201001 Racquet Sports Industry

January 2010Volume 38 Number 1 $5.00www.racquetsportsindustry.com

CHAMPIONS OFTENNIS 2009Our annual awards honorthose who continue to makethis sport a winnerReynolds Plantation � Ron Rocchi � DeRosaTennis Contractors � Tracy Lynch � Ellen Doll �

Tennis Express � Dan Faber � Lisa Stone &Susan Chambers � Reffkin Tennis Center �

Dean Oba � Darling Tennis Center � WesternWake Tennis Association � Ken DeHart � RobertGreene Jr. � Rich Johns � USTA Midwest

CHAMPIONS OFTENNIS 2009Our annual awards honorthose who continue to makethis sport a winnerReynolds Plantation � Ron Rocchi � DeRosaTennis Contractors � Tracy Lynch � Ellen Doll �

Tennis Express � Dan Faber � Lisa Stone &Susan Chambers � Reffkin Tennis Center �

Dean Oba � Darling Tennis Center � WesternWake Tennis Association � Ken DeHart � RobertGreene Jr. � Rich Johns � USTA Midwest

DEPARTMENTS

R S I J A N 2 0 1 0

INDUSTRY NEWS

7 Tennis participationtops 30 million players

7 Cardio Tennis for Kidsto debut at PTR

8 ASBA elects newofficers and directors

8 Pacific introducesracquet line

8 Oncourt Offcourtcelebrates 15 years

9 Viking named PlatformTennis partner

10 Peoplewatch

11 New doubles book released

12 Short Sets

13 Industry losesWalter Montenegro

13 PTR to host WestCoast facility conference

14 Guide to collegetennis available

14 Ferris PTM programoffers TennisConnect course

4 Our Serve

14 Letters

15 Court Products

17 TIA Quarterly

22 New Racquets: Wilson BLX

44 String Playtest: Luxilon M2 Plus

46 Tips and Techniques

48 Your Serve, by Holly Chomyn

2 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2010 www.racquetsportsindustry.com

ContentsContents33 Person of the Year

Eric Babolat

36 Private Facility of the YearReynolds Plantation

36 Stringer of the YearRon Rocchi

37 Builder/Contractor of the YearDeRosa Tennis Contractors

37 Sales Rep of the YearTracy Lynch

38 Pro/Specialty Retailerof the YearTennis Express

38 Tennis Advocate of the YearEllen Doll

39 Junior Tennis Championof the YearDan Faber

39 Grassroots Championsof the YearLisa Stone & Susan Chambers

Our annual awards honorthe people, businesses andorganizations that are making adifference in the tennis industry.

40 Municipal Facility of the YearReffkin Tennis Center

40 Wheelchair TennisChampion of the YearDean Oba

41 Public Park of the YearDarling Tennis Center

41 Community TennisAssociation of the YearWestern Wake Tennis Association

42 PTR Member of the YearKen DeHart

42 USPTA Member of the YearRobert Greene Jr.

43 High School Coach of the YearRich Johns

43 USTA Section of the YearUSTA Midwest

FEATURE

24 String SelectorUse our exclusive charts to find the perfectstrings for your customers.

The news that overall U.S. tennis participation—for thefirst time in more than 20 years—surpassed 30 mil-lion players in 2009 was rightfully hailed as a major

achievement for the sport. Amid all the celebrating andslaps on the back, however, I think we all need to bereminded that this sport is far from in excellent shape. Infact, you—as retailers, teaching pros, and facility man-agers—know this better than anyone.

Not only have equipment sales been flagging, but perhapsmore troubling—and probably something you have not yet heardabout, is that the same survey that tells us participation is at 30.1million also says the number of frequent players has declined, ashave total play occasions. Companies aren’t advertising their ten-nis products and are cutting staff, retailers are going out of busi-ness, facilities and some schools are cutting back on programs,sponsors are pulling out of pro tournaments.

Now, I’m not trying to throw a wet blanket on this good news—30 million, a 12 percent increase from 2008, really is terrific. Iremember when former USTA President Alan Schwartz set thatgoal. In 2004, tennis had 24 million players, and many peoplethought Alan’s goal, with the catchy phrase “30 by 2010,” couldnever be reached.

But thanks to the groundwork that he laid, both during andafter his presidency, along with his “let’s all work together for thegood of the sport” attitude—which continues today—we allhelped make this happen. Clearly Alan, who was inducted into theTennis Industry Hall of Fame this past September, deserves ahuge thank-you from all of us in this industry. “You have mypromise,” Alan said in his TI Hall of Fame acceptance speech,“that I will continue with undiminished passion to give back tothis game I love so much.”

Now, the trick is to translate this excellent overall participationnews to all the other segments of this business. How do we dothat? I’m not sure any one person has the answer. But I do knowone person who may well have some great ideas that can go along way to finding solutions.

Peter FrancesconiEditorial Director

Our Serve(Incorporating Racquet Tech and Tennis Industry)

PublishersDavid Bone Jeff Williams

Editorial DirectorPeter Francesconi

Associate EditorGreg Raven

Design/Art DirectorKristine Thom

Contributing EditorsRobin BatemanCynthia CantrellKristen DaleyJoe DinofferLiza Horan

James MartinGreg Moran

Chris NicholsonBob Patterson

Cynthia ShermanMary Helen Sprecher

RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRYCorporate Offices

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Advertising DirectorJohn Hanna

770-650-1102, [email protected]

Apparel AdvertisingCynthia Sherman203-263-5243

[email protected]

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4 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2010

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

Peter Francesconi

www.racquetsportsindustry.com

There’s Still Much More Work to Do

INDUSTRY NEWSINDUSTRY NEWSI 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

Tennis participation in the U.S. topped 30 million players for the first time in more than20 years, according to the latest survey by the USTA and TIA. The annual phone surveyof 6,000 Americans showed that participation grew in all age groups under the age of

50 and within all ethnicities. With 30.1 million people hitting the courts, tennis participationgrew 12 percent over 2008 and 25 percent since 2003.New players comprised 7.1 million of the total, and the majority of tennis players—14.8

million—consider themselves “regular players,” playing four to 20 times a year. Total playoccasions surpassed 560 million for only the secondtime in more than 20 years, but were down slightly fromlast year. The greatest percentage growth in participa-tion was in players in the 12 to 17 age bracket, whichgrew from 15.7 percent of total participants in 2008 to20.5 percent in 2009.“Over the past several years, we’ve strived to make

the game more accessible, particularly at parks andschools,” says Kurt Kamperman, the USTA’s chief execu-tive of Community Tennis. “Combine this with thehealth benefits of tennis, and you get surging interest in the sport.”“The TIA and the USTA have been focused on growing participation since the mid-90s and

this is the result of a consistent and sustained effort,” says TIA President Jon Muir. “Our ongo-ing challenge is to continue to build our frequent player base, the economic lifeline for thesport.” In fact, the same survey shows a slight drop in frequent players, from 5.62 million in2008 to 5.3 million in 2009.The survey showed that participation in 2009 is up in every major ethnic group, but espe-

cially among African Americans (+19%) and Hispanics (+32%).Age groups comprising the greatest percentage of players are:� 12-17 years at 20.5% of the total (more than 6 million players)� 18-24 years at18.4% of the total (more than 5.5 million players)� 6-11 years at 16.25% of the total (4.9 million players)

PTR Symposium Set,Cardio Tennis for Kids toDebutThe PTR willhold its annu-al Interna-tional Tennis Symposium & $25,000Championships Feb. 12 to 18 at PTRHeadquarters on Hilton Head Island,S.C. The event is expected to attractnearly 1,000 tennis teachers andcoaches from more than 50 countries.

Among the more than 50 speakers atthis year’s event will be Leo Alonso,Doug Cash, Lisa Duncan, PatEtcheberry, Dr. Ben Kibler, Dr. JimLoehr, Anne Pankhurst and Bill Tym,who will conduct classroom and on-court presentations. There is also aspecial high school coaches’ programheld over President’s Weekend.

