Tennis is one of the most popular and famous sports played by individuals. The game is predominantly considered as a premium sport that tests one’s endurance, versatility, technique, skills, and mental awareness. Although, tennis is an out and out physical sport with the test of a human being’s stamina and endurance. However, it is also considered as a technical sport which is controlled by our mind.
Tennis players all over the world compete in different tournaments all around the year. However, the main tennis tournaments are only four i.e. Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. Out of all these tournaments, Wimbledon is the most popular. It is played on a grass court, every year in England.
Due to such immense popularity of the sport, it is widely followed by people all over the world. Tennis players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova are considered global celebrities due to their large fan following. Due to a fan following of millions of people, tennis matches have high prize money, and tennis players are handsomely rewarded for winning tournaments.
Famous Tennis Brands
Being a highly popular sport, high-quality tennis goods and equipment are manufactured by different companies. Some of the most revered sports manufacturers promote their products by making popular tennis players as their brand ambassadors. This has created a preferability factor among various tennis players. Many players prefer a particular brand due to its high-quality, others do it because they have been paid by a particular company.
Tennis is played in two forms: singles and doubles. Players of both forms require a racquet that can strike the right balance between power and agility. Among the famous tennis brands, there is a popular culture to provide top fabrics and apparel to athletes while they are competing in a tournament. The type of tennis apparel also varies with the type of player.
Professional players have different preferences, whereas, beginners prefer different apparel. Such variations also occur with the style of play, court surface, opponent, and environmental conditions. Roger Federer plays with a different racquet in the French Open, while he prefers the same racquet in Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open.
Due to such a cause, there are some brands which have gained high publicity for their durability, finesse, and overall quality. Still, tennis brands are differently favoured by the players. Men have different preferences to that of women. Hence, the popularity of a brand may be high in men while it may not be in women.
Famous Tennis Brands For Women
Tennis for women is controlled by WTA, which is its official authority. Almost about 70 percent of the top 100 women players prefer two brands: Babolat and Wilson. While the rest of the 30 percent use Head, Yonex, Slazenger, and Volkl. Such diversity in women’s tennis brands can be attributed to the style of play dominant in this category.
As most of the top 100 players prefer versatility over raw power, they use light-weight racquets that require less force and more technique to make a shot. On the whole, the entire distribution can be summarized as:
Babolat
Top 38 players in WTA top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Wilson
Top 32 players in WTA top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Head
Top 10 players in WTA top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Yonex
Top 12 players in WTA top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Slazenger
Top 3 players in WTA top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Volkl
Top 2 players in WTA top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Famous Tennis Brands for Men
Similar to the situation in women, men’s tennis is also dominated by the same brands. However, the distribution is different. Due to the injuries to Rafa Nadal, Babolat declined in popularity. Similar was the case with Roger Federer who uses Wilson. Due to their recent comebacks, Wilson and Babolat dominated the ATP tournaments, this year. However, from the past few years, Head has emerged as the most popular brand among the ATP players.
The common example can be found in Rafael Nadal’s case who prefers a Babolat AeroPro Drive. His style of play requires fast pace and high topspin which requires a racquet to be aerodynamically solid. Although over the past decade Rafa has experimented with different versions of the AeroPro Drive, he looks to be settled with the 2015 model. The 2015 model is equipped with Cortex technology that provides great comfort while playing important shots. Apart from that, it also depends on the individual player to prefer a particular model or racquet type.
On the whole, the current distribution of tennis brands among men can be summarized as:
Wilson
Top 26 players in ATP top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Babolat
Top 21 players in ATP top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Head
Top 11 players in ATP top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Prince
Top 5 players in ATP top 100 used this brand in 2018.
Yonex
Top 4 players in ATP top 100 used this brand in 2018.
