8 Most Popular Tennis Racquet Brands
To a casual tennis player, choosing a racquet can be overwhelming. There are several brands on the market, each with its technologies and marketing buzz words. To make things even more confusing, there are various head sizes, string tensions, string patterns, and grip sizes.
In this article, you will find the popular racquet brands. These brands have been around for decades and have been used by top players for some time. In addition to racquets, most of these brands also make balls, strings, and other tennis accessories.
All the brands covered here make multiple lines or series of racquets – for example, one series may be geared towards power racquets, another series may be geared towards control-oriented racquets, etc. All brands have racquets for beginners, intermediate and advanced players.
Popular tennis racquet brands
Wilson
Wilson is easily one of the most well-recognized brands in tennis. With its big “W” on the racquets, you can’t miss it. The company was founded in Chicago in 1913. It is currently owned by the Chinese company, ANTA sports.
Wilson racquets have been used by great players such as Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Simona Halep. Even Novak Djokovic was using Wilson, before switching to Head.
Adult racquets – Wilson Clash 100, Wilson Blade, Wilson Pro Staff
Beginner racquets – Wilson Federer
Junior racquets – Wilson US Open Junior
Babolat
Babolat is a French company headquartered in Lyon, France. The company was founded in 1875 when Pierre Babolat created natural gut strings. It was only in 1994, well over 100 years after its founding, that Babolat started making racquets. Only 4 years later, Carlos Moya became the first player to win a grand slam with a Babolat racquet.
Babolat racquets have been used by Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, and Dominic Thiem.
Adult racquets – Pure Aero, Pure Drive, Pure Strike
Junior racquets – Babolat Nadal Junior
Head
Head was founded in 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland. But it is currently based in Kennelbach, Austria after going through a series of mergers with other companies.
Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Maria Sharapova have used Head racquets.
Adult racquets – Ti.S6, Gravity, Graphene 360+, Head Speed, Head Radical
Junior racquets – Head Instinct Junior, Head Speed Junior
Yonex
Yonex is a Japanese company that was founded in 1958. The company pioneered the isometric-shpaed racquet – a racquet with a square head with more hitting area.
Yonex racquets are more popular among female professional tennis players. Yonex racquets are used by Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic, Stan Wawrinka, and Denis Shapovalov.
Adult racquets – Ezone, VCore Pro, VCore, Astrel
Other racquet brands
Prince
Prince was founded in 1970 by Robert H. McClure, who was from Princeton, New Jersey (hence the name, Prince). The company went through bankruptcy and is currently headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prince racquets were used by Michael Chang, Patrick Rafter, Jennifer Capriati, and the Bryan brothers. John Isner is the only top player currently using Prince racquets.
Adult racquets – Beast, Premier, Tour, Phantom, Attack, Pink
Tecnifibre
Tecnifibre is a French company that was founded in 1979. The company initially made only racquet strings but started making racquets.
Among the top players, Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek use Tecnifibre racquets.
Adult racquets –T-Fight, T-Flash, T-Fit, T-Rebound (women)
Dunlop
Dunlop is a British company that was founded in 1910. The brand is not as popular as it used to be. The racquet was used by Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Rod Laver, and Pat Cash. In recent times, Kevin Anderson used Dunlop racquets.
Adult racquets – CV, CX, CZ
Volkl
Volkl is a German company based in Straubing. Volkl racquets were used by Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Sergi Bruguera, Petr Korda, and Jana Novotna.
Adult racquets – V-Cell, V1 Classic
Bottom Line – Choosing the best racquet for you
Wilson, Babolat, Head, and Yonex are the most popular brands among professional players. If you are unsure, you can’t go wrong with these four brands. If you are an advanced player willing to a bit of leg work, you can consider the other brands covered in this article. Once you choose a brand, your next step is to choose a racquet within that brand.
Before you buy a racquet, demo the racquet. Most tennis stores will allow you to test a racquet for a few days with a refundable security deposit. Test a few racquets before you buy one because the right racquet will help avoid frustrations, prevent injuries and help you improve your game quickly.