Cameron Norrie, Carlos Alcaraz, Danielle Collins Win Maiden Titles, Emma Radunacu Dumps Coach

It was a week of maiden title wins. Cameron Norrie, Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniell Collins won their first titles on the tour.

  • Cameron Norrie defeated Brandon Nakashima to easily win the Los Cabos title. This was Norrie’s fifth attempt at an ATP title. Norrie did not lose a set all week.
  • Carlos Alcaraz won his first title at Umag beating Richard Gasquet. He is the youngest Spaniard to win an ATP title since Rafael Nadal in 2004. He is the youngest tour-level champion since Kei Nishikori, who was 18 when he won the Delray Beach title in 2008.
  • Danielle Collins won the Palermo Ladies Open title beating Elena-Gabriela Ruse. This was Collin’s first WTA title.

Casper Ruud won his third clay court title this year beating Hugo Gaston at the Swiss Open in Gstaad (ESPN)

Former world number 4, Kiki Bertens retired from professional tennis after losing at the Olympics. She reached the semifinals at the 2016 French Open. She has been struggling with an Achilles injury. (Instagram)

Despite a great run at Wimbledon, Emma Raducanu parted ways with coach Nigel Sears (who is Andy Murray’s father-in-law). She will work with Andrew Richardson, who coached Raducanu  when she was a young tennis player. (The Telegraph)

Naomi Osaka will leave Tokyo without an Olympic medal. She lost to Marketa Vondrousova in the third round (CNN)

Djokovic is a star at the Olympics. As one of the world’s most recognizable athletes, Djokovic is very popular at the Olympic village in Tokyo. (The Guardian)

Fabio Fognini is unhappy that Matteo Berrettini is not playing the Olympics. Fognini and Berrettini had plans to play doubles together. Berrettini withdrew due to an injury. (Twitter)

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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.

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