We are going to be following sponsorship changes for 2024. One is Tomas Etcheverry’s racquet, which is no longer a HEAD Speed.
Tomas Martin Etcheverry made significant strides in 2023. He is now a top-30 player and hungry for more (obviously). Somewhat surprisingly, he has recently made the switch from his HEAD Speed racquet (the TGT 301 that Jannik Sinner uses, but I’m unsure about the specifications) to a Yonex Percept 97. We can’t know for sure if it is really a Percept 97 or something else under the paint. It feels like a pretty significant change to go from a Speed MP Touch edition to a Percept 97, but perhaps he was looking for more control. Nothing wrong with the Percept 97, though. We reviewed it highly here on Tennisnerd and customers seem very happy on Tennis Warehouse with ten five-star ratings.
Update: thanks to Jordan, an Instagram follower, he notified us of a Spanish interview where Etcheverry mentioned his static weight at 350 grams strung and a 31.5 cm balance. Tension is in the range of 42/44, which is a shift from the 57/55 he played with in the HEAD Speed MP.
His clothing sponsor remains K-Swiss, so he is not getting a full Yonex 360 deal. He has also been seen testing different string setups.
I would be wary of changing the racquet setup when the direction is as positive as it has been, but maybe he is looking for something different than the Speed provides him. Or is this just a much more lucrative financial deal? However, changing a racquet can affect results poorly and become a long-term costly decision. So it’s not one of those things you do lightly.
Etcheverry’s season so far
Etcheverry has so far had two tough losses with the new racquet. Two nail-biters against Shevchenko in Adelaide, 6-7 6-4 5-7 and one against Machac in Brisbane, 7-6 5-7 6-7. Not the best start, but two very tough matches. It would be interesting to hear from Etcheverry why he changed racquets and what he hopes to get from the switch in 2024.
I was slightly worried about Iga Swiatek’s racquet switch from the Prince Textreme Tour 100 290 to the Tempo 298 (her signature model), but it did work out fine in the end for the Polish WTA star.
It might be completely fine for Etcheverry as well. Or he might go the path of Cristian Garin, who has gone back and forth the last two years and is now seen with a Blade V9 cosmetic. He is injured and will not play the Australian Open, but we will keep our eyes on how he performs during the rest of the season.
How will Etcheverry do with the Percept? Let me know what you think in the comments.
2 comments
I think he’ll be fine with the racquet change. The losses were against solid competition and he’s looked good so far in the Australian Open, especially against Monfils!
I wonder if he’s using the percept 97h stock… we will have to wait and see ;)