The history of Babolat dates to 1875, when Pierre Babolat and his family began working with natural gut. At that time, this material was utilised for various purposes, including sausage casings, surgical ligatures, and musical strings. The emergence of lawn tennis provided a new application for the material. Babolat developed natural-gut strings specifically for tennis racquets, followed by strings for badminton. This innovation established the foundation of the company and defined its core area of expertise.4 Unlike many contemporary sporting-goods manufacturers that originated with racquets or apparel, Babolat began by producing the component essential to making a racquet playable: the string. The company has maintained this connection to string manufacturing for over 150 years.

A pivotal moment in the company’s history occurred in 1925 with the development of the VS natural-gut string. This product became associated with elite players of the early professional era, including the French “Musketeers”: René Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, and Jacques Brugnon. Babolat continued to refine natural gut as the sport evolved. The company states that its VS natural-gut string remains a benchmark product and continues to be manufactured in France.5

Despite the historical term “catgut,” Babolat’s natural gut is not derived from cat intestines. Early racquet strings were made from sheep gut, while modern natural-gut strings utilise cow gut.6 Today, natural gut is positioned as a premium product valued for feel, elasticity, comfort, power, and tension maintenance. It is frequently used in hybrid setups combined with polyester strings.7

For much of its early history, Babolat was primarily identified with strings and racquet preparation rather than complete racquets. The company gradually expanded its technological capabilities through several key milestones:

• 1875: Natural-gut racquet strings
• 1925: Babolat VS natural gut
• 1955: Synthetic strings
• 1980: First electric stringing machine
• 1994: First Babolat tennis racquets
• 2001: Tennis balls and initial padel expansion
• 2003: Aero racquet family introduced
• 2003: High-performance tennis shoes developed with Michelin
• 2010: RPM Blast string launched
• 2012: Connected racquet technology
• 2014: Pure Strike line introduced
• 2019: First Babolat padel shoe
• 2020: Entry into pickleball8

This progression transformed Babolat from a string specialist into a comprehensive racquet-sports equipment manufacturer.

The introduction of the first tennis racquet line in 1994, centred on the Pure Drive, marked a significant strategic shift. Having spent over a century building expertise in strings and accessories, Babolat entered the racquet market with a product designed for powerful baseline play and modern construction. The Pure Drive became internationally successful and effectively established Babolat as a major racquet manufacturer rather than solely a string company.9 It remains one of the brand’s core product families.

Babolat’s modern tennis identity is defined by three distinct racquet families, each engineered for specific performance characteristics.

Pure Drive

The Pure Drive is traditionally positioned around power and versatility. It is one of the most recognisable Babolat racquets and serves as a benchmark in the modern power-racquet category.

Pure Aero

Introduced in 2003, the Pure Aero is strongly associated with spin. Its identity became closely linked with Rafael Nadal’s heavy topspin playing style.10

Pure Strike

Launched in 2014, the Pure Strike is oriented towards control, precision, and aggressive shot-making.11

While individual models vary, these categories illustrate Babolat’s philosophy in racquet design.

Strings remain a central pillar of Babolat’s expertise. The current tennis-string portfolio encompasses several categories:

• Natural gut: The historic Touch VS serves as the flagship natural-gut string.
• Polyester / monofilament: The RPM family is renowned for spin-oriented polyester strings.
• Multifilament: Designed to offer enhanced comfort and elasticity.
• Hybrid setups: Combining different string types, such as natural gut and polyester, is common among advanced players.12

RPM Blast, launched in 2010, is one of the brand’s most prominent modern strings, gaining recognition through professional players utilising heavy-spin setups.13

Rafael Nadal

Few athlete-brand partnerships have been as significant as Babolat’s relationship with Rafael Nadal. Associated with the Pure Aero racquets and RPM strings, Nadal’s success on clay courts helped make Babolat’s spin-oriented technology globally recognisable. He achieved his historic 10th Roland-Garros title in 2017 and his 14th French Open title in 2022.14 Nadal joined the company at age nine,15 and his playing style—heavy topspin, high racquet-head speed, and physical baseline tennis—became synonymous with the qualities of the Aero family.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz represents the next generation of Babolat athletes. After beginning his partnership with the brand at a young age, he extended his contract through 2030.16 At the 2025 French Open, Alcaraz won his fifth Grand Slam title using a Pure Aero 98 with Babolat RPM Team strings, marking the company’s 41st Grand Slam title won with one of its racquets.12 Alcaraz embodies a versatile style of tennis while continuing the brand’s association with the Aero line.

Other notable players

Throughout its history, Babolat equipment has been used by numerous professional players, including Suzanne Lenglen, René Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, Jacques Brugnon, Björn Borg, Yannick Noah, Kim Clijsters, Carlos Moya, Li Na, Juan Lebrón, and Niels Vink. The company’s first Grand Slam victory with a Babolat racquet occurred in 1998 when Carlos Moyá won the French Open.17

Badminton

Although tennis is its most visible sport, Babolat has a long history in badminton dating back to its earliest production of natural-gut strings for the sport. The company later expanded into badminton racquets, shuttlecocks, shoes, apparel, bags, and accessories. Dedicated badminton-racquet ranges were first developed in 1995.18 Today, badminton remains one of Babolat’s three principal racquet sports.

Padel

Babolat has become a significant participant in padel, launching its first padel racquet in 2001.19 The range subsequently expanded to include shoes, bags, and accessories. The brand’s padel identity is strongly associated with Juan Lebrón, who became the first Spanish world No. 1 in padel in 2017.20 A dedicated women’s padel collection was launched in 2023.

