Babolat

Heritage

Babolat was founded in Lyon in 1875 by Pierre Babolat, who developed the first natural gut strings for tennis and badminton racquets. Strings remained the core of the business for more than a century.

In 1925 Albert Babolat refined the natural gut string and created VS, which became associated with the French tennis players known as the Four Musketeers and with Suzanne Lenglen. Babolat added its first synthetic string, Elascord, in 1955 and built an international retail network during the 1950s under Paul Babolat.

The company stayed close to the stringing side of the sport through the 1980s, releasing the first electric stringing machine in 1980 while Björn Borg used Babolat strings during his Grand Slam run. Multifilament strings and diagnostic stringing equipment followed in the early 1990s.

A major change came in 1994, when Babolat launched its first tennis racquets with the Pure Drive, becoming a full racquet manufacturer rather than a string specialist. Badminton racquets followed in 1995. In 1998 Éric Babolat took charge of the company, and Carlos Moya won the French Open that year, the first Grand Slam won with a Babolat racquet.

Babolat's official heritage page dates its first padel racquet to 2001, a year in which it also launched tennis balls. Its partnership with Club Med, which began in 2005 for racquet sports, later extended to padel, and by July 2023 Babolat had equipped 20 padel courts across six Club Med resorts.

Tennis success continued alongside the padel business: Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters reached world number one with the Pure Drive in 2003, Rafael Nadal won his first French Open with Babolat in 2005, and Carlos Alcaraz extended his Babolat partnership until 2030 in 2023. Babolat became an official partner of Wimbledon in 2013 and its official racquet service and racquet in 2022.

In padel, Babolat's most important relationship is with Juan Lebrón, the first Spanish player to reach world number one. Babolat dates the collaboration to 2016 in a December 2023 release, while other Babolat and press sources give 2017. In December 2023 Babolat launched a complete Juan Lebrón range built on three pillars, the Viper, Veron and Vertuo.

Babolat has added padel-specific technology and products in recent years: the Hole Pattern System and its first padel shoe in 2019, a new racquet range for all types of striker in 2021, and its first women's padel collection in 2023. In September 2023 it announced its first investment in a Padel Racquet Studio at Sant Fruitós de Bages near Barcelona, used to test racquets, try new manufacturing methods and produce limited series.

In 2024 Babolat began a collaboration with Automobili Lamborghini. The first racquet, BL001, was a handmade collector's model produced at Lamborghini's headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The BL002 followed in 2025 as the first racquet designed entirely at the Babolat Padel Studio, made in a run of 5,000 units with a 3K carbon face and Koridion foam frame.

Babolat marked its 150th anniversary in 2025. Its padel collection for 2026 was presented at the pairs world championship in Kuwait and went on sale on 4 December 2025, led by the Viper Juan Lebrón, Viper Soft Juan Lebrón and Veron Juan Lebrón racquets and the Premura 3 shoe developed with Michelin. In October 2026 the UK site lists the Viper Juan Lebrón 3.1 range and a 2027 Juan Lebrón collection.