Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Carlos Moya & other stars come together to celebrate Babolat's 30 year-tennis anniversary

Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Cameron Norrie, Carlos Moya, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Arthur Cazaux, and Fabio Fognini came together ahead of the French Open to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the sporting brand Babolat. The French brand sponsors racquets for these players.

Other star players who use Babolat's racquets are Dominic Thiem, Cristian Garin, Danielle Collins, Sofia Kenin, Karolina Pliskova, and Leylah Fernandez. In the past, players like Andy Roddick, Agnieszka Radwanska, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kim Clijsters, and Li Na have also used their racquets.

Rafael Nadal has been using Babolat racquets since he was nine years old. He was involved in the development of Pure Aero and gave his input in the innovation process. The Spaniard said that he played with the racquets that he practiced with earlier.

"I normally play with racquets that I have already been practicing with. I carry six racquets in my bag and have them well numbered in order, so I know which one I am using at all times. I normally start playing with the one I warm up with which has been strung also just before the match," he told Babolat.

Nadal also said that his racquets usually remained the same irrespective of the surface, except when he played at a higher altitude.

"I don’t have any special criteria. I use the same weight and grip on all surfaces. I also play with the same tension which is 25 kg normally. There are some exceptions – when I play at altitude, then I could have them strung at 25½ kg."

Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and others set to begin their campaign at the 2024 French Open

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 Madrid Open

The French Open main draw matches will begin on May 26 with the final to be played on June 9. Rafael Nadal will begin his campaign against World No. 4 Alexander Zverev in the first round. This would likely be the last time the 14-time tournament champion plays in the French capital.

Carlos Alcaraz will take on a qualifier in the first round, while Holger Rune will lock horns with Dan Evans. Felix Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, will face Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round.

Young French star Arthur Cazaux will face Tomas Etcheverry, while Fabio Fognini will lock horns with Botic van de Zandschulp and Cameron Norrie will face Pavel Kotov.