A few months ago we published an article about Babolat PLAY, the first tennis racket that gathers data and tracks player progress. Since then, this tennis racket is already providing valuable data to Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
“In “Toni’s Good Tips”, Nadal’s coach Toni Nadal uses this data to find useful insights and make specific adjustments in Rafa’s technique. The analysis that Toni can perform demonstrates the potential benefit for a top tier player to use a smart tennis racket.
The Babolat PLAY lets Rafa Nadal track the number of matches, hits and hours on the court he has over a specified time period. This tracking ability has important ramifications for training regimens.
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“To train for a Grand Slam, Rafa needs to spend a certain amount of hours on the court each day so that his footwork, movement about the court, and his confidence are all at their optimal level,” said Rafa’s coach and uncle Toni Nadal. “The activity wall lets me share data on the volume and intensity of his game with our trainer so that he has access to info about Rafa’s fatigue level. Then, we can adapt the duration and content of his physical/cardio workouts.”
The Babolat PLAY shows Nadal hits 70 percent of his shots from his forehand and 30 from his backhand. That bodes well for his chances of winning, given that Nadal has one of the best inside out forehands in the game.
“It’s important to be able to see the various types of shots that Rafa is using during his matches. A high number of slices means that he is playing too defensively. It could also indicate that he’s using a strategy we had agreed upon to break up the rhythm, or to force his opponent to play lower shots,” coach Nadal said. “Rafa has made a tremendous amount of progress on his backhand throughout his career and we are always looking for ways to further improve his performance so that his backhand remains a key weapon in his arsenal.”
The information gathered from sensors in the racket and transmitted to the PLAY app gives information on the amount of topspin each forehand or backhand shot has.
“Rafa’s main advantage here is the quality and power of his topspin,” coach Nadal said. “We are constantly striving to improve it so that he can push his opponents to the limit. Getting info on the spin is important for evaluating the quality of Rafa’s shots, to see if he is in good shape, moving about the court well, and feeling confident. During training, we can use his stats to work on the small technical details. This is important for different court surfaces, so that he can adapt and make his shots a bit flatter on a hard court or a grass court.”
Additionally, the app maps where on the racket each hit is made, so Nadal can adjust his swing accordingly.
“The Impact Locator plays an important role in evaluating your game,” coach Nadal said. “If a high percentage of your shots are made from the bottom part of your string bed, it’s likely that you are too close to the ball or that you hit the ball too late. You might want to begin executing a bit sooner. If a high percentage of your shots are at the top of the racket, you might be too far from the ball or could be missing a step in your footwork. If a high percentage of your shots are to the right or left, that may be a result of the spin you put on the ball but could also be because you are not watching the ball closely enough to be able to hit it in the center of the string bed.”
The app tracks where on the racket Nadal hits his serves, and the frequency of each type of serve: flat or with spin. This information allows Rafa to adjust his serving form to hit just above the sweet spot for maximum power.
”In tennis, it is important to master all the different types of shots to be able to vary your game in reaction to your opponent,” coach Nadal said. “If the data shows that you didn’t have a lot of topspin, it may mean that your game is too flat. You may want to slightly change the way you hold your racket, or change your technique. This can give the ball more speed and “weight”. If you’re not hitting a lot of slices, try to vary your game, hitting lower, so that you surprise your opponent. If you don’t have many flat shots, you could try a longer follow- through to give the ball more speed, so that you surprise your opponent. Also try to vary your game by alternating between your forehand and backhand. The Skills function gives you a clear view of how well you master the various shots.”
Babolat PLAY is changing the way tennis is played by providing new data points to players who can adjust based on PLAY’s readings. And Babolat’s connected racket is not just for professionals.
If you want to get your hands on the future of tennis technology, the PLAY racket is now available for $300 and the app can be downloaded for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play.