Eleven and counting Eric Babolat with Rafael Nadal
after the Spaniard's 11th Roland Garros triumph
store inManacor,” Verborg said. “The racket suited Rafa at the time, even thoughMoya was a very different sort of player.” From the start the Nadals and Babolat were a good fit. For both, family is all- important. Toni was Nadal’s coach formany years and is nowdirector of the Rafa Nadal Academy inManacor (which has its own partnershipwith Babolat). Nadal’smother, father andwife run his foundation, while a number of the academy personnel are long- time associates. Meanwhile Babolat, which also hasmany long-standingmembers of staff, is headed by Eric Babolat, whose great- great-grandfather, Pierre Babolat, founded the company 147 years ago. “When I spoke to Toni and sawRafa I could see immediately that their values were also our values,” Verborg said. “We already had Roddick, Clijsters andMoya, but Rafawas different in that hewas very young.Therewas the chance to create a storywith him from the very beginning and build somethingwith himand his family. All the stars were aligned. In 2001 wewere really just beginners in the racket business. Yes, we hadMoya andwe had Roddick and people knewus because of our strings, but people didn’t knowus like they do today. Nowwhen you say Babolat rackets, we have credibility. We have created the Babolat- Rafa story together.” Wielding a Babolat Aeropro Drive racket, Nadal won his first Grand Slam title at the FrenchOpen in 2005, just two days after his 19th birthday. He has triumphed at Roland Garros a total of 13 times, which ismore than any other player has won at the same
‘There was the chance to create a storywith Rafa from the very beginning and build something with him and his family’
French company are clearly down tomuch more than just their collaboration over equipment, it is a partnership that has been of huge benefit to both parties. Indeed, it is hard to think of another player and racket manufacturer more closely associatedwith one another. Babolat, who have beenmaking strings since 1875, did not start manufacturing rackets until 1994. Just four years later Carlos Moya became the first player towin a Grand Slamsingles titlewith a Babolat racket when he triumphed at the French Openwielding a Pure Drive.That year’s two junior singles champions at Roland Garros, Fernando Gonzalez and KimClijsters, also playedwith Babolat rackets. Andy Roddick went on to join the Babolat stable, but it was Moya’s initial success that had the biggest impact on his fellowMallorcan. “Toni toldme that Rafa had seenMoya winning the FrenchOpenwith a Pure Drive and said hewanted one, so theywent to a
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