Pickleball

In 2020, Babolat entered the pickleball market, extending its portfolio beyond traditional tennis, badminton, and padel.21 This expansion provides access to a rapidly growing racquet-sport audience, particularly in North America. The company’s modern sporting portfolio now spans tennis, badminton, padel, and pickleball.

Babolat expanded into footwear in the early 2000s. In 2003, it launched a line of high-performance tennis shoes developed in collaboration with Michelin, combining court-movement knowledge with rubber-compound expertise.22 Key tennis-shoe families include the Propulse and Jet lines. This reflects a strategy of providing equipment covering the complete player experience rather than focusing solely on racquets.

Babolat maintains a significant relationship with Wimbledon. Beginning in 2013 as an official partner and supplier, the company became Wimbledon’s official racquet service provider in 2022.23 During the tournament, Babolat’s stringing team services nearly 6,000 racquets across three sites.24 This partnership highlights the company’s competency in professional racquet preparation, complementing the parallel histories of the two institutions (Babolat founded in 1875, Wimbledon championships beginning in 1877).

Babolat’s approach to innovation rests on three pillars: continuous experimentation with strings and materials; racquet engineering focused on spin, power, stability, aerodynamics, and control; and close collaboration with professional players, coaches, stringers, and tournaments to understand equipment performance in real-world conditions.25 The company describes its philosophy as being grounded in audacity, excellence, perseverance, and curiosity.26

A distinctive characteristic of Babolat is its status as a family business spanning five generations. In an industry dominated by multinational groups, it remains one of the few independent companies in the racquet-sports sector.27 The fifth generation is currently represented by CEO Éric Babolat.28 The legal entity is Babolat VS S.A.S., headquartered in Lyon.29 This continuity is integral to the brand’s identity, presenting its history as an ongoing family relationship with racquet sports.

Babolat’s brand identity is built upon heritage, performance, innovation, player-centric design, racquet-sport specialisation, and French industrial identity. The company originated in Lyon and retains significant French manufacturing and technical expertise, particularly in natural-gut strings. In August 2026, Babolat received France’s Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) label, recognising its rare expertise in natural-gut strings and its artisanal heritage.30

From a consumer perspective, the brand is best recognised for five key elements: the Pure Drive power racquet; the spin-oriented Pure Aero associated with Nadal and Alcaraz; the control-focused Pure Strike; RPM polyester strings; and VS Natural Gut. Together, these products represent the company’s evolution from string maker to complete racquet-sports brand.

In the tennis market, Babolat is typically discussed alongside Wilson, Head, Yonex, Tecnifibre, Prince, and Dunlop. However, its position is distinct due to its combination of string heritage, racquet technology, and elite-player relationships.

These are broad brand associations rather than strict technical classifications.

As of 2026, Babolat operates as a 150-year-old company that continues to expand. Its modern business encompasses racquets, strings, shoes, balls, bags, apparel, grips, accessories, and stringing equipment for tennis; racquets, strings, shuttlecocks, shoes, bags, apparel, and accessories for badminton; racquets, shoes, bags, and accessories for padel; and paddles and related equipment for pickleball. Having celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2025, the company continues to operate as an independent, family-run racquet-sports specialist.31 Its history mirrors the evolution of racquet-sport equipment itself, progressing from natural gut to synthetic strings, stringing machines, racquet frames, aerodynamic technology, connected equipment, footwear, padel, and pickleball. This trajectory positions Babolat as a company that has helped shape the technical development of racquet sports.

1. Our expertise | Babolat official website
2. Babolat | Equipement de tennis, badminton et padel (raquettes, chaussures, sacs)
3. Babolat: 150 years of youth, passion, and innovation | Babolat Official Website
4. Credits
5. ABOUT US | Babolat Tennis India
6. Babolat natural gut string, a living legend made in France | Babolat Official Website
7. Natural Gut Tennis Strings | Babolat Official Website
8. 150 years of history | Babolat Official Website
9. History
10. Tennis Strings | Babolat Official Website
11. Tennis Strings | Babolat Official Website
12. Carlos Alcaraz defends his title in Paris and celebrates Babolat’s 150th anniversary | Babolat Official Website
13. Babolat x Wimbledon 2025 | Babolat Official Website
14. Our values | Babolat official website
15. Terms & Conditions
16. Living Heritage Company | Babolat Official Website
17. About Babolat – babolatksa.com
18. Conditions générales
19. バボラ：ラケットスポーツファンを魅了し続けてきた | バボラ公式サイト
20. Babolat, 150 ans de jeunesse, de passion et d’innovations | Babolat Site Officiel
21. Babolat: 150 anos de juventude, paixão e inovação | Babolat Site Official
22. Babolat, 150 años de juventud, pasión e innovación | Sitio Web Oficial de Babolat
23. 150 years of history – Babolat
24. Babolat, by Rafa’s side since 1995 a unique story that lives on | Babolat Official Website
25. Club Med & Babolat | Babolat Official Website
26. World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and BABOLAT, the world leading tennis brand, announce partnership extension for 7 years until 2030 | Babolat Official Website
27. Home – Babolat
28. Home – Babolat
29. Babolat, partner of the first automated sports shoe factory in France | Babolat Official Website
30. Babolat: 150 jaar jeugd, passie en innovatie | Babolat Officiële Site
31. Historia firmy | Babolat Polska