200609 Racquet Sports Industry

September/October 2006Volume 34 Number 9 $5.00

STRING FLING!Our exclusive tests of 500strings will pinpoint the rightone for you

How To Build Up YourReplacement Grip Business

Footwear: SpecializedFeatures You Need to Know

STRING FLING!Our exclusive tests of 500strings will pinpoint the rightone for you

How To Build Up YourReplacement Grip Business

Footwear: SpecializedFeatures You Need to Know

DEPARTMENTS

R S I S E P / O C T 2 0 0 6Contents

September/October 2006 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 3

ContentsINDUSTRY NEWS

7 Jim Baugh to step down fromTIA after 2006

7 USTA renames NTC in honorof Billie Jean King

8 ASBA’s December tech meetingset for Daytona Beach

8 Tecnifibre R&D team addsPo-Jen Cheng

8 “Legacy Program” to refurbishcourts in USOS markets

9 Tennis Channel offers DISHNetwork deal to clubs

10 T-Kart introduces teaching cartwith spring-loaded tray

10 Head to release Agassi limitededition racquet

11 USPTA revamps Find-A-Prowebsite

12 “Deluxe Club Cart” fromOncourt Offcourt

12 Bälle de Mätch offers CardioTennis apparel line

13 Industry veteran Egdes movesto Tennis Channel

14 Ashaway offers pre-packagedhybrid string

SPECIAL SECTION22 Strings 2006

Our exclusive tests of every string on the market will helpyou choose the right product for your customers.

4 Our Serve

16 Innovations: Beach Tennis

18 Service & Return

40 Wimbledon Equipment Log

42 String Playtest: Tecnifibre Pro RedCode 16

44 Ask the Experts

46 Tips & Techniques

48 Your Serve, by Liza Horan

Cover photo: Stephen Whalen Photography

FEATURES

20 A Class RoomThe indoor winner in the RSI/ASBA Facility-of-the-Year Awards is alone at the top.

31 Courting Other SportsRacquetball and squash may represent opportunities for your business.

34 Handling Your PlayersEmphasizing your replacement grip business will serve your customers and giveyou a better grasp on profits, too.

36 Special EffectsAs tennis shoes become more specialized, retailers need to understand their keyfeatures.

38 Stringing for the Modern GameA longtime stringer shares his observations after stringing for the pros at Wimbledon.

n the one hand, it was a bold move: naming the

USTA National Tennis Center in New York—home

of the US Open and the world’s largest public tennis

facility—after Billie Jean King, and forgoing possibly

millions of dollars a year in naming rights.On the other hand, it was simply the natural—and the right—

thing to do.Some experts say the USTA could have realized $4 million to $5

million annually if it had decided to let corporations bid on thenaming of the NTC. But, just as it did in 1997 when it named thestadium court after Arthur Ashe, the USTA took the high road, hon-oring a tennis legend and trailblazer in both sport and society. Andit’s believed to be the first time a major sports venue has beennamed for a woman.

While USTA officials say there had been brief discussions in thepast about selling the naming rights, they never went so far as tosolicit any bids. USTA Chairman of the Board and PresidentFranklin Johnson proposed naming the NTC for King back inMarch, then in July, the board of directors voted unanimouslyto do so.

It’s refreshing to see another example of this sport doing theright thing. Few people have meant as much to this sport as Kinghas. And the fact that King, a product of public-park tennis, nowhas her name on the 46.5-acre public facility that is home to someof the best tennis in the world is a testament to how this sport seesitself, and how confident this sport is in its future.

Our mission here at Racquet Sports Industry is to tell you howyou can make more money in this business. But sometimes, thisbusiness needs to be about more than the money.

Peter FrancesconiEditorial Director

Our ServeMore Than Money Can Buy

(Incorporating Racquet Tech and Tennis Industry)

PublishersDavid Bone Jeff Williams

Editor-in-ChiefCrawford Lindsey

Editorial DirectorPeter Francesconi

Associate EditorGreg Raven

Design/Art DirectorKristine Thom

Contributing EditorsCynthia Cantrell

Rod CrossKristen DaleyJoe DinofferLiza Horan

Andrew LavalleeJames MartinChris NicholsonBob Patterson

Cynthia Sherman

RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRYCorporate Offices

330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084Phone: 760-536-1177 Fax: 760-536-1171

Email: [email protected]: www.racquetTECH.com

Office Hours: Mon.-Fri.,8 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific Time

Advertising DirectorJohn Hanna

770-650-1102, [email protected]

Apparel AdvertisingCynthia Sherman203-263-5243

[email protected]

Racquet Sports Industry (USPS 347-8300. ISSN 0191-5851) is published 10 times per year: monthly Januarythrough August and combined issues in Septem-ber/October and November/December by TennisIndustry and USRSA, 330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084.Periodicals postage paid at Hurley, NY 12443 and addi-tional mailing offices. September/October 2006, Vol-ume 34, Number 9 © 2006 by USRSA and TennisIndustry. All rights reserved. Racquet Sports Industry,RSI and logo are trademarks of USRSA. Printed in theU.S.A. Phone advertising: 770-650-1102 x 125. Phonecirculation and editorial: 760-536-1177. Yearly sub-scriptions $25 in the U.S., $40 elsewhere. POSTMAS-TER: Send address changes to Racquet Sports Industry,330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084.

4 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY September/October 2006

O

RSI is the “official magazine” of the USRSA, TIA, and ASBA

INDUSTRY NEWSINDUSTRY NEWSR S I S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6

I N F O R M A T I O N T O H E L P Y O U R U N Y O U R B U S I N E S S


Jim Baugh To Leave TIAAt the End of 2006

Jim Baugh says he will leave his position as presi-dent of the Tennis Industry Association at the endof 2006. He also has decided not to run for re-

election to the board of directors for the USTA.Baugh’s decision to leave the tennis industry

comes in the wake of positive news about tennis’sgrowth over the last three years, as participation, fre-quent play, and equipment and apparel sales are allup, according to the USTA and TIA. In addition,SGMA research shows that tennis has been the onlytraditional sport to grow from 2000 to 2005, up 10.3percent in participation.But Baugh, who began his career as a phys ed teacher, now will have the opportu-

nity to reach a much larger audience with his message of physical fitness. He will devotemore time to PE4LIFE, a foundation he started six years ago designed to help kids cre-ate healthy habits for life through physical activity at school, and he will pursue con-sulting opportunities.“It’s been exciting to see the growth of tennis in the U.S. over the last three years, the

successful launch of Cardio Tennis, and the further positive developments with TIA part-ners such as the USTA, teaching organizations, and other aligned partners,” Baugh says.“Our accomplishments … have made it obvious that it is time to move on to pursue

other personal ventures and interests that I believe in,” he adds. “I am proud to say thesport of tennis is in a much better position now than it was a few years ago.”Baugh, whose distinguished career in tennis includes executive positions at Prince

and Wilson, has served as the paid president of the TIA since January 2004. The TIApresidency is expected to return to a rotating volunteer position in 2007.“We wish Jim continued success in his personal pursuits and appreciate all he has

done for the industry over his career in the tennis business,” says TIA Chairman DaveHaggerty. Executive Director Jolyn de Boer will continue to lead the TIA. She serves atthe direction of the TIA board and executive committee.“The TIA will continue to focus on growing participation and on ensuring the eco-

nomic vitality of the tennis industry,” de Boer says. “As the source for industry newsand research, we are dedicated to providing our members with benefits such as partic-ipation research, industry trade shipments, market trends, retail audits, and otherimportant research. We will maintain our focus on Tennis Welcome Centers, Cardio Ten-nis, and the use of technology to better service the needs of our membership.”“I want to thank all those who have made my jobs easier,” Baugh said in a recent

email to friends and colleagues, “especially the thousands of tennis professionals andfacility operators who are so critical in the growth of the game.“Tennis should easily grow beyond year 2010 goals of 30 million players and 6 mil-

lion frequent players if everyone continues to work together, consistently supports keyprograms, and most importantly, keeps the focus on building the brand that supportsall of us…T.E.N.N.I.S.”

USTA Renames NTC inHonor Of Billie Jean King

In a special tribute on the Aug. 28 OpeningNight of the 2006 US Open, the USTA offi-cially renamed the world’s largest publictennis park the USTA Billie Jean KingNational Tennis Center.

The honor, which was announced in earlyAugust, pays tribute to the tennis legendand trailblazer whose pioneering effortshelped change the sport of tennis andlaunch the drive for gender equality insports and society. King, one of the mostcelebrated athletes in history, is recognizedfor spearheading the women's movementin tennis by fighting for equal rights in thesport.

King began playing tennis in the publicparks of Long Beach, Calif., and has been apioneer on and off the court. She foundedtheWomen's Tennis Association in 1973and theWomen's Sports Foundation in1974. She also is the co-founder of WorldTeamTennis. Her dedication to advancingwomen's opportunities in sports helpedlead to the passage of Title IX legislation.

For her many achievements, King wasnamed by Life magazine one of the "100Most Important Americans of the 20th Cen-tury," and placed No. 5 on SportsIllustrated's "Top 40 Athletes."

"This obviously is a great honor for me,"says King. "This outstanding facility is apublic park, a place where everyone cancome and enjoy our wonderful sport. It istruly humbling that this will link me withArthur Ashe [for whom the main stadium isnamed], with whom I celebrated manyexperiences and shared dreams of thefuture for this great sport. I know this willcontinue to be a place where present andfuture generations of players come out, pickup a racquet, learn a sport, and dare todream big and go for it."

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Tecnifibre R&D AddsPo-Jen Cheng

Tecnifibre announces that racquetresearch and development special-ist Po-Jen Cheng has been hired as

a consultant for Tecnifibre tennis andsquash racquets. Cheng has over 18years of experience working with allfacets of racquet design.Most of Cheng’s time in the industry

has been with Wilson Sporting Goods,where he was director of R&D respon-

sible for developing many of that company’s racquets and technolo-gies. He will work with both the U.S.- and France-based Tecnifibreteam.“We are very fortunate to have one of the best in the industry to

work with us as we develop our racquet business,” says Paul Zalatoris,general manager for Tecnifibre. “Po-Jen’s experience and knowledgeis what our company needs to accelerate our entry and growth intothis market.”Zalatoris says Cheng has been consulting with Tecnifibre since the

beginning of the year and that the company is about to launch twonew racquets, the first ones that will have Cheng’s input. For moreinformation, visit www.tecnifibre.com, or [email protected] or 877-332-0825.

Top-Selling Racquets at Specialty StoresBy year-to-date dollars, January-June 2006

Separate Head Sizes1. Babolat Pure Drive Team (MP) $1632. Prince O3White (MP) $1873.Wilson nSix-One (16 x 18) (MS) $1634. Prince O3 Blue (OS) $2225.Wilson N3 (OS) $212

Combined Head Sizes1. Babolat Pure Drive Team $1632. Prince O3White $1873.Wilson nSix-One $1624. Prince O3 Hybrid Hornet $1625. Head Flexpoint Radical $165

(Source: TIA/Sports Marketing Surveys)

Tennis Racquet PerformanceSpecialty Stores, January-June, 2006 vs. 2005Units 2006 333,915

2005 298,067% Change vs. ’05 12%

Dollars 2006 $44,035,0002005 $41,096,000% Change vs. ’05 7%

Average Price 2006 $1322005 $138% Change vs. ’05 -4%

(Source: TIA/Sports Marketing Surveys)

“Hot New Racquets*” at Specialty StoresBy year-to-date dollar sales, January-June 20061. Prince O3White (MP)2. Prince O3 Blue (OS)3. Prince O3 Hybrid Hornet (MP)4. Prince O3 Hybrid Hornet (OS)5. Head Flexpoint 4 (OS)* Racquets first sold within the last 12 months.(Source: TIA/Sports Marketing Surveys)

ASBA Technical Meeting Set for Daytona Beach

If you’re a court builder and haven’t yet marked your calendar to attend the 2006 TechnicalMeeting of the American Sports Builders Association, do it now. The meeting will beDec. 1-4 at the Plaza Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach, Fla.Judging by the excellent program at past ASBA Technical Meetings, this

year’s version is sure to be full of information that can help your business,including presentations, opportunities to network, and a trade show.Details of the meeting should be available in early September. Information

will be sent out automatically to all ASBA members; non-members can requestinformation by calling 866-501-ASBA, or visit www.sportsbuilders.org.

USTA Launches US Open Series“Legacy Program” To Refurbish Courts

The USTA has launched the US Open Series Legacy Program, aninitiative to refurbish public tennis courts in the communitiesthat host US Open Series tournaments. The renovated courts

will be in the “US Open Blue” color to appear like the courts at theUS Open and USOS events.In its first year, the Legacy Program will take place in three USOS

markets: Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and New Haven, Conn. The threepublic parks that will be renovated and resurfaced are Griffith Park inL.A., Ryan Park in Cincinnati, and East Shore Park in New Haven.The USTA says the program will complement the Tennis in the

Parks initiative, which seeks to grow the game and increase partic-ipation by helping to fund public parks facility enhancements, ren-ovations, and new construction projects.

I N D U S T R Y N E W S


L E T T E R S

Instant Replay: Use It All the Time

To the Editor:I enjoyed reading Paul Fein and Christo-

pher Noble’s “Your Serve” in the July issue onthe Hawk-Eye line-calling system (“Why Play-er Challenges Are a Bad Call”). To me, thechallenge rule is [a] stupid rule.

We first saw how the challenge workedhere in Portland, Ore., a few years ago with arather silly promotion/exhibition called“Superset.” They did have the replay chal-lenge, with the replay shown on the bigscreen in an instant. I thought the replay wasgreat, and hoped that it would become stan-dard in pro tourneys.

Sure, I can understand every court can'thave one—yet—because it's too expensive.But when you have it and don’t use it, to methat's just plain dumb. And it's not time-con-suming to subjectively analyze replays fromdifferent angles like in football—it's instant.

Bob StewertLake Oswego, Ore.

We welcome your letters and comments. Pleaseemail them to [email protected] or fax themto 760-536-1171.

Tennis Channel Offers DISH Network Deal to Clubs

Tennis facilities considering receivingThe Tennis Channel for their playersnow can do so for $1.99 a month

through the DISH Network satellite TVservice. The TTC offer is the result of a partnership with EchoStar Com-munications Corp., which owns DISH Network, and Keypoint Communi-cations.The offer runs through Sept. 30, 2006. Tennis facilities that subscribe to

the DISH Network’s News & Finance package for $28.99 per month canadd The Tennis Channel for $1.99 per month. Facilities that do not haveDISH Network can receive the same offer, as well as two free receivers and$100 off on installation, by subscribing to DISH. In addition, participatingclubs can receive a substantial discount on flat-screen televisions, says TTC.To promote the offer, TTC launched a marketing campaign targeting

more than 3,000 tennis clubs in the U.S. and timed to the US Open. As anadded bonus, any club that signs up will receive a Tennis Channel wallclock.TTC, which offers coverage from 69 top-level tournaments, combines

live sports with lifestyle programming, including original series, instruc-tion, equipment, travel, player profiles, news and analysis. In February,DISH began offering consumers The Tennis Channel as part of its Ameri-ca’s Top 180 programming package on Ch. 400.For more information on the special offers, call 866-650-2405 or visit

www.KeyPointServices.com and click on The Tennis Channel logo. Formore on TTC, visit www.TheTennisChannel.com. For information aboutDISH Network, go to www.DISHNetwork.com or call 800-333-DISH (3474).

S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6I N D U S T R Y N E W S


T-Kart Introduces New Teaching Cart

T-Kart Ltd. will introduce it’s first line of teaching carts in October, says companyfounder Phil Olesen. The teaching carts feature a spring-loaded tray that rises asthe balls are taken out, keeping the balls at the top of the cart to aid in feeding

students, he adds.“Our customers will really appreciate how much easier teaching lessons will be

with T-Kart,” Olesen says. “This will eliminate the constant bending a pro must doas he gathers balls to feed, especially as he gets to the bottom half of the cart.”Olesen (below), who’s been a full-time teaching pro the last 15 years in Texas,

says he invented T-Kart for multiple reasons: “First, my back was tired from theconstant bending that comes from feeding balls all day. Second, when it came tofeeding to a large group, such as a Cardio Tennis class where rapid feeding isrequired, it became increasingly difficult to feed at a smooth, consistent pace asthe balls decreased in the cart. Third, I not only wanted a cart that kept the ballsat the top, but could also hold a highcapacity. T-Kart can hold up to 450 balls.Last, I wanted a durable cart with quali-ty wheels that would last a long time.”Ted Murray, owner of the Punta

Gorda Club in Florida and member ofthe National Cardio Tennis Speakersteam, says, “The T-Kart makes it easy tofeed consistently with the speed andrhythm that is required for Cardio Ten-nis. It will help any pro improve theirfeeding in a more relaxed, comfortable,and consistent manner.”Each cart has 5-inch polypropylene

wheels and comes with its own built-inlock and key. Optional beverage holdersare available. To order or for more infor-mation, call 866-44TKART (448-5278)or visit www.t-karttennis.com.

