This new string by Babolat is quite fascinating and now I'm excited to try it out. The article below further explains what all the buzz was about with this new string. Some of you may have heard the announcers reference this new string during the French Open TV coverage. Sam Stosur, this year's French finalist, as seen above, using Babolat new 'RPM Blast' tennis strings. She beat Serena Williams and Justine Henin in succession, that was a first in a major, before losing in the French Finals to Francesca Schiavone, who used the same strings.
I'm not much into strings even though I just started using a popular polyester blend, which had been hyped the past couple years. A 16 gauge synthetic gut has usually been fine with me and my racquet. But upon seeing Robin Solderling, confidently smacking second serves in the 135mph range, in the fifth set of his semi final match in Paris. I thought there could be something to this hype of the increased feel, spin and control that the unique shaped strings offered.
Maybe these new strings helped Robin beat Roger in the quarter-final round. He was 0-12 before that match against him. Roger, Serena and Justine all use Wilson strings and racquets. Technology's affect on tennis is fascinating, as I wonder how Wilson will respond now. I put a short Babolat promo video, at the bottom of this post, with Roddick, Nadal and other pros describing the benefits of the new 'RPM Blast' tennis string.
Francesca Schiavone, kissing the clay after her French Open Final victory, the first time an Italian women has won one of the 4 Grand Slams.
June 3, 2010,
By THOMAS LIN, New York Times
The two long shots Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone stormed to their first Grand Slam singles final on a wave of confidence and underdog grit. But they have something else in common. They both use Babolat’s black, apparently well-named RPM Blast strings, made popular this year by the men’s semifinalist Rafael Nadal.
Babolat’s Web site describes the strings, announced in February, as maximizing spin and feel because of “cross-linked silicone” and “high density co-polyester.” Its octagonal shape may also have something to do with its perceived ability to generate extra spin (RPM = revolutions per minute) and improve control. Nadal, Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, sponsored by Babolat, all wield this string.
The Sports Illustrated writer S.L. Price described Stosur’s switch to Nadal’s black synthetic string:
With all that, at Roland Garros Stosur also had an edge that is, the last few days, all the talk among equipment geeks. Just after losing to Williams at the 2010 Australian Open, Stosur swapped out her longtime blend of gut and Luxilon — the synthetic string that, for the last few years, enabled pros to hit harder, with more control and spin, than ever before — and replaced it with a new black synthetic from Babolat. That the new string is also used by a revitalized Rafael Nadal, not to mention Francesca Schiavone, the Italian who upended No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki to set up one semifinal against Elena Dementieva, is lost on no one.
One of Wozniaki’s advisers, Sven Groeneveld, sat behind the court for that quarterfinal match Tuesday, watching the straight-hitting Wozniaki get constantly yo-yo’d into the doubles alley by Schiavone’s hyper-rotating shots. By Wednesday morning he had tested the new Babolat strings himself, becoming convinced that the new strings allow for a larger sweet-spot, an even broader grip on the ball — or as Nadal put it, “the ball stays more time on the racket, so is easier to have the control”. Then Groeneveld all but declared them a new state of the art.
Before we start assigning too much credit to a piece of equipment, it’s worth remembering that Roddick, seeded sixth, lost in the third round. Tsonga, seeded eighth, retired in his fourth round match because of injury.
Babolot Promo Video - RPM Blast Tennis String
