Wimbledon: Babolat stringers rise to the challenge in the shadow of the champions

After ten years of collaboration, Babolat became the official stringing partner of Wimbledon in 2022. This year, the Babolat teams will once again have the crucial role of stringing the racquets of the world's best players at the third Grand Slam of the season. But what does the role of "official tournament stringer" really involve?

Nearly 150 years of unique expertise

Babolat stands out for its expertise in strings, because the brand invented the tennis string. As the inventor and first producer of tennis strings in 1875, Babolat continues to innovate to offer players the best strings for their style of playing. And because of their in-depth expertise, our stringers are able to provide specialized advice and high-quality stringing services to meet players' specific needs. This is why some of the world's best tennis players, such as Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, use Babolat strings. Eric Ferrazzi, head of the brand's stringing department, is well aware of this fact. "At Babolat, we aim for perfection. Our expertise and commitment to quality enable us to provide players with strings that meet their specific needs. Every detail counts and our commitment to quality is uncompromising, all the more so at a prestigious tournament like Wimbledon."

Twenty-two stringers, 16 machines, and two racquet preparers

From June 26 to July 16, 2023, 22 stringers of a dozen different nationalities will meet at the Babolat stringing stand at Wimbledon. What is their mission? To string the racquets of the world's best players, using sixteen Babolat top-of-the-range Evolution Tour stringing machines, manufactured at the company's Babtec factory in Besançon, France. In addition to the stringers, two racquet preparers will be on hand at each tournament to make the final adjustments to the racquets of our Babolat professional players. Their role is to ensure that each racquet is customized according to the specific needs and preferences of our players. The preparers will make meticulous adjustments to the racquet, such as weight, balance and grip size, to optimize performance on the court.

Up to 500 racquets strung per day

At a major tournament like Wimbledon, the days are packed, especially during the first round. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., the stringers have to juggle between the racquets for the first matches, the players who ask to have their racquets restrung during the match and those who are about to play, in second rotation. "Everyone strings an average of thirty racquets a day, bearing in mind that it takes about 20 minutes to string a racquet. We set up nearly 500 racquets on a big first-round day."

Eric Ferrazzi recalls a day lasting almost 24 hours at the Mutua Madrid Open 2023 - another professional tour tournament where Babolat is the official stringer: "We started the day at 7 a.m., and we didn't finish until 4 a.m. the next day - that's 21 hours later - before meeting again at 6:30 a.m. to take care of the morning's racquets. It's a real team commitment, it's very time-consuming, but we're privileged to experience moments like these, up close and personal with the greatest players on the planet."

"We try to give the same stringer the same player's racquets throughout the tournament."

In a room measuring about 100 square meters, 16 stringers divide up the various racquets sent for stringing in a very orderly way. "The racquets are distributed according to the players. The most important thing is consistency. In tournaments, it isn't possible to have a machine and a stringer for every player. We try to use the same stringer and the same machine for the racquets used by the same player throughout the tournament. The number 1 stringer, who remains on duty from start to finish, will take care of the racquets of our best players, and so on." It's quite a feat, requiring experience, expertise, and a lot of organization.