Head to Release AgassiLimited Edition RacquetHead celebrates Andre Agassi’s 20-yeartennis career with the release of theAndre Agassi Radical Limited Edition rac-quet, an exact replica of the original Radi-cal racquet Agassi first started playingwith in 1993. Agassi helped make theRadical one of the best-selling racquetsworldwide; it was the best-selling modelfrom 1999 to 2004. Each racquet will fea-ture Agassi’s signature on the shaft aswell as his Grand Slam titles and theyears he won them using the Radical. Theblack cover bag will feature Agassi’s sig-nature in bright yellow. Each limited-edi-tion racquet includes a serial number andcertificate of authenticity. The frames willhit retail in November with a suggested price of $200.



USPTA RevampsFind-A-ProWebsite

The USPTA has revamped itsFind-a-Pro website (www.usptafindapro.com) to make it easier

for consumers to find tennis-teach-ing profes-sionals, forteachingpros tolook forjobs, and

for employersto post jobs forfree.

The new site has expand-ed search features that allow con-sumers to not only search by ZIPcode, but also to specify a searchradius in miles. Consumers can alsosearch by state or by a person’s lastname by using the alphabet list.When searching by ZIP, the resultsare listed from closest to farthest. Allother search results are in alphabet-ical order by member name. Thereis still a link to members’ USPTAWeb sites, so that consumers canfind out more about individual ten-nis-teaching pros.Find-a-Job’s search features have

also been expanded to include a ZIPcode search, too. Also, pros lookingfor a job can now search for morethan one type of position at a time.An addition to Find-a-Job is a link

to the USPTA Career Center onwww.uspta.com. This section hassample resumes and interview tipsspecific to teaching professionals. Italso has P.R. tools and USPTA per-sonal website information (a freebenefit to USPTA members).The Post-a-Job layout has been

redesigned and is easier to navigateto help employers search for candi-dates more effectively. There is alink to additional resources, alongwith a hiring guide, sample workagreement, and sample job descrip-tion.Visit www.uspta.com for more

information.

Navratilova, Budge to EnterUS Open Court of Champions

Martina Navratilova and the late Don Budge will be inducted into the US Open Courtof Champions this year in ceremonies before the US Open men’s final. The tributewill also serve as a retirement tribute to Navratilova.

Navratilova, who turns 50 this year, won the Open singles title four times, and Budge,who died in 2000 at age 84, won the title twice. Navratilova will play doubles this year,her 29th and final US Open before retiring from the pro game. Annual inductees into theCourt of Champions are chosen by a panel of international media.


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• Spanish pro Juan Car-los Ferrero has signed three-year

deal with Lotto Sport Italia for allapparel, footwear, and accessories.

• Pro player James Blake will appear in mar-keting initiatives and serve as a brand ambassa-dor for Evian Natural Spring Water, a longtimesponsor of the US Open.

• Junior player and Dunlop D-Squad memberZach Hunter of Weston, Fla., teamed with Bren-nan Boyajian to win the Boys’ 16 USTA NationalClay Court Doubles Championship recently.Hunter plays with the Dunlop M-Fil 200 rac-quet. For information on the Dunlop D-Squad,juniors can contact [email protected].

• Rose Cantlin of Woodstock, Vt., andMatthew Kranich of Englewood, Colo., havebeen named winners of the 2006 Novo NordiskDonnelly Awards and were recognized duringceremonies at the World TeamTennis Finals inJuly. Both received a $5,000 scholarship to beused for educational expenses, tennis training,or medical expenses. The awards recognize theefforts of two athletes, ages 14 to 21, whohave diabetes and play tennis competitively intournaments or on their school team.

• Ferris State University has named former Bull-dog All-America player Jan Talian as the school’s15th head men’s tennis coach. Talian will takeover for Dave Ramos, who resigned in May topursue other career interests. In addition to hishead coaching duties, Talian will also serve as aclub pro for Ferris’ Racquet and Fitness Center,the school’s Professional Tennis Managementprogram, and help direct summer camps.

• Christopher Kyne is the new communicationsmanager for USTA New England.

• Jefferson T. Barnes is the recipient of theChairman’s Award of the International TennisHall of Fame, which recognizes outstandingservice by a Hall of Fame board member.

• Jack Kramer was honored by the Internation-al Tennis Hall of Fame on Aug. 19 on the 60thanniversary of his first U.S. Championships sin-gles title. The honor took place at the RegentBeverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles.Kramer turned 85 on Aug. 1 and was

inducted into the Hall of Fame in1968.

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Bälle de Mätch Offers Cardio Tennis Line

Bälle de Mätch has designed a line of apparel for Cardio Tennis. The clothingwill be available late fall 2006. “Cardio Tennis is drawing tennis players outof the gym and onto the court for their workouts,” says John Embree, Bälle

de Mätch co-owner and partner. “This is a great program for skilled players,beginners, or anyone just wanting a new way to get in shape and challenge thebody. We are proud to be associated with this concept that makes tennis moreappealing to a wider range of fitness enthusiasts.”“Bälle de Mätch will be the first to offer a men’s line of tennis apparel

designed for Cardio Tennis,” says TIA President Jim Baugh. “It is great that theysee the growth potential of this new program and want to help promote CardioTennis even further.” Bälle de Mätch joins Tail and Lejay in offering Cardio Ten-nis-specific apparel.Bälle de Mätch dealers can order Cardio Tennis apparel from the Team cata-

log now for Fall delivery. For more information, contact Embree at 847-729-2497or [email protected].

Prince String, Footwear Top 2QRetail Audit of Specialty Stores

Prince string is the No. 1-selling brand in U.S. specialty accounts, accord-ing to the TIA/Sports Marketing Surveys Retail Audit Report, increasing itsunit share to 28.4 percent in the second quarter.

In addition, Prince Syn Gut with Duraflex has been the No. 1 string on themarket since May 2001, when the Tennis Industry Association and Sports Mar-keting Surveys began tracking tennis string sales and trends. In the secondquarter of 2006, Prince Syn Gut with Duraflex had 14.7 percent of unit sales,more than 7 percentage points higher than the closest competitor.In footwear, Prince holds the No. 1 spot in the $75 to $84.99 range with

24.8 percent of unit sales through the second quarter, according to the retailreport. Prince also is the No. 2 footwear brand overall, compiling an 18.3 per-cent unit share in all sales in 2Q year-to-date.

Oncourt Offcourt Offers “Deluxe Club Cart”

The new Deluxe Club Cart,designed by USPTA and PTRMaster Professional Joe

Dinoffer (who is also an RSI con-tributing editor), features a life-time guarantee on its 4-inchwheels, a “back-friendly” feed-ing height, water bottle and cellphone holder, ball basket hanger,double storage trays, and more.The cart is available through

Oncourt Offcourt, which nowoffers its own custom-designedball pick-up and storage productline, including three teachingcarts, four ball baskets, and twoball tubes, says Dinoffer.For wholesale and retail

pricing and a free 84-page color catalog, contact 88-TENNIS-11 or visitwww.oncourtoffcourt.com.



Industry Vet EgdesMoves to Tennis Channel

The Tennis Channel has hired long-time tennis executive David Egdesas senior vice president, Tennis

Industry Relations, and Tennis Chan-nel Open tournament director. Egdesmost recently was vice president ofWorld TeamTennis in Los Angeles forfive years and has close to 10 years ofprofessional tennis experience as anexecutive and agent at IMG.Based in L.A., Egdes will act as a

liaison between the network and ten-nis players, agents, tournament direc-tors, associations, governing bodies,clubs, sponsors, manufacturers, andretailers.As tournament director for the net-

work’s “Panasonic presents the TennisChannel Open,” he will oversee allaspects of the annual February eventin Las Vegas. He’ll report to TTC Chair-man and CEO Ken Solomon.

TSRs Reach Out to26,000 in Six Months

Mark McMahon, the USTA’snational manager for TennisService Representatives and

Tennis Welcome Centers, says the 91TSRs made more than 6,300 person-al visits to tennis facilities, parks,schools, colleges, Community TennisAssociations, NJTLs, and other organ-izations in the first half of 2006.“The TSRs have been very visi-

ble,” McMahon says, “meeting withover 26,000 different teaching pro-fessionals, school coaches, PE teach-ers, CTA volunteers, and more.”

Young, Albanese Win18s National Titles

Donald Young of Atlanta and LaurenAlbanese of Coral Springs, Fla.,captured the singles titles at the

USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s NationalHard Court Championships in earlyAugust, earning singles wild cards intothe US Open.The country's top junior players

competed in eight different USTANational Championships in earlyAugust. Winners are:

� Boys' 16s: Singles—Brennan Boya-jian, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Dou-bles—Albert El Mihdawy, LongIsland City, N.Y., and BradleyKlahn, Poway, Calif.

� Boys' 14s: Singles—Junior A. Ore,Gaithersburg, Md. Doubles—Den-nis Kudla, Arlington, Va., and Ore.

� Boys' 12s: Singles—Gordon Wat-son, Naples, Fla. Doubles—Michael Rinaldi, and Watson.

� Girls' 16s: Singles—LaurenEmbree, Marco Island, Fla. Dou-bles—Embree and Rachel Saiontz,Miami.

� Girls' 14s: Singles—Kaitlyn Chris-tian, Orange, Calif. Doubles—KateFuller, Suwanee, Ga., and JulieSabacinski, Plantation, Fla.

� Girls' 12s: Singles—Chanelle VanNguyen, Coconut Grove, Fla. Dou-bles—Megan Kurey, Alpharetta,Ga., and Caitlyn M. Williams,Knoxville, Tenn.


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> Through September, Klip is offering aspecial on its Excellerator and Venomstrings for authorized dealers, VIPs, USRSA,PTR, and USPTA. If you buy eight, you’llreceive two at no charge, plus a free KlipMoisture Management hat. Contact 866-554-7872 or [email protected].

> Jane Luzzi, who has been apparel makerTail Inc.’s Southern California sales rep for30 years, has expanded her territory tocover the whole state. “Jane is one of Tail’sstrongest representatives and we are look-ing forward to working with her to increaseour presence in Northern California,” saysTail’s Brad Singer, vice president of sales andmarketing. She can be reached at 949-643-2386 or [email protected].

> Viking Athletics’ OZ paddle is nowupgraded with a new Gamma Sports ProControl grip. Viking is the top supplier ofplatform tennis paddles, balls, and acces-sories. For more information, contact 631-957-8000, email [email protected], or visit www.VikingAthletics.com.

> Bälle de Mätch has added two new salesreps in Canada. Both are currently territorymanagers for Wilson Racquet Sports Cana-da. Blair Rickers will handle the Toronto andOntario areas, and Ben Michaud will coverMontreal and Quebec.

> Fila’s “Past Forward” campaign will“usher in a new era of classically inspiredapparel and footwear, which echoes thegrounding principles of its original vision: abold spirit, elegant aesthetic, and authen-ticity to sport,” says the company. Thebrand, which debuted in 1973, recentlylaunched a series of limited edition, vintage

tennis apparel pieces. Visit www.fila.com.

> Dunlop and the U.S. Squash RacquetsAssociation are sponsoring a series of squashexhibitions and clinics at some of the nation’sleading squash clubs featuring championsJonathon Power and Julian Illingworth. TheDunlop Power Tour events will feature juniorclinics and demonstrations, exhibitionmatches, autograph sessions, and theopportunity to interact with the players. Toschedule a tour engagement, local organiz-ers should contact U.S. Squash at 610-667-4006 or email [email protected] more information, visit www.us-squash.org.

> The tennis management firm Peter Bur-wash International will direct the tennis pro-gram at the 12-court Lodge at VentanaCanyon in Tucson, Ariz. For more informa-tion about PBI, visit www.pbitennis.com.

> The USTA Southern Section presentedthree Mississippi tennis facilities with morethan $70,000 in hurricane relief fundingrecently. The facilities—Singing River YachtClub in Pascagoula, Gulf Coast Tennis Clubin Gulfport, and Abbey Road Athletic Club inPass Christian—were damaged duringstorms in 2005.

> Andy Roddick, Pete Sampras, and AnnaKournikova will join Sir Elton John and BillieJean King in the 14th Annual WorldTeamTennis Smash Hits to raise money in thefight against HIV and AIDS. The event will beSept. 14 at the Bren Center on the Universi-ty of California–Irvine campus.

> The USPTA’s magazine, ADDvantage, wonan Apex Award for Communication Excel-lence for its October/November 2005 issue.

> The Ultimate Fantasy Camp II will returnto the Hyatt Grand Cypress Resort in Orlan-do, Fla., Nov. 30-Dec. 3. Organized by JimCourier’s InsideOut Sports & Entertainment,the camp will include a champion lineup ofinstructors, including Courier, MaliVaiWashington, Aaron Krickstein, Jimmy Arias,and Mikael Pernfors. For info, call 646-367-2770 or visit www.insideoutlive.com.

> The world’s top doubles team, Bob andMike Bryan, recorded an original song,“Revolution,” which is featured in a 30-second commercial on ATPtennis.com. Thecommercial, which features doublesfootage, also was slated to be shown on TVbroadcasts of ATP summer tournaments.

> Babolat, in partnership with Tennis mag-azine, hosted a tennis event in New YorkCity’s Grand Central Terminal the Fridaybefore the Open. Babolat pros who wereslated to appear included Rafael Nadal,Andy Roddick, and Robby Ginepri.

> Prize money at the 2006 US Open willtop $18.5 million, says the USTA, and mayexceed $21.1 million, depending on resultsfrom the lead-in US Open Series of tourna-ments. Men’s and women’s singles winnerswill each earn $1.2 million and receive anew Lexus GS 450h automobile.

> Deuce Magazine, a jointly producedpublication from the ATP and Sony EricssonWTA Tour, is now available for readingonline in a unique, complimentary version.Fans can read all articles from the hard-copy version at deucemagazine.com. Thefirst-ever online edition utilizes a one-of-a-kind format, designed as a virtual magazinewith article spreads.

SHORT SETS

Ashaway Offers Pre-Packaged Hybrid Strings

Ashaway Racket Strings offers a range of pre-packaged hybrid strings that the company says isdesigned to allow tennis players at all levels the ability to custom-tailor the playing character-istics of their racquets. Ashaway's Crossfire family includes Crossfire MonoGut, which com-

bines a multi-polymer monofilament for mains with synthetic gut crosses, and Crossfire II, 17, and18, which combine three gauges of Kevlar (aramid) fiber mains with synthetic gut crosses."Stringing logs of the Grand Slam tourneys over the past few years have shown an increasing

preference for hybrid strings among top pros," says Steve Crandall, vice president of marketingfor Ashaway. "Hybrid stringing allows players to fully customize their string bed to match theirgame and style of play, and even with the particular type and condition of the court, whether it'sclay, grass or asphalt."For information, contact 800-556-7260, email [email protected], or visit

www.ashawayusa.com.



USRSA MEMBER CLASSIFIEDSTENNIS PROFESSIONALS NEEDED to take a Caribbean Vacation! You work3 hours per day and receive 5-star all inclusive accommodations for your-self and 1 guest. Contact Denise Cox 678-778-4673; www.fitbodiesinc.com

FOR SALE: Alpha Edge Electronic Stringing Machine. Turntable upgrade toNew Gamma 5800 6 point Quick Mount System and Action clamps. Alsoincluded: Original turntable, string clamps, tools, machine stand, manual,and shipping cartons. Well maintained & calibrated. $1250 plus shipping.Please contact John Zednick USRSA Certifier @ 919-859-6788.

NOW HIRING: tennis racquet stringer with prior stringing experience.Must be reliable and detail oriented. Excellent potential for motivatedindividual. USRSA certification preferred. Chicago Tennis and Golf Com-pany has been serving the tennis community for the last 18 years. Email:[email protected] or call Corrine at 773-588-8884.

FOR SALE: Tecnifibre TF5500 stringing machine; highly reliable; top condi-tion: about 2 yrs. old: $3000 including shipping in continental US: ContactVince Chiarelli, [email protected] or call 727-595-7078.

FOR SALE: Babolat Sensor stringing machine; includes up-to-date modifi-cations on clamp bases; includes badminton kit; top condition; about 4 yrsold; $4000 including shipping in continental US; Contact Vince Chiarelli,[email protected] or call 727-595-7068.

