Attention all Prince lovers - and, no, I'm not talking about the stiletto boot-wearing, symbol-loving, guitar-playing purple one.
The tennis brand is gearing up for something big in 2009 and have released this viral video to tease us silly.
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Friday, December 5, 2008
VIDEO VAULT: Prince has something up their tennis sleeves for 2009
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Aren't these the rackets that convinced La Monf to jump ship to Prince? I'm very intrigued...
ReplyDeleteyup here's the story:
ReplyDeleteTwenty-two year old Frenchman GaelMonfils (GAH'-ehl mohn-FEES') has been called tennis' uber-athlete. Aside frombeing one of the most charismatic personalities in the sport, he is a natural talentgraced with incredible athleticism and rare combinations of speed, strength, grittycounter-punching and incredible shot making abilities. At 6'4", 180 lbs, Monfilsrepresents the next generation tennis player. He also now represents the Princebrand.
Four weeks ago, "La Monf", as he is often affectionately referred to, picked up one of the frames in Prince's soon-to-be released 2009 line. While details of the line are still confidential, Monfils was an instant convert. At a ceremony in Paris, France during the BNP Paribas Masters event, he made it official, signing with Prince and becoming the newest athlete on the Company's player roster.
According to Monfils, "I knew as soon as I hit the first ball with it, there was something different, something better. It is hard to explain, but the holes and the technology made a difference. It just felt right. The racquet is vital to my work. It has to elevate my game or I am not interested in making a switch."
In fact, since picking up the new racquet prior to the ATP event stop in Vienna, Austria, the former No. 1 ranked junior in the world has beaten two top fifteen players, reached his first ATP final in more than twelve months and has jumped fourteen ranking spots to No. 14 in the world - not a bad start.
Monfils has chosen to play a model that has been in development for more than two years and is set for release, globally, in the first part of 2009. It, along with the other models in the series, will introduce the tennis world to a breakthrough racquet technology that re-writes the laws of physics.
"Prince is known on the tour for making best quality racquets and for always making new advancements that help players win," said Monfils. "They are inspiring players and changing the game - and that is the type of team I want to be on."
Moving forward Monfils will be an ambassador for the brand and involved in all aspects of marketing and promotion.
"This is certainly an exciting addition to the Prince team - one that is a true testament to the hard work of our product development team and an early indicator that players will see something very special in 2009," said George Napier, CEO of Prince Sports, Inc. "We are proud to be in partnership with Gael and his team and feel privileged to have him representing our brand. He is passionate, professional, team-oriented and, together, we look forward to helping Gael reach the top of his game."
Monfils joins an impressive and growing list of athletes playing with Prince including: Nikolay Davydenko, David Ferrer, the current No.1 ranked (and perhaps greatest of all-time) men's doubles team of Mike and Bob Bryan, the current No.1 ranked woman in the world, Jelena Jankovic, the No. 1 ranked woman's doubles player in the world, Liezel Huber and Maria Sharapova - as well as a growing number of top-ranked junior players around the world.
LOL these racquet übertechnologies and pro endorsements are fake bullshit. The racquet companies figure out some cool sounding crap every year to get the consumer droids buy new racquets. The pros meanwhile play with their old familiar and customised racquet painted to look like the latest model and pose in the advertisement.
ReplyDelete@Tennis Observer: You could be right, but the stuff Prince has come out with in the past actually had more to it than just a flashy name. - Think O-Ports -
ReplyDeleteEven though I love my Wilson I'm actually a tid bit excited how this new racquet will play & which pros will be out there promoting it (paintjob or not)
tennis observer: i'm not sure that's exactly true. i agree many ballers are hesitant to change out racquets because they're afraid it could really change their game. but they do experiment with new ones on tour but black out all logos while doing so.
ReplyDeleteit seems more and more of the ballers on both tours are being more open about these experiments and changes - ivanovic, shrieka, murray, etc.
anon: which wilson racquet do you play with? i still have the old (relatively) dunlop 300g. someone at my park has come up to me a couple of times telling me they'd buy them (i have 2) off of me. i really love the maneuverability and it give me just that right amount of power but tons of control.