Babolat vs Head Tennis Racket Comparison

Racket choice is driven usually by two motives. The first is the playing characteristics of rackets. Do you prefer to spin, power, or control? Or do you need to mix it? The second motive is emotionally based. What design do you prefer or what racket is used by your favorite player? Babolat vs Head is a hard choice for anyone thinking about buying a new racket.

Babolat and Head tennis rackets are similarly popular among recreational players. Both have one big star under the contract, so your choice is a choice between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic or between Karolina Pliskova and Ash Barty. Here are a few pieces of information about both tennis racket brands to make your choice easier.

For the record: This post contains affiliate links, and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.

My Babolat racket choice

BABOLAT PURE DRIVE

Babolat Pure Drive offers power and explosivity. Additionally, you will get a great feel with SWX Pure Feel Technology.

View on Amazon

Babolat versus Head comparison
[companies, design, product range]

Companies background

Babolat

Babolat VS S.A. is a French company owned by the family Babolat with headquarters in Lyon, France. Babolat was established in 1875 by Pierre Babolat, who invented natural gut tennis strings. Babolat produces rackets, apparel, shoes, and other equipment for tennis, badminton, and padel. The company is still run by the Babolat family and CEO is Eric Babolat. Babolat is the leader in connected sports technology and in 2015 it introduced the first connected tennis racket.

Head

Head was established as a ski equipment producer back in 1950 by Howard Head. In 1969 Head widened its production to tennis by manufacturing the first metal tennis racket. Currently, Head UK Ltd. is a private company with headquarters in London, UK. Head sell alpine skis and equipment, snowboard products, tennis, racquetball, paddle, squash, and pickleball rackets. It also produces tennis balls (Penn brand) and footwear. Tyrolia, Mares, SSI, and rEvo are also brands owned by Head UK Ltd.

Design

Babolat

The Blue and white combination is a characteristic color for Babolat tennis rackets. But you can fairly often see also yellow and black color combination, or red and white. Blue and white, or white and black, or blue and black combination is less common but you can still recognize the usual double stripe.

Head

Head is definitely the boldest tennis brand in terms of design. Their frames are known for striking colors that catch your eyes. From orange-blue Head Radical via blue Head Instinct to clear yellow of Head Extreme. Head rackets can be hardly overlooked. They are not very popular among conservative players used to grey and black racket frames and white only shirts and shorts, but the younger generation is all in for Head striking racket design.

Product Range

Babolat

PURE AERO

PURE DRIVE

PURE STRIKE

EVO

Spin

Power

Control

Transition

VIEW BABOLAT PURE AERO TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON

VIEW BABOLAT PURE DRIVE TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON

VIEW BABOLAT PURE STRIKE TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON

VIEW BABOLAT PURE STRIKE TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON

Babolat is also manufacturing one of the most popular kids and junior tennis rackets – Babolat Nadal Junior

Head

GRAVITY

PRESTIGE

SPEED

RADICAL

INSTINCT

EXTREME

New! Force

Full Control

Ultimate Power

Control and Spin potential

Power and Comfort

Power and Spin

SHOP HEAD GRAVITY TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON

SHOP HEAD PRESTIGE TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON

SHOP HEAD SPEED TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON
or read
our review of HEAD SPEED MP tennis racket

SHOP HEAD RADICAL TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON
or read
our review of HEAD RADICAL MP tennis racket

SHOP HEAD INSTINCT TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON

SHOP HEAD EXTREME TENNIS RACKETS ON AMAZON

Head introduced special kids racket series Head Maria and Head Novak for young players.

Players

Babolat and Head belong to the top four tennis racket brands in terms of popularity among professional players. Babolat is a solid second on the WTA tour and third on the ATP tour. Head is generally more popular among men than women. However, even with a lower number of ladies professionals using Head rackets, they have some very popular and successful players [Barty, Krejcikova] under the contract. Check the most interesting names of the players using Babolat and Head below.

Babolat

Nadal is definitely the name of the Babolat. Rafa Nadal is probably the first thing that comes to your mind when seeing the Babolat logo. Babolat has also a strong ladies line-up under the contract with a lot of top 10 members.

MenRafael NadalDominic ThiemJack SockFabio FogniniJo Wilfred TsongaSam Querrey
LadiesCaroline WozniackiGarbine MuguruzaKarolina PliskovaJulia GoergesJohanna KontaElise Mertens

The full list of players using Babolat rackets can be found here

Head

Head is very strong among men professionals. Novak Djokovic, the current no.1 in ATP ranking is the brand name, and Alexander Zverev with Andrey Rublev is the future of Head. Head usage among ladies is much lower, but they still have a lot of promising young players signed. Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens, Ashleigh Barty, or Karolina Muchova, if we want to name a few.

MenNovak DjokovicAlexander ZverevMarin CilicAndrey RublevTaylor Harry FritzDiego Schwartzman
LadiesSloane StephensAsleigh BartyBarbora KrejcikovaBianca AndreescuDaniele CollinsMaria Sharapova

The full list of players using Head rackets can be found here

Check latest numbers of players from ATP and WTA TOP 100 using respective racket brands here

 

Babolat vs Head, my subjective pick is …

It is a pretty hard job to pick the better racquet between Babolat and Head. Head had a wider product range and a more appealing design. However, Babolat’s racket characteristics seem more comfortable for me.

In the end, the decision depends on what is your favorite playing style. And if it does not help then just ask yourself: Do you more Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal? Do you play more flat shots or use a spin all the time?

I personally like aggressive and offensive tennis using power as the main weapon to beat an opponent. My choice would be Babolat Pure Drive or Head Speed MP.

All Head rackets can be bought at Amazon here

All Babolat rackets can be bought at Amazon here

Posted in Babolat, Head, Reviews, Reviews, Tennis Rackets Comparison and tagged , , , .

Tennis Pro Guru

Simon is the leading editor of TennisProGuru.com from 2015. He is an avid tennis player from age of 5, however, he never reached the pro level. Still, he likes playing tennis on different courts, with different rackets, and against different opponents. In his free time, you can find him watching all possible tennis matches he can find on the web or tv. Challenger or Grand Slam? It does not matter, just tennis matters.

He currently plays with:
Racket: Wilson Shift 99 V1
Strings: Babolat RPM Blast
Grip: Head Xtreme Soft
Shoes: Asics Gel Dedicate 7 (for hard outdoor and indoor courts) & Asics Gel-Game 5 Clay (for clay courts),
Balls: Dunlop Fort All Courts and Head Championship
Bag: Axiom Backpack

2 Comments

  1. Hi Simon, great piece, thanks.
    Having researched a lot, I’m stuck with the same decision as your conclusion – Pure Drive vs Speed MP.

    I am an intermediate player working towards advanced. I play 3-4 days a week, with a ball machine and once a week with a coach. My style is flat ground strokes from the baseline, hard serves, low on top spin but trying to add more spin to my game, single handed backhand (spin and slice).

    I like the stylings of the babolot, but more Djokovic than Nadal. The expert at the shop said it was like picking between a merc and a bmw. Same, just personal preference.

    Any advice on the two based on the description of my style?

    Appreciate any advice.

  2. Hi.

    The guy at your shop is absolutely right.

    I would go with Pure Drive, but that is just me. (Nadal is playing with Pure Aero, so with your Pure Drive you will keep the distance from Rafa 🙂 Pure Drive should be a bit better for a spin than Head MP.

    The best thing you can do is do a trial with both rackets. Ask in the shop, take each racket for two or three sessions and you will see which one suits you better.

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