Philadelphia Wins 2006WTT Championship

The Philadelphia Freedoms captured the 2006World TeamTennis championship, ousting theNewport Beach Breakers, 21-14, at the Pal-

isades Tennis Club in Newport Beach, Calif., in July.Philadelphia, coached by Craig Kardon, was

aided by wins from pros Lisa Raymond, DanielNestor, and Rennae Stubbs, who was namedMost Valuable Player for the finals. It was the sec-ond WTT crown for the Freedoms, who also wonthe King Trophy in 2001.In other news, WTT rookie Angela Haynes of

the Delaware Smash, and Philadelphia’s Nestorwon female and male MVP honors for the WTTpro season. Also, for the third straight year,Wayne Bryan of the Sacramento Capitals wasnamed WTT Coach of the Year.

TENNIS innovationsTennis on the Beach? New Sport CanHelp Attract New Players

Want an innovative and affordable wayto attract new players to the game?Marc Altheim, a New Yorker who

quit his job to back this new method 15months ago, has the solution. There's onlyone catch: Sand.

Altheim is the creator of Beach TennisUSA (www.BeachTennisUSA.net), a newsport that borrows a court and no-bouncerule from beach volleyball, and its formatand tools from tennis. Played as doubleswith no-ad scoring, participants use tennisracquets to hit a slightly depressurized ballover the elevated net.

The Beach Tennis USA team introducedthe sport to more than 30,000 people sincethe first event in May 2005, and theresponse has been overwhelming. Bottomline: It's putting tennis racquets into thehands of kids and adults alike for the firsttime.

"You have all these barriers of entry tothe [traditional] game—getting to the court,reserving court time," says Altheim, whohimself plays tennis, squash, table tennis,paddle tennis, racquetball, and the beachpaddle game Kadima. "Teaching pros canuse beach tennis as a way to leverage theirown tennis universe."

The recreational game offers fun andfitness in a cool setting. And the pro

game—yes, there's a tour circuit of 11events in six states and a Top 10 ranking—offers competition at all levels and hasfound a niche among teaching pros.

Heinz Haas, who works at Tennisport inLong Island City, N.Y., says playing the sandadds a fresh dimension to tennis. "It's defi-nitely a great workout,”he adds.

"I didn't think itwould catch on as fastwith the top tennis play-ers," says Altheim, notingthat the playing field cur-rently is male dominated."It's been universallyembraced at the highestlevels of tennis."

And volleyball. SinjinSmith, a beach volleyballlegend and former presi-dent of the Associationof Volleyball Profession-als, is an avid beach ten-nis player. “I’m a hugetennis fan, and of coursecan’t get away from thebeach and volleyball,” says Smith. “So itwas only natural that I try beach tennis—and I loved it.”

Each tournament, which provides free


registration and free use of racquets andballs, includes demonstrations so bystanderscan try out the game. Another bonus: Menwork as "ball boys" for the women'smatches, and women return the favor formen's matches.

In May, the Beach Tennis USA tractortrailer, carting signage andequipment, rolled intoBradenton, Fla., for anevent, which made a greatfield trip for 45 studentsof the Nick Bollettieri Ten-nis Academy. "These kidslicked it up," says Altheim,who founded Beach Ten-nis USA LLC last year withFredric Finkelstein and Sjo-erd de Vries.

While the game isplayed in places as diverseas Aruba, Brazil, and Hol-land, it's never been quiteas organized as what'shappening here. This sum-mer marked the start ofthe sport’s governing body

in the U.S., the National Beach Tennis Asso-ciation.

Also this year, Beach Tennis USA beganlicensing the product, as tournaments creat-

How You CanPlay In the SandAny tennis facility, beach club, orpark and rec department thatwants to run the sport locally canbecome a licensee. Licensees haveuse of the Beach Tennis USA logo,a net and lines kit, an operationsmanual, and support from the NewYork office. All events by licenseesare sanctioned by the NationalBeach Tennis Association, whichmeans those players can be rankedand participate in national events.Go to www.BeachTennisUSA.netfor information.

B Y L I Z A H O R A N

Tennis on the Beach? New Sport CanHelp Attract New Players

�


ed more and more buzz about the sport. In2007, Altheim says he hopes to add more tour-nament dates, higher purses, and TV coverage.

The 2005 season-ending championships,held in Long Beach, N.Y., drew 100 playersfrom eight countries and a purse of $15,000.The prize money for the 2006 event was$18,000.

"Our big challenge is to harness thedemand," says Altheim, who notes that morethan 30,000 people have tried beach tennis."Our dream is to have four beach tennistrucks—one in each part of the country." In themidst of this burgeoning growth, Beach TennisUSA secured Head/Penn and Cobra systems assponsors. There's an opening for an overallsponsor like a car manufacturer, Altheim says,because "this is a great vehicle for them to acti-vate their product."

For those whose “product” is traditionaltennis, it's also a great vehicle. And, yes, BeachTennis USA can refer sand suppliers for thoseland-locked.

Frequent tennis player Liza Horan is

the editor and founder of

TENNISWIRE.org, an industry news

site, and president of the U.S. Ten-

nis Writers’ Association.

ANDservice return

n our last customer-service article (June2006, page 34), we were gearing upto kick off a big spring/summer with

some new techniques and ideas. Now weare hot, dehydrated, with the farmer-tanin full bloom, and hopefully taking goodcare of our clientele. Well, take care ofyourselves, too, because, with just a littletweaking, you are going to be diving rightinto a record-setting fall and winter pro-gram!

Let’s get started with part two in thisseries. The following ideas will be keyingredients to help you create an environ-ment that will grow new customers andkeep existing customers, so that they willspend their fitness and fun dollars withyou.

In addition, you will create an environ-ment that will be a fun and rewardingplace to work. Without fun, happy staffmembers, running a successful, customer-friendly tennis business is nearly impossi-ble.

Back in June, we mainly focused onthe key traits that describe today’sactive/fitness consumers. These traits tellus who our clientele is and what theirneeds are. Now, we are going to tacklemaybe the most difficult, complex, and, inmy opinion, most important part of cus-tomer service: The Essentials.

The Essentials are key “foundational”business and personal principles thatmake up you—Ms. or Mr. Professional—your staff, and your business. The Essen-tials involve “landscaping” and“manscaping.”

LANDSCAPINGI’m not just talking about the lawn andbushes here. I’m assuming that you havethat part all green and clean. You mustknow that the No. 1 thing that peoplecare about in the places they shop,according to more than one study, is …cleanliness.

That probably wasn’t hard to figureout, but how clean is your place? Now,you’ve walked into your pro shop door somany times you may be numb to thepizza boxes, odor, dirty carpet, and deadplant in the corner. Look at it with a freshset of eyes and see where you can take itup another level!

Did you know that people form 11impressions of you and your businesswithin the first seven seconds when they

enter your facility or shop? It’s known asthe “7-11 Rule.” And “cleanliness” is thefirst thing they look for.

The other impressions they quicklynote about you and your business are:attractiveness, creditable, knowledgeable,responsive, friendly, helpful, empathetic,courteous, confident, and professional.Once they take all this in—in those criticalfirst seven seconds—they make one ofthree decisions: they either like you, areindifferent to you, or dislike you.

But did you know the 7-11 Ruleapplies to the phone, too? Think aboutthe other businesses you call; I’m sure youform a number of impressions yourself,whether you talk to a person or amachine. Sometimes it can be a greatexperience; many times it is not!

Harvey Mackay, author of Swimmingwith the Sharks Without Being Eaten Aliveand a tennis player, reserves the right tohire only one person in his business—thereceptionist. This is a huge issue that youmust not take for granted. Some of usmay not be able to hire shop staff andmust rely on an answering machine, andthat’s fine. It may even be better; you canbe assured that the “voice of your busi-ness” is always friendly, knowledgeable,and upbeat, and that the people on theother end can hear the “smile” in yourvoice. If you are able to hire a live body toanswer phones, make sure each of thequalities listed above are “part of thedeal” when they take on that role.

Now that everyone loves how clean,neat, and safe your place is, do you treatthem to something special when theycome in? What generosity do you showyour clients? Cookies, coffee, andGatorade are all pretty easy to do. Somefancy places vacuum the cars when theirplayers come and play. Find your gener-ous spirit and add some value to theexperience of those who trust their limitedtime and money with you and your staff.


3

B Y M I K E C A R T E R

I

Set the Stage to MakeYour Customer Service Shine

Have An“OptionSeven”There was anemail goingaround severalyears agoabout a bankand its uniquevoice-mail system. When you called thenumber, it sounded like any normal, well-organized system offering different optionsfor you to push depending on what serviceyou needed. But when you got to OptionSeven, the friendly voice asked if you want-ed to hear a duck quack. That’s right, if youpushed 7, you heard a duck quack! Nowthe employees at this bank could havebeen chained to their desks in the base-ment for all I knew. But my impressionswere that this was a fun place to work anda great place to do business. What is yourOption Seven?

MANSCAPINGI may start to sound a little like yourmother here, but this is important—youmay not be as handsome as James Blake,but you can wear a clean and pressedshirt with the best of them. Manscapingis about hygiene, people! It is semi-easybecause it’s totally under the control ofthe individual, but it can be tricky, too,because it is personal. You make the call,but some of you and your staff try to getby without making enough of an effortto look professional, and it can cost youand your business.

Stand closer to that razor and breakout that iron before you go to work everyday. Face it, we all act differently and feeldifferently when we are dressed nicely, asopposed to when we are walking aroundthe house in our boxers with bed head.Check yourself and the staff and see ifsome “improvements” need to be made.

Lastly, your smile may not be as blind-ing as Cameron Diaz’s, but you have one,you can use it, and it will be effective. Iheard someone say that your businessgoes in the direction of the corners ofyour mouth! We all need to increase oursmile ratio by 50 percent. In fact, JohnNewcombe used to make himself smilewhen he was angry on court. It is power-ful enough to change your mood and themood of others around you.

OK, there you have it. The lesson hereis to Landscape and Manscape yourself tohuge success on and off the court.

Remember this old theater adage: “Adramatic setting will create a dramaticperformance.” When you create the per-fect setting, you will create an environ-ment in which your employees willactually enjoy working and people willwant to spend their time and theirmoney. �


Mike Carter has been a certi-fied tennis teaching pro withthe PTR and USPTA for morethan 20 years. For the past 14years, he has worked to pro-mote and develop the sportfor the USTA Texas Section. A

guest speaker at tennis conventions, sympo-siums, and training seminars, Carter was rec-ognized by Tennis Industry Magazine in1997 as one of the Top 25 Unsung Heroesof Tennis.


A CLASSROOMThis indoor award winner is alone at the top.

There was only one winner in last year’s Indoor TennisFacility category for the Racquet Sports Industry/AmericanSports Builders Association’s Facility-of-the-Year Awards.

But it was a grand project: Seven existing outdoor courts onthe roof deck of a recreational center at Emory University inAtlanta were converted to six cushioned hard courts inside anew metal frame building—on top of the same center.

In addition to the six courts, the enclosed space alsoincludes offices, bathrooms, workout areas, and aerobicsrooms. Plus, a two-court unit was designed for volleyball andbasketball use during the off-season.

The existing roof deck, which was leaking, consisted oftwo layers of concrete with insulation and a waterproof mem-brane in between. For the new construction, everything wasremoved down to the lower layer of concrete and new water-proofing and insulation was installed, and a new top layer ofconcrete was poured. Then the new metal building frame wasinstalled on top of the structure. Since the building belowremained occupied during construction, most of the materialsneeded to be lifted onto the deck with large cranes.

The result, though, is a new indoor facility that is at the topof its class. —Peter Francesconi

Indoor Tennis Facility at Emory UniversityAtlanta, Ga.(Nominated by Lower Brothers Co. Inc., Birmingham, Ala.)Contractor: Lower Brothers Co.Surface: Plexicushion/California Products Corp.Nets, Net Posts, Backdrop Curtains: J.A. Cissel

For more on the ASBA and the Outstanding Tennis Facility Awards,contact 866-501-ASBA or [email protected], or visitwww.sportsbuilders.org. Watch for the 2006 winners in an upcomingissue of RSI.

R S I / A S B A 2 0 0 5 F A C I L I T Y - O F - T H E - Y E A R A W A R D S

A CLASSROOM


G U I D E T O S T R I N G S

trings can make all the difference in the world for your customers. Tohelp them, you need to know their current string, racquet, style of

play, and what they’d like to achieve by changing to a different string. Buthow do you find the right string to fit the resulting profile? That’s wherewe come in.

We’ve tested virtually every string on the U.S. mar-ket today (478* from 31 manufacturers) for stiffnessand tension loss and present the results here in the2006 String Selector Map and on the web(www.racquettech.com) in the new String SelectorTool (see facing page) that allows you to plug in spe-cific criteria to find exactly the string you need, in sec-onds!

This data can be invaluable to your image of pro-fessionalism and to your customer’s satisfaction andreturn business.

Here’s a brief look at how we generated the num-bers and what they mean.

Anatomy of a String TestWe collect a large amount of data on every string through our testing pro-cedure. Each string is hit with a hammer (photo above), which impactswith a force equal to that experienced by a string during a 120 mph serve.The event is measured with precise electronic equipment and the results

S are fed onto a computer oscilloscope.Measurements from the oscilloscope and a separate controller provide

all the raw data for the formulas that calculate the results reported hereand on the new String Selector Tool at www.racquettech.com. Each stringhas a different oscilloscope fingerprint, but all strings of a given material

bear a strong family resemblance.The graph below shows a typical oscilloscope

tracing of an impact. Notice the hammer continuous-ly decelerating (the 2 millimeters from peak to peakon the red tracing take longer and longer), coming toa stop, and then accelerating to take-off. The outgo-ing speed of the hammer is typically 2 percent to 3percent slower than the incoming speed, no matterthe string. Tennis string is a very efficient energy stor-age and return device.

But ultimately, it is the string’s stiffness thatcounts. Stiffer strings take in less energy (more goesinto deforming the ball), and thus give back less, even

though they are always giving back all but a couple of percent of what theytook in. The strings remain as efficient as ever, but the interaction with theball is what matters.

Softer strings will have less shock and more innate power; stiffer stringswill have more shock and less innate power, but you can therefore swinga bit faster to add more spin and player-generated power.

A: Starting tension= 22.55 kg (49.6 lbs)

B: End tension = 22.23(48.9 lbs) (impact loss of.22 kg or 0.48 lbs)

C: Maximum tension duringimpact = 40 kg (88 lbs).

D: Tension rise during impact= 17.77 kg (39.1 lbs)

E to F: String deflectionduring impact = 28.2 mm;Duration of deflection =15.83 ms

F to G: String return =28.2 mm; Duration ofejection = 16.02 ms(outgoing speed = 98.8%speed of incoming)

E to G: Total impactduration = 32.06 ms

STRING SELECTORMAP 2006STRING SELECTORMAP 2006Our exclusive tests of every string on the market will help youchoose the right product for your customers. BY CRAWFORD L INDS EY

*Note: hybrids are not specifically indicated, though the separate mains and crosses composing them are.

Deflection

The Geographyof “Feel”

Finding Your “Feel Good” Location


� To find the string that goes withthe dot, note the dot's coordinatesand look them up in the table.

� Find your current string:• If you like it, dots in theneighborhood (i.e., close ver-tical axes to right or left) willlikely play similar (perhapswith better durability andcost).

• If you don't like it, move outof the neighborhood (i.e., ver-tical axes farther to right orleft).

• If you like the feel but itdoesn't last, choose a stringfarther down on the sameaxis.

� Stiffness (horizontal axis) is theMOST important factor in string“feel.”

� The amount of tension loss affectsthe consistency of that feel.

� “Consistency” is relative anddepends on player sensitivity, stringdurability, and amount and styleof play.

� Hard hitters lose more tension thanlight hitters.

� Softer strings are to the left, stifferstrings to the right.

� Strings that lose more tension areat the top; those that lose less areat the bottom.

� All strings on the same vertical lineshould feel about the same, no mat-ter the tension.

� All strings at different locations onthe same horizontal line will feeldifferent from each other.

� Stringbed power increases to theleft.

� Player supplied power increases tothe right.

� Stringbed control increases to theright.

� “Arm friendly” strings are to theleft.

� “Feedback” intensity (shock)increases to right.

� Feel consistency over time tends toincrease toward the bottom.Test Procedure. All strings were tensioned to 62 pounds and allowed to sit for 200 seconds. Then

the string was hit five times with a force equivalent to hitting a 120 mph serve. The tension loss represents thetotal amount of the relaxation over both time and impact. The stiffness value is a calculation derived from theamount of force created at impact to stretch the string. Lower values represent softer strings and lower impactforces. Higher values represent stiffer strings and higher impact forces.

Hybrids: to look up a hybrid combination, youmust look up each string separately. If it is apre-packaged hybrid, most packaging indi-cates the name of each string.

