After nearly two decades away, apparel giant Adidas is coming out with new racquets.

By Asad Raza

If you’re of a certain age, here’s an image you can probably call to mind easily: the lean, intense form of Ivan Lendl on court. His racquet, with that peculiarly small, egg-shaped head, always seemed ready to deliver another devastating forehand. For many years, you might recall, the stencil painted on that heavy weapon was the same as the graphic on his shirt, the Adidas trefoil.

Get ready to see an Adidas logo on players’ sticks again. In February, the company is returning to selling racquets after an 18-year hiatus. “We’ve never been stronger in tennis than we currently are,” says Simon Cartwright, Adidas’ vice president of global tennis. “So the time to expand seemed perfect.” Will this inspire other shoe and apparel companies to enter the marketplace? Executives at Nike, often rumored to be interested in producing racquets, just as they crossed over into golf clubs, offered no comments.

Three Adidas racquets will be released in collaboration with Keentech, one of the world’s largest racquet manufacturers. In developing the frames, Adidas consulted Nate Ferguson, a racquet specialist who has worked with many top touring pros, including Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. The new frames will be named after three Adidas tennis shoes: the Barricade, the Response and the Feather. In an era when most racquet-makers offer dozens of distinct models, Adidas’ plan amounts to an argument for simplicity.

The Barricade Tour ($185) is the one you’ll see the pros swinging. The frame weighs around 12 ounces, comparable to players’ favorites like the Wilson [K] Six-One and the Head Microgel Prestige, and features a dense, 18-by-20 string pattern for control. In the intermediate category there’s the Response ($145), which is lighter and has a thicker beam for more power. For the recreational player who wants a lightweight racquet that generates power even with a short swing, there’s the Feather ($165).

All the racquets feature an easily identifiable paint job of three thick stripes on the frame’s head. Not to be outdone in the realm of technical advancement, the company has bestowed the Barricade with Power Structure Technology, which adds weight at 3 and 9 o’clock on the racquet head. It’s designed to give the frame extra stability with an enhanced sweet spot.

In the 1980s, Lendl used the Adidas GTX Pro, which was based on his previous racquet, the Kneissl White Star. Which current players might start swinging the three stripes? Adidas refuses to confirm the players it’s negotiating with, but the temptation is to look at those who have shoe and clothing deals with the company. “It’s probably fair to assume that our athletes will come out of that base,” Cartwright says, “but we haven’t officially reached agreement with anybody.” There’s no shortage of top players sponsored by the company, including Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina. All would make worthy successors to the Lendl endorsement legacy.