Solinco Expands Whiteout Racket Line, Aims To Fill Market Gaps

Even when key tennis string maker Solinco was busy rolling out its debut line of rackets in early 2022—the Whiteout and Blackout frames—the brand had a plan for next steps. Those steps became public in 2023 when Solinco expanded the Whiteout line with a new 18×20 pattern and an extended 18×20 pattern in a 27.5-inch-long version.

“We knew that the 18×20 was a racket we needed and wanted to have,” KT Kim, director of Solinco Sports, tells me. “It is a pretty specific subset of players who use that type of string pattern, and we didn’t want to lose potential players from having a racket they use.”

Kim says that if the brand captured a large percentage of players with the initial 2022 releases, these line extensions, as he calls them, are now filling the gaps.

Solinco, known for over 15 years as one of the leaders in the tennis string space, debuted rackets with a unique take, working with Roman Prokes, known for his racket customization when working with Andre Agassi, by highlighting the highest grade of carbon fiber available, the 40T carbon fiber, and using crystal liquid fibers in the grip. The Whiteout also comes foam-filled in the hoop of the frame. It debuted with the unstrung weights of 290 and 305 grams for the 98-square-inch head, each with an interchangeable 5-gram and 10-gram butt cap plate to help players customize the frame’s weight.

The Torrance, California, company didn’t change the unstrung specifications for the two new iterations of the frame, both available in the 305 weight. The allure of the 18×20 may have been more popularity in the past—a 16×19 string pattern, as seen in the initial Solinco releases, is the most common on the market—but certainly fits an advanced singles player with an aggressive, faster swing speed. It can also appeal to doubles players looking for control.

By having the strings positioned closer together, the setup provides additional control of the ball, bringing precision to the player that is already able to provide their own pop. “With the tighter string pattern, the gaps between the holes are smaller,” Kim says. “When you have a tighter string bed, you have more control, better precision and are able to hit through the court a little more with a little different playing style. There are people who want that type of performance.”

By adding an extended version—an additional half an inch—Kim says they now offer something uncommon on the market: an extended 18×20 frame. Solinco saw a gap in the market and decided to fill it, hoping to capture as much of an audience as they could, like what they’ve done with stringing technology that has now extended to include a growing range of 19- and 20-gauge strings.

The first year of Solinco’s entry into rackets has met brand outlooks. “We had realistic expectations in the very beginning,” Kim says. “The racket business is very difficult because it is a saturated market. We had our targets of where we wanted to be and met and surpassed those goals. We were realistic and we didn’t expect overnight to be competing with the bellwethers. We have a more long-term plan.”

Adding new rackets to the line helps brings awareness to the brand’s core business: strings. Solinco has a roadmap for line extensions that includes additional racket iterations, whether from the Whiteout or Blackout, coming later in 2023 and into 2024. And it all matches up with new string advancements, part of a calculated effort from Solinco to advance in both strings and rackets.