Try Racquettech.com’s New String Selector ToolThe exclusive, new String Selector Tool at www.racquettech.com allows you to choose your cur-rent string from a list of nearly 500 strings. Then it prompts you to indicate what you would likedifferent in a new string, and then shows you every string on the market that meets your crite-ria. You can sort your results by any combinationof two variables, and you can choose from asmany as five subgroups of results data.

R


Head IntelliString17 cross (RIP Feel) Polyolefin 1.28 136 15.14Head IntelliTour 17 cross (RIP Feel) Polyolefin 1.28 136 15.14Iso-Speed Platinum 16 (cross) Polyolefin 1.27 138 16.62Head Protector 16 cross (RIP Comfort) Polyolefin 1.31 140 15.77Head IntelliTour 16 cross (RIP Feel) Polyolefin 1.33 143 14.77Gamma Live Wire Professional 18 Nylon / Zyex 1.22 144 15.15Ashaway Dynamite 17 Zyex / Nylon 1.24 147 13.72Isospeed Professional 17 Polyolefin 1.27 152 15.06Head Protector 16 main (RIP Protect)Polyolefin / Nylon 1.32 163 11.57Ashaway Dynamite WB 16 Zyex / Nylon 1.37 165 13.21Iso-Speed Platinum 16 (main) Polyolefin / Nylon 1.32 165 12.46Wilson Reaction 18 Nylon 1.20 165 12.81Gamma Live Wire Professional 17 Nylon / Zyex 1.29 168 12.37Forten Ti-Blend Cross 16 Nylon 1.32 171 13.56Gamma Live Wire Professional 16 Nylon / Zyex 1.33 174 13.28Alpha Axiom 16 Nylon 1.32 175 12.67Gamma Prodigy 17 Nylon 1.25 175 11.16Pacific Power Twist 16L Nylon 1.29 175 13.01Prince Premier w/softflex 17 Nylon 1.25 175 11.97Wilson Reaction 17 Nylon 1.27 175 12Head Synthetic Gut PPS 18 Nylon 1.16 176 11.93Prince Premier w/Softflex 16 Nylon 1.31 176 11.97Fischer Comfort 16 Nylon 1.33 177 17.44Head IntelliTour 17 main (RIP Tour) Nylon / Polyolefin 1.30 177 10.87Head IntelliString 16L main (RIP Power)Nylon / Polyolefin 1.32 178 10.91Head RIP Control 17 Nylon / Polyolefin 1.28 178 10.25Pacific Power Twist 16 Nylon 1.35 179 11.78Head FiberGel Power 17 Nylon 1.26 180 12.28Head Perfect Power 16 Nylon 1.35 180 11.84Iso-Speed Energetic Plus 16 Nylon / Polyolefin 1.32 180 10.41Gamma Prodigy 16 Nylon 1.30 181 11.67Head FXP Power 17 Nylon 1.25 181 13.37Head IntelliTour 16 main (RIP Tour)Nylon / Polyolefin 1.37 181 11.51Tecnifibre NRG2 18 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.17 181 9.86Tecnifibre X-One Biphase 1.18 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.19 181 8.96Wilson Reaction 16 Nylon 1.30 181 11Babolat Xcel Premium 17 Nylon 1.25 182 10.01Gamma ESP 17 Nylon 1.28 182 12.68Prince Sweet Perfection 17 Nylon 1.25 182 14Tecnifibre 515 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.27 182 13.05Blue Star Laser 130 16 Nylon 1.31 183 10.94Klip Venom 17 Nylon 1.26 183 12.46Velociti Plus 16 Nylon 1.31 183 12.65Velociti Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.21 183 13.21Alpha Firecable 16 Nylon / Polyester 1.31 184 14.73Forten Tiegut 16 Nylon 1.32 184 12.08Head RIP Control 16 Nylon / Polyolefin 1.38 184 11.02Pacific PMX 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.33 184 10.8Head Perfect Control 16 Nylon 1.38 185 10.7Head RIP Ti.Fiber 16 Nylon 1.33 185 11.23Velociti Plus 17 Nylon 1.26 185 13.63Yonex Tough Brid 125 Nylon / Vectran 1.35 185 12.02Babolat Attraction Power 17 Nylon 1.26 186 9.84Babolat Syntronic Brio 17 Nylon 1.25 186 10.41Blue Star Fibergut XL 15L Nylon 1.39 186 11.71Blue Star Stargut 16 Nylon 1.36 186 12.94Gamma ESP 16 Nylon 1.32 186 12.64Gamma Revelation 17 Nylon 1.26 186 13.08Volkl Power-Fiber II 17 Nylon 1.25 186 12.2Wilson Stamina Spin 16 Nylon 1.29 186 12.68Alpha Gut 2000 Nylon 1.33 187 11.23Babolat Xcel Premium 16 Nylon 1.31 187 10.12Gamma Gut 2 16 Nylon 1.34 187 12Prince Sweet Perfection 16 Nylon 1.31 187 13.05Gamma Live Wire 17 Nylon / Zyex 1.24 188 13.74Prince Lightning XX w/ Powerfoil 16 Nylon / Polyester 1.32 188 10.96Silent Partner Filament Frenzy 16 Nylon 1.31 188 11.55Yonex Tour Super 880 Ti Soft 16L Nylon 1.28 188 9.77Alpha Element 16 Nylon 1.32 189 10.89Babolat Attraction 16 Nylon 1.30 189 10.03Head FiberGel Power 16 Nylon 1.31 189 11.62

Head RIP Ti.Fiber 17 Nylon / Polyolefin 1.23 189 10.56Pacific Futura TXT 16L Nylon 1.29 189 11.16Tecnifibre Multifeel 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 189 9.81Volkl Power-Fiber II 18 Nylon 1.19 189 10.39Wilson Reaction 15L Nylon 1.35 189 10.94Ashaway Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.26 190 14.93Gamma Live Wire 16 Nylon / Zyex 1.31 190 12.87Gamma Live Wire XP 16 Nylon / Zyex 1.32 190 12.04Gosen OG-Sheep Micro 18 Nylon 1.19 190 12.28Head Synthetic Gut PPS 17 Nylon 1.22 190 11.38Kirschbaum Touch Multifibre 1.25 Nylon 1.25 190 11.2Klip Kicker 17 Nylon 1.24 190 11.68Tecnifibre NRG2 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.24 190 9.55Unique Tournafiber Irradiated 17 Nylon 1.27 190 11.62Yonex Tour Super 850 16 Nylon 1.31 190 10.89Gamma Live Wire XP 17 Nylon / Zyex 1.25 191 12.35Gamma TNT Fat Core 17 Nylon 1.27 191 13.36Gamma TNT2 Rx 17 Nylon 1.26 191 10.96Gamma TNT2 Pro Plus 17L Nylon 1.25 192 12.74Kirschbaum Touch MultiFibre 1.30 Nylon 1.31 192 14.07PowerAngle Duo-Color TNT 17 Nylon 1.20 192 12.01Prince Lightning XX w/ Powerfoil 17 Nylon / Polyester 1.24 192 10.94Tecnifibre X-One Biphase 1.24 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.28 192 10.12Tecnifibre X-One Biphase 1.30 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.31 192 10.08Forten Omni Spin 15L Nylon 1.37 193 12.44Gosen OG-Sheep Micro Super 17 Nylon 1.24 193 11.51Tecnifibre Multifeel 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.27 193 9.92Tecnifibre TRC 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.25 193 11.2Wilson NXT 17 Nylon 1.24 193 12.99Wilson W Reflection16 Nylon 1.31 193 12.7Alpha Claycourt Plus 16 Nylon 1.32 194 13.8Ashaway Liberty 16 Nylon 1.33 194 12.9Babolat FiberTour 16 Nylon 1.32 194 10.45Forten Sweet 17 Nylon 1.27 194 12.62Gamma TNT Fat Core 16 Nylon 1.31 194 12.77Head FXP 17 Nylon / Polyester 1.25 194 10.59Klip Venom 16 Nylon 1.32 194 9.96Prince Lightning Power w/ Powerfoil 17Nylon / Polyester 1.25 194 11.4Prince Lightning XX 16 Nylon 1.29 194 10.76Silent Partner Ultimatum 18 Nylon 1.19 194 12.04Tecnifibre Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.27 194 13.96Volkl Power-Fiber II 16 Nylon 1.30 194 11.2Yonex Tournament 80 Spin 15L Nylon / Vectran 1.35 194 11.33Gamma TNT2 Ruff 16 Nylon 1.52 195 11.95Klip Excellerator 16 Nylon 1.30 195 11.44Klip Excellerator 17 Nylon 1.30 195 11.66Unique Tournafiber SpinPlus 16 Nylon 1.32 195 11.14Volkl Power-Fiber 18 Nylon 1.19 195 9.57Alpha Prodigy 16 Nylon 1.32 196 11.95Ashaway Liberty L15 Nylon 1.41 196 16.25Gamma TNT2 Pro Plus 16 Nylon 1.32 196 11.16Gosen Super Tec AK Speed 17 Nylon 1.24 196 10.87Head Synthetic Gut PPS 16 Nylon 1.31 196 11.69Pacific Space Power TX 16L Nylon 1.31 196 12.26Yonex Tour Super 850 Pro 16 Nylon 1.34 196 11.13Babolat Syntronic Brio 16 Nylon 1.34 197 10.52Dunlop M-Fil Tour 16 Nylon 1.33 197 11.87Forten Spin Gear 15 Nylon 1.43 197 11.22Gamma Revelation 16 Nylon / Zyex 1.32 197 11.88Tecnifibre NRG2 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.31 197 8.05Wilson Sensation 17 Nylon 1.25 197 11.91Ashaway Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.34 198 12.12Blue Star Original 15L Nylon 1.43 198 13.92Forten Dynamix 18 Nylon 1.21 198 13.01Head FiberGel 16 Nylon 1.34 198 11.97Pacific Premium Power X 16L Nylon 1.29 198 12.74Velociti Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.30 198 12.88Wilson NXT 16 Nylon 1.30 198 10.69Yonex Tournament 50 16L Nylon 1.29 198 11.53Dunlop Max Comfort 17 Nylon 1.23 199 11.78Gosen OG-Sheep Micro 17 Nylon 1.24 199 12.35

Stiff- Tension Stiff- TensionCompany String Material Gauge ness Loss Company String Material Gauge ness Loss

(lb/in.) (lbs) (lb/in.) (lbs)

Nylon, Zyex, & Polyolefin (Sorted by Stiffness)


Prince Tournament Nylon 15L Nylon 1.40 199 13.19Pro Kennex IQ-Elite 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.29 199 11.42Tecnifibre 515 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.35 199 10.58Wilson NXT OS 16L Nylon 1.32 199 10.43Yonex Tough Brid 130 Nylon / Vectran 1.40 199 11.9Babolat Xcel Premium 15L Nylon 1.39 200 10.17Bow Brand Micro Tournament 17 Nylon 1.24 200 12.5Dunlop Max Comfort 16 Nylon 1.32 200 11.07Pacific Power Line 1 17 Nylon 1.33 200 11.54Pacific Power Line 16 Nylon 1.34 200 11.38Wilson Stamina 18 Nylon 1.22 200 9.81Blue Star Focus 130 16 Nylon 1.33 201 10.76Bow Brand t2000 15L Nylon 1.37 201 11.38Forten Dynamix 15L Nylon 1.33 201 11.82Forten Ti-Blend Main 16 Nylon 1.34 201 12.57Silent Partner Ultimatum 17 Nylon 1.28 201 12.66Wilson Staminia Spin 15L Nylon 1.38 201 12.15Alpha Sensor Fibre 16 Nylon 1.35 202 11.02Gamma Challenger 17 Nylon 1.27 202 11.33Gamma Gut 3 17 Nylon 1.25 202 10.09Klip Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.25 202 12.87Pacific Premium Power X 16 Nylon 1.33 202 13.67Pro Kennex IQ-Qualifier 16 Nylon 1.31 202 12.96Gamma Synthetic Gut 17 w/Wearguard Nylon 1.26 203 9.15Gamma Synthetic Gut w/Weargurard 18 Nylon 1.21 203 9.68Gamma TNT2 Rx 16 Nylon 1.36 203 9.81Gosen OG-Sheep Micro 16 Nylon 1.29 203 12.96Kirschbaum Touch Classic 1.25 Nylon 1.24 203 11.23Kirschbaum Touch Classic 1.30 Nylon 1.30 203 10.94Klip Screamer Titanium 16 Nylon / Titanium 1.30 203 12.54Prince Lightning Power w/ Powerfoil 16Nylon / Polyester 1.31 203 9.95Prince Synthetic Gut 18 w/Duraflex Nylon 1.20 203 11.51Wilson NXT Tour 17 Nylon 1.27 203 12.46Forten Sweet 15 Nylon 1.36 204 11.55Gamma Dura Spin 15L Nylon 1.37 204 9.63Gamma Synthetic Gut 16 w/Wearguard Nylon 1.31 204 10.03Gamma Zo Plus 16L Nylon 1.32 204 13.56Gosen OG Sheep Micro Super 16 Nylon 1.30 204 11.29Klip Excellerator 15L Nylon 1.34 204 12.68Pacific Syntec 16L Nylon 1.32 204 12.37Silent Partner Head Spin 15L Nylon 1.38 204 13.18Silent Partner Titanium 16 Nylon 1.32 204 13.19Unique Tournafiber Irradiated 16 Nylon 1.33 204 11.44Unique Tournafiber Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.22 204 11.31Dunlop Tour Performance 16 Nylon 1.34 205 10.85Fischer Tournament Pro 16 Nylon 1.36 205 13.54Forten Dynamix 17 Nylon 1.26 205 11.14Gosen Micro 16 Nylon 1.31 205 10.94Gosen OG-Sheep Micro Spin 15L Nylon 1.35 205 10.25Head Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.29 205 11.27Pacific Power Spin 16 Nylon 1.38 205 12.48Wilson Extreme Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.28 205 10.3Wilson Supreme 17 Nylon 1.29 205 11.07Bow Brand Ballistic 15L Nylon 1.35 206 10.59Klip Scorcher 17 Nylon 1.27 206 13.51Silent Partner Ultimatum 16 Nylon 1.33 206 12.81Tecnifibre TRC 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.31 206 10.5Velociti Synthetic Gut 15L Nylon 1.35 206 10.83Pacific Futura TXT 16 Nylon 1.39 207 11.51Prince Lightning XX 17 Nylon 1.26 207 9.68Silent Partner Original Syn 16 Nylon 1.33 207 13.89Babolat Superfine Play 17 Nylon 1.25 208 11.49Bow Brand Synthetic Gut XT 16 Nylon 1.33 208 10.85Forten Dynamix 16 Nylon 1.34 208 10.95Kirschbaum Touch Titanium 1.30 Nylon / Titanium 1.30 208 12.11Klip Scorcher 16 Nylon 1.31 208 12.83Wilson NXT Max 15L Nylon 1.35 208 9.88Wilson Supreme 16 Nylon 1.32 208 10.34Gamma Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.26 209 11.51Gamma TNT2 17 Nylon 1.27 209 9.85

