Karakal

Heritage

The Karakal brand originated in Belgium in 1978 and was the property of SPGS of Dendermonde. Its founder was Roger Vercambre, who died in Belgium on 30 May 2015. In its early years the Karakal name appeared on shoes, rackets and clothing.

Karakal UK began distributing the brand in Britain in 1981. In 1985 the UK business bought the rights to Karakal for the UK and Ireland.

In 1991 a new company, Karakal Worldwide Ltd, was formed and bought the rights to the brand for the rest of the world. From that point the brand was controlled from the UK rather than Belgium. The current Karakal Worldwide Limited is registered at Companies House with an incorporation date of 16 November 1993 and is based at The Old Tanks, Penpole Lane, Shirehampton, Bristol.

The name comes from the caracal, a wild cat whose name is derived from the Turkish for 'black ear'. The original logo was a lynx. In 2002 the logo was redrawn: the two outer letter As in KARAKAL became the cat's black ears, and the centre A was given a dot beneath it to suggest a ball or shuttlecock. This 'A-ball' symbol is still used today.

The product that made the brand widely known is the PU Super Grip, a thick, tacky and absorbent polyurethane replacement grip sold in universal and squash lengths and in many colours. Karakal describes it as the world's No.1 racket grip and the world's No.1 PU Super Grip, and it is supplied for squash, badminton, tennis, racketball, hockey and padel.

Squash remains the brand's core sport. Karakal sponsors players on the PSA World Tour, including Welsh player Joel Makin, who won Commonwealth Games silver for Wales in 2022 and the 2024/25 PSA Tour Finals in Toronto, becoming the first Welsh player to win that title. Other sponsored players listed by the company include Greg Lobban, Emyr Evans, Kaitlyn Watts and Elliott Morris Devred.

In September 2025 Karakal announced a two-year partnership with England Squash as its Official Grip Partner, covering grassroots initiatives, the junior circuit and prizes for members. The announcement was made by Steve Gallienne, General Manager of Karakal Worldwide Ltd.

Karakal's move into padel followed the growth of the sport in the UK. By June 2023 the company's own shop listed a padel collection built around the FF 365, a teardrop racket with a carbon and graphite face and an EVA core. The FF PRO 375, with a full 3K carbon face, was added for stronger, attacking players, and in September 2025 the lighter Air Lite 345 range arrived in blue, green and orange.

Today Karakal sells rackets, balls, grips, strings, shoes, clothing and bags for squash, racketball, badminton, tennis, padel, pickleball and table tennis. Distributors in more than 55 countries carry the brand, and the UK business also runs a trade (B2B) ordering platform, relaunched in January 2025.