Nanoflare 1000 Z
Model NF-1000Z · Carolina Marin, Lakshya Sen
Price history
Not enough dated pre-owned sales yet for a price chart — our threshold is 3. 15 verified sales on record so far.
15 verified transactions on record · USD · methodology
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Nanoflare 1000 Z: the 565 km/h record racquet that carried Marín’s comeback
565 km/h in Yonex’s factory gym
On April 14, 2023, in the gymnasium of Yonex’s Tokyo factory in Soka, Saitama, India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy hit a shuttle at 565 km/h with a Nanoflare 1000 Z, two months before the racquet went on sale. Guinness World Records, whose adjudicator verified the measurement, lists it as the fastest badminton hit by a man. A NAC ultra-high-speed camera capturing 40,000 exposures a second recorded the shuttle just after impact, so this was a test hit, not a match smash. In the same session and with the same model, Malaysia’s Tan Pearly reached 438 km/h, which Yonex says made her the first woman to hold a Guinness record in the category. Yonex announced both marks on July 18, 2023. Rankireddy beat Tan Boon Heong’s 493 km/h with the Nanoray Z-Speed, certified in 2013, by 72 km/h.
A compact, stiffer flagship
Yonex announced the Nanoflare 1000 on May 11, 2023, as its “new flagship racquet,” in four models (Z, Tour, Game and Play) for a worldwide launch on June 16. Yonex Japan’s release promised the fastest smash and aimed the Z at every attacking player. The series’ Sonic Flare System puts high-modulus carbon at the frame top and M40X lower down. The Z adds an Aero Compact Frame, with thicker sides and, by Yonex Japan’s account, a face about 5% smaller than earlier models; a Speed-Assist Bumper, a continuous grommet strip containing potassium titanate at the base of the frame; and EX-Hyper MG, which Yonex calls its highest-modulus carbon, in the frame top. Yonex lists the frame as HM Graphite, Nanometric DR, M40X and EX-Hyper MG and the Super Slim Shaft as HM Graphite with Ultra PE Fiber, with no Namd or Volume Cut Resin. It is Extra Stiff, head-light in Yonex’s words, made in Japan in 3U and 4U, and launched in Japan at ¥30,000 before tax.
Marín’s comeback racquet
Yonex’s launch news named three players already using the Nanoflare 1000: Carolina Marín, Lakshya Sen and He Bingjiao. Marín’s Yonex athlete page listed the Nanoflare 700 in February 2023 and the 1000 Z by June. Yonex Japan credits the “June-released” racquet with her silver at the 2023 World Championships, where she beat Akane Yamaguchi in the semifinal and lost the final to An Se-young, who played the Astrox 77 Pro. Marín was runner-up again at the World Tour Finals in December, and in March 2024 won her first All England since 2015, 26–24, 11–1, when Yamaguchi retired injured. Yonex still listed the 1000 Z for her in September 2024, but no Yonex report names the racquet she used at the Paris Olympics, where a knee injury in the semifinal proved to be her last match. She retired in March 2026.
One yellow, four models
The 1000 Z has come in one color, Lightning Yellow, which Yonex carries down to the grip so that the racquet reads as a single column of light; a matching racquet bag and backpack launched with it. No special edition of it is documented. The color is shared: the 1000 Tour, Game and Play are all Lightning Yellow too. The Tour keeps the Z’s Extra Stiff flex and compact aero frame but uses HM Graphite, Nanocell Neo and EX-Hyper MG in the frame. The 1000 Game, which Yonex Japan sold at an open price, has a carbon and Nanocell Neo frame, comes in 4U only and is made in Taiwan. The Play is a graphite racquet with a medium flex, also in 4U only. The Tour, Game and Play each have their own page.
A current model on the resale market
The 1000 Z is still a current model. Yonex’s global catalog listed it in September 2026, in its original Lightning Yellow, and Yonex has announced no end date. The verified sales shown above are pre-owned examples from the Asian resale market; none is a new, unused racquet, so new stock remains the reference point for an unused one. In resale, identity matters first. The Tour, Game and Play share the Nanoflare 1000 name and the Lightning Yellow, so the Z marking or the item code NF-1000Z is what identifies a Z in a listing.
Fakes and yellow look-alikes
No counterfeit specific to the 1000 Z has been documented, and Yonex publishes no model-specific guide. Its general warning is that counterfeits circulate especially on online shopping sites, including auctions and flea markets. A Japan-made flagship tied to a world record is an obvious target for copying. The likelier problem is a genuine racquet sold under the wrong name. The Tour matches the Z’s color, flex, weights and compact frame shape at a lower tier, and the Game and Play share the color and the name; Yonex lists the Tour and Game as made in Taiwan and the Play as made in China. The callout lists the checks that separate them.
A line of speed tests
The 1000 Z continues a line of Yonex speed tests. Tan Boon Heong hit 421 km/h with the ArcSaber Z-Slash in September 2009 and 493 km/h with the Nanoray Z-Speed, certified in July 2013; Rankireddy’s mark replaced that record almost ten years later. His own Yonex athlete page lists the Duora Z-Strike, so the record ties him to the 1000 Z without documenting it as his match racquet. Marín played two of these three racquets: Yonex’s reports put her on the Z-Speed from 2014, then the Duora Z-Strike from 2017 and the Nanoflare 700 by 2019, before the 1000 Z. Other users on Yonex’s lists include Lakshya Sen, whose athlete page carried it from 2023 into 2025, He Bingjiao in the 2023 Japan Open final, and Liang Weikeng, who won the 2023 China Open men’s doubles with it. A German test lab rated its handling and feel highest and its forgiveness lowest, and recommended it for experienced players.
Confirm the model first. The 1000 Z is Lightning Yellow with a yellow factory grip, item code NF-1000Z, and Yonex Japan lists it as made in Japan; the 1000 Tour, Game and Play are the same yellow, and Yonex lists the Tour and Game as made in Taiwan. Yonex’s specification is Extra Stiff flex, a frame 10 mm longer than standard, and 4U (average 83 g, grips 5–6) or 3U (average 88 g, grips 4–6). Its frame is HM Graphite, Nanometric DR, M40X and EX-Hyper MG, and its shaft HM Graphite with Ultra PE Fiber; a listing that credits it with Namd or Volume Cut Resin has the wrong specification. Yonex’s own authenticity test is the hologram sticker, which should resist lifting with a fingernail. Yonex advises buying from a reliable retailer.
A current flagship still sold new, so a player can choose on weight and grip. Its documented story is the 565 km/h Guinness test and Carolina Marín’s last seasons, from her 2023 world silver to the 2024 All England title. With a single color across its run, the model marking and the Japan origin are what separate it from the 1000 Tour, Game and Play in listings. Treat any claim that An Se-young played it as unsupported.
Verified prices last updated Sep 2026. All data based on tracked secondary market transactions.