News

Bordentown, NJ — Prince, global tennis equipment leader and master of the physics and design of tennis weaponry, is proud to officially announce the new performance racquets for 2011. Continuing to help all players, at every level, take their game to a higher level, the new Prince EXO3 Tour family will make its debut at fine tennis retail establishments nationwide starting January 17. Three EXO3 Tour models (EXO3 Tour 100 (16×18 string pattern), EXO3 Tour 100 (18×20 string pattern) and EXO3 Tour Lite 100) designed for more advanced players with faster swing speeds will accompany newly upgraded versions of the EXO3 Silver 115, EXO3 Blue 110, and EXO3 Red 105 models. All six new EXO3 racquets will feature distinct, visible ThermoCarbon String Suspension Inserts for enhanced feel and join the top-selling EXO3 Black, EXO3 White and EXO3 Rebel to complete the full 2011 performance racquet collection.

What is Prince EXO3 Technology?

EXO3 is a high-tech, patented racquet design utilizing large holes and String Suspension Inserts to deliver a superior, effective hitting area compared to competitor racquets with the same headsize.

How Does Prince EXO3 Technology Work?

Strings are completely liberated from restrictive, response-strangling grommets, allowing the strings to respond more freely — even at the outer edges of the string plane for balls hit off-center.

What Does Prince EXO3 Technology Provide the Player?

A larger, more consistent hitting area — at ANY head size — giving players at all levels the advantage of hitting better shots, more often. Now, even shots hit off center will feel and respond more as though they were hit in the center of the string bed.

According to legendary tennis coach, and cultivator of ten world number one players, Nick Bollettieri, “If players have not yet taken the opportunity to spend quality time with an EXO3 frame, they need to do so immediately. This racquet design change is, without question, one of the most significant and important in modern tennis. High-speed video shows that beginner and intermediate players are not the only ones who hit balls off center. Pro athletes today compete at such an incredibly high pace, along the tightest of margins with very little reaction time – so nearly every ball they strike makes contact outside of the direct center string bed. By eliminating the restrictive grommets that limit string response and re-engineering them with modern technology that enables the strings to respond better — even out to the edge of the frame on balls players hit at full stretch or have less time to react to — this allows players, at every level, to hit better shots, more consistently.”

“At Prince, we don’t make the game. Players do. Our goal is to make the game better by engineering products with visible technology that deliver genuine, proven playing benefits,” said Roberto Gazzara, Chief Engineer and Vice President of Research and Development at Prince. “If you look at the statistics, nearly every touring pro that has made the switch to EXO3 technology has improved his or her ranking, or won the biggest titles of his or her career with this technology. However, the real benefit of EXO3 and the concept of eliminating restrictive grommets is to enhance string freedom to the edge of the frame, and this engineering advantage works and benefits all player types – from ATP and WTA pros, to the current No.1 ranked junior boy and junior girl, to collegiate players to recreational players. The fact that it can be applied to, and utilized by, all player types at all skill levels is extremely rare and exciting.”

2010 end-of-year world No. 1 ranked junior boy (Colombian Juan Sebastian Gomez) and No.1 ranked junior girl (Russian Daria Gavrilova), both play with Prince EXO3 racquet technology. Gomez, who dominates with the EXO3 Rebel, won the Junior Olympics gold medal in Singapore in 2010, while Gavrilova, who relies on the EXO3 Black took home the Junior Olympic gold medal as well as the 2010 US Open Junior crown.

Said Gomez, “2010 was the best year of my career, getting to No.1 in the world and World Champion. This year has shown me that I can reach my goals if I continue with hard work and prepare and that means the right gear too. Prince has provided fantastic technology that helps me to execute my game to perfection.”

“I have been playing with Prince racquets for four years and just switched to the EXO3 Black last year which ended up my best ever. I think this racquet is one of the main reasons why I succeeded this year – it just helps my tennis a lot”, said Gavrilova.

