Twenty-one brand guides to racket sports — tennis, padel, pickleball and table tennis.
Racket sports range from nineteenth-century houses to brands built in the padel and pickleball booms. These guides set out who owns each brand.
Houses and owners
Babolat invented the tennis string in 1875; Wilson belongs to Amer Sports; Dunlop is under Sumitomo; Tecnifibre is part of the Lacoste / Maus Frères group; and Prince is now a licensed heritage brand. In table tennis, Stiga still makes blades in Sweden and Cornilleau makes outdoor tables in France; Joola, a 1952 German table-tennis house now US-owned, became a pickleball power.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Tennis
Babolat, Dunlop, Wilson, Yonex, Head, Prince and Tecnifibre.
- Babolat — The French house that invented the tennis string in 1875 and became a racket power.
- Dunlop — The racket-sports brand of the Australian Open ball and squash heritage, now under Sumitomo.
- Wilson — The Chicago sporting-goods house of the Pro Staff racket and the US Open ball, owned by Amer Sports.
- Yonex — The Japanese house that dominates badminton and made the isometric square racket head.
- Head — The Howard Head-founded house of the Speed racket and the ski, engineered in Austria.
- Prince — The tennis name that popularised the oversize racket, now a licensed heritage brand.
- Tecnifibre — The French string-first racket and squash brand, part of the Lacoste / Maus Frères group.
Padel and pickleball
Bullpadel, StarVie, Nox, Joola, Paddletek, Selkirk and CRBN.
- Bullpadel — The Madrid padel house that helped build the boom, owned by Aguirre & Cía.
- StarVie — The independent Spanish padel maker that manufactures palas in its own Guadalajara factory.
- Nox — The Spanish padel brand whose AT10 line is Agustín Tapia’s signature racket.
- Joola — The 1952 German table-tennis house, now US-owned, that became a pickleball power with Ben Johns.
- Paddletek — The Michigan pickleball house of the honeycomb core, an early name in the sport.
- Selkirk — The family-led Idaho pickleball house, designed via Selkirk Labs, backed by Bluestone Equity.
- CRBN — The design-forward Southern California pickleball brand built on raw carbon fibre.
Table tennis
Stiga, Butterfly, Nittaku, DHS, Donic, Cornilleau and Xiom.
- Stiga — The Swedish table-tennis house whose blades are still made in Sweden.
- Butterfly — The Japanese house of Tenergy rubber and the premium table-tennis standard, by Tamasu Co.
- Nittaku — The Japanese house whose premium three-star balls are made in Japan, by Nippon Takkyu.
- DHS — The Shanghai table-tennis house made in China, named for a 1959 double happiness.
- Donic — The German table-tennis house of the Waldner signature blades, part of the Schildkröt-Sport group.
- Cornilleau — The French table-tennis house that makes its outdoor tables in France, in the Oise.
- Xiom — The South Korean table-tennis house of the Vega and Omega rubbers, rebranded from a 1976 maker.
At a glance: who owns the name and where it is made
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership and production change; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Owner | Where made |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babolat | 1875 (Lyon) | Family-linked | Designed FR |
| Bullpadel | 1995 (Madrid) | Aguirre & Cía | Spanish brand |
| Butterfly | 1950 (Japan) | Tamasu (private) | Japan premium |
| Cornilleau | 1946 (France) | Independent, French | France (the Oise) |
| CRBN | Early 2020s (SoCal) | Founder-led | Designed SoCal |
| DHS | 1959 (Shanghai) | Shanghai (state-linked) | China |
| Donic | Germany (table tennis) | Schildkröt-Sport | Unconfirmed |
| Dunlop | 1889 (UK (rubber)) | Sumitomo Rubber | Overseas |
| Head | 1950 (Howard Head) | Eliasch (private) | Engineered AT |
| Joola | 1952 (Germany) | Sport Squad (US) | Tables DE, paddles Asia |
| Nittaku | 1947 (Japan) | Nippon Takkyu | Balls in Japan |
| Nox | Spain (padel) | Not disclosed | Spanish brand |
| Paddletek | ~2010 (Michigan) | Family business | US craftsmanship |
| Prince | 1970 (Princeton, NJ) | ABG (licensed) | Overseas |
| Selkirk | 2014 (Idaho) | Family-led + Bluestone | US-designed |
| StarVie | 2002 (Guadalajara) | Independent | Own factory, Spain |
| Stiga | 1934 (Sweden) | Swedish, private | Blades in Sweden |
| Tecnifibre | 1979 (France) | Lacoste / Maus Frères | Unverified |
| Wilson | 1913 (Chicago) | Amer Sports | US-designed |
| Xiom | 1976 (Korea) | Independent, Korean | Blades in Korea |
| Yonex | 1946 (Japan) | Public (Yoneyama) | Japan & overseas |
Frequently asked questions
Who invented the tennis string?
Babolat, in 1875, according to our guide.
Who owns Wilson?
Amer Sports, according to our guide.
Part of our Sports & Outdoors brand guidelines. See also all collections.