New Babolat partnership with sports performance in mind

Two French companies, Babolat, a world leader in racquet sports equipment, and HumanFab, sportsscience expert in human engineering, have announced a joint collaboration to create and develop a one-of-kind laboratory focused on the study of “the human racquet sports player.”

Merging their expertise, the two companies will scientifically explore and improve knowledge of players through the application of biomechanics to racquet sports.

“Today, our equipment innovations spring from an empirical understanding of players and a keen observation of the game. Our research is conducted on the court, and with our global network of players – from clubs to the highest levels of competition. By adopting a new scientific approach, we will deepen our know-how and further define our expertise, resulting in a more precise offer response,” says Eric Babolat, President of Babolat.

It's more than a racquet sports laboratory, the collaboration between Babolat and HumanFab focuses on the human factor to advance knowledge so that product innovation will perfectly suit players’ needs, regardless of age or level, helping them discover their potential and optimize performance.

“This is an ambitious and exciting project. Offering a player-centered approach with 360° services combining product development, sports medicine support, and training is extremely innovative,” adds Jean-Bernard Fabre, CEO and founder of HumanFab.

“With complementary expertise, our ambition is to become the global scientific standard for biomechanics in racquet sports.”

The first phase of the collaboration will start in 2021 with the construction of the nearly 27,000 sq ft (2500 m²) Racquet Sports Players Laboratory (Laboratoire des Sports de Raquettes) in Aixen-Provence, France, which includes a 3.0 tennis court among other features.

Created in 1875, in Lyon, France, Babolat is the longest-running international company specialized in racquet sports. Pioneer of innovation, Babolat invented strings for tennis in 1875. Today, Babolat is No. 1* in tennis racquet sales in Europe, No. 2 in the United States, and No. 3 in Japan.

Family-run for five generations, Babolat is an innovative brand providing complete equipment for those who love racquet sports (tennis, badminton, padel): racquets, strings, shoes, balls and shuttlecocks, bags, apparel and accessories. Babolat equips numerous tennis players with racquets and strings, primarily Rafael Nadal (SPA), Dominic Thiem (AUT), Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN), Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP), and Sofia Kenin (USA). The company also equips padel players such as Juan Lebron (SPA), Victoria Iglesias (SPA), Bastien Blanqué (FRA) and badminton players Chloé Birch (UK), Alex Lane (UK), Xuefei QI

(FRA), and Ronan Labar (FRA). Babolat also partners with more than 20,000 clubs in 150 countries around the world, as well as legendary tennis brands including Wimbledon.