French retailer Babolat has announced the 2013 release of their line of “Play & Connect” tennis racquets—featuring smart technology to improve your game. (Get some pro tips with On-Court Tennis Skill Work With Andy Murray.)
The new racquets are equipped with sensors in the handle to gather information about the user’s tennis game. Tennis players of all skill levels, from beginners to professionals, can use them to capture data on aspects of their game, from the velocity of their serves and groundstrokes to the amount of spin generated, even the area of the racquet used to hit the ball.
Players can retrieve the data via USB or wireless connection through a phone, tablet or laptop. The “Play & Connect” tennis racquets are currently in the testing phase, including experimental sessions with the third-ranked player in the world, Rafael Nadal.
Babolat will incorporate the new technology in a number of racquets, ranging from the AeroDrive line to the Storm and Andy Roddick models.Currently the smart technology is available only in the “Babolat Play & Connect” prototype. We will have to wait until 2013 to see which racquets hit the retail market.
Current Babolat racquets sell for around $200. Although the company has not yet revealed the price of its “Play & Connect” high-tech model, estimates in the market are around $300.
(Soccer players can cash in on similar smart technology. Check it out here: Track Your Workout With the adidas miCoach SPEED_CELL.)
Photo: Babolat