Head FXP 16 Nylon / Polyester 1.34 209 10.83Klip Kicker 16 Nylon 1.32 209 12.55Prince Synthetic Gut 15L w/Duraflex Nylon 1.35 209 11.13Prince Topspin 15L Nylon 1.30 209 11.92Prince Topspin Plus 16 Nylon 1.29 209 10.06Wilson NXT Tour 18 Nylon 1.24 209 9.53Wilson Sensation 16 Nylon 1.32 209 11.55Wilson Stamina 17 Nylon 1.25 209 9.68Babolat Superfine Play 16 Nylon 1.32 210 12.76Bow Brand Tournament 16L Nylon 1.32 210 11.97Gamma TNT2 16 Nylon 1.31 210 10.34Head Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.24 210 11.27Tecnifibre Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.34 210 12.7Wilson Extreme Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.25 210 10.39Babolat Powergy 16 Nylon 1.34 211 13.1Forten Competition Nylon 15L Nylon 1.41 211 10.89Gamma Marathon DPC 16 Nylon 1.32 211 11.51Gosen Tecgut Super Tec AK Speed 16 Nylon 1.32 211 10.45Unique Tournafiber Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.34 211 12.76Wilson NXT Max 16 Nylon 1.34 211 9.71Alpha Viper 16 Nylon 1.29 212 12.35Forten Sweet 16 Nylon 1.33 212 10.78Gosen OG-Sheep Micro Super JC 16 Nylon 1.3 212 11.05Gosen Tecgut Super Tec Ak Pro 16 Nylon 1.34 212 11.64Prince Synthetic Gut 17 w/Duraflex Nylon 1.26 212 10.69Prince Synthetic Gut 16 w/Duraflex Nylon 1.30 213 12.04RAB Endura Classic Nylon 16 Nylon 1.32 213 11.62Babolat Razor Spin 16 Nylon 1.30 214 13.76Gamma TNT2 18 Nylon 1.18 214 11.05Klip Synthetic Gut 15L Nylon 1.37 214 13.76Klip Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.33 214 10.98Prince Synthetic Gut Original 17 Nylon 1.24 214 10.59Dunlop Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.31 215 13.21Gamma Ruff 16 Nylon 1.48 215 11.33Gamma Synthetic Gut 15L w/Weargurad Nylon 1.38 215 11.18Klip Twister 15L Nylon 1.43 215 12.53Unique Tournafiber Nylon 16 Nylon 1.32 215 12.33Alpha Sphere 16 Nylon 1.31 216 14.88Pacific Dura Tech 16 Nylon / Aramid 1.32 216 12.85Pacific Syntec 16 Nylon 1.37 216 12.15Babolat Conquest 16 Nylon 1.33 217 14.99Gamma Challenger 16 Nylon 1.32 217 10.95Gamma Dura Spin w/ Wearguard 16 Nylon 1.37 217 8.95Gosen Nanocubic 16 Nylon 1.32 217 10.81Prince Synthetic Gut Original 16 Nylon 1.30 217 11.67Babolat Conquest 17 Nylon 1.27 218 12.64Babolat Conquest Ti 16 Nylon 1.33 218 16.23Bow Brand Calibre 15L Nylon 1.36 218 12.28Bow Brand Super Pro 15L Nylon 1.43 218 11.42Gamma Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.30 218 9.86Gosen OG-Sheep Proform Tuff 15L Nylon 1.38 218 11.16Wilson Ultra Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.32 218 10.28Dunlop Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.24 219 10.04Gamma Marathon DPC 15L Nylon 1.44 219 10.8Gamma XL 16 Nylon 1.29 219 11.4Head Master 15L Nylon 1.39 219 11.58Wilson NXT Tour 16 Nylon 1.31 219 8.98Wilson Stamina 16 Nylon 1.32 219 10.1Gamma Synthetic Gut 18 Nylon 1.22 221 10.14Gosen Tecgut Power 16 Nylon 1.31 221 14.58Head Master 16L Nylon 1.31 221 9.57Bow Brand Superspin 1.33 Nylon 1.43 222 11.29Gamma Dura Spin 16 Nylon 1.39 223 8.93Fischer Pro Number One 16 Nylon 1.32 224 12.66Gamma Synthetic Gut 15L Nylon 1.37 224 11.42Gamma Advantage 15L Nylon 1.39 227 9.9Gamma Marathon DPC 17 Nylon 1.27 228 9.42Gamma Dura Spin 15L Nylon 1.41 230 10.23Ashaway MonoGut 17 Nylon 1.22 233 20.2Ashaway MonoGut 16L Nylon 1.27 242 19.4



Nylon, Zyex, & Polyolefin (Sorted by Stiffness) Cont.


Polyester (Sorted by Stiffness)Stiff- Tension Stiff- Tension

Company String Material Gauge ness Loss Company String Material Gauge ness Loss(lb/in.) (lbs) (lb/in.) (lbs)

Babolat Pro Hurricane 18 Polyester 1.21 187 22.29Tecnifibre Promix 1.25 Polyester 1.27 199 13.72Pacific Poly Power 18 Polyester 1.09 201 21.17Tecnifibre Promix 1.30 Polyester 1.29 204 14.99Gosen Polylon Comfort 17 Polyester 1.26 215 19.91Gosen Polylon SP 17 Polyester 1.25 215 20.7Pro Kennex IQ Poly XT 17 Polyester 1.22 217 20.05Kirschbaum Competition 1.20 Polyester 1.19 219 19.09Signum Pro Poly-Duluxe 1.22 Polyester 1.20 220 19.11Klip K-Boom 18 Polyester 1.19 223 18.88Gamma Zo True 18 Polyester 1.13 224 17.55Wilson Enduro Pro 18 Polyester 1.21 224 17.02Babolat Pro Hurricane 17 Polyester 1.25 226 16.83Toalson Thermaxe 123 Polyester 1.23 226 17.97Kirschbaum P2 1.20 Polyester 1.18 227 18.1Pro Kennex IQ Poly XT 16L Polyester 1.23 227 19.29Signum Pro Poly Megaforce 1.19 Polyester 1.19 227 16.67Kirschbaum Turbo Touch 1.25 Polyester 1.25 229 21.41Silent Partner Roly Poly 17 Polyester 1.27 229 19.62Pacific Poly Soft 16 Polyester 1.29 231 19.16Unique Tourna Poly Big Hitter 17 Polyester 1.26 231 18.15Luxilon Big Banger Ace 18 Polyester 1.16 232 17.05Yonex Tough Brid 125 (main) Polyester 1.24 232 20.95Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.23 Polyester 1.25 233 17.48Signum Pro Poly-Deluxe 1.30 Polyester 1.24 233 18.31Signum Pro Poly-Power 1.30 Polyester 1.32 233 19.58Klip K-Boom 17 Polyester 1.23 234 17.99Volkl V-Rex 16L Polyester 1.24 234 18.32Gosen Polylon SP 16 Polyester 1.29 235 21.06Kirschbaum Competition 1.25 Polyester 1.28 235 19.07Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.20 Polyester 1.21 235 19.98Signum Pro Poly-Special 1.25 Polyester 1.23 235 20.64Tecnifibre Pro Red Cone 17 Polyester 1.26 235 16.27Topspin Polypolar 1.30 Polyester 1.28 235 24.72RAB Endura Classic Poly 1.27 Polyester 1.29 236 20.26Signum Pro Poly-Fiber Titan 1.25 Polyester 1.26 236 24.1Forten Pro Select 17 Polyester 1.20 238 18.92Pacific Poly Dura 15L Polyester 1.34 238 22.32Gamma Zo Power 16L Polyester 1.20 239 17.29Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.18 Polyester 1.19 239 15.65Wilson Enduro Pro 17 Polyester 1.25 239 15.77Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power Rough 16LPolyester 1.25 240 18.98Luxilon Monotec Zolo Rough 16L Polyester 1.25 240 19.56Topspin Cyber Flash 1.25 Polyester 1.23 240 15.54Babolat Pro Hurricane 16 Polyester 1.31 241 13.61Forten Poly-Blast 17 Polyester 1.23 241 18.41Luxilon Big Banger TiMO 18 Polyester 1.15 241 16.91Luxilon Monotec Zolo 18 Polyester 1.25 241 17.86Pacific Poly Power 15L Polyester 1.33 241 24.83Pacific Poly Spin 16L Polyester 1.25 241 19.12Unique Tourna Poly Big Hitter 16 Polyester 1.29 241 17.62Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power 16L Polyester 1.23 242 17.13Signum Pro Poly-Fiber Titan 1.30 Polyester 1.30 242 24.89Kirschbaum Touch Turbo 1.30 Polyester 1.30 243 19.58Klip Hardcore 17 Polyester 1.24 243 17.05Luxilon Big Banger XP 16L Polyester 1.25 243 17.78Luxilon Monotec Zolo 16L Polyester 1.24 243 17.64Signum Pro Poly-Power 1.20 Polyester 1.20 243 19.5Signum Pro Poly-Special 1.30 Polyester 1.28 243 20.33Alpha Vengence 16L Polyester 1.29 244 22.05Babolat Ballistic Polymono 17 Polyester 1.25 244 20.89Signum Pro Poly-Speed Excl. 1.25 Polyester 1.27 244 19.56Pacific PolySpin 16 Polyester 1.32 245 20.29Prince Polygut 16 Polyester 1.31 246 20.09Prince Polygut 17 Polyester 1.24 246 21.52Signum Pro Plasma Hextreme 1.25 Polyester 1.25 246 16.23Kirschbaum Competition 1.30 Polyester 1.30 247 18.5Signum Pro Poly-Power 1.25 Polyester 1.26 247 17.88Yonex Tough Brid 130 (main) Polyester 1.30 247 22.42

RAB MonoFlex 16L Polyester 1.26 248 17.95Gosen Polylon 17 Polyester 1.24 249 19.52Luxilon Big Banger Original 16 Polyester 1.28 249 17.11Prince Tour 17 Polyester 1.25 249 21.37Tecnifibre Polyspin 1.275 Polyester 1.27 249 19.87Luxilon Monotec Supersense 16L Polyester 1.26 250 19.21Signum Pro Poly Speed Excl. 1.30 Polyester 1.30 250 19.63Signum Pro Poly-Power 1.35 Polyester 1.35 250 19.38Toalson Thermaxe 130 Polyester 1.29 250 22.21Gamma Zo Life 16 Polyester 1.28 251 15.5Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.325 Polyester 1.33 252 20.75Signum Pro Poly-Deluxe 1.25 Polyester 1.32 252 17.4Forten Flexion 16L Polyester 1.24 254 15.53Gosen Polylon 16 Polyester 1.30 254 21.23Head UltraTour 17 Polyester 1.22 255 19.29Kirschbaum P2 1.275 Polyester 1.24 255 16.47Klip K-Boom 16 Polyester 1.31 255 16.96Yonex Poly Tour 125 16 Polyester 1.24 255 19.78Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour 17 Polyester 1.25 256 17.58Forten Flexion 16 Polyester 1.28 256 16.76Forten Intimidator 16 Polyester 1.30 256 17.91Gosen Polylon Comfort 16 Polyester 1.30 256 19.65Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky 1.25 Polyester 1.26 256 22.02Prince Tour 16 Polyester 1.28 256 21.57Signum Pro Plasma Hextreme 1.30 Polyester 1.29 256 16.63Alpha Polycable 16 Polyester 1.33 257 23.44Babolat Ballistic Polymono 16 Polyester 1.30 257 20.31Kirschbaum P2 1.25 Polyester 1.25 257 15.48Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.25 Polyester 1.25 257 19.55Signum Pro Poly Megaforce 1.24 Polyester 1.24 257 14.91Signum Pro Poly-Speed Excl. 1.35 Polyester 1.39 257 20Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky 1.275 Polyester 1.27 258 20.84Klip Hardcore 16 Polyester 1.27 258 19.42Signum Pro Poly Megaforce 1.29 Polyester 1.30 258 15.06Tecnifibre Pro Red Cone 16 Polyester 1.28 258 14.9Topspin Cyber Flash 1.30 Polyester 1.27 258 15.28Wilson Enduro Gold 16 Polyester 1.32 258 17.6Ashaway Monofire XL 17 Polyester 1.26 259 17.13Gamma Zo Sweet 17 Polyester 1.22 259 15.75Luxilon Big Banger LTS 16 Polyester 1.30 259 18.57Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.28 Polyester 1.27 260 15.98Wilson Enduro Pro 16 Polyester 1.30 260 14.33Luxilon Big Banger TiMO 17 Polyester 1.23 261 16.29Toalson Thermaxe 127 Polyester 1.27 261 18.99Pacific Force 17 Polyester 1.25 262 13.47Yonex Poly Tour 130 16 Polyester 1.32 262 19.65Fischer Poly Pro 17 Polyester 1.27 263 21.06Head UltraTour 16L Polyester 1.27 263 17.97Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.35 Polyester 1.37 263 19.36Gamma Dura Blast 17 Polyester 1.26 264 16.82Pacific Poly Power 16 Polyester 1.29 265 17.16Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.30 Polyester 1.29 266 19.58Luxilon Big Banger Original Rough 16 Polyester 1.28 266 19.21Gamma Zo True 17 Polyester 1.24 267 14.58Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour 16 Polyester 1.28 270 16.61Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.33 Polyester 1.34 270 14.26Unique Tourna Poly Premium 18 Polyester 1.21 271 15.39Kirschbaum P2 1.30 Polyester 1.30 273 15.74Ashaway Monofire XL 16 Polyester 1.29 278 16.14Signum Pro Poly Megaforce 1.34 Polyester 1.34 278 15.69Kirschbaum Long Life 1.38 Polyester 1.40 281 20.71Signum Pro Poly Speed Spin 1.28 Polyester 1.29 283 18Luxilon Monotec Super Poly 16 Polyester 1.25 288 17.28Signum Pro Poly Speed Spin 1.33 Polyester 1.32 289 18.34Luxilon Big Banger 5-Star 15L Polyester 1.37 290 17.94Pacific Poly Force 17 Polyester 1.24 294 13.41Gamma Dura Blast 16 Polyester 1.30 303 12.68Pacific Poly Force 16L Polyester 1.30 320 17.84

Ashaway Composite XL Pro 15 Kevlar 1.38 444 16.36Ashaway Composite XT Pro 16 Vectran 1.30 470 14.34Pacific PowerCraft 18 Kevlar / Nylon 1.10 508 14.67Forten New Age 18 Kevlar / Nylon 1.13 511 18.43Forten Aramid Composite 18 Kevlar / Nylon 1.11 516 15.04Forten Ultra Thin Blend 18 Kevlar 1.12 545 15.12Forten Thin Blend 18 Kevlar 1.15 557 14.33Wilson Hyperlast Spin 19 Technora 1.21 562 13.72Head RIP Blend 17 Kevlar 1.24 574 15.73Dunlop Max Touch 17 Kevlar 1.22 586 15.08Forten Aramid Composite 17 Kevlar / Nylon 1.17 597 11.27Pacific Aramid 16 Kevlar 1.27 601 12.17Forten Aramid Gear 16L Kevlar 1.42 610 10.43Forten Aramid Composite 16 Kevlar / Nylon 1.28 619 9.55Silent Partner Gutsy Aramid 17 Kevlar 1.15 623 11.38Forten Aramid Gear 15 Kevlar 1.45 627 11.84

Forten Sweet Aramid 16L Kevlar 1.27 632 11.6Gamma TNT2 Fusion Plus 19 Kevlar 1.23 640 17.33Gamma Infinity 17 Kevlar 1.24 641 20.57Gamma Infinity 18 Kevlar 1.17 641 17Ashaway Crossfire 18 Kevlar 1.08 671 27.21Gamma TNT2 Fusion Plus 16 Kevlar 1.28 674 16.36Gosen Aramix Pro 18 Kevlar 1.09 697 17.03Wilson Hyperlast 15 Technora 1.41 709 13.15Prince Problend 17 Kevlar 1.24 720 16.39Gamma Infinity 16 Kevlar 1.30 736 17.9Ashaway Crossfire 17 Kevlar 1.22 757 28.37Klip Atomic 16 Kevlar 1.29 758 28.36Forten Sweet Aramid 15L Kevlar 1.36 761 13.01Ashaway Crossfire II 16 Kevlar 1.29 764 26.68Gosen Aramix Pro 16 Kevlar 1.28 795 19.14Prince Pro Blend 16 Kevlar 1.30 981 15.88

Kevlar/Technora/Vectran (Sorted by Stiffness)Stiff- Tension Stiff- Tension

Company String Material Gauge ness Loss Company String Material Gauge ness Loss(lb/in.) (lbs) (lb/in.) (lbs)


Gut (Sorted by Stiffness)

Unique Tourna Gut 17 Natural Gut 1.22 84 8.75Pacific Tough Gut 16 Natural Gut 1.26 88 6.75Pacific Classic Gut 16L Natural Gut 1.28 92 6.39Pacific Prime Gut 16L Natural Gut 1.30 92 6.86Pacific Prime Gut 16 Natural Gut 1.28 97 5.75Grand Slam Gut Grand Slam Gut 15L (coated) Natural Gut 1.36 100 8.58Pacific Tough Gut 15 Natural Gut 1.37 100 7.37Babolat VS Team 17 Natural Gut 1.26 102 8.45Wilson Natural 16 Natural Gut 1.31 102 8.43Wilson Natural 17 Natural Gut 1.26 103 8.13Grand Slam Gut Grand Slam Gut 17 (uncoated) Natural Gut 1.28 105 7.87Klip Armour Pro 16 Natural Gut 1.30 105 7.43Klip Armour Pro 17 Natural Gut 1.28 105 7.7Pacific Prime Gut 17 Natural Gut 1.22 105 8.45

Pacific Classic Gut 16 Natural Gut 1.30 106 11.01Babolat VS Touch 16 Natural Gut 1.30 107 8.31Wilson Natural 15L Natural Gut 1.34 110 9.28Bow Brand Championship 16 Natural Gut 1.30 111 7.36Grand Slam Gut Grand Slam Gut 16 (coated) Natural Gut 1.41 113 9.28Klip Legend 1.30 Natural Gut 1.28 113 8.77Klip Legend 17 Natural Gut 1.27 113 9.31Babolat Tonic+ Ball Feel Natural Gut 1.35 114 8.84Prince Natural Gut 16 Natural Gut 1.31 114 8.49Bow Brand Championship 15L Natural Gut 1.34 116 8.53Babolat VS Touch 15L Natural Gut 1.35 118 8.68Babolat Tonic+ Longevity Natural Gut 1.38 119 9.26Unique Tourna Gut 16 Natural Gut 1.30 119 9.06Grand Slam Gut Grand Slam Gut 15L (uncoated) Natural Gut 1.48 129 11.22



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R A C Q U E T S P O R T S

COURTINGOTHER

SPORTST

ennis has a lot going for it: The sport is growing in par-ticipation, equipment sales, “play occasions,” exposureon TV, and pro tournament attendance. But at least two

other racquet sports—racquetball and squash—also appearto be finding their own levels. And while they may appealto a slightly different crowd than you see on a tennis court,consider the potential these customers may hold in helpingyour business.If you are a tennis retailer, it may not be too much of a

stretch to expand your product line to carry squash and rac-quetball equipment, too. If you have a tennis and fitness facil-ity, maybe it’s time to convert that fitness room back to aracquetball court.Racquetball and squash are fast, fun sports that provide full

workouts. “There aren’t too many sports you can play in 45minutes to an hour, get a complete workout, have fun doing it,and feel like you’re competing,” says Randy Stafford, the pres-ident of the board of directors for USA Racquetball. “There arelong rallies, and it’s very easy to play.”

