Kento Momota's Badminton Racket Over the Years

Kento Momota is one of the most dominant badminton players Japan has ever produced. He shocked the world in 2018 and 2019 when he reached the finals of every tournament he played in and nearly won them all, which led to him garnering a huge fanbase. Wondering what’s Kento Momota’s badminton racket?

Well, you’re in the right place. In this article, I’ll go through Kento Momota’s badminton racket over the years, showing you the badminton rackets he used throughout his badminton career.

Table of Contents

2023 – Present: Yonex Astrox 77 Pro

Since Kento Momota won the 2023 Korea Masters, it reminded me to look back at some of my old posts, such as this article on Kento Momota’s badminton racket. Momota has had a very rough career since his incident, but his 2023 Korea Masters win will hopefully reignite his performance on the world stage.

Fans of Kento Momota with keen eyes will also have noticed that he switched to the Yonex Astrox 77 Pro, which is why I decided to give this article a quick update.

Late 2021 – 2023: Yonex Astrox 99 Pro

As of October 8, 2022, Kento Momota’s badminton racket is the Yonex Astrox 99 Pro, the White Tiger edition. Ever since Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei’s retirements, Kento Momota, along with Viktor Axelsen, have been the main Yonex brand ambassadors for the men’s singles category.

Yonex launched the Astrox 99 Pro with Kento Momota as their main figurehead. You may have seen advertisements with the below picture of Kento Momota:

Here’s another picture of Kento Momota and the Yonex Astrox 99 Pro badminton racket in action:

Late 2018 – 2021: Yonex Astrox 99

The reason Yonex launched the Astrox 99 Pro was partly due to the massive success of its predecessor, the Yonex Astrox 99. And part of the reason the Yonex Astrox 99 was so popular was because Kento Momota was using the racket when he performed so of his most notable feats such as winning the world championship in 2019 and becoming the world’s best player.

Momota was one of the first people to adopt the Yonex Astrox 99 when it came out in late 2018 and became the racket’s main ambassador when Lee Chong Wei retired. Kento Momota used the Yonex Astrox 99 from late 2018 to throughout most of 2021 until the Yonex Astrox 99 Pro was released.

Momota also briefly used a navy version of the Yonex Astrox 99 seen below.

==> Check out my review of the Yonex Astrox 99 here

2018: Yonex Astrox 88D

Throughout the first half of 2018, Kento Momota used the Yonex Astrox 88D. The Yonex Astrox 88D was originally a badminton racket created for backcourt doubles play, but its focus on power also made it a suitable badminton racket for many players in the singles category like Kento Momota.

2017: Yonex Duora Z Strike

Kento Momota’s badminton racket in 2017 was the Yonex Duora Z Strike. This is another badminton racket that was and to some extent, still is very popular among men’s singles players.

During 2017, Kento Momota had just come out of suspension and was not very well known yet, especially with players like Viktor Axelsen, Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan, and Chen Long dominating the scene. But if you go through some of the smaller tournaments that Kento Momota played in, you’ll see that the Yonex Duora Z Strike was his racket of choice.

==> Check out my review of the Yonex Duora Z Strike here

2014-2016: Yonex Voltric Z Force II

Prior to 2017, Kento Momota used the Yonex Voltric Z Force II. The Yonex Voltrice Z Force II might have been Yonex’s most popular racket of all time, with players such as Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei both using it in the past. I still see many players using the Yonex Voltric Z Force II today, even on the pro stage.

The Yonex Voltric Z Force II is known for its extremely slim shaft. New technology at the time made the Yonex Voltric Z Force II revolutionary in the power it generated, making the racket super popular among all players in the world.

So it definitely comes as no surprise that the Yonex Voltric Z Force II was Kento Momota’s badminton racket between 2014-2016. The specific one he used was the standard matte-black/blue version of the Voltric Z Force II.

==> Check out my review of the Yonex Z Force II here

2013-2014: Yonex Voltric Z Force

With the Yonex Voltric Z Force II’s popularity, it will also be no surprise that Kento Momota’s badminton racket between 2013 and 2014 was the Yonex Voltric Z Force. This racket was the predecessor to the Yonex Voltric Z Force II and another hugely popular racket at the time.

Like the Yonex Voltric Z Force II, Kento Momota also used the standard green/white/black Voltric Z Force.

2012: Yonex Arcsaber Z Slash

If we really go back in history, we can spot Kento Momota using the Yonex Arcsaber Z Slash during his junior days. Along with the Yonex Voltric Z Force, the Yonex Arcsaber Z Slash has been discontinued for quite some time. This was a racket that players such as Taufik Hidayat and Lee Chong Wei used back in the day.

Again, Kento Momota used the standard yellow/white/black version of the Yonex Arcsaber Z Slash.