adidas Rackets Return for the Ultimate 2009 Tennis Package
September 19, 2008
Herzogenaurach, Germany — adidas Tennis introduces its new racket offering for 2009 allowing players worldwide to follow in the footsteps of tennis legends Ilie Nastase and Ivan Lendl.
As the leading tennis footwear brand in the world, adidas is excited to re-introduce performance rackets creating the ultimate package of tennis products for players worldwide.
“Building on our footwear and apparel success adidas tennis feels the market is right for the return to racket production,” says Simon Cartwright, Vice President of Global Tennis. “We can now provide tennis players with everything they need to take part in one of the most popular sports in the world. Consumers can be assured that our new rackets will match the high levels of product quality so long associated with the adidas brand.”
Three racket ranges have been engineered for the 2009 season catering for a range of players, from tour and club players to recreational. Each racket is named after our benchmark Tennis shoes, Barricade, Response and Feather, and share similar characteristics.
Four Barricade models have been created; The Barricade Tour is designed for the “Tournament Player.” It is the heaviest at 330g and the stiffest of the new adidas rackets, ideal for fast swinging players who can generate their own power and look for additional control.
The Barricade Tour Light is 30g lighter, suiting good juniors, but it offers the same control with every swing. Both the Barricade Tour and Tour light come with and 18/20 string pattern to give excellent control and a crisp feel.
The third racket in this range is the Barricade itself; a lighter and less stiff version of the Tour racket with a 16/19 string pattern to ensure a forgiving and playable racket for competition players. The Barricade Junior, meanwhile, satisfies the needs of young budding tennis stars.
All rackets in the Barricade family feature the adidas POWER STRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY (PST). Three structures at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock act like the claws on the Barricade shoe to improve torsional stability. This technology transfers to adidas rackets by adding weight at the same points, putting pop into your shots and increasing the sweetspot.
The Response racket has the perfect combination of power and control for most club players. The higher frame height gives greater power while the stiffness and string pattern bring control. The Feather is the lightest of the adidas Tennis Racket range just like the Feather shoe. However the Feather actually has the thickest frame offering a little extra power for the recreational or older club player seeking an easy to handle racket.
The Barricade range of rackets will retail for $185.00, and the Feather racket for $165.00, while the Response comes in at $145.00
adidas rackets, which are made by leading tennis manufacturer Keentech, will be sold through adidas own retail as well as tennis specialty stores worldwide. The rackets will be available in the United States beginning February 1, 2009.
