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Is Roger Federer planning another huge change to his game with a new racket?


Roger Federer famously changed his racket in 2014 and his results immediately improved, so now that a video has emerged of him playing with a completely new racket is he planning another massive change for what could be the final act in this incredible career?

 

Roger Federer has always played with Wilson rackets and for many years he didn’t change that racket but then in 2014, following a slump in form and a period out with a back injury, he appeared on tour with a new racket which coincided with a huge improvement in his results almost immediately. As we reported recently, this year could see yet another big decision for Federer following his announcement at Wimbledon about the change to his schedule.

The racket he changed to in 2014 had a bigger head and incorporated some new technology which many experts believe allowed Federer to play more aggressively especially on his backhand. It’s no secret that opponents especially Nadal had successfully begun to target Federer’s backhand as an area of weakness in his game. Especially on high bouncing courts such as clay, Federer was struggling to dominate the rallies. However, after changing rackets to a frame with a bigger head and more power he was able to hit more topspin on his backhand which allowed him to stay aggressive in the rally.

Now his racket manufacturer Wilson have posted a video of Federer playing with their latest model, the Clash. Federer has always used the Wilson Pro Staff so to see him hitting with a Clash is a surprise. Wilson have said in their post to accompany the video that he won’t be changing to the Clash and will continue with his Pro Staff RF97.

For us we can understand that Federer would be interested to test a new racket like the Clash especially as it’s become such a high profile new launch, he probably wanted to know what all the fuss was about! But what happens if Federer likes it more than his current racket? Federer has proved in the past that he’s prepared to make big changes to help him stay on top of the game he loves and to keep in touch with new trends. At the end of the day, he wants to win and if another change of racket help him do that for a little longer then why not. We will wait an see.

Roger Federer lost in a close 5 set encounter to Novak Djokovic in the final of Wimbledon 2019. He still sits at the top of the list for most Grand Slam singles titles with 20 but both Novak Djokovic (16 titles) and Rafa Nadal (18 titles) are getting close to him.

Look ahead to the rest of 2019 with our guides to every tournament on the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour. If you can’t visit the tournaments you love then do the next best thing and read our guide on how to watch all the ATP Tour matches on television in 2019. To read more amazing articles like this you can explore Tennishead magazine here or you can subscribe for free to our email newsletter here


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.