Roddick and Babolat

I don't know what the most popular racquets have been in the past. The Jack Kramer Pro Staff was popular, but undoubtedly due to the number of years his racquet was available. Once upon a time, a racquet might be on the market 10-20 years, and sell well the whole time. These days, companies make new racquets every few years.

Another popular racquet was the Pro Staff 6.0 (or was it 6.1). Both Pete Sampras and Stefan Edberg used this racquet almost exclusively during their career. Jimmy Connors used it briefly when he abandoned the steel T-2000. Recall the 1984 Super Saturday? Connors pushed McEnroe to a fifth set. He used the Pro Staff. That was popular for a while too.

But I've seen one racquet that's been out there everywhere. Is it the racquet used by Roger Federer, which is an update to the Pro Staff, call the Pro Staff Six One (spelled out, rather than numerically written out)? Is it the racquet used by Djokovic? Or Nadal?

No, it's Andy Roddick's racquet. I have one of the older Pure Drive racquets. I see this racquet all over the place. Andy Roddick hasn't had the career that Federer has had, not even the career Nadal had.

But...he does have a huge serve. If chicks love the long ball, then tennis players love the big serve. It's hard to believe any rational tennis player would get a racquet based on how a pro hits it, but then, I've done the same, so I'm plenty guilty (I am willing to say, to my defense, that I pick racquets, these days, by pro styles, rather than whether I like the pro--though that doesn't explain why Roddick's racquet has done so well).

Roddick uses a racquet that now bears his name, undoubtedly because he put Babolat on the map. This isn't to say Roddick's racquet isn't a good racquet, because I think it's pretty good. But, I bet this is what happened. People saw Roddick and said "Here's a good looking guy with a huge serve. If I could get a fraction of his pace, I'd be set".

Yesterday, I saw a guy with a Roddick racquet, yet another of those proficient Asian players that seem to abound. But he was a lefty, and he clearly modeled his game not after Roddick, but after Rafa Nadal. And for an imitation, he's was strikingly effective. Sure, he doesn't cover the court like Rafa, not hit it with the same pace, but he's starting to be the kind of player that, when you stare at them on the court, you say "that's a good player".

Even his two-handed backhand appeared to be an imitation of the Nadal backhand.

In any case, pay attention to your neighbors and see if they have a Babolat.