RacquetballRacquetball was huge in the 1970s and ’80s, when it wasone of the few “fitness” activities out there. According tothe SGMA, there were nearly 10.5 million players in theU.S. in 1987. That number, though, steadily declined due tocompetition from other sports, and courts disappeared tomake room for ever-growing fitness and aerobics classes.“It may have seemed that racquetball was going downhill,”

says Jim Hiser, executive director of USA Racquetball. “But it

was probably just headed to a level where it should have beenall along.”Now, though, the sport appears to be holding its own. The

SGMA says there are nearly 5 million recreational players in theU.S., and Hiser says participation has increased about 12 per-cent in 2005. “In talking to people at clubs, they’ve noticedmore players using racquetball as a cross-training sport,” saysHiser.Key, too, are programs for junior players and high school

players across the country, says Hiser. Also, about 50 collegespromote racquetball.But perhaps even more encouraging is court construction.

“Right now, you have very large chain fitness clubs expandingaround the country and building racquetball courts with them,”says Stafford, who is in the court-building business himself.Chains like L.A. Fitness, Lifetime Fitness, Gold’s Gym, and oth-ers, he says, “are building hundreds of courts. Plus, there are alot of colleges and universities, YMCAs, military bases, com-munity centers, and more building courts.”Helping to boost the popularity of racquetball is the fact that

different factions of the sport—membership, tournaments, protours, manufacturers, etc.—are now coming together under theumbrella of USA Racquetball, much like what tennis wentthrough in the last 10 years. Also, the tour stops are gettingmore exposure, including air time on The Tennis Channel.“We’ve done well the past several years in racquetball,”

says Ben Simons, business manager for indoor court sportsand accessories for Head/Penn, which supplies racquetball rac-quets, gloves, eyewear, and Penn racquetballs. “The industry

COURTINGOTHER

SPORTS


Racquetball and squash may representopportunities for your business.

B Y P E T E R F R A N C E S C O N I


R A C Q U E T S P O R T S

E-Force

Bedlam Knife 150 107 22.00 186 27.25 10.73 125 14x16 $170

Bedlam Knife 170 107 22.00 193 27.00 10.63 132 14x16 $160

Bedlam Knife 175 107 22.00 201 28.00 11.02 135 14x16 $150

Lethal 160 107 22.00 193 28.00 11.02 134 14x16 $230

Lethal 175 107 22.00 201 28.00 11.02 143 14x16 $200

Lethal 190 107 22.00 212 27.00 10.63 134 14x16 $180

Ektelon

O3 Hybrid Diablo 106 22.00 236 28.00 11.02 155 16x19 $100

O3 Hybrid Shark 106 22.00 187 29.00 11.42 136 16x19 $170

O3 Pink specs not available at press time 16x19

Racquet Headsize Length Weight Balance Balance Swingwt Pattern Retailin.2 in. gm(strung) cm in. RDC MxC Price

E-FORCE 800-4 E FORCE • www.e-force.com

EKTELON 800-283-6647 • www.ektelon.com

itself has shown some growthin the last few years. And that’sa great help to us.”And like in tennis, racquet-

ball and squash players arebecoming more knowledgeableabout their equipment, whichmay represent an opportunityfor savvy specialty retailers. “Wesee growth of racquetball in pock-ets around the country,” saysChuck Vietmeier, the product man-ager for Gamma Sports. “Forinstance, Ohio is always growing forus.” Gamma supplies strings, vibra-tion dampeners, and replacementgrips for racquetballers.Vietmeier says that since racquet-

ball players have gone to larger-headracquets, “they seem to be breakingmore strings.” But also, racquetball con-sumers are much more familiar with

string products in general. “Weused to have four to sixstrings that would say ‘rac-quetball’ on the package,”he says. “Now, we findwe don’t even need to do

that, since players are famil-iar with our specific Gamma

lines. We just market the strings in gener-al, not specifically for racquetball.”

SquashOn the squash front, “We’re look-ing at steady growth, between 5and 10 percent per year overthe last several years,” says

Kevin Klipstein, the CEO of the U.S. Squash Racquets Associ-ation. The majority of that growth is at schools and clubs,“although not in the usual private club arena,” he adds.Currently, there are between 250,000 and 300,000 squash

players in the U.S., and about 3,500 squash courts, says Klip-stein. USSRA membership is about 8,000, which is up 7 percentover last year, he adds.“Although squash is a smaller sport in the U.S. compared to

racquetball, it’s a very important piece of our business,” saysHead/Penn’s Simons. “My perception is we’re seeing growth inthe junior and collegiate sections, and in urban types of pro-grams. And that’s great, because it’s longevity for the sport.”Klipstein says that over the last two years, participation in

junior club programs was up 40 percent. “We see our biggestchallenge and opportunity in building out play at the middle andhigh school levels,” he says. Klipstein also says he’s seeing anincrease in interest in public-private partnerships in buildingfacilities. The USSRA, partnering with the National Urban Squash &

Education Association, also has a major urban squash educationinitiative to introduce the sport to inner-city kids and providesquash instruction, tutoring, and mentoring, says Klipstein.Right now, there are five programs, in New York, Boston,Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., with one soon inSan Francisco, he adds.All this is good news to

string manufacturer Ash-away. “The squash busi-ness is very good,” saysSteve Crandall, Ashaway’svice president of sales andmarketing. “We’re seeing a consistent 3 to 5 percent annualgrowth for the last few years in the U.S.“There seems to be a fair amount of momentum, especially

at the junior and intercollegiate levels, that I think creates a market that sort of sustains itself,” Crandall adds. “There seemsto be quite a good marketing effort to get young peopleinvolved.” �

For More InformationUSA Racquetball: 719-635-5396 or usra.org U.S.Squash Racquets Association: 610-667-4006 orus-squash.org

New Racquetball Racquets for Fall 2006


Black Knight

Magnum Pro nXS 77.5 161 36.00 14.17 61 187 14x18 $180

Dunlop

Hot Melt Carbon 77.5 156 35.15 13.84 46 179 16x18 $130

Hotmelt Graphite 72.8 161 34.50 13.58 33 182 16x19 $100

Hotmelt Pro 72.8 158 37.40 14.72 46 193 14x18 $150

Hotmelt Titanium 77.5 153 34.50 13.58 44 173 16x18 $120

Ice Custom Elite 72.8 161 33.50 13.19 34 177 14x18 $190

IceTour Lee Beechill 72.8 153 36.50 14.37 41 183 14x18 $160

M-Fil Tour 72.8 161 34.50 13.58 33 182 14x18 $180

M-Fil Ultra 77.5 154 35.00 13.78 46 179 16x18 $140

Feather

Cyclone 2003 125 73.8 144 37.00 14.57 38 173 14x19 $140

Cyclone 2003 135 73.8 150 37.00 14.57 38 185 14x19 $140

Heavy Hitter 74.4 160 37.25 14.67 50 195 16x19 $160

Super Hitter 74.4 152 33.75 13.29 45 192 14x19 $160

Titanium Drop 110 74.1 145 37.50 14.76 44 184 14x18 $150

Titanium Drop 130 74.1 154 36.25 14.27 36 182 14x20 $150

Head

Flexpoint 130 77.5 149 38.50 15.16 48 192 12x17 $200

Flexpoint 140 72.85 152 38.50 15.16 55 192 14x17 $190

Flexpoint 150 77.5 155 35.00 13.78 48 180 12x17 $180

Flexpoint 160 72.85 168 35.00 13.78 56 195 14x17 $170

Prince

Air Drive 140 (Air TT) 75.3 153 37.00 14.57 57 186 16x17 $125

O3 Tour 73 156 37.25 14.67 59 192 16x16 $250

Pro Kennex

HC2 140 80 171 39.00 15.35 47 219 16x20 $179

Tecnifibre

Dynergy 125 80 specs not available at press time 14x18 $160

Wilson

n135 72.3 150 38.00 14.96 53 193 12x18 $160

nPro 72.4 156 37.25 14.67 51 192 12x18 $130

nRage (4 Holes in Throat) 72.8 166 35.00 13.78 53 186 14x18 $120

Racquet Headsize Weight Balance Balance Flex Swingwt Pattern Retailin.2 gm (strung) cm in. RDC RDC MxC Price

BLACK KNIGHT 800-535-3300 • www.bksquash.com

DUNLOP 864-552-4000 • www.dunlopsports.com

FEATHER 323-692-8256 • www.feathersports.com

HEAD 800-289-7366 • www.head.com

PRINCE 800-283-6647 • www.princetennis.com

PRO KENNEX 877-477-6536 • www.prokennex.com

WILSON 800-272-6060 • www.wilson.com

TECNIFIBRE 877-332-0825 • www.tecnifibre.com

head

MX 170 106 22.00 188 30.00 11.81 140 16x16 $275

MX 180 106 22.00 193 29.50 11.61 143 16x16 $235

MX 190 106 22.00 198 29.50 11.61 145 16x16 $200

Pro Kennex

HC2 165 107 22.00 197 29.75 11.71 152 14x17 $200

HC2 175 107 22.00 190 30.50 12.01 145 14x17 $190

Kinetic Ti. Diamond 107 22.00 213 29.50 11.61 161 16x19 $150

Shadow 170 107 22.00 191 28.00 11.02 140 16x18 $160

Shadow 180 107 22.00 207 27.75 10.93 148 16x18 $150

Wilson

nBlade 107 22.00 193 29.75 11.71 142 14x18 $230

nRage 107 22.00 183 30.00 11.81 138 14x18 $260

Racquet Headsize Length Weight Balance Balance Swingwt Pattern Retailin.2 in. gm(strung) cm in. RDC MxC Price

HEAD 800-289-7366 • www.head.com

PRO KENNEX 877-477-6536 • www.prokennex.com

WILSON 800-272-6060 • www.wilson.com

New Squash Racquets for Fall 2006

HANDLINGYOURPLAYERS

R A C Q U E T C U S T O M I Z A T I O N


Emphasizing your replacement grip businesswill serve your customers and give you a bettergrasp on profits, too. B Y B O B P A T T E R S O N , M R T

Replacement grips are often overlooked as a routinepart of racquet service. Frequently, they’re simplytreated as just an add-on item. Even shops that offer a

wide variety of string often keep the grip choices to a bareminimum.

In today’s marketplace, there are almost as many gripchoices as there are strings. Obviously, you can’t carry everygrip on the market in your inventory, but you should stock awide variety of options for your customers. Smooth, con-toured, and perforated grips are a few of the staples thatshould be in every shop.

You may also want to offer color choices in your most popu-lar grips. If you also sell racquets, consider stocking the grips thatcome on your best-selling frames, since players often want areplacement grip just like the original.

Profitable SalesReplacement grips, if approached properly, are a fairly easyand profitable sale. They are relatively inexpensive to stockand they take minimal space to store and display. But insteadof the quick “add-on” approach, try treating grips as an impor-tant part of the services you offer.

You consider a customer’s grip as an integral component ofthe racquet, just like when a professional stringer asks the cus-tomer questions and then makes a determination as to the bestcombination of string and tension to provide them with the bestperformance from their racquet. Grips, like strings, will wear outand should be replaced on a regular basis. Your customers mayneed to be made aware of that fact.

When a customer takes a racquet in for service, the technicianshould examine the grip for wear, along with the strings andoverall racquet. And the technician should question the playerabout grip preferences and concerns, just like with strings.

Evaluating the GripWhen evaluating the grip, start with proper sizing. Hopefullythis was addressed when the racquet was purchased, butdon’t assume so, especially if the racquet was not purchasedin your shop.

HANDLINGYOURPLAYERS


Master Racquet Technician Bob Patterson of

Birmingham, Ala., owns Players Choice Tennis

and the racquet customization company Rac-

quetMaxx (www.racquetmaxx.com). In 2005,

he was named RSI’s Stringer of the Year.

How to Regrip a FrameIf you string racquets, you probably havemost of the tools you need to re-grip, too,for instance needle-nose pliers; a narrow,flat-blade screwdriver; scissors; and possiblya staple gun.

After you remove the old grip and staple,make sure the handle pallet is clean andfree of adhesive. The top of the grip general-ly is secured with either tape or a wide rub-ber band or rubber collar. If the racquetyou’re working on has a rubber band or col-lar, it’s best to slide it on before you wrapthe grip, then push it up and out of the way.

To begin wrapping the new grip, removesome of the tape backing and, starting atthe butt cap, attach the tapered grip end(you may or may not want to staple thisend). When you wrap a grip for right-hand-ed players, attach the grip so that you’repulling it to the right when the racquet isheld upside-down.

Hold the frame firmly and turn the racquetslowly with one hand, using your thumb tohold the grip in place. Your other handshould unwrap the tape backing as you go,while you pull the new grip tight and over-lap the edges. When you reach the top ofthe handle, trim the grip straight across withthe scissors, then secure the grip with tapeor slide the rubber collar down.

For more on regripping, visitwww.racquetmaxx.com/wrapagrip.shtml.

If you don’t offer services to alter grip sizes, you aremissing an opportunity. Increasing grip size with a heat

sleeve process is fairly easy to master with the proper tools. Youcan also “customize” the wrap style, which will further widen the vari-

ety in your shop. Most grips can be overlapped to lay flat and smooth oroverlapped very slightly to form a contour effect.

Also, you can vary the overlap more or less around the butt cap to changethe feel and shape of the grip to suit your customer. If you don’t currently offer

these options, spend a little time practicing them. You might evencome up with a new technique.

Remember, grips are wrapped differently for right-handed and left-handed players. For righties,

when you look at the racquet standing up(with the head up and handle on a

table), the lines of the gripshould go from

upper left

downto lowerright. When a right-hander grips the handle,the lines of the grip roughly followthe diagonal direction of the fingers. Agrip for a left-handed player, of course,runs in the opposite direction.

Most suppliers offer grip displaysand other point of purchase materialthat can be used not only to display yourgrip selection, but also the various wrapstyles you offer. This will allow customers to seeand feel the difference. They will appreciate thefact that you can customize their grip, which will aidtheir playing style. And they will certainly be loyal cus-tomers since you’ll know their own unique wrap style.

If you make grip customization one of the services thatyou offer, your grip sales and your profits will grow hand-somely. �

STRATEGIESretailingAsk Headline B Y L I N E ?

G

STRINGINGFOR THEMODERNGAME

P R O F E S S I O N A L S T R I N G I N G

STRINGINGFOR THEMODERNGAMET

his past summer, I joined about 20 other stringers as part of theBow Brand team, which was the official and exclusive on-siteteam stringer for the 2006 Lawn Tennis Championships at

Wimbledon. I wasthe only Americanstringer on theteam; my col-leagues were fromEngland, Scotland,Germany, CzechRepublic, Spain,Japan, France,Greece, and Aus-tralia.

As you wouldexpect, the stringershad a tremendousamount of experi-ence, including theGrand Slams,Olympics, DavisCup, Fed Cup, Mas-ters Cup, Nasdaq-100, and manyother ATP and WTA

events. The expertise that these stringers brought to Wimbledon,and the quality of their work for the game’s top professional play-

String TensionAbout 80 percent of the players at Wimbledon hadtheir cross strings strung 2 to 4 pounds lower than theirmain strings. However, most American players used thesame string tension for their mains and crosses. Someplayers requested that their racquets always be strung

the morning of their match.

� Lowest tension: One malesingles player had his mid-size racquets strung at 31 to33 pounds.

� Highest tension: The highestI saw was 68 pounds.

