Founded in France, Babolat is the world’s oldest tennis
gear manufacturer; its founder, Pierre Babolat, invented
the first tennis racquet strings made from animal
intestines in 1875, long before the rules of the game were
standardized. And while the company still sells those
natural-gut strings, it has diversified its product line over
the past few decades.
“Our assets have long included superior product
technology, edgy designs, and highly professional
business practices,” says Scott Fliegelman, pickleball
lead for Babolat. “Now we have a number of our staff
at our Colorado-based U.S. headquarters who are avid
pickleball players and are excited to be in the pickleball
business as well.”
He adds, “As we’ve done for years in tennis, with
players like Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick, we are
already working with a number of top pickleball players
and coaches to design and develop pickleball-specific
products that raise the bar for both tournament and
recreational players alike.”
FILA is also aggressively pursuing a slice of the
pickleball pie: the company served as the Official Athletic
Apparel and Footwear Supplier of the 2019 Margaritaville
USA Pickleball National Championships in November
and has been steadily growing its line of performance
footwear for pickleball players. Its latest additions
include the Double Bounce as well as the Volley Zone,
which was designed “by pickleball players for pickleball
players,” according to Mickey Rivera, Director of Sales for
Tennis and Pickleball at FILA North America. The outsole
of the Volley Zone features a unique pivot point system
that is designed to support quick footwork on the court.
FILA plans to unveil a pickleball-specific apparel
line in early 2020,
says Rivera.
“Pickleball
is still an
emerging
category for
FILA, having
so recently
entered the
marketplace,” he
explains. “FILA has a
long and distinguished heritage in the tennis space, and
we are excited to continue to grow both sides of our
business with products tailored to each sport, player and
audience.”
In addition to footwear, the company will offer
racerback tanks and V-neck T-shirts for women and
crew and polo shirts for men, all designed specifically
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for pickleball play. A specialty bag emblazoned with the
unique FILA Pickleball logo will be available soon.
“It is important to us in entering this category that we
offer new, bespoke products to this audience, as opposed
to simply rebranding existing gear from the tennis
category,” says Rivera.
And while they may be industry competitors,
these companies all agree on the reasons that the sport
of pickleball is seeing such enormous growth in the U.S.:
it’s a fun, social sport, it’s easy to learn, and it’s easier on
the joints than tennis.
“With the smaller court and lighter paddle and ball,
pickleball is easier on the body—and overall, easier to
play—when compared with many other sports,” says
Fliegelman. “As avid players ourselves, we’ve experienced
the incredible fun, tremendous social and health
benefits, and accessibility to the sport for players of all
athletic backgrounds, age and mobility.”
Porter agrees. “Given how easy it is to learn and how
fun it is to play, it is no surprise that it’s taken off the
way it has,” he says. “It will be interesting to see how it
grows within younger demographics in the future—aging
former athletes naturally gravitate toward it because
it’s easier on the body, but watch out if it gains more
popularity among younger athletes.”
Each of these representatives plays the sport on a
personal basis; Porter recently played in his first USAPA
tournament, and Fliegelman recently won gold in men’s
doubles and singles at the Great Plains Regionals. Rivera,
who says he enjoys the camaraderie of the sport and the
passion of the players, recently won a doubles round-
robin tournament while on a cruise. Simons, who has
a 30-year background in
racquetball, says it
has been “fun and
challenging”
to learn
pickleball.
“In order to
run a category
effectively,
I need a full
understanding
of the sport and the
people who play,” says Simons. “The only way to do that
is to get out of the office and play—a lot. I really like that
we play outdoors, since I spent many years indoors on a
racquetball court. I’ve met many very nice people, I can
play more often as it is not as hard on my body, and, of
course with everything I do, I have high performance
expectations when I play, so it’s a new challenge.” •