Maria Sharapova serving in Madrid with the new HEAD INSTINCT racquet

At the Madrid WTA Masters event Maria Sharapova, the newest arrival to the HEAD pro-player team, premiered the new HEAD YouTek IG INSTINCT racquet in her first round victory over Arantxa Rus.

The Russian 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova played a key on-court role in the development of the new HEAD INSTINCT Series, which promises club and professional players ‘Effortless Power’.

“The game became a lot more powerful, a lot more physical”, Maria Sharapova admits. “I was really looking for a powerful racquet, and am thankful that HEAD provided me with exactly that", she commented on her new weapon. HEAD CEO Johan Eliasch is pleased with the contribution from the newest addition to the HEAD stable. "Maria gave a lot of input to help develop this new series of racquets. We are proud that she joined our team and trusts our products."

The YouTek Instinct IG series launches in two versions, the MP and the S model. Both will allow players to create power in their strokes much easier, due to better manoeuvrability of the racquet during the swinging movement and less energy loss at ball impact. They also feature HEAD's innovative Innegra™ technology, which reduces vibration on ball impact and allows for more control.

The new HEAD Instinct racquets will also be played also by ATP Tour players going forward, and will be available in Retail worldwide from August onwards.