A Babolat Tennis Bag… Perfect for a Road Trip

My husband and my dog snuggled in the backseat.

Road trips are always an adventure; you start out with a plan but there are always some detours along the way. This Christmas, my husband, my brother-in-law and I decided to go to Texas to visit their side of the family. Rather than paying the high plane ticket prices that come with flying in the holiday season, we decided to rent a car and drive to Austin, Texas and, of course, we made a few stops along the way.

The first problem we ran into, however, was the size of the rental car. We thought the mid-size would be big enough to fit the three of us, our 85 pound Labrador retriever, our luggage and all the presents for the family. The mid-size, although great for gas mileage, was a tight squeeze. We had to leave some of our stuff behind but thanks to my Babolat tennis bag, I was able to take all of necessities along with me. I was able to fit 2 pairs of shoes, my makeup bag, toiletries, jacket, sweatshirt, gloves, hair straightener (because I never travel without it) and my tennis racquet, just in case I needed to teach the in-laws a thing or two about how to win a match. I even managed a few snacks, a jug of water and small bag of dog food for Dakota.

Our foggy view of the snowy Grand Canyon.

We started off leaving our home in San Diego, California at midnight and decided to go four hours out of the way to the Grand Canyon. When we got there, although it was a beautiful site, there was too much fog to see very far down. Disappointed and frustrated that we added all that time on to our already 20 hour drive, we continued on our journey.

After another 6 hours of driving we stopped at a small town called Springerville in Arizona to stay overnight at my step-grandma`s house. The next morning we continued on our way to Carlsbad, New Mexico and stopped to hike through the Carlsbad Caverns, 750 feet underground.

I was thankful to have my Babolat bag with me because I needed something that I could carry like a backpack during the hike. I packed water bottles for all three of us, my camera and our sweatshirts because when you are that far underground, it gets pretty chilly!ut of the way to the Grand Canyon. When we got there, although it was a beautiful site, there was too much fog to see very far down. Disappointed and frustrated that we added all that time on to our already 20 hour drive, we continued on our journey.

Stalagmites and Stalactites at the Carlsbad Caverns, NM

After our hike through the caverns we were on the road again. Another 10 hours to Austin, Texas, our final destination. We arrived at my in-laws house around 1 am. The next morning we got up and explored the town, again, thankful that I brought my tennis bag with me as we walked everywhere from the capital building to a small café probably about a mile away.

Overall, the road trip was exciting and full of adventure; although, I have to say I am not looking forward to the 20 hour drive home but at least I will have my trusty bag to keep all my belongings safe and organized for the long trip back.

Babolat Stringing Team Combines the Best Stringers and the Finest Babolat Strings

Pierre Babolat created the first Babolat strings in 1875 and since then the company has been perfecting tennis string. In 1927 the brand debuted the VS natural gut, in the 80`s they created the Babolat Stringing Team, in 2011 they had an official partnership with the French Open and on February 29,2012 they hosted the first Babolat VS String Team Academy.

The Babolat VS String Team Academy allows the best stringers in the tennis community to become certified to string with the Babolat VS String Team using the finest of Babolat Strings.

“We invited the best of the best to be part of our inaugural class of the Babolat VS String Team Academy,” stated Mickey Maule, Babolat National Sales Manager. “Our team created this event to have time together to share, learn and explore our collective knowledge of strings and the art of stringing to better service our players and customers.”

To become certified and apart of Babolat`s stringing team, participants must have partaken in  the String Team Academy, have stringing experience, knowledge of Babolat strings and know how stringing techniques affect each player`s game.

Based on their stringing skills and technological understanding of Babolat string, Babolat selected Chris Gaudreau and Marc Kessler to be the official stringing representatives of the U.S.  at the 2012 French Open.

“Stringing in a tournament like the French Open adds a different level of pressure,” Maule commented. “Chris and Marc both bring a strong technical proficiency and previous experience stringing for Grand Slam tournaments. We’re honored to have these talented stringers represent our brand at the French Open.”

Not only are Gaudreau and Kessler representing the brand with Babolat strings, they are reinforcing Babolat`s reputation as one of the leading tennis equipment brands in the world with their stringing expertise. Since the creation of their first string in 1875, the family owned and operated company has perfected tennis string with state-of-the-art technology and a love of the game.

Babolat: From Strings to the Babolat Pure Drive

Beginning in 1875, the French company, Babolat, began manufacturing string. It wasn’t until 1994 that they began making other tennis equipment like shoes, bags and most importantly, tennis racquets, like their Babolat Pure Drive.

In the 18 years that Babolat has been producing tennis racquets, they have made huge strides in the tennis industry like being the most popular brand of racquets used in the Australian Open in 2005.

The newest release in Babolat`s line is the Babolat Pure Drive Roddick GT, enhanced with Babolat`s secret ingredient, graphite tungsten. Graphite tungsten technology is a hybrid material composed of braided carbon fibers and tungsten filaments throughout the whole racquet.

The Babolat Pure Drive Roddick GT is perfect for players with moderate to full strokes, for the 4.5+ NTRP level players. Along with the GT technology, this racquet has Woofer Technology. Woofer is the first technology of its kind, making the frame and the strings interact with each other upon impact, delivering 10% more strength than other racquets.

The Cortex System implemented in the Babolat Pure Drive Roddick GT racquet is an active technology between the throat and the handle; these two parts are interconnected by an interface in the CDS (Cortex Dampening System) material, virtually eliminating unneeded vibrations.

The elliptic geometry of the Babolat Pure Drive Roddick GT is the ideal design which guarantees less torsion, and a +20% firmer beam, making for better maneuverability with more power.

Any of the Babolat Pure Drive tennis racquets offer superior performance for enhanced play. Babolat started as only a string company and has evolved into one of the top sports equipment companies in the world. Their tennis racquets are definitely worth every penny!