Sam Querrey’s Racquet

Sam Querrey is back to playing good tennis again. In the Acapulco 500 tournament he has reached the final against Rafael Nadal. Both players use one of the most popular racquets on tour, the Babolat Pure Aero / Aero Pro Drive series. Sam Querrey uses the Babolat Aero Pro Drive GT+ in a Babolat Pure Aero Plus paint job that weighs 345 grams after customization (not sure about the balance). He uses Solinco Hyper-G 16L strings, which has become very popular on tour lately as it’s used by Donald Young, Malek Jaziri, Noah Rubin and a few other pro players. He strings it between 55 and 66 lbs depending on the conditions.

If you’re interested in what racquets the ATP pro’s actually use…read this.

Querrey answered some questions about his Babolat racquet on Tennishead:

What do you look for in a racket?
I look for a racquet that has a lot of pop because I like to hit the ball big. And also, for me, I’ve got a sensitive elbow so whatever really just feels good on my elbow and, you know, the Babolat feels unbelievable. It’s kind of easy power so it doesn’t hurt my arm at all.

How long have you been playing with Babolat?
About a year and a half now. The main reason I chose them was it just felt good on my elbow. I felt like I was getting a lot of pop and it was just so easy on my arm, which was nice.

Do you customise your racket at all?
I do. I put a little weight in the head and the grip has also got some weight in there. The handle is kind of formed to my hand how I like it.

So do they kind of mold your grip?
Yeah, they took a grip I used years ago, that I’ve used really now for eight years. I don’t know really how they do it or what they do, but they mould it to that exact grip.

It’s interesting to hear that Querrey says he has a sensitive elbow but still enjoy the Aero Pro Drive GT which is reputed to be rather stiff when you look at the so called RA ratings. However, elbow injuries are also down to mechanics, the strings and tension you use and how often you hit the sweet spot. I have personally noticed that the Babolat Aero Pro Drive GT has better dampening for sensitive joints (again, this is obviously a personal opinion) than previous versions.

It will be interesting to see how Querrey’s attacking game and big serve will fare against Nadal’s defensive skills in the Acapulco final.