Imagine the disappointment that Wilson must have felt when months into developing a new racket for Roger Federer to extend his career into his 40s, the great champion announced he was retiring from competitive tennis. “We thought it was over,” said Michael Schaeffer, global product director for racquet sports at Wilson. And yet there he was two years later at the East Hampton Tennis Club on Long Island, rallying back and forth with Federer as the two explained the process behind designing the new signature RF rackets to media from HYPEBEAST and Forbes.
To Schaeffer’s surprise, only a few days after the retirement message that shook the sporting world, Federer made clear his intention to continue developing the new product. Such is the commitment of Roger to his friends, sponsors and the future of tennis. Now, his personally built racket along with two other lighter versions for younger players and advanced adults are available to the public, encouraging players of the future to “be able to stay with the same model and work their way through it,” as Federer described.
The RF 01 PRO, priced at $300 USD, is the one built specifically for Roger, while the RF 01 is priced at $280 USD and the RF 01 FUTURE comes in at $260 USD. All are signature Federer products, identified by the iconic RF logo, and the frame transitions subtly from black at the shaft to gunmetal at the head. The RF monogram is owned by Federer and only licensed to Wilson and one other brand, which means anything with that insignia has been put through its paces by the Swiss tennis player himself.
“What I specifically like about this racket is that I actually built it for the remainder of my career when I was trying to come back during rehab,” Federer told us. “I thought it’d be great if I had a lighter frame, one that could cut through the wind easily and give me that extra spin that I was looking for.” The concept of athlete testing is a tried and true product development (and marketing) strategy in sports equipment, but this case with Federer was a bit different. Although Wilson knew he was never going to use it competition once the retirement was announced, having the extra spare time allowed the two to dedicate proper time into its development.
“Sometimes when you build rackets you just don’t have the time because you’re rushing from one event to the next and you’re on a recovery,” Federer told HYPEBEAST. “But you’re supposed to go on a practice court and test it but now you’re tired and you have fitness later on. So you’re mentally there, but you’re not fully there. But I feel like with this one, it was completely different and that’s why I really put in a ton of time to make sure that the rackets were perfect.”
The RF Collection is available now on Wilson’s website, complemented by a range of matching rackets bags, backpacks, racket covers, replacement grips and dampeners.