As the temperature increased, some players slightlyincreased their string tension 1 to 2 pounds. Grasscourts play faster as the tournament progressesbecause the courts get worn down and become firmer.

ers, were trulyexceptional. Withboth poly-basedand natural gutstring, they weresimply masterful.

The Bow Brandstringing serviceused nine Babolatmachines (eightStar 3’s and oneSensor). Everyday, normallystarting at 5 a.m.,each machine wasserviced by havingits clamps and ten-sion jaws cleaned, the clamp sliding track lubricated, and thepulling tension calibrated.

Although I had previously strung at 13 Grand Slams (French,Wimbledon, and US Open) and several other ATP and WTAevents, I knew that stringing with polyester-based strings would bea physical challenge. As a stringer and USPTA teaching pro, I wasinterested to see how stringing has changed as “the moderngame” and string technology has evolved.

Here are some of my observations from working at the BowBrand stringing cabin at Wimbledon:

On the first day of play atWimbledon, freshly strung rac-quets wait to be picked up bythe pros.


A longtime stringer shares his observations after stringing forthe pros at Wimbledon. B Y J E F F R O T H S T E I N

A longtime stringer shares his observations after stringing forthe pros at Wimbledon.

RacquetRestringingThe majority of the rac-quets strung by the Bow Brand stringing service didnot have broken strings. The two main reasons forhaving racquets restrung were that the tension wastoo low or the playing conditions (i.e. weather andcourt speed) had changed and a higher or looserstring tension was needed.

� Racquets restrung without any broken strings: 55percent

� Racquets restrung with broken strings: 40 percent

� New racquet frames strung: 5 percent

� Natural Gut:About 10 percent of theracquets strung werewith natural gut mainand cross strings. Babo-lat, Prince, Wilson,Maillot-Savarez, BowBrand, Klip, and Pacificgut strings were used.About 60 percent of theplayers who used gutasked that the string bepre-stretched.

� Hybrid Stringing:About 25 percent of theplayers used some typeof hybrid stringing com-bination. The mostcommon was a polymain with gut crossstrings, but some play-ers used gut mains withpoly crosses, as well aspoly mains with a softersynthetic or poly cross-

es. I saw only one racquet strung with an aramid fiber (i.e.Kevlar) hybrid string.

� Poly-Based Monofilaments: About 80 percent of the rac-quets strung were with eitherall polyester-based string (formains and crosses) or with a

polyester-based string used in a hybrid pattern. Luxilon’s poly-based strings (Alu Power, Alu Power Rough, Big Banger Original,and Big Banger Timo) dominatedthis category, with about 50 per-cent of all players using them.Babolat’s poly-based strings (ProHurricane and Tour Duralast)were also used by a number ofplayers. Wilson, Kirschbaum,Pacific, and Bow Brand poly-based strings were also strung.

� Traditional Synthetic Gut:We rarely strung racquets using(non-poly based) traditional syn-thetic strings. These strings donot offer the durability that themodern pro game requires.

If you only string for the pros,then you would think that poly-based and gut strings were theonly ones on themarket. This is ingreat contrast to what we see inpro shops and sporting goodsstores. But the pros who play withpoly-based strings desire durabili-ty. Based on today’s power game,poly-based strings are here tostay. �

Jeff Rothstein’s wide-ranging experience in tennis includes playingcompetitive tournaments, teaching tennis as a USPTA-certified pro,stringing professionally, and as an industry executive and pro shopmanager. He was on the USRSA’s advisory staff in the 1980s andcontributed to the establishment of the stringer certification program.Since 1979, Rothstein has strung at 13 Grand Slams, including Wim-bledon, the French Open, and the US Open. He lives in New Jerseyand can be reached at [email protected] or 973-722-7079.

The Pros’ RacquetsThe racquets used by the pros at Wim-bledon were nearly the same as whatcan be purchased in tennis shops. Afew players used frames painted tolook like later models from their con-tracted brand, and one woman prowho recently signed with one racquetmanufacturer still used her old racquetpainted black with the new company’slogo on the strings.

A few players had custom-shapedgrips. One very tall player used a size9 (5-1/8) grip size. Another pro whouses an extreme Western grip had thetwo widest sides of his grip madesmaller, allowing him to hold his racquet easier using a “frying pan” grip.

Of the players having their rac-quets strung by the Bow Brandstringing service, about 85 per-cent of the frames were eithermidsize or midplus, while 15 per-cent were oversize.


StringingPricesThe players atWimbledon sup-plied their ownstring to the string-ing services locat-ed at and near the All England LawnTennis Club. Most of the stringing laborfees are higher than normally charged inthe U.S., but the players rarely complainedbecause they knew that Bow Brand andWilson/Luxilon had assembled some ofthe best stringers in the world. The string-ing labor fees were:

� Bow Brand Stringing Service (on-siteexclusive stringer): $30 (average)

�Wilson/Luxilon Stringing Service (nearAll England Lawn Tennis Club): $29

� Local Tennis Pro Shop (five-minute walkto All England Lawn Tennis Club): $17

The author (second from right) and his Bow Brand stringing team colleagues, including sales manager Frances Davies(center in blue skirt), at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

RacquetStencilingIn addition to offeringthe placement of theracquet brand stencils(upon request), the Bow Brand ser-vice also offered “string” stencil support for Lux-ilon, Kirschbaum, Iso-Speed, Pacific, Bow Brand,Babolat, Klip and Head. Black, red, and green inkwere available.

A few players did not always use the stringbrand that corresponded with the string logomarked on their strings. They openly stated thatthey were not happy with the string brand theywere contracted to use, but they felt they had todisplay the string logo while under contract.

Some players, admitting to being superstitious,had to place the logos on the strings themselves.

We needed to take special care to make certainthe racquet logo was placed on the strings in thesame direction as the racquet logo on the buttcap.

P L A Y E R E Q U I P M E N T L O G

MENRound Racquet Racquet String

Rank Reached Player Name Country Brand Racquet Model Headsize Brand1 W Roger Federer SUI Wilson nSix-One Tour 90 Wilson/Luxilon2 F Rafael Nadal ESP Babolat AeroPro Drive 100 Babolat3 3 David Nalbandian ARG Yonex RDS-001 MP 98 Luxilon4 3 Ivan Ljubicic CRO Babolat Pure Drive Team + 100 Babolat5 1 Nikolay Davydenko RUS Prince O3 Tour MP 100 Luxilon and Polystar6 3 James Blake USA Prince Experimental 95 Luxilon7 2 Tommy Robredo ESP Dunlop M-Fil 300 98 Luxilon8 Q Mario Ancic CRO Yonex Ultimum RD Ti-80 98 Babolat/Luxilon9 Q Radek Stepanek CZE Volkl DNX 9 98 Pacific10 SF Marcos Baghdatis CYP Fischer M-Speed Pro No. One 95 Luxilon11 3 Andy Roddick USA Babolat Pure Drive Roddick + 100 Babolat12 Q Lleyton Hewitt AUS Yonex RDS-001 90 Babolat/Luxilon13 Q Jarkko Nieminen FIN Wilson nSix-One 95 95 Luxilon14 2 Gaston Gaudio ARG Wilson nSix-One 95 95 Kirschbaum15 4 Tomas Berdych CZE Dunlop M-Fil 200 Plus 95 Luxilon16 3 Fernando Gonzalez CHI Babolat Pure Storm Plus 98 Luxilon17 1 Robby Ginepri USA Babolat Pure Storm 98 Babolat18 4 David Ferrer ESP Prince Shark DB MP 100 Luxilon19 Nicolas Kiefer GER Wilson nSix-One 95 95 Wilson20 3 Andre Agassi USA Head Flexpoint Radical OS 107 Luxilon

WOMENRound Racquet Racquet String

Rank Reached Player Name Country Brand Racquet Model Headsize Brand1 W Amelie Mauresmo FRA Dunlop M-Fil 300 98 Babolat2 SF Kim Clijsters BEL Babolat Pure Drive Team 100 Babolat3 F Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL Wilson nTour Two 95 Maillot Savarez4 SF Maria Sharapova RUS Prince O3 White 100 Babolat5 Nadia Petrova RUS DID NOT PLAY6 Q Elena Dementieva RUS Yonex RDS-001 MP 98 Luxilon7 3 Svetlana KuznetsovaRUS Head Flexpoint Instinct 100 Luxilon8 2 Patty Schnyder SUI Head Liquidmetal Prestige MP 98 Kirschbaum9 Mary Pierce FRA DID NOT PLAY10 Lindsay Davenport USA DID NOT PLAY11 Q Anastasia Myskina RUS Head Flexpoint Instinct 100 Luxilon12 4 Nicole Vaidisova CZE Yonex RDS-003 MP 100 Luxilon13 3 Martina Hingis SUI Yonex RQS-11 100 Top Serve14 1 Francesca SchiavoneITA Babolat AeroPro Drive 100 Luxilon15 3 Dinara Safina RUS Babolat Pure Storm Team 98 Luxilon16 1 Anna-Lena GroenefeldGER Fischer M-Speed Pro No. One 98 Babolat17 4 Daniel Hantuchova SVK Yonex NSRQ 7 100 Luxilon/Babolat18 4 Flavia Pennetta ITA Wilson nBlade 98 Wilson19 4 Ai Sugiyama JPN Prince More Control DB 97 Yonex20 4 Ana Ivanovic SCG Wilson nTOur Two 95 Luxilon/Wilson


Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo worked their way through the draws on the grass courts at the All EnglandLawn Tennis Championships this year. Here’s a look at the equipment the top 20 men and women pros used asthey played on the lawns at Wimbledon. Post these pages in your shop, so your customers can check out theirgrass-court favorites, too.

String String Footwear ClothingString Model Gauge Tension Brand Footwear Model BrandWilson Natural/Alu Power Rough 16L 21 Nike VAPOR S2 NikePro Hurricane Tour 15L 24.5 Nike Air Max Breathe 3 NikeOriginal 16 - Yonex SHT-305 YonexPro Hurricane/VS Team 16L - Diadora Speedzone Plus DA DiadoraOriginal and Engergy 16 25/24 Prince Freak -Alu Power 16L 28.5 Nike Air Zoom Vapor 3 NikeOriginal 16 24/23 Sergio Tacchini - Sergio TacchiniVS Team/Alu Power 16L - Nike Air Zoom Vapor 3 NikePrimeGut and Tough Gut 16L 25/24 Nike Breathe 3 -Alu Power 16L 21/23 Adidas Barricade IV AdidasPro Hurricane/VS Team 16 29.5 Babolat Team All Court Roddick LacosteVS Team/Alu Power 16L - Yonex SHT-305 YonexAlu Power 16L - Asics Gel Sensation AsicsSupersmash - 27 Diadora Attax DA 2 DiadoraAlu Power 16L - Nike Air Max Breathe Free II NikeAlu Power Rough 16L 25 Adidas Barricade IV AdidasBallistic Polymono/VS Touch 16/16 26 Nike Air Max Breathe Free II Under ArmourOriginal 16 23 Diadora Speedzone Plus DA DiadoraNatural Gut 17 - Diadora Attax DA 2 DiadoraAlu Power 16L - Adidas ClimCool Feather II Adidas

String String Footwear ClothingString Model Gauge Tension Brand Footwear Model BrandVS Touch 16 24 Reebok - ReebokVS Touch 16 29 Fila X-Point FilaHT Tonic First Gold 15L 27 Adidas Barricade III W -Pro Hurricane/VS Team 16L - Nike VAPOR S2 Nike

Alu Power 16L 24/23 Yonex SHT-304 YonexAlu Touch 16L 24/23 Fila X-Point FilaTouch Turbo 17 25/26 Adidas Barricade IV W Adidas

TIMO 18 27/25 Nike - NikeAce 18 - Reebok Upset DMX ReebokRacquet Fuel 16L 22/20 Adidas ClimaCool Feather II AdidasAlu Power 16L 24/23 Diadora Speedzone Plus DA DiadoraAlu Power 16L 27/26 Adidas Barricade IV W AdidasXcel Premium/Pro Hurricane 16/17 28/27 Adidas Barricade IV W AdidasAlu Power/VS Touch 16L/16 22.5/21 Nike Air Zoom Vapor Speed NikeWilson Natural 17 28.5 Nike - Sergio TacchiniPoly / VS 1.30 16L 23.5 Nike Air Max Breathe Free NikeNatural/Alu Power 16L/17 24/23 Adidas Barricade IV Adidas



to Movement—also achievedratings well above average. These fourratings are strong enough to give Tecnifi-bre Pro RedCode an overall rating that iswell above average.

string PLAYTEST

Tecnifibre Pro RedCode is a new premi-

um copolymer polyester monofilament

string that features an exclusive abra-

sion-resistant coating and chemical

additives that offer a higher level of

tension resiliency compared to other

polyester strings. Additionally, Tecnifi-

bre’s static and dynamic test protocol

measured Pro RedCode to have better

tension maintenance and durability than

other performance polyester strings,

which Tecnifibre attributes to the imple-

mentation of the red color pigment dur-

ing the manufacturing process.According to Tecnifibre, Pro RedCode

is designed for the new generationaggressive, hard-hitting player who needsdurability with control. If you were won-dering what string Janko Tipsarevic wasusing in his first-round match againstAndy Roddick at Wimbledon this year,this is it.

Pro RedCode is available in 16 (1.30mm) and 17 (1.25 mm) in red only. It ispriced from $11.50 per set of 40 feet,$110 per reel of 200 meters. For moreinformation or to order, contact Tecnifi-bre at 877-332-0825, or visitwww.tecnifibre.com. Be sure to read theconclusion for more information aboutgetting a free set to try for yourself.

IN THE LABWe tested the 16-gauge Pro RedCode.The coil measured 39.6 feet. The diame-ter measured 1.25-1.28 mm prior tostringing, and 1.21-1.23 mm after string-ing. We recorded a stringbed stiffness of73 RDC units immediately after stringingat 60 pounds in a Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 95(16 x 18 pattern) on a constant-pullmachine.

After 24 hours (no playing), stringbedstiffness measured 65 RDC units, repre-senting an 11 percent tension loss. Our

control string, Prince Synthetic GutOriginal Gold 16, measured 78RDC units immediately afterstringing and 71 RDC units after24 hours, representing a 9 per-cent tension loss. Pro RedCodeadded 17 grams to the weight of ourunstrung frame.

The string was tested for five weeksby 35 USRSA playtesters, with NTRP rat-ings from 3.5 to 6.0. These are blindtests, with playtesters receiving unmarkedstrings in unmarked packages. Averagenumber of hours playtested was 33.3.

Even though it is clear during installa-tion that Pro RedCode is a poly, it stringsup a little differently than other polyswe’ve tried. It has a fair amount of coilmemory, which is not unusual. It glideseasily against itself, which is nice whenyou are pulling the crosses, but some-times the tip of the string tends to followthe blocking string on blocked holes,rather than shoving past it. We had noproblem tying knots with Pro RedCode,even though almost a third of ourplaytest team reported difficulty in thisarea.

No playtester broke his sample duringstringing, 17 reported problems with coilmemory, 14 reported problems tyingknots, and one reported friction burn.

ON THE COURTOur playtest team agreed with Tecnifi-bre’s assessment of the target player forthis string, rating it in the top 10 in Dura-bility both overall and compared to otherstrings of the same gauge. (This overallDurability rating also puts Pro RedCode inthe top 10 percent of the 104 publishedplaytests we’ve conducted.) Our teamalso gave Pro RedCode a rating wellabove average for Control, echoing Tec-nifibre’s RedCode “mission statement”on each count.

Two other important aspects of dura-bility—Tension Retention and Resistance

EASE OF STRINGING(compared to other strings)Number of testers who said it was:much easier 0somewhat easier 0about as easy 10not quite as easy 20not nearly as easy 5

OVERALL PLAYABILITY(compared to string played most often)Number of testers who said it was:much better 0somewhat better 5about as playable 8not quite as playable 16not nearly as playable 6

OVERALL DURABILITY(compared to other stringsof similar gauge)Number of testers who said it was:much better 9somewhat better 19about as durable 7not quite as durable 0not nearly as durable 0

RATING AVERAGESFrom 1 to 5 (best)Playability 3.1Durability 4.3Power 3.2Control 3.5Comfort 2.9Touch/Feel 2.8Spin Potential 3.1Holding Tension 3.6Resistance to Movement 3.7

TecnifibrePro RedCode 16

“ This string has a great blend of power and control. The power is control-lable and the feel is good. The color is very cool. I would sell it in myshop.”5.0 male serve-and-volley player using Head Flexpoint Heat strung at 54.5pounds CP (Natural gut 16/17)

“ This is a solid all-around string with excellent resistance to movement.It definitely feels like a polyester, butwith a softer touch.”6.0 male all-court player using WilsonnSix-One 95 strung at 58 pounds CP(Gamma Live Wire XP 16/17)

“ Wow! This is not what I expectfrom a string that handles like barbedwire. This string provides very goodcontrol and spin. Full, fast swings arenot penalized by uncontrollable power and depth. This string’s durabilityand resistance to movement are excellent. It provides more comfort andfeel than strings with 1/3 of the durability. It’s not for touch volleyers. It hasa slightly muted response, but nothing like the first generation of polys.”4.5 male baseliner with heavy spin using Pro Kennex Kinetic Pro 7g strungat 63 pounds CP (Babolat Pro Hurricane 16)

“ This string, though much different from my current one, plays verywell. I would consider switching to this string for playing but not teaching(because it is a little firm).”5.5 male all-court player using Wilson nTour 95 strung at 53 pounds CP(Wilson Extreme Synthetic Gut 16)

“ This string was surprisingly difficult to string. The durability, feel, andcontrol were opposite to the difficulty in stringing. I can usually tell theplayability by the ease of stringing, but this one surprised me.”