Another Russian playing the EXO3 Black, world No. 2 WTA player Vera Zvonareva, who reached her career high ranking and first ever Grand Slam finals after switching to the technology added, “EXO3 allows me to do more with shots that I have to hit at full stretch because I get that little extra response from the strings even on balls hit off center — which happens a lot when you are playing at our level. Better response on off-center shots can be the difference between a win and a loss. I rely heavily on my racquet and it is crucial that I am armed with the right weapons to win and with this racquet and this technology I feel confident.”

According to Bob Bryan, one-half of the all-time winningest doubles team in tennis history along with twin brother Mike Bryan, “Prince is always on the cutting edge of racquet advancements and technology. They continually lead and put into players’ hands, gear that simply helps puts wins on the scoreboard. We have won twenty-five titles since switching to Prince and right when we switched to Prince and EXO3 technology, we just ‘exploded’. This year, we are switching to the EXO3 Rebel, joining ‘La Monf’, Gael Monfils in wielding this frame. We felt with the enhanced string response we could continue to play a 95 square inch physical frame, but get the virtual benefits of a 100 square inch racquet and we were looking for a bit more control and the ability to further carve out angles.”

2011 Enhancements & ThermoCarbon Technology

Tour Player Endorsement

In 2011, fans will see a significant change in terms of tour visibility of the Prince EXO3 frames. Of the nearly 100 ATP and WTA pros who have upgraded to EXO3 racquet technology, each will play with a racquet from one of the three Tour families — the EXO3 Tour, EXO3 Black or EXO3 Rebel.

EXO3 Tour: Approximately sixty percent of all Prince tour players have chosen the new EXO3 Tour as their weapon of choice – including David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sam Querrey, Albert Montanes and up-and-comer, Viktor Troicki.

EXO3 Black: This frame propelled Vera Zvonareva to her highest career ranking in 2010 as well as to her first ever Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon and US Open). Zvonareva will now be joined by “Marathon Man” John Isner, Shahar Peer and Marion Bartoli as just a few of the ATP & WTA players using this frame in 2011.

EXO3 Rebel: Joining the exciting and athletic Gael Monfils, who switched to the EXO3 Rebel after hitting only two shots, are all-time greatest doubles duo, Mike and Bob Bryan. This racquet is also the preferred weapon for Juan Sebastian Gomez, who ended the year as the top ranked junior boy and the current No. 4 ranked junior boy, Oliver Golding.

Prince 2011 Racquet Line Specs & Details

On January 12, media and players may view the complete 2011 Prince Performance racquet line, complete with full details, images and specs by visiting princetennis.com.

Additional Information & Videos

In addition, please view and share the enclosed videos including a 2011 EXO3 technical video showing EXO3 in action and featuring player testimonials from athletes such as Gael Monfils, Vera Zvonareva, Mike & Bob Bryan, Daniela Hantuchova, David Ferrer and others, visit:

EXO3 Technology Video — youtu.be/DELjug-7WRw — 2:00

Prince 2011 Short Video — youtu.be/DELjug-7WRw — 1:49

Welcome to New Prince — youtu.be/mAIoSSV6BSQ — 0:49

During the Australian Open and throughout the year, consumers can also connect with other players and coaches around the world, receive exclusive updates and special offers via the Official Prince Tennis Facebook page: facebook.com/official.prince.tennis.

About Prince Sports, Inc.

Prince Sports, Inc, based in New Jersey, is a leading racquet sports company whose goal is to help every tennis player, at every level, take their game to the next level by engineering products with visible technologies that deliver genuine performance benefits. The Company’s portfolio of brands includes Prince (tennis, squash and badminton), Ektelon (racquetball) and Viking (platform/paddle tennis). The Company has a history of innovation including inventing the first “oversize” and “longbody” racquets, the first “Natural Foot Shape” tennis shoe, the first “synthetic gut” string and the first electronic ball machine. Today, Prince markets leading technologies in racquets (EXO3), string (Premier LT), footwear (LightSpeed Technology) and apparel (Aerotech). It has operations on three continents with distribution in over 100 countries. For more information on players, products or programs please visit princesports.com.