At the Symposium, the official debutof Cardio Tennis for Kids (CT4Kids)will take place Feb. 18. The three-hourCT4Kids workshop will be conductedby National Cardio Tennis ProgramManager Michele Krause and mem-bers of the National Cardio TennisSpeakers Team. The workshop willconsist of both classroom and on-court sessions.

Cardio Tennis for Kids is a group playactivity featuring action-based tennisdrills and games for children ages 6 to12 of all ability levels. CT4Kidsemphasizes movement and fun usingmusic and pedometers. Using ageappropriate equipment, the CT4kidsenvironment develops tennis and ath-letic skills and improves health andfitness.

PTR teaching pros will compete in the$25,000 Championships, a tourna-ment held in conjunction with theSymposium. The Symposium alsooffers a Tennis Trade Show. Visitwww.ptrtennis.org.

R S I J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 0

January 2010 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 7www.racquetsportsindustry.com

More than 1,300 people turned out on Nov. 13 to celebrate Midland, Mich., beingnamed America’s Best Tennis Town. The $100,000 first prize that went along with thetitle, which was announced during the 2009 US Open, will be used to upgrade tennis

facilities in the community, provide equipment to kids,restart school tennis programs dropped for budget rea-sons, offer free tennis programming, and more.The USTA named Midland “The Best Tennis Town In

The U.S.” following a nationwide ballot that saw the com-munity outvote 56 other cities in the competition. Mid-land rated high in level of participation and passion forthe sport in this community of 40,000. Second-placewinner Ojai, Calif., received $75,000 and third-placeIndependence, Kan., won $25,000.

‘Best Tennis Town’ Wins $100,000 for Community

Tennis Participation Tops 30 Million Players


OncourtOffcourtCelebrates15 YearsOncourt Offcourt,started in 1994 byUSPTA and PTRMaster ProfessionalJoe Dinoffer, is cele-brating its 15th yearof supplying creativetennis training aids,target systems andcourt accessories.The Dallas-basedcompany now fea-tures more than 100proprietary productsdistributed worldwide. For a free color anniversary catalog withlower prices to celebrate during 2010, contact Oncourt Offcourttoll-free at 1-88-TENNIS-11 or visit www.oncourtoffcourt.com.

INDUSTRYNEW

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ASBA Elects New Officers and Directors

The American Sports Builders Asso-ciation, the national organization

for builders and suppliers ofmaterials for athletic facili-ties, has announced the elec-tion of its officers and directorsfor 2010-2011.� Sam Fisher of Fisher Tracks Inc. of Boone, Iowa, is the newchairman of the ASBA.

� John Graham of DecoTurf in Andover, Mass., has been re-elected to the position of secretary-treasurer.

� Mark Brogan of Pro-Sport Construction Inc. of Devon, Pa.,has been re-elected to the position of Tennis Division presi-dent.

� Dan Wright of Sports Turf Co. of Whitesburg, Ga., was elect-ed Fields Division president.

� Randy Futty of Lee Tennis Court Products in Charlottesville,Va., has been re-elected as Supplier Division president.

� Rob Delmonico of RAD Sports in Rockland, Mass., will serveas a Builder Director.

� Ben Rennolds of Tennis Courts Inc. of Aylett, Va., will alsoserve as a Builder Director.

� Rob Righter of Nova Sports, USA in Milford, Mass., was re-elected to the office of Supplier Director.Officers remaining on the Board of Directors will be Track

Division President Kristoff Eldridge (Cape & Island Tennis &Track in Pocasset, Mass.); Professional Division President EdNorton (Holcombe Norton Partners of Birmingham, Ala.); andIndoor Division President Robert Cohen (Robert Cohen Co. LLCof Albuquerque).Directors continuing on the board include Bruce Haroldson

(Connor Sports Flooring, Salt Lake City, Utah), David Nielsen(Leslie Coatings Inc. of Indianapolis), Gerry Perry (Gerald PerryTennis Courts of Springfield, Mo.), and Pete Smith (The Court-Smiths of Toledo, Ohio).George Todd Jr. (Welch Tennis Courts of Sun City, Fla.) the

association's most recent chairman, will continue on the Boardof Directors in the role of immediate past chairman.

Pacific Introduces Racquet Line,New BasaltX Technology

Pacific, long known for its strings, is bringing tennis rac-quets to market in early 2010. The brand, which recently

acquired Fischer Tennis and Racquet Sports, will launch aline of racquets with what it calls BasaltX Technology.The frames actually were introduced in late November in

London, during the ATP World Finals. Pacific collaboratedwith the Austrian company Asa.Tec, a leader in basalt fibertechnology. Basalt is found in volcanic stones, mined in Aus-tria.The Pacific BasaltX racquet line, which is scheduled to

start delivery in January, will include models for all levels ofplayer, from tour players to juniors. For more informationvisit www.pacific.com or www.basaltx.com.

Congratulations To the FollowingFor Achieving CS & MRT Status

Charles Borchers Port Charlotte, FL

Eric Ohlson White Salmon,WA

Dan Raykovitz Longmont, CO

David Wang Beaverton, OR

Adam Young Lantana, FL

Ron Castillo La Plata, MDDiane Hamm-Vida Shallotte, NCIrvin Hernandez Houston, TXLee Young Hoon Hwaseong, SOUTH KOREAMathew Mathew Oakbrook Terrace, ILJarrad Magee Sydney, AUSTRALIAStacey Moon Anchorage, AKMark Nissen Lane Cove, NSW, AUSTRALIAHao Shi Jacksonville, FLLiem Thai Houston, TX

Pro Coaches LaunchTour-Level Association

Agroup of ATP World Tour and WTA Tour coaches arelaunching a new organization to help support tour coach-

es and trainers by offering them a full range of benefits andservices, including access to various forms of insurance,financial services, job training, and mentoring.The organization is known as the Tour Level Tennis

Coaches Association, and it will be for ATP and WTA Tourcoaches and trainers. The TLTCA will work in concert withthe ATP, WTA and ITF to promote the game across the globe.Roger Rasheed (coach of ATP player Gael Monfils) and

Vlado Platenik (coach of the WTA player Dominika Cibulko-va) are spearheading the process of forming the TLTCA’s ini-tial Advisory Board of Directors. With the assistance oftennis industry professionals, they have developed a set ofbylaws and are engaged in enlisting other coaches to join.Plans call for a member vote in early January in Australia forthe first official board of directors.


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

Hinding Tennis AddsQuickStart Courts

Mayor Dinkins (in red bow tie)was on hand at the grand open-

ing of the newly renovated tenniscourts on EastSidney Street inMount Vernon,N.Y. HindingTennis of WestHaven, Conn.,renovated thetwo existingcourts into 8new QuickStartTennis courtsfor children.“This brings

a whole newlevel of excitement for the youngertennis players,” said Skip Hartman,of the New York NJTL.Hinding also rebuilt 16 courts in

New Haven’s East Shore Park,including four permanent QSTcourts. For more information, visitwww.hindingtennis.com or call203-285-3055.

Viking Athletics NamedOfficial Partner of PPTA

Viking has been named the official partnerof the Professional Platform Tennis Asso-

ciation. Through the new one-year deal,Viking will be the exclusive provider of pad-dles, accessories, footwear and apparel at allPPTA events in 2010.“To have Viking step up and offer support

to the PPTA and its members in this fashionfurther solidifies why they are consideredthe industry leader,” says Nate Parsons, pres-ident of the PPTA. “Our organization, com-prised of approximately 200 teaching promembers, is extremely impressed withViking’s commitment of support.”Through the new partnership, all PPTA

members will receive a new Viking fleecejacket and substantial discounts off the pur-chase of the popular Prince T-8 line of shoes,available in styles for men, women andjuniors.The 2009-2010 Viking product line fea-

tures eight paddles, including newlydesigned versions of the Oz, Ignite andZone. For more information, visitwww.vikingathletics.com.


INDUSTRYNEW

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• Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayerand Xavier Malisse have asked the Court ofArbitration for Sport to overturn their one-year bans for missing drug tests. The play-ers want to annul their suspensions forfailing three times to report their where-abouts for unannounced drug-testing. Thetribunal is expected to issue a ruling bymid-March.

• Serena Williams received a record$82,500 fine for her US Open tirade andcould be suspended from that tournamentif she has another "major offense" at anyGrand Slam in the next two years. The pre-vious highest fine for a Grand Slam offensewas about $48,000 to Jeff Tarango in the1990s.

• Peter Burwash, president of Peter Bur-wash International, recently

received the “2009 FacultyEmeritus Award” from theUSTA. The award recognizesthose men and women whoboth through speaking and

presentations have made enormous contri-butions over the years to the USTA TennisTeachers Conference.

• Roger Federer recently signed sponsor-ship agreements with Credit Suisse bankand with Lindt chocolates.It’s the first time inLindt’s 160 years that ithas had a celebrityspokesperson. Bothcompanies are based inSwitzerland.

• Gamma Sports has honored Paul Shlienwith its Regional Sales Rep of the Yearaward. Shlien covers the New England ter-ritory and has been representing Gammafor more than 10 years.

• WTA Tour pro Sabine Lisicki cracked thefastest women’s serve on record—130.5mph—at the Commonwealth Tournamentof Champions in Bali on Nov. 2.

• Bob and Mike Bryan ended 2009 as theNo. 1-ranked doubles team in the world.The 31-year-old twins from California won

the ATP World Tour Doubles title in Novem-ber, playing with Prince EXO3 Ignite Team95 racquets.

• Wilson players Roger Federer and SerenaWilliams were the year-end world No. 1players on the men’s ATP tour andwomen’s WTA Tour. Federer plays with the[K] Six.One Tour and Williams with the [K]Blade Team.

• PBI’s Todd Kramer is the new director oftennis at Caneel Bay, Rosewood Hotels' lux-ury resort on St. John in the U.S. VirginIslands. The 11-court tennis center hasbeen under the direction of Peter BurwashInternational for more than 30 years and isranked by Tennis Resorts Online as one of10 best tennis resorts in the world.

• US Open quarterfinalist MelanieOudin won the inaugural FedCup by BNP Paribas HeartAward. She received aunique heart bracelet alongwith $5,000 to donate to herchosen charity.

P E O P L E W AT C H

January 2010 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 11



USPTA Adds “MyMembership Page”to Website

The USPTAhas a new member

management areaof its website,uspta.com. The new membershippage now contains insurance informa-tion and a member profile, as well asa new feature, member documents.The newest member tool allows

members to print membership docu-ments from their home or office com-puter, including membership cardsand certificates, education reportcards, insurance verification lettersand dues invoices. Each document ispersonalized, dated and includes asecurity verification code for themember’s protection. Only membersin good standing will be able to printdocuments that verify membership.Members log into uspta.com using

their last name and member numberand click on the new menu item “Mymembership.” Then, they can selectmember documents, liability insur-ance and member profile.

New Doubles BookReleased

Tennis DoublesBeyond Big

Shots is the lat-est book by proand tennis direc-tor Greg Moran,offering strategyand tactics thatwill lead to winning doubles play.Moran tells readers how to controlthe net in doubles, how to hit aneffective serve, what to do whenyour partner is serving, the impor-tance of communications in dou-bles, when to hit down the alley,doubles formations and muchmore. The book ($26.95) also hasan accompanying DVD, which issold separately. Discounts are avail-able for retailers and tennis groups.Visit www.mansiongrovehouse.comfor more information.


INDUSTRYNEW

SJ A N 2 0 1 0

S H O R TS E T S> Pilot Pen Corp. will drop its sponsorship

of the New Haven, Conn., men’s and

women’s tournament after the 2010

event. Pilot Pen has been the title sponsor

since 1996, when it was a men's-only

event. Tournament Director Anne Worces-

ter said the sponsorship cost Pilot Pen

about $1.4 million a year, but that she’s

confident the event will secure a sponsor

before the 2011 tournament, which is part

of the US Open Series.

> The board of directors of the Indi-

anapolis Tennis Championships Inc. has

decided to sell the tournament’s ATP sanc-

tion, due to loss of sponsorship and wan-

ing TV dollars. Most likely the event, which

is part of the US Open Series, will move

out of Indianapolis. It will be the first time

in more than 80 years that Indy will be

without a pro tennis event. The hunt is on

for a sponsor and location for the 2010

event, scheduled for July.

> The USTA’s 2010 Community Tennis

Development Workshop will be Jan. 22-24

at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina

in San Diego. The workshop is for com-

munity tennis leaders, tennis teachers, and

many others involved in tennis. For more

information, visit www.usta.com/ctdw.

> Italy defeated the U.S. 4-0 in November

to win the 2009 Fed Cup. In February, the

U.S. Fed Cup Team will face France in the

2010 quarterfinals.

> Mercedes-Benz is the new car sponsor

of the US Open, replacing Lexus. The four-

year deal with the USTA designates Mer-

cedes-Benz the “Presenting Sponsor of the

US Open Men’s Singles Championship”

and the “Official Vehicle of the US Open,”

starting with the 2010 event. Lexus was a

US Open sponsor from 2005 to 2009.

> Tecnifibre has signed a new partnership

with 6th Sense, the tennis academy

launched by Justine Henin and Carlos

Rodriguez. 6th Sense has two locations, in

Belgium and the U.S. Tecnifibre is the offi-

cial tennis partner, along with Adidas. Tec-

nifibre will equip all coaches in both

academies with racquets, strings and bags.

Players at the two academies will use Tec-

nifibre “Club” balls. Visit www.6thsense-

academy.com.

> Head NV and the ATP have extended

their partnership until end of 2012. The

partnership began in 1994 and is the

longest agreement of any current partner

of the ATP. Under the agreement,

Head/Penn will continue to be the official

tennis racquet, ball and bag of the ATP and

will be the official ball of the Barclays ATP

World Tour Finals in London until 2012.

> The ballot for the 2010 induction into

the International Tennis Hall of Fame

includes Gigi Fernandez, Natasha Zvereva,

Todd Woodbridge, Mark Woodforde and

Anders Jarryd in the Recent Player category;

Owen Davidson, Peter Fleming and Bob

Lutz in the Master Player category; and

Contributors Nick Bollettieri, Derek Hard-

wick, Brad Parks, and Eiichi Kawatei.

> Italian sportswear brand Fila was the

official tennis clothing and footwear part-

ner of the year-end 2009 Sony Ericsson

Championships in Doha, which was held

from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1.

> ReelSticks recently was installed at the

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Cen-

ter, home of the US Open. ReelSticks is a

singles stick that attaches to a doubles net-

post. The auto-retracting reel and cable

positions the singles stick to hold the net in

regulation position for singles play. The sin-

gles stick can then easily be retracted for

doubles play. Visit www.reelsticks.com for

more information.

> In 2010, The Advanta World TeamTennis

Pro League will celebrate its 35th season,

which will run from July 1 to 25.

> The USTA awarded more than $400,000

in Recreational Tennis Grants to 45 non-

profit organizations across the country.

Combined with a half million dollars in

grants that were awarded in April, the

USTA awarded over $900,000 in Recre-

ational Tennis Grants to qualified applicants

in 2009.

> The Etcheberry Experience has signed on

as a PTR Corporate Member. The Etcheber-

ry Experience provides PTR members dis-

counted prices on Etcheberry Strength

and Condition Certification, as well as

other products and services from sports

fitness guru Pat Etcheberry. Call PTR at

843-785-7244 or visit www.ptrtennis.org

or www.etcheberryexperience.com.

> The USTA will award annual $2,500

Pancho Gonzalez Scholar-Athlete Grants

to one male and one female high school

student of Hispanic heritage in honor of

the tennis pioneer and Hall-Of-Famer. The

grant will recognize students who aspire

to reach excellence in both competitive

tennis and the academic arena, and is part

of the USTA’s initiative to grow the game

of tennis among Hispanic youngsters.

> The Rodney Street Tennis & Tutoring

Association of Wilmington, Del., has been

named the USTA Middle States Section

NJTL of the Year Award. It’s the second

straight year the RSTTA has won he honor.

Also, Comcast is renewing as RSTTA prin-

cipal sponsor for 2010.

> The USTA’s Player Development pro-

gram is launching the USTA Training Cen-

ter-East at the USTA Billie Jean King

National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

The USTA Training Center-East will con-

duct year-round programming for young-

sters in the New York area and will host

week-long and weekend camps. USTA

National Coach Tim Mayotte will be based

at the facility with additional staff to be

named.

> The Indianapolis Tennis Center, on the

campus of Indiana University-Purdue Uni-

versity Indianapolis, has been named as a

USTA Certified Regional Training Center as

part of the USTA’s efforts to develop future

American tennis champions.

> The USTA has a three-year sponsorship

agreement with the Intercollegiate Tennis

Association to become title sponsor of the

USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor

Championships, the USTA/ITA National

Small College Championships and 88

USTA/ITA Regional Tournaments starting

next year. Additionally, the USTA will host

the 2010-12 USTA/ITA National Intercolle-

giate Indoor Championships at the USTA

Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.




Industry LosesWalter Montenegro

Tennis and racquetsports industry inno-

vator Walter Montene-gro died on Nov. 3 inNew Jersey. He had cel-ebrated his 100thbirthday this past August.Montenegro was born Aug. 25, 1909,

in San Jose, Costa Rica. He earned anaccounting degree at the University ofBuenos Aires, then arrived in New Yorkin his early 20s. He learned to string ten-nis racquets and ultimately established anumber of racquet companies, includingCalhoun-Cragin and Cragin Simplex,where he also imported Babolat strings.Among other endeavors, he devel-

oped a squash ball for summer play thatchanged the game to a year-round sport,and generated a Sports Illustrated article.He also was instrumental in building upthe USPTA, USRSA, TIA and U.S. Profes-sional Squash Racquets Association. Hewas inducted into the Sporting GoodsIndustry Hall of Fame in 1985.

Wheelchair TennisPioneer Randy SnowDies at Age 50Wheelchair tennis great Randy Snow

died on Nov. 19 from a heart attack.The 50-year-old Snow was in El Sal-vador at the time, giving a wheelchairtennis clinic.During his playing career, Snow was

ranked No. 1 in the world, and sweptboth the singles and doubles goldmedals at the 1992 Paralympic Gamesin Barcelona. He also won the U.S.Open wheelchair singles titles 10 times,and was a six-time winner of the U.S.Open wheelchair doubles. In addition,Snow was a member of the bronzemedal winning USA wheelchair basket-ball team in Atlanta in 1996.Snow was a pioneer in the sport of

wheelchair tennis and remained one ofits strongest advocates, conducting hun-dreds of wheelchair sports camps, lec-tures and presentations. In 2004, hewas inducted into the U.S. OlympicCommittee Hall of Fame.

PTR to Host West Coast Club & Facility Conference

The PTR will host a West Coast Tennis Club and Facility Con-ference March 8-10 at La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club in La

Jolla, Calif. The event is designed specifically for tennis clubowners, club managers, and directors of tennis.Presentations and breakout sessions will include relevant topics such as Customer

Service, Programming to Fill Courts, Innovative Ideas for New Clinics, Marketing YourClub & Programs, Forming a Club Owners Association, Controlling Energy Costs &Expenses, Managing Your Staff, Renovating Your Club, Creating/Improving YourWebsite and more.The cost, $349 before Feb. 22 and $399 after, includes all workshops, meals and

social activities. Additional registrants from the same club are $299. For more infor-mation or registration, contact PTR at 800-421-6289 or visit www.ptrtennis.org

USPTA Schedules Certification Exams for 2010The USPTA has scheduled more than 165 CertificationExams nationwide in 2010. The exam includes an on-

court evaluation of tennis strokes and playing skills, strokeand grip analysis, private and group lesson instruction, and otherskills needed in the tennis-teaching profession. The exam alsoincludes a two-hour written test covering teaching, playing andbusiness management skills, rules, club activity programming and other top-ics. Applicants can now opt to take the written and grip exams online after com-pleting the on-court portions of the certification test.Visit uspta.org for more details. Advanced registration is required. The total fee

for the exam and application is $175, plus prorated USPTA membership dues.


Letters

The “Our Serve” in the November/Decemberissue (“It’s Time to Give the Foot Fault Its Due”)is absolutely right on. I’m a real fuddy-duddyabout some things … the rules are usually therefor very good reasons.

As a longtime professional sports photogra-pher who shoots at the US Open, I was 40 feet orless from Serena—photographing from the smallarea behind the umpire’s chair—and knewalmost immediately after the tirade began thatthe lineswoman needed to go up to the umpire. Ifeel banishment from at least a single majorshould be meted out by the International TennisFederation. I think that would have almost allplayers thinking very hard about ever intimidatinganyone in the future.

I must admit that I’m hot about Serena’sbehavior in that match, and I was really buoyedby your piece, and your castigation of John McEn-roe. While I was shooting the match, I was listen-ing to the commentary on a small radio, and Iwas surprised to hear his put-down of thelineswoman’s call. Ed Goldman, New York

I congratulate you on a terrific “Our Serve” inNovember's RSI. I agree that the lineswoman didher job in an exemplary manner. The line judgesare trained to be blind to the score in makingtheir calls, and had she let the foot fault slide,she'd have been remiss in her duties.

Officials must meet very stringent standards ofexperience and performance to earn their work ata Grand Slam event. That lineswoman is part ofan elite team. She should certainly not be bannedfrom working the 2010 Open. Jill Fonte

I wanted to congratulate you on your excellenteditorial on the Serena Williams incident. Theintegrity of the sport and the rules that govern itare what tennis is all about. If left to the likes ofMcEnroe and Jenkins, the integrity of the sportwould be in mortal danger. Congratulations toboth you and Mary Carillo for having the courageto publicly defend the integrity of tennis.

Hilton Gluck, Bolle Tenniswear

Your column said it all! I wish everyone in tenniscould have a chance to read it. McEnroe andJenkins are running outside the baseline (again),and they probably think that people are buyingtheir wacky opinions. Maybe they would supportFavre's going a couple of inches past the line ofscrimmage late in the game before throwing a TDpass , or an all-out ban on called strikes againstA-Rod.

Bob Hammerlee, USPTA, Lewisburg, Pa.

Thoughts on the Foot Fault

We welcome your letters and comments. Pleaselimit letters to 300 words maximum. Email them [email protected] or fax them to 760-536-1171.

Guide to College Tennis AvailableThe USTA Guide to Tennis on College Campuses provides high school juniors andseniors who want to play competitive college tennis—either varsity or recre-

ational—with the information they need to choose a school. This second edition isa comprehensive resource for locating tennis programs at about 2,000 collegesand universities across the country and identifying their requirements for entry.The guide includes:� Information on tennis organizations that can help prospective college players.� Eligibility requirements and recruitment rules.� Online and print directories and databases of colleges with varsity and recre-ational tennis programs.

� Scholarship information and other financial aid opportunities.The guide, priced at $4.75, should be available in January, and is at

www.ustashop.com, or visit www.tennisoncampus.com.

Ferris PTM Program Offers TennisConnect Course

The Professional Tennis Management program at Ferris State University in BigRapids, Mich., now has a required course in tournament/activity administration

that focuses on the TennisConnect business tool. The 16-week course, which istaught by PTM Director Derek Ameel, is designed to give students a well-roundedview of event programming and of TennisConnect’s capabilities in running a tennisbusiness. The last eight weeks of the course cover various aspects of TennisConnect.The course was created by Ameel with help from Charlie Ruddy, the developer of

TennisConnect. Each student will create their own TennisConnect website and willcomplete a “go-live” process for their final exam.“TennisConnect is a great business tool for any club and a fantastic addition to

our program,” says Ameel. “There are so many aspects of TennisConnect thatimprove a club’s ability to run and manage their business. It provides many tools toimprove customer service and increase profits.”For more information on the Ferris State Professional Tennis Management pro-

gram, visit www.ferris.edu/ptm. For information on TennisConnect, visitwww.TennisConnect.com.

New ZyMax 70 Badminton StringAshaway Racket Strings has introduced the first string of its ZyMax line of badmintonstrings. ZyMax 70 makes maximum use of Ashaway's patented new ZyWeaVe core pro-cessing technology which produces thinner, stronger strings. According to Ashaway,ZyMax 70 is the strongest 0.70 mm string ever made. Designed to provide durability andresponsiveness at all stringing tensions, ZyMax 70 is ideal for heavy hitters who want amicro-gauge string but need to maximize durability. Visit www.ashawayusa.com.

INDUSTRYNEW

SJ A N 2 0 1 0

Court Products


ennis Universal started in 1979,when people kept asking AllanGardner’s son, a teaching pro at

the time, where to get various courtproducts. His son made deals withsome suppliers, and sent out a mailing.“That first mailing brought in

$49,000 in sales,” says the elder Gard-ner, who at the time was an electricalcontractor and involved in construc-tion. Gardner saw the possibilities,made an agreement with his son, andtook over the company in 1980, gradu-ally leaving his electrical contractingbusiness behind.Now, nearly 30 years later, the

business that started essentially on awhim is big business. Tennis Universal(www.tennisuniversal.com) offers vir-tually every product a facility, publicpark, school system, or teaching procan use, along with products and

equipment for other sports and sportfacility maintenance.“What we offer can be beneficial to

any court owner, at any budget,” saysGardner, whose title is international salesmanager of the family-owned company,which is based in Edmonton, Alberta,Canada. Over the last few years, thecompany has used the internet toexpand into the U.S. and other interna-tional markets.“We have an 800 line [800-263-8800]

and make sure that there’s somebodyavailable to handle calls, especially onSaturdays and Sundays, since a lot of thework our customers will do will be onthe weekend,” says Gardner. “Most ofthe calls are made from right on thecourt, as they’re doing the work. We getback to them within half an hour or so.”That’s important because one of the

services Tennis Universal offers is do-it-

For Tennis Universal,It’s About Customer ServiceT


yourself court resurfacing—not typically ajob most court owners would try to tacklethemselves. Tennis Universal offers infor-mation and products to fill cracks andlevel the surface, and then has its ownMultiMate brand coating materials avail-able in 5-gallon pails.“All they have to do is add water, fol-

low our directions, and mix it up,” saysGardner. “Resurfacing is a three-manoperation—one person mixes the paint,one pours the paint on the court and getsrefills, and one walks the court with asqueegee.” Tennis Universal carries allthe tools needed to resurface a court, andalso rents out a line-taping machine.Gardner prides himself on servicing

his customers. “I spend 75 percent of mytime on the phone, just talking to peo-ple,” he says. “It’s not selling. We spendwhatever time a customer needs to becomfortable with what he is doing.” �

R S I F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 4

I N F O R M A T I O N T O

W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

January 2010 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 17Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org

GROWTHEGAME

GROWYOURBUSINESS

GROWTHEINDUSTRY

Welcome to theTIA Quarterly, designed

to help keep you informed andup to date on developments in the

tennis industry that can benefit bothyour business and the sport—from key

industry research, to grow-the-gameinitiatives, to ways you can use technology.

US Tennis Participation: Unified industry effort helps lead to more than 30million players, including 7.1 million who are new to the game. Now, 1 in10 Americans play tennis.Tennis Night in America: In conjunction with the BNP Paribas Showdownfor the Billie Jean King Cup on March 1, host a Youth Registration event andgrow tennis in your community.Get Kids Moving: The official debut of Cardio Tennis For Kids, includinghow to incorporate the QuickStart Tennis format into the program, will beFeb. 18 at the PTR Symposium.

GrowingTennis System: Check out our business resources section, includ-ing the “Go Green” initiative, Health Beat and Facility Manager’s Manual—all on GrowingTennis.com.TennisConnect: Take your operation online with your own branded websiteand manufacturer-approved images and content, plus Demo Racquet andString Center.NewWidget: Helps consumers find programs, facilities, lessons, partners,retailers and court contractors.

Careers In Tennis: Find out about all types of tennis career paths atCareersInTennis.com, including intern postings and a career center.Marketplace Research: From the Court Activity Monitor to the Cost ofDoing Business Surveys, our industry research serves your needs. See moreat tennisindustry.org/research.National Database: Current database includes more than 20,000industry contacts and listings. Be sure you’re a part of this communicationeffort.

Nominate your facility for the Top 50 Tennis Welcome Centers Award at GrowingTennis.com.

Overall Participation Is Up,But Frequent Players Dip

The news that tennis participation in the U.S. has exceeded 30 million players forthe first time in more than 20 years reflects favorably on the unified “pathway”designed to improve the health of tennis and the industry for all stakeholders in

the sport, says TIA President Jon Muir. New players made up 7.1 million of the total,while the majority of players—14.8 mil-lion—consider themselves “regular”players, four to 20 times a year.

But of concern is a drop in “fre-quent” players—those who play tennisat least 21 times a year. That figurewent from 5.62 million in 2008 to 5.3million in the latest survey. “We have toincrease the number of frequent play-ers, to ensure a healthy sport for all,”says Muir. “Frequent players drive thetennis economy, and even though theoverall participation news is good, itcomes at a time when sales of tennisequipment, like many products at retail in the current economy, have been lagging.”

Getting more players on the path to becoming frequent players is a key focus ofthe TIA and USTA, along with a “roadmap” to support growth in the industry for allstakeholders. Priorities also include focusing on the growth of equipment and soft-goods sales at retail, and ensuring consistent and clear messaging for the sport tar-geted to both mainstream consumers and the industry.

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOTTennis Welcome Centers: 2,665Cardio Tennis: 1,697QuickStart Tennis: 1,355Consumer Queries: 4 millionmonthlySearchable Events: 100,000Online Court Reservations:1.2 million

18 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2010 Join the TIA . . . Increase Your Profits . . . Grow the Game . . . www.TennisIndustry.org

Get Kids Moving

Cardio Tennis for Kids is a group play activity fea-turing action-based tennis drills and games forchildren ages 6 to 12 of all ability levels,

emphasizing movement and fun using music andpedometers. Importantly, CT4Kids is a great comple-

ment to the QuickStart Tennisformat and can be incorporatedinto a club’s current junior pro-gramming. Using age-appropri-ate equipment, the CT4kidsenvironment develops tennisand athletic skills and improves

health and fitness. It’s designed to invigorate children’stennis programming and will provide an option to helpfight childhood obesity.

The official debut of CT4Kids will be on Feb. 18 atthe PTR’s International Tennis Symposium on HiltonHead Island, S.C. The three-hour CT4Kids workshopwill be conducted by National Cardio Tennis ProgramManager Michele Krause and members of the Nation-al Cardio Tennis Speakers Team. The workshop willconsist of both classroom and on-court sessions.

TWC Spotlight:DuniganFamily YMCA

The Dunigan Family YMCA in Evansville, Ind.,has been named a Top 50 Tennis WelcomeCenter for the past three years … and it does-

n’t have any tennis courts. How is that possible?It’s all thanks to the efforts of Siobhan Belloli,

also known around town as “Coach B,” who con-vinced YMCA officials to let her turn the large gym-nasium into a makeshift tennis court and runvarious tennis programsthat everyone can afford.

Belloli has taught tennisall over the world and haswon numerous awards forher community tennis out-reach programs. “I want asmany people as possible tohave the opportunity to getinvolved in the sport,” shesays.

If you would like to behighlighted as a TennisWelcome Center of theMonth, contact [email protected] tell us how yourclub or facility is lead-ing the charge in thegrowth of the sport.

GROW THE GAME


GrowingTennis.comAdds to Business Resources

Now you can sharpen your tennis facility man-agement skills at GrowingTennis.com/Resources. A “Facility Manager’s Manual,”

complete with a searchable table of contents, is nowthe cornerstone of the new “Facility Manager” sec-tion under Tools & Resources. The comprehensive

manual is a result of the efforts of RodHeckelman, who was interested in sharinghis knowledge of tennis managementexperience. Rod has been a regular guestspeaker at several USPTA Conferences and

written several tennis management articles for Rac-quet Sports Industry and the USPTA publicationADDvantage.

The Facility Manager section of GrowingTen-nis.com will be constantly updated and is intendedto make available to facilities the most current facil-ity management information. Check back frequent-ly for additions, updates and more, includingupdates to the “Health Beat” section and the “GoGreen” section, which offers resources and infor-mation for facilities and managers on how they canbe more environmentally friendly and save moneyin the process. Currently, find out about ball recy-cling programs, energy services companies.

TennisConnect Offers aNew Retail Feature

TennisConnectcontinues to gainmomentum

among facilities andretailers in the U.S., thanks to a special promo-tion that ended Dec. 31 designed to bringaboard more TennisConnect Retailer members.

With TennisConnect Retailer, you can takeyour operation online with your own brandedwebsite that contains manufacturer-approvedimages and content that is automaticallyupdated, so you’re providing your customerswith the latest products, which are then ful-filled through your retail store, generating foottraffic.

TennisConnect Retailer implements all thecurrent software for such features as WebsiteBuilder, Court Reservations, E-Calendar, Con-tact Manager/Group Email, String Center andDemo Racquet Center. In addition, TennisCon-nect Retailer enables a retailer to keep pacewith the constant changes in tennis technolo-gy at a fraction of the cost. For a Free TestDrive and more information, visit TennisCon-nect.com or email [email protected].

New Consumer ‘Widget’To Help Drive Growth

Finding places to play, tennis programs, retail-ers, coaching, game-matching and more justgot easier. A prototype “widget” is being devel-

oped that will go on industry and consumer websitesso players and potential players can find exactlywhat they’re looking for to play tennis, or to playmore tennis. For instance, to find a facility, program

or retailer, you canquickly search byname, city, state, orZIP code, tapping intothe database of morethan 20,000 facilities.Searches also canbring up a map anddirections. Consumerscan also search for a

retail location that has a specific demo racquetavailable, or do a “find a game” search for tennispartners. Stay tuned for more information, or visitplaytennis.com.

Find Your Career Path atCareersInTennis.com

The TIA has soft-launched a new onlinecareer development tool, CareersInTen-nis.com, to attract more young talent into

the industry. Job seekers can research tennisorganizations and companies, view universitiesthat offer Professional Tennis Management pro-grams, and access a variety of other tennisindustry job sites and career development tools.

If you’re looking for an intern position, orfor a personto fill anopen posi-tion, see theopportuni-ties on thewebsite. Formore infor-mation

about CareersInTennis.com, contact the TIA at843.686.3036 x 226 or email [email protected]

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

GROW THE INDUSTRY

DID YOUKNOW…?Key Findings From theParticipation Survey� Total participationbroke the 30 millionmark in 2009 (a 12%increase to 30.1million, against 26.9million in 2008).

� New players reached7.1 million (up 19.5%from 5.9 million in2008).

� Continuing playersstand at 16.1 million(up 6.3% over 2008,when it was at 15.1million).

� 6.9 million formerplayers came back tothe game in 2009 (abig 18% increasecompared with 5.9million in 2008).

� But the number offrequent players isdown slightly—a 3%decline to 5.4 million,from 5.6 in 2008).

� Total play occasionsfell in 2009 to 563million, down 6.6%from where it stood in2008 (603 million).

Court Activity Monitor� There is net growth inall the componentsexamined to monitorcourt activity (newplayers, league play,total court usage, andtournament play).

� “New players”continues to be thecomponent with thehighest net increase(46% of facilitiesreport an increase).

� QuickStart Tennis hasbeen adopted bynearly two-thirds offacilities.

Go to TennisIndus-try.org/research to take asurvey for facilities,retailers, courtcontractors.

For a complete Calendarof Events, visitTennisIndustry.org.


The industry’s“Racket UP, America!”campaign receivedextensive coverage andhelped to drive trafficat retail.

March 1 is Tennis Night in AmericaFrom Feb. 26 to March 1, the USTA and local tennis facilities across the country will hostYouth Registration events, to help jumpstart your upcoming junior tennis programs. Aspart of Tennis Night in America, the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cupwill be on March 1 at Madison Square Garden, with SerenaWilliams, VenusWilliams, KimClijsters and Svetlana Kuznetsova vying for $1.2 million in prize money.And in the middle of it all, our Racket Up,America! winner,Christine Smith of Texas,

will serve to a target and try to win $1 million! Visit tennisnight.com for more info.

Thank youfor your support!

… and all the participating companies and retailers who supported the industry’s effort todrive consumer awareness and excitement for this promotion! Stay tuned for more …

Wilson Seeks ‘The Perfect Feel’With New BLX Racquet TechnologyWilson’s newest racquet technolo-

gy is called BLX, which addsbasalt fibers in the racquet

frame and—when combined with propri-etary frame, grommet and grip technolo-gies—produces what Wilson calls “theperfect feel.”“Tennis players of all skill and experi-

ence levels will benefit from the ultimatefeel that BLX provides,” says Cory Springer,Wilson’s global business director for perfor-mance racquets. “It is the quality of thatfeel that allows players to develop the con-trol, spin and power to improve shots andtake their game to a higher level.”Basalt is a natural volcanic rock that

can be used in manufacturing and madeinto ultrafine gold fibers that are resistantto vibrations. Basalt fibers are woven longi-tudinally with Wilson’s [K]arophite Black to

create a composite Wilson says is the mostadvanced in the industry.Like noise-cancelling headphones that

filter out unwanted external noise, saysWilson, basalt added to the matrix filtersthe unwanted extreme frequencies in theracquet. According to the company, thenew BLX technology delivers cleaner feed-back and better sensation—“a smoothersignal reaches the hand.”In Wilson parlance, the initials “BL”

stand for basalt, which is combined to nineother variables and in total, 10 (the “X”)elements are all connected together for“the perfect feel.”Wilson player and 15-time Grand Slam

champion Roger Federer will be leading theBLX endorsement parade with his newSix.One Tour BLX racquet starting in AbuDhabi for his first match Jan. 1. “This

change [to the new BLX frame] will pro-vide me with the added feel and perfor-mance I want to further enhance mygame in 2010 and beyond,” Federer saidrecently. Juan Martin Del Potro, therecent US Open winner and ranked No. 5in the world, also will be switching to thenew BLX family, using the Pro Tour BLX.And dealers should have an interest-

ing story to tell customers. “Theenhanced feel of BLX racquets is so pro-nounced when play-tested, that theimpact is immediate and powerful,” saysSpringer. “A great sales approach is forthe dealer to provide consumers withBLX demo rackets without the normalstring-bed dampeners. We’ve found thatthe feel of the BLX racquets is so cleanand pure that these dampeners are notneeded.”


1� Six.One Tour BLXHeadsize: 90 in.Strung Weight: 12.5 oz.Balance: 9 pts. HLSuggested Retail: $230Technology: Basalt

2� Six.One 95 BLX(16x18/18x20)Headsize: 95 in.Strung Weight: 12.3 oz.Balance: 9 pts. HLSuggested Retail: $230Technology: Basalt

3� Six.One Team BLXHeadsize: 95 in.Strung Weight: 10.8 oz.Balance: 1 pt. HLSuggested Retail: $230Technologies: Basalt, Double Hole

4� Six.One Lite BLXHeadsize: 102 in.Strung Weight: 9.3 oz.Balance: EvenSuggested Retail: $210Technologies: Basalt, Double Hole

5� Pro Tour BLXHeadsize: 96 in.Strung Weight: 11.6 oz.Balance: 7 pts. HLSuggested Retail: $210Technology: Basalt

6� Pro Open BLXHeadsize: 100 in.Strung Weight: 11.1 ozBalance: 4 pts. HLSuggested Retail: $210Technology: Basalt

7� Pro Team FX BLXHeadsize: 103 in.Strung Weight:10.5 oz.Balance: 2 pts. HLSuggested Retail: $210Technologies: Basalt, FX, Double Hole


New Racquets

PLAYER FRAMES

THE BLX FAMILYThere are 13 frames in the new BLX line. “Player” frames stress precision, responsiveness and consistency and are designed to pro-vide maximum feedback at ball contact so the player senses the sweetspot and the racquet flex. “Game-Improvement” framesemphasize a comfortable touch of the racquet in the player’s hand and a smooth sensation during impact. “All-Around” frames aredesigned to provide accuracy and be forgiving on mis-hits.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Janaury 2010 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 23www.racquetsportsindustry.com

BLX Grips and BagsThe BLX line also includes gripsand bags. To match with thePlayer frames, Wilson offers thePro Hybrid grip1, a blend of nat-ural leather with firmpolyurethane, with a list price of$10 per pack. Also available area selection of BLX bags thatrange from $55 to $100.

For the Game Improve-ment line, the ComfortHybrid grip2 ($9) is ablend of shock-absorb-ing air-foam and softpoly. Bags range fromthe $55 BLX Club Back-pack to the $75 ClubPremium.

The PerformanceHybrid grip3 isdesigned for the All-Around line of rac-quets. The BLX Team Bag Collection ranges from a backpack tosix-packs, priced from $40 to $65.

ALL-AROUNDFRAMES1� Tour BLXHeadsize: 95 in.Strung Weight: 10.8 oz.Balance: 1 pt. HHSuggested Retail: $220Technologies: Basalt, Double Hole

2� Surge BLXHeadsize: 100 in.Strung Weight: 10.4 oz.Balance: 1 pt. HLSuggested Retail: $200Technologies: Basalt, Double Hole

3� Tidal Wave BLXHeadsize: 105 in.Strung Weight: 9.9 oz.Balance: 5 pts. HLSuggested Retail: $180Technologies: Basalt, LinearGeometry, Double Hole

4� Coral Wave BLXHeadsize: 105 in.Strung Weight: 9.9 oz.Balance: 5 pts. HLSuggested Retail: $180Technologies: Basalt, Linear Geometry, Double Hole

GAME-IMPROVEMENTFRAMES1� Cirrus One BLXHeadsize: 118 in.Strung Weight: 9.9 oz.Balance: 7 pts. HHSuggested Retail: $300Technologies: Basalt, Linear Geometry, FX, AGT

2� Khamsin Five 108 BLXHeadsize: 108 in.Strung Weight: 10.2 oz.Balance: 7 pts. HHSuggested Retail: $260Techologies: Basalt, LinearGeometry, FX, AGT, Triad

1 2 1 2 3 4

Key Technologies With BLX RacquetsThere are nine proprietary technologies in the BLX line of racquets. Not allframes have all the technologies.

3 Frame Technologies� Linear Geometry: a new technology that Wilson says provides up to 35percent more overall stability compared to a classic beam construction.

� FX: a quad-shaft yoke design that increases torsional stability by 23 per-cent on off-center hits, says the company.

� Triad: Wilson’s three-piece racquet system where the hoop and handleare separated with Iso-Zorb for added comfort.

3 Grommet Designs� AGT: Articulated Grommet Technology, which allows for 76 percentstring movement.

� Double Hole: These are bigger holes that allow for 26 percent stringmovement and create a bigger sweetspot,says Wilson.

� Classic: Traditional 22 percent string movement for a classic response.

3 Grip Concepts� Comfort Hybrid: At 2 mm, it has an air foam base for maximum com-fort, says Wilson.

� Performance Hybrid: The cotton base of this 1.8 mm grip is for a bal-ance of comfort and sensation.

� Pro Hybrid: The 1.6-mm leather-based grip is for maximum sensation.

1 2 3

The Geography of “Feel”Finding Your “Feel Good” Location

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

� Softer strings are to the left, stiffer strings to theright.

� Strings that lose more tension are at the top; thosethat lose less are at the bottom.

� All strings on the same vertical line should feelabout the same, no matter the tension.

� All strings at different locations on the same hori-zontal line will feel different from each other.

� Stringbed power increases to the left.� Player supplied power increases to the right.� Stringbed control increases to the right.� “Arm friendly” strings are to the left.� “Feedback” intensity (shock) increases to right.� Feel consistency over time tends to increase towardthe 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 forceequivalent to hitting a 120 mph serve. The tension loss represents the total amount of the relaxation over both time and impact. The stiffness value isa calculation derived from the amount of force created at impact to stretch the string. Lower values represent softer strings and lower impact forces.Higher values represent stiffer strings and higher impact forces.

he tennis string market in America seems to be moving in acounter-intuitive direction. At a time when more companies are

closing their doors and reducing their inventories and selections, thetennis string manufacturers continue to increase the size of thestring universe.

But, when you think about it, this probably shouldn’t be so sur-prising. Even though tennis players are being more careful withtheir money and putting off the big investments in new racquetsand new outfits, they aren’t choosing to stop playing tennis. In fact,as the USTA just recently announced, more people are playing ten-nis today than in the last 25 years. So, with more people playing ten-nis and less people buying new racquets, it only makes sense thatmore people are having their racquets restrung than ever before.

Stringing has always been one of the most profitable parts of anytennis shop. This helps to explain why manufacturers continue toinvest more in their string business.

All of these factors working together have created a string mar-ket today with more than 700 models of string currently available.That number can be overwhelming for someone trying to make adecision about what strings to carry. After all, it would be impossi-ble to actually test every string and compare it to every other stringand keep track of the results.

But, thanks to the USRSA, you don’t have to. Our exclusive StringSelector visually maps over 700 strings based on their tension lossand stiffness. This powerful tool can help you find other strings thatplay similarly to a client’s favorite string or even help you find astring that outperforms your client’s current favorite.

T Using the String Selector1. Start by finding the string your client currently uses

in the appropriate list (we’ve broken the marketdown into four categories: Nylon, Polyester, NaturalGut and Kevlar).

2. Note the string’s stiffness and tension loss numbers,go to the appropriate map and find the dot located atthese coordinates.• If your client is completely satisfied with theircurrent string and doesn’t want anything differ-ent from their next string, dots in the neighbor-hood (very close to their current string’s dot) willlikely play similar.

• If your client is happy with how long their stringplays well, but doesn’t love the feel of their string,try something on the same vertical level, but far-ther to the right or left. Strings to the right shouldfeel stiffer (or more crisp), while strings to the leftshould feel softer (or more comfortable)

• If your client is happy with how their string feels,but not with how long it feels that way, try some-thing in the same column, but higher or lower.Strings higher on the chart should soften (orloosen) up more quickly, while lower stringsshould hold their initial feel longer.

3. Once you’ve found a dot that seems interesting, notethe coordinates and look them up in the table. �

BY DAV ID BONE

24 RRACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2010 www.racquetsportsindustry.com

Use our charts to find the perfect strings for your customers.

String Selector 2010String Selector 2010Use our charts to find the perfect strings for your customers.

Nylon Polys Natural Gut Kevlar


Hybrids: To look up a hybrid combination, you must look up each string separately. If it is a pre-packaged hybrid, most packaging indicates the name of each string. There are a fewhybrids using strings that aren’t sold on their own. Those strings are included in our lists. They will be listed as the name of the hybrid with (main) or (cross) after the name. For exam-ple, Head Protector 16 (main) is the string used for the mains in Head’s Protector 16 string.

Head Intellistring 17 (Cross) Polyolefin 1.28 136 15.14Head Intellitour 17 (Cross) Polyolefin 1.28 136 15.14Isospeed Platinum 16 (Cross) Polyolefin 1.27 138 16.62Head Protector 16 (Cross) Polyolefin 1.31 140 15.77Head Intellitour 16 (Cross) Polyolefin 1.33 143 14.77Head Perfect Power 17 Nylon 1.22 144 14.80Gamma Professional 18 Nylon / Zyex 1.22 144 15.15Alpha Gut 2000 18 Nylon 1.21 146 14.67Ashaway Dynamite 17 Zyex / Nylon 1.24 147 13.72Ashaway Power Kill 17 Zyex / Nylon 1.24 147 13.72Gamma Asterisk 17 Nylon 1.26 150 13.98Isospeed Professional 17 Polyolefin 1.25 151 15.35Isospeed Professional 17 (Classic) Polyolefin 1.27 152 15.06Pro Supex Maxim Touch 1.25 Nylon 1.25 153 12.13Ashaway Powernick 18 Nylon / Zyex 1.16 154 12.88Isospeed Control 16 (Classic) Polyolefin 1.29 154 15.43Dunlop Dura Ace 17 Nylon 1.22 156 12.86Tecnifibre X One Biphase 18 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.20 157 11.47Isospeed Control 16 Polyolefin 1.27 158 15.61Ashaway Super Nick XL Pro 17 Nylon 1.26 162 14.06Head Protector 16 (Main) Polyolefin / Nylon 1.32 163 11.57Wilson K Gut Pro 17 Nylon 1.27 163 15.21Babolat Xcel Power 17 Nylon 1.27 164 10.76Ashaway Super Nick XL Micro 18 Nylon 1.16 164 12.73Isospeed Platinum 16 (Main) Polyolefin / Nylon 1.32 165 12.46Ashaway Super Kill XL 17 Nylon 1.29 165 12.86Ashaway Dynamite WB 16 Zyex / Nylon 1.37 165 13.21Ashaway Power Kill Pro 16 Zyex / Nylon 1.36 165 13.21Toalson Bio Logic Soft 130 Nylon 1.31 165 20.88Ashaway Super Nick XL 17 Nylon 1.26 166 12.08Head Evolution Pro 16 Nylon 1.31 168 12.10Gamma Professional 17 Nylon / Zyex 1.29 168 12.37Babolat Xcel 17 Nylon 1.26 169 10.72Tecnifibre TGV 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.27 169 14.69Head ETS 17 Nylon 1.25 170 14.00Ashaway Super Nick XL Titanium 17 Nylon 1.24 171 12.32Forten Ti Blend 16 (Cross) Nylon 1.32 171 13.56Super String High Speed Viper V4 Nylon 1.24 171 14.37Pacific PMX 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.24 172 12.30Gamma Asterisk Spin 16 Nylon 1.29 172 12.73Tecnifibre 225 18 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.15 172 13.96Gamma Professional 16 Nylon / Zyex 1.33 174 13.28Ashaway Powernick 17 Nylon 1.26 174 15.61Prince Premier LT 18 Nylon 1.19 174 17.37Gamma Prodigy 17 Nylon 1.25 175 11.16Prince Premier w/Softflex 17 Nylon 1.25 175 11.97Wilson Reaction 17 Nylon 1.27 175 12.00Alpha Axiom 16 Nylon 1.32 175 12.67Pacific Power Twist 16L Nylon 1.29 175 13.01Tecnifibre TGV 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.31 175 14.60Isospeed Energetic 16 Polypropylene/Polyester 1.29 175 18.76Babolat Xcel 16 Nylon 1.29 176 9.66Head Synthetic Gut PPS 18 Nylon 1.16 176 11.93Prince Premier w/Softflex 16 Nylon 1.31 176 11.97Tecnifibre Xr3 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.26 177 10.60Head Intellitour 17 (Main) Nylon / Polyolefin 1.30 177 10.87Gearbox Multi Premium 18 Nylon 1.17 177 12.85Alpha Ultra Spin SC 16 Nylon 1.31 177 16.20Fischer Comfort 16 Nylon 1.33 177 17.44Head RIP Control 17 Nylon / Polyolefin 1.28 178 10.25Head Intellistring 16 (Main) Nylon / Polyolefin 1.32 178 10.91Gamma Professional Spin 16 Nylon 1.32 178 11.47Pro Kennex Pure 1 Liquid 17 Nylon 1.26 178 13.96Ektelon Premier Power w/Softflex 17 Nylon 1.26 178 14.84Dunlop M Fil TS 18 Nylon 1.21 178 15.63Prince Synthetic Gut Multifilament 17 Nylon 1.23 178 16.08Gamma Asterisk Tour 16 Nylon 1.31 178 19.95

Pacific Power Twist 16 Nylon 1.35 179 11.78Gamma Asterisk 16 Nylon 1.29 179 12.15Tecnifibre 505 HPR 18 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.20 180 9.59Isospeed Energetic Plus 16 Nylon / Polyolefin 1.32 180 10.41Head FiberGel Power 17 Nylon 1.26 180 12.28Gamma Asterisk Tour 17 Nylon 1.27 180 12.53Ektelon Premier Power w/Softflex 16 Nylon 1.29 180 14.84Pro Supex Nylon Kevlar Spiral 1.35 Nylon 1.33 180 16.49Wilson Hollow Core Pro 17 Nylon 1.24 180 16.95Prince Premier LT 17 Nylon 1.26 180 16.96Tecnifibre X One Biphase 18 (1.18) Nylon / Polyurethane 1.19 181 8.96Tecnifibre NRG2 18 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.17 181 9.86Wilson Reaction 16 Nylon 1.30 181 11.00Head Intellitour 16 (Main) Nylon / Polyolefin 1.37 181 11.51Gamma Prodigy 16 Nylon 1.30 181 11.67Head FXP Power 17 Nylon 1.25 181 13.37Tecnifibre 305 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.25 181 15.04Klip Excellerator 18 Nylon 1.22 181 15.26Wilson K Gut Pro 16 Nylon 1.33 182 10.62Toalson Synthetic Soft 130 Nylon 1.32 182 12.98Head ETS 16 Nylon 1.32 182 13.16Babolat Xcel Power 16 Nylon 1.32 183 9.64Tecnifibre Xr3 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.31 183 9.92Alpha Gut 2000 17 Nylon 1.29 183 11.46Wilson K Gut 17 Nylon 1.28 183 11.59Klip Venom 17 Nylon 1.26 183 12.46Velociti Plus 16 Nylon 1.31 183 12.65Velociti Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.21 183 13.21Toalson Bio Logic Soft 125 Nylon 1.25 183 14.31Pacific PMX 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.33 184 10.80Head RIP Control 16 Nylon / Polyolefin 1.38 184 11.02Forten Tiegut 16 Nylon 1.32 184 12.08Kirschbaum Hybrix Power 1.25 (Cross) Nylon 1.23 184 13.06Yonex Tough Brid 125 17 (Cross) Nylon / Vectran 1.35 185 12.02Velociti Plus 17 Nylon 1.26 185 13.63Alpha Ultra Spin SC 15L Nylon 1.45 185 14.13Tecnifibre 505 Biphase 18 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.20 185 14.31Unique Tourna Quasi Gut 16 Nylon 1.31 185 15.59Babolat Attraction Power 17 Nylon 1.26 186 9.84Babolat Syntronic Brio 17 Nylon 1.25 186 10.41Volkl Power Fiber II 17 Nylon 1.25 186 12.20Gamma Revelation 17 Nylon 1.26 186 13.08Head Megablast 17 Nylon 1.26 186 13.96Ektelon Lightning XX w/ Powerfoil 16 Nylon 1.32 187 11.01Alpha Gut 2000 16 Nylon 1.33 187 11.23Gamma Gut 2 16 Nylon 1.34 187 12.00Isospeed Energetic 17 Polyolefin / Nylon 1.19 187 14.64Prince Premier LT 16 Nylon 1