What is Rafael Nadal’s tennis racquet? Nadal endorses the Babolat Pure Aero but plays with an AeroPro Drive Original painted to look like one.
Rafael Nadal’s tennis racquet is not what a lot of people will tell you it is. Rafa endorses the Babolat Pure Aero racquet
but actually uses the Babolat AeroPro Drive Original that he strings with Babolat RPM Blast strings
. Like I’ve written about so many times before, what you see on TV is not really what the tennis pros actually play with (except for in some rare cases, like with Roger Federer’s tennis racquet. The pro players are most often using pro stock racquets in various paint jobs. If you want to find out what racquets other ATP pros actually use…read this post.
So why is Rafael Nadal’s tennis racquet painted like the Babolat Pure Aero? Well, because Babolat want to sell more racquets and selling a more than ten-year-old model is not really feasible for them (or other brands in the tennis industry). So instead they do what most racquet companies do these days, keep producing the Aero Pro Drive Original for Rafa, but paint it like the latest model.
Check out the racquet Nadal endorses (the Babolat Pure Aero) at our affiliates Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe and Tennis Only.
Rafa did try to play with the Pure Aero
model (or at least the similar FSI string pattern) for a few tournaments while he was struggling, but he didn’t get the results he was looking for and didn’t completely trust his shots with the added power that the Pure Aero is offering. So he went back to the Aero Pro Drive Original.
Rafael Nadal’s Tennis Racquet – The Specs
If you ask the tennis gear lovers at forums like TTW, you’ll get detailed answers like this (from poster “Romain”, but it’s hard to know for sure. What I do know for sure is that Nadal over the years has kept adding more weight to his racquets to increase power and stability. Ways you can add weight and customize your racquets include adding lead tape 
to the frame, there is also so-called balancer tape from Babolat
that includes tungsten and not lead (which can be poisonous, so wash your hands when using it!).
– Babolat Aero Pro drive 2005 (4 1/4) in Pure Aero 2019 paint
-17g lead: 12g at 12 and 5g in the handle
– Babolat Syntec Pro Black + Babolat Vs Original White
– Babolat Custom Damp
– Balance Strung: around 335 mm
– String: Babolat RPM blast 1.35
– Racquet weight strung: 340 grams (including dampener and overgrip).
Rafael Nadal normally wear Nike shoes, a market leader in sports shoes for basketball and volleyball and other sports.
How do you feel about this? Do you feel cheated because the racquet companies aren’t upfront with what their top players are playing with? Or is this just marketing and we should let it go? Let me know in the comments.
Rafael Nadal’s list of tennis gear
Babolat Pure Aero Play edition
Babolat RPM Blast
Nike Lunar Ballistic Tennis Shoes
Nike Men’s Challenger Rafa
tennis shirt
Nike Men’s Summer
tennis shorts
Babolat Pure Aero tennis bag
Some general info about Rafael Nadal:
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AGE
33(1986.06.03)
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TURNED PRO
2001
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WEIGHT
188LBS(85KG)
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HEIGHT
6’1″(185CM)
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BIRTHPLACE
MANACOR, MALLORCA, SPAIN
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RESIDENCE
MANACOR, MALLORCA, SPAIN
|
PLAYS
LEFT-HANDED, TWO-HANDED BACKHAND
|
COACH
CARLOS MOYA AND TONI NADAL
|
24 comments
What is the source of this specs?
Stringers on the tour…
Size of racquet head known?
Yes, 100 sq inches. A Babolat Aero Pro Drive Original.
– Racquet weight Unstrung: Around 318.5g (300 + 14 + 4.5 for the OG)
What is the 14 g for ?
The 14 grams is for lead tape. He’s been adding more and more over the years. I think he’s up to 345 grams strung nowadays. Cheers / Jonas
Every player should customise his racket to have the feel needed either to be easier on the elbow or match your tennis level.
The racket you buy is just a base depending on your research and style of play. Often the mimicry of our favourite players is a factor in our racket choice but unfortunately it does not always match our game or needs.
