The relationship between French tennis equipment manufacturer Babolat and Wimbledon may have started just a decade ago, but with both entities dating back to the 1870s, the partnership serves as a union of two of the most established names in the sport.

Now, as Babolat celebrates its 10^th anniversary as an official supplier for The Championships, Wimbledon, the brand continues to do so with a consumer-facing array of product created in partnership with the tournament.

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Babolat's agreement with the tournament kicked off a decade ago as the official footwear supplier, but has since grown into multiple aspects of equipment, including rackets, bags and strings and as the tournament's official stringer. Building off last year's successful collection creation, Babolat again worked with the tournament to create a range of products available both at the event and in retail shops and online.

"We aim to create a collection for tennis players who are inspired by Wimbledon," Jean Leclercq, Babolat business tennis leader, tells me. "We conceive a design direction that we apply to already existing models of our rackets, bags and shoes."

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While the range certainly needs to appeal to the fan walking the grounds at The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Leclercq says drawing in the on-site fan isn't the only goal. Instead, they want to appeal to fans of tennis who want that Wimbledon connection, no matter their location.

For 2023, the collection features three rackets in the Wimbledon design—the Pure Drive Team, the Evo Drive 115 and the Boost—along with the SFX 3 sneakers, bags and accessories.

"The objectives, ideas and guidelines are shared at the beginning, then Babolat goes into creating mode," Leclercq says about working with the tournament. "When we are ready, we meet again for a review which allows us to eventually integrate adjustments and finally ends on an agreement to go to production."

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Babolat typically rotates which pieces enter the collection every other year but will sometimes bring new designs in on an annual basis. Year to year, the design ethos aims for a "form of consistency because we are two brands which were part of the birth of tennis more than 140 years ago," Leclercq says. This allows them to tell a "recurrent story of the ever-modern tradition of tennis. So, there are changes for every collection, but product over the years feels like it belongs to the same family."

Specifically for 2023, Leclercq says the team is proud of how the silver touches on the all-white sneakers "makes it captivating," how the gold and green graphics on the all-white Pure Drive Team racket incorporates the Wimbledon tradition of style and how the range of racket bags offer an "unmatchable elegance."

For two brands with such a history in the sport, one decade of partnership may simply be the beginning of Wimbledon-themed Babolat gear.