Close to the usual 368-370 strung SW
What a beast
I wouldn't be surprised however that he is back on 130 gauge
The effortless winners against the Italian made me think that...
codonnell
Semi-Pro
Ironically I think he helped with designing it right? I could be wrong but I swore I heard that lol. You think he would design something he’d feel comfortable playing with?
heavyD
Professional
Isn't it just superstition with him much like Sinner right now still using the old Speed paint job while he's been on a roll in 2024?
codonnell
Semi-Pro
It very well could be. But he’s always changed pjs in the past. He seemed a bit more reluctant to change this one. I believe it was Australian open where they released the new frame and he still stuck with the previous one.
iceman_dl6
Professional
Yes I did hear that from the Babolat rep, but I don’t believe I ever heard it from Rafa’s mouth.
Roger, on the other hand, we did see footage of him saying it was his idea that the RF97 is matte black back when it was released in 2016. And he kept on using that matte black paint for the rest of his career!
I went from Sampras as a kid to Federer. I only appreciated Agassi later in life, but Sampras is still my personal favorite of all time.
David Le
Hall of Fame
You and my dad are the same. Sampras guy through the 90’s then Federer even though his strokes are very 80’s
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
naturalexponent
Legend
Same here. And just like with more fully appreciating Agassi later, I’d come around to appreciating Nadal only later in his career.
I’ll appreciate Nadal in a few years maybe, I’m not there yet. I like him fine, not a dislike type of thing but I am not a huge fan. Saving that energy for Andeh, the true metal hip goat
naturalexponent
Legend
Cyborg Andy <3
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
jmacdaununder2
Legend
I’ve also postulated previously that he’s been choking up even more recently.
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
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TennisAddiction
Semi-Pro
When you're Rafa you can do whatever you want haha! Fed did something like this as well. He was supposed to use the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 V12 in the tuxedo colors and after a short stint he went back to all-black. Said the white was too distracting or something to that effect.The fact that he plays that old paintjob must infuriate everyone at Babolat HQ
I mean, I get it. He has always been super superstitious and won his last title with this, but it is super odd when you are trying to market a frame called Rafa Origin for 300 USD, and the athlete decides nope
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
Weight, 316? 318? still cant tell
Rafa's Origin racket had a spec of
W: 318
B: 33.0
SW: 338
from the tennisinsider's pics. So maybe weight of 318g is consistant
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innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
These cameramen/women need to focus on the important parts of the picture, the specs!
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
David Le
Hall of Fame
Just a Memorial Day sale they have going on. Doubt Babolat would mark them 30% already given it hasn’t been too long since the releaseI just looked and these are 30% off
(Maybe they already had been, I don't know)
yourtennisfit
Semi-Pro
I don't think he hates it, as he helped design the Origin.
But he is probably the most superstitious guy on earth, he won his last 2 Slams with the previous design, so he wants to stick with this one
yourtennisfit
Semi-Pro
That's not true - the Rafa 290gr is selling like crazy in clubs, the Origin is more of a collectors item and surely will sell, too
However, Babolat will not make more of the Origins, so they will slowly fade anyhow
Fed designed the black and white pro staff and hated it after he played with it.
So there's precedent.
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
innoVAShaun
G.O.A.T.
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