What Is the Black SLAP Hat at the Madrid Open?

The black SLAP hat seen courtside during Hailey Baptiste's run at the 2026 Madrid Open is tied to ReString Slap, one of our tennis strings engineered for power, spin, and snapback.

It was worn by Will Woodall, Baptiste's coach and a longtime member of the ReString family. The hat is not currently for sale and was produced in a small limited run for athletes and partners.

In this article you will learn about the moment that put the SLAP hat on Tennis Channel, who Will is, what ReString Slap is, and what this visibility means for the brand.

The Match That Featured the SLAP Hat

On April 28, 2026, Hailey Baptiste delivered the biggest win of her career.

The 30th-seeded American defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(6).

Across two and a half hours of tennis, Baptiste saved six match points before sealing the upset in the third-set tiebreak. The win snapped Sabalenka's 15-match winning streak, marked Baptiste's first top 5 victory, and sent her to her first WTA 1000 semifinal.

Throughout the match, Will was visible courtside in a black hat with the SLAP wordmark across the front. The WTA's Instagram clip of his reaction during the third set has reached around 200,000 views so far.

In the hours after the match, ReString received many direct messages from players asking when the hat would be available.

Who Is Hailey Baptiste's Coach?

Hailey Baptiste's coach is Will Woodall, the first sponsored athlete in ReString's history.

Will trained at JTCC in College Park, Maryland, before playing five years of college tennis at the University of Virginia, where he won two NCAA team championships with the Cavaliers.

As a junior he also competed at the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. He then turned professional, breaking into the top 380 of the ATP doubles rankings.

In late 2025, Will transitioned from competing on tour to coaching. He began working with Baptiste in November of that year. Six months in, with this Madrid breakthrough, Baptiste is projected to reach a new career-high ranking inside the top 25.

What Is ReString Slap?

ReString Slap is a tennis string engineered for best-in-class power, spin, and snapback.

The string has a six-sided hexagonal profile that grips the ball on every swing, helping you generate heavy topspin and pace on your shots.

It also features our Signature Snapback Coating, engineered into the string itself rather than painted on the surface.

Snapback is the way the strings slide during impact and snap back into place, which is what generates spin on the ball. Integrating the coating into the string keeps that snapback consistent over the life of the stringbed.

The result is a string built for aggressive baseline hitters who take big cuts at the ball and want the precision to keep their biggest shots on the line.

Is the SLAP Hat for Sale?

The SLAP hat is not currently available for purchase.

It was produced in a limited run of around 20 pieces, distributed to ReString athletes, partners, and Will. There is no public release scheduled at this time.

However, for any future updates on the hat itself and other product releases, the best place to follow us is our Instagram page.

What This Moment Means for ReString

ReString is an American tennis string brand earning it's place on tour, with a string lineup played and trusted at the highest level of the game.

For example, WTA player Cristina Bucsa, who won the 2026 Merida Open singles title, is one of our athletes on tour. She uses ReString Zero in her crosses.

These moments with Will matter because they happened organically, around real people who chose ReString. That is the kind of visibility we are building toward, one player and one product at a time.

If you are here because of the hat, take a look at the string that gave it its name: ReString Slap.

Image credit: Tennis Channel 2

About the Author: Juan is the co-founder of ReString. He was born in Argentina, raised in Japan, and moved to the US to pursue college tennis. He now plays as an ATP & WTA hitting partner.