4.5 male all-court player using Head Flexpoint Radical OS strung at 57pounds CP (Head Ultra Tour 17)

“ This string was very stiff and tough to work with. It played welland had good control. It was not comfortable and made my shouldertired while serving. I had to work too hard to make power. It’s proba-bly good for a baseline banger. I prefer a softer string.”3.5 male serve-and-volley player using Wilson Pro

Staff 6.1 110 Stretch strung at 58 pounds CP(Gamma TNT Fat Core 17)

“ This is a very stiff string, but it had more feelthan I expected. It’s good for string breakers.”5.0 male all-court player using Prince O3 White MPstrung at 60 pounds CP (Prince Lightning XX 17)

“ This is a very durable string with power. It feltstiff initially, but after a short time felt good. I would like to try it as ahybrid.”5.0 male baseliner with heavy spin using Head Liquidmetal PrestigeMP strung at 58 pounds CP (BDE Performance Natural Gut 16)

“ I did not reduce tension as directed. It would not have felt good.This is a soft string which generates decent power and playability.”5.0 male all-court player using Wilson n5 strung at 63 pounds LO(Wilson NXT 16)

“ Initially, this string had too much power and lacked control. How-ever, over time, it played better. It gave my serve pop and my volleyscontrol. I definitely want to stock this string.”4.0 male all-court player using Gamma Diamond Fiber M-6.5 MPstrung at 67 pounds (Tecnifibre NRG2 17)For the rest of the tester comments, USRSA members can visit RacquetTECH.com.

“This is hard tostring, but I love the way itplays.” 5.0 male serve-and-volley

player using Wilson H Rival 112 strung

at 57 pounds LO (Wilson NXT 17)

(Strings normally used by testers are indicated in parentheses.)

TESTERS TALK

CONCLUSIONTo its credit, Tecnifibre does not

claim that Pro RedCode will give youmore power and more control. Infact, the target player for this stringprobably doesn’t need any morepower, as he has plenty. What heneeds is to be able to pound the balland keep it in the court, and havestrings that will last as long as hedoes. For this type of player, Pro Red-Code fits the bill.

If you think that Tecnifibre ProRedCode might be for you, fill out thecoupon to get a free set to try.

—Greg Raven �

FREE PLAYTEST STRING PROGRAMTecnifibre has generously offered to send a free set of Pro RedCode 16

to USRSA members who request it.To get your free set, just cut out (or copy) this coupon and mail it to:USRSA, Attn: Tecnifibre Pro RedCode 16 String Offer, 330 Main Street,

Vista, CA 92084 or fax to 760-536-1171Offer expires September 15th, 2006 One set of free string per USRSA

membership. Offer only available to USRSA members in the US.FREE! Tecnifibre Pro RedCode 16!Offer expires September 15th 2006

Name:USRSA Member number:Phone:Email:

If you print your email clearly, we will notify you when your sample will be sent.


the EXPERTSask

GETTING THE LEAD INACCORDING YOUR RACQUET MassMover on-line calculator, addingweight less than 9 centimeters from

the butt moves the center of percussion(COP) toward the tip, which is exactly whatI want. Is this really true or is there a prob-lem with the on-line calculator? When I add20 grams to the butt of my racquet, theCOP doesn’t move up (I tested it by hittingmy hand against the string).

THE COP ON ANY RACQUET IS A cal-culated distance from the butt cap,

although it can be verified if you have theability to measure the apparent coefficientof restitution. For example, given a hypo-thetical racquet weighing 300 grams, with abalance point at 30 cm, and a swingweightof 300 kg•cm2, the COP will be 60 cm.

Adding 20 grams (which is a lot ofweight to add in a small space) at the buttcap changes the COP by 2.07 cm. At thesame time, the balance changes by -1.88cm, and the swingweight changes by 2.00kg•cm2. Two centimeters of change in theCOP should be noticeable, but keep in mindthat adding this much weight in this exam-ple also changes the recoil weight by 16.88kg•cm2 and the hitting weight by -8.61kg•cm2. Thus, the racquet will feel morecomfortable (due to the higher recoilweight, but it won’t transfer as much of itsmass into the shot (because of the lowerhitting weight).

The changes in these other measure-ments could account for your subjectiveimpression that the COP did not move afteryou added mass to the butt cap.

For more information about ACOR, see“Raw Racquet Power” in the February 2006issue of RSI.

SKETCHY SEARCH RESULTSHOW COME THE HEAD TI.S6 IS notincluded in the Racquet Selectorsearch results, when I ask for all rac-

quets lighter than 270 grams?

RACQUET SELECTOR SHOWS ONLYracquets that are currently available.

Other on-line tools, such as the Racquet

Spec Search, show every racquet forwhich we have measurements.

TROUBLESOME TWO-PIECESTRINGING

I AM BEING ASKED TO PERFORMever more two-piece string jobs onracquets that specify one-piece

stringing only. The problem I often have isfinding a large enough grommet hole totie off the start of the crosses, becausemost racquets only have two tie-off holesat the top for the mains. Some peoplehave recommended using an awl toenlarge another hole prior to starting, butI haven't had good luck with this. I'm surethat experienced stringers have dealt withthis problem many times. Could you rec-ommend the best way to enlarge one ofthe existing grommet holes, or in thealternative, pass a second string safelythrough one of these small holes?

In addition, I always tell these cus-tomers that this type of stringing tech-nique violates the manufacturer’srecommendation for the racquet. Even so,I've never had anyone change his mindafter this warning. I was curious if peoplehave been reporting increased racquetdamage or breakage in one-piece rac-quets, with the increased popularity ofthis hybrid stringing technique?

THERE ARE SOME RACQUETS THATdon't have enough holes, and for

them you just have to pick a grommetand make it bigger. It's easier with a littlelube on the awl, and some stringers heatthe grommet with the heat gun first. Youwon’t have to make the hole as large, andyou’ll have an easier time getting the tie-off string through the hole, if you pick agrommet where the string is going to bepulled away from one side of the grom-met. The string lies at an angle in somegrommets, effectively blocking that grom-met hole so other strings are more diffi-cult to get through, unless you reallyenlarge the grommet. So, choose yournew tie-off hole wisely.

There are other racquets, however,that have the holes you need for two-

piece stringing, but they are farther down onthe hoop. (Many of the Babolat racquets arelike this.) With these racquets, use a startingclamp instead of a starting knot, install the firstfew crosses (until you get past the point wherethe tie-off hole is). Then go back and re-tensionthe first cross, clamp as normal, and use a tie-off knot.

Also, as long as you are stringing the crossesfrom the top to the throat, you're probably notendangering anyone's warranty. There are veryfew racquets that specify one-piece stringingonly. Even when the Digest shows only string-ing instructions for the one-piece method, it isvirtually always permissible to string the racquetwith two pieces of string. The problem, asyou’ve noted, is in finding the tie-off holes.

PRINCE O3 STRINGINGI CHECKED THE 2006 STRINGER'S Digestand the website for information onstringing a Prince O3 racquet. I don't

understand the statement, "The center sixstrings must be inserted through the smallgrommet holes in the plastic throat grommet at6 o'clock." Can you explain this to me?

THE THROAT GROMMETS HAVE THElarge holes between the mains, but

alongside the large holes are much smallerholes through which the string must be thread-ed during re-stringing. Failure to do this willresult in improper spacing of the main strings,and in the case of the soft elastomer throatgrommet, damage to the elastomer.

—Greg Raven �

We welcome your questions. Please send them to RacquetSports Industry, 330 Main St., Vista, CA, 92084; fax: 760-536-1171; email: [email protected].

Q

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Q

AQ

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Your Equipment Hotline

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#27231 (list $119.99). The staples areSears item #00927209000, manufactur-er model #27209.

There is a cordless version that mightbe convenient, but I wasn't aware that itexisted when I bought mine. The cord-less/battery version is actually a bitcheaper than the corded model. TheSears item number is #00927235000,manufacturer model #27235.5 sets of Silent PartnerOriginal Syn 16 to:Peter Underwood, Whitewater, WI

quet, which has gotten a very positiveresponse.5 sets of Wilson NXT OS to:Dan Kerr, Warton, ONT, Canada

STAPLERRECOMMENDATIONI had been seeking an adequate staplegun for attaching grips and butt caps.My regular staple gun did not penetrategrips well and although it used narrowcrown heavy-duty staples, they were stillpretty wide.

After searching around, I found apowerful stapler that uses the samewidth staple as those used by racquetmanufacturers: 3/16-inch crown, 5/16-inch length. So far I have not run into ahandle that the staples will not pene-trate.

It is the Craftsman Electric Stapler—the regular corded model—Sears item#00927231000, manufacturer model

and TECHNIQUES

RACQUET LABELINGI have used engraving in the past toidentify racquets, particularly whendoing a batch of four to six racquets forprofessional players. Recently, though, Ipurchased a Brothers labeling machine,and now use this in place of engraving.The results look more professional andit is a simple task to install the label.You just have to make certain the sur-face is clean to get proper adhesion.Now when I sell or string a racquet Iadd the customer’s name to the rac-


Readers’ Know-How in Actiontips


right away. By doing that, you keep yourdesk or your work area clean.5 sets of Forten Dynamix 16 to:Tony Woodworth, Las Vegas, NV, andStan Parry, Surrey, UK

OPEN SESAMEThose rubber grippers—designed tocushion and protect your hands whenyou open jars—are handy to keep nextto the stringing machine. I use one toprotect my hands and fingers when loos-ening machine mounts after I’m finishedstringing a racquet. They can even behad for free if you look around. The oneI am currently using promotes a localnewspaper. I picked it up for free at alocal county fair.5 sets of Prince Premierwith Softflex 16 to:John Youngblood, Suwanee, GA

—Greg Raven �Tips and Techniques submitted since 2000 by USRSAmembers, and appearing in this column, have all beengathered into a single volume of the Stringer’s Digest—Racquet Service Techniques which is a benefit of USRSAmembership. Submit tips to: Greg Raven, USRSA, 330Main St., Vista, CA 92804; or [email protected].

CUSTOMIZINGLIGHTER RACQUETS

For adding weight inside the handle oflighter racquets, you don’t need leadtape: Scrap string is the thing. And withmy method, there is no danger of losingweights inside the handle.You will need:1. fishing weights of various sizes

(weights)2. a scrap piece of string3. cotton balls4. masking tapeThe fishing weights must have a hole allthe way through them. Run a piece ofscrap string through the weight(s) and tiea knot. Wrap cotton around the weightsso they won’t rattle in the racquet. Thenwrap masking tape around the cotton tocompress the cotton so it fits into the

handle. Distribute the weight betweenthe halves of the handle. The scrap stringkeeps the weight from migrating into thehandle, eliminating the need for filler. Fin-ish by stuffing more cotton in the handlebetween the weights the butt cap.Replace the butt cap and grip, and you’redone.5 sets of Gamma Flex Core Control 16& Gamma Hat & Gamma T-Shirt to:Rick Cannan, Pompano Beach, FL

STENCIL STORAGEI stencil my fair share of racquets, andevery time I would have to figure outwhat do to with the wet stencil to avoidmaking a mess. Now, I use hanging fold-ers to store my stencils. The folder materi-al is thick and soaks up all of the ink evenif the stencil is not dry and you put it in

Your ServeSharing the PassionTIA President Jim Baugh has left his mark on tennis, and has left thesport in good hands.

Tennis Industry Association President JimBaugh is moving on from tennis. Simply,he's got work to do elsewhere. He'll be

beating the drums for another worthy cause,just as he did for a fractionated tennis industrythat in 1993 faced the infamous cover ofSports Illustrated that asked, “Is TennisDying?”

Ouch!But Baugh helped rally the troops, sit

them down at the Round Table, and overthe years turn forced smiles into a collab-orative effort to stare down and answerthat magazine cover. "Play Tennis Ameri-ca" was the firstborn of a series of indus-try-wide efforts that would bring friendsand competitors together around onebrand: T-E-N-N-I-S, as he likes to say. Likethe HMS Endurance, Baugh's been an ice-breaker, pounding inflexible attitudes andscattered efforts across the sport, clearingthe way for a unified message to themasses.

Fast-forward to his more recentbabies—Tennis Welcome Centers andCardio Tennis—which are out of diapersand well integrated in the infrastructureof the sport. Baugh's legacy in tennis isset. The programs are backed by all con-stituents of the tennis business, countcelebrities as endorsers, and are workingand sustainable. Consider the facts: 1 mil-lion new players tried the game in 2005and tennis is the only traditional sport togrow (up 10.3 percent) from 2000 to2005.

Now, as he leaves the TIA after thisyear, he takes his tornado-esque passionto another worthwhile cause: childhoodobesity. PE4Life, a program he founded in

January 2000, aims to keep kids active ina world where budgets have cut athleticprograms and recently threatened todelete school recess.

And a bit of advice for school boardseverywhere: Prepare yourselves for anunadulterated barrage. Baugh’s a fireball,preaching his passion for the healthful,social, and just plain fun aspects of thegame. He's been relentless, outspoken,and successful in turning the spotlight ontennis.

Yet, let’s remember that tennis is asport of individuals, no single person isgreater than the game. At times therehave been cries for one to supercede all

others in the form of a Tennis Commis-sioner. Well, that idea has never flown.This is an international sport, and theUSTA as governing body for the growthof the sport in this country is one of onlyfour that govern tennis on the planet.Tennis is that big.

We don't have a commissioner, butwe do have a commission. It's the Boardof Directors of the Tennis Industry Associ-ation. The individuals who serve on itrepresent every part of the sport, fromgoverning bodies (ATP, WTA, USTA) andteaching organizations to manufacturers,retailers, court products, and media.These individuals are tennis people—often “lifers” who play the game andwork in the game, but aren't complacentbecause the market doesn't allow it.Money's a great motivator.

With a lead actor exiting, the stage isnow set for the ensemble to take over.

This group is made of competitors alignedfor the common good of the game. Can itwork? Moot question, because it does workand it's been working for years. Each personon that board has the right—and theresponsibility—to act on the momentumthat's been created and take it to higher levels.

They also have full-time jobs, and that'swhere the director of this grand play comesin. Managing the operation from behind thescenes is Executive Director Jolyn de Boer,who executes TIA business with her renais-sance corps at HQ on Hilton Head Island.This TIA staff is charged with carrying outthe direction set by the tennis commission,soon to be led by current chairman DaveHaggerty of Head/Penn.

The view from here is of a group of indi-viduals representing many who act togetherfor the good of the game, because it is theright thing to do and because it happens tobe good business. There are differences ofopinion and persistent competitive barbs, butthey're set aside in theory a few times a yearwhen the individuals come together as ateam to better this game and the business oftennis. They commit to support program-ming through advertising, marketing, and,no minor point, financial contributions.

As each member walks out of the boardmeeting held during the US Open, there'slikely to be extra spring in each step. With aninvigorating meeting of the minds, anupcoming passing of the torch, and world-class tennis as the backdrop, there is muchenergy for good works.

Baugh has ceded the spotlight to tennisitself, and as he moves on to new chal-lenges, he can take care that it's in goodhands. �

We welcome your opinions. Please emailcomments to [email protected] or faxthem to 760-536-1171.

Liza Horan is editor and founder ofTENNISWIRE.org, an industry newssite, and president of the U.S. TennisWriters’ Association.


B Y L I Z A H O R A N

“Baugh’s been an

icebreaker . . .

clearing the way for

a unified message

to the masses.”

THE YOUTH MOVEMENTBaugh dedicated his time to getting all agesplaying tennis, now he's focusing on gettingkids physically active in any way possible.Tennis is part of the effort. Stay up to dateon his work at www.PE4Life.com.

Documents

200609 Racquet Sports Industry