I love Rafa and played all my young years on clay, have a very big top spin and love the clay game. I went for the last production Babolat Pure Aero, great but definitely needed some adjustment. I got two and you need to keep in mind that out of factory the same build as slight different characteristic (mine are 3g apart and a slight variation of dimension in the crosses a few mm.
It is hard (almost impossible) to find a racket that will match exactly your needs out of the factory.
Definitely needed to add some weight in the handle for my part to find more stabilitily.
All top players play with Custom rackets which is basically just an adjusted racket to their needs and game they possess and area they want to improve. Same things goes down for strings etc.
Hi Jonas,
What is your opinion about the Babolat Pure Aero Tour racquet (315 g)? Did you hit with it? I think it has the closest specs (weight) and the most appropiate racquet on market with Rafa’s racquet (Babolat APD Original with lead tape)…by the way which are the current specs on Rafa’s racquet (I know that he added about 3 more grams lead tape at 12 before 2017 season)? What about the racquet balance?
I’m looking forward to your reply.
Thank you!
Regards,
Viorel
Hi Viorel,
Yes, I have hit with it. Nice racquet, but a little too powerful for my taste. I would say it is comparable in a way to Rafa’s setup on his APD Original. The APD Original has a slightly different feel however, more raw, less dampened. You can feel the ball better with the APD in my opinion, but I would probably say it is less arm-friendly since it has very little dampening tech. In the end it is a matter of taste.
According to Babolat he has added three more grams of lead tape. Making it 317 grams unstrung, so around 332-335 grams strung + overgrip which adds three more grams.
Now that they are releasing his new paint job, I will add a post about this change. He has definitely been getting more aggressive power over the years with some increments of lead tape.
Cheers / Jonas
Does he play with an L2 grip?!
Yes!
L2 grip seems rather small for him ?
Hi Pradeep,
It might seem so but a lot of players are using smaller grips these days to make it easier to rotate your wrist and “flick” the racquet. In the case of Nadal he has a very whippy motion so that makes sense. It is a question of the kind of technique you have.
Hi Jonas, does Rafa use lead elsewhere besides at 12 and in the handle? Thank you.
Hi,
Not as far as I know, no. I didn’t see any on his racquet either. Lots of lead at 12! Cheers / J
Thank you :)
Hi
I’m using Head Graphene speed Adoptive racket at present..My main shot is cross court & spin
If I change to Babolat pure Aero 2019 than does my shots improve.. Suggest string for me too
I’m 58 years Surgeon Playing for Enjoyment & competitive too
Thanks
And the stiffness?
Listed at 65 strung, which is lower than the retail version.
Two different Ra values .. 7units cannot be difference, even if to measure un- and -strung state.
One of here is talking crap, stringers aor prostock guys.
https://www.prostocktennis.com/products/Rafael-Nadal-personal-babolat-pure-aero-1
It could be that the used racquet is softened by the number of string jobs and hours on court. This is quite normal.
Hello sir. Speaking of Rafa’s racquet. Have you ever heard of the Aero Pro Control. It seems to have near the same specs as Rafa’s modified one. I ask because I purchased two APCs from a friend. I like them overall but I am more of a serve and volley player and have a difficult time volleying. They racquet seems a bit unstable for a 12oz stick. I believe one is strung with a full bed of Big Banger, the other Big Banger in the mains and synthetic gut in the crosses at 54 lbs. I gladly recommend any advice or comments you care to share.
Additionally, although the swing weight is higher than the RFA I swing the APC better and easier??? Thanks much
Warm regards
Hi Martez,
Yes, I have heard of the Aero Pro Control. I never tried it though. It sounds like you have a pretty good string setup, but hard to say because I haven’t tried the racquet. The APC has a smaller head size and is more head-light so that is probably why it swings easier.
Cheers / J
I doubt Rafa is playing with 72 stiffness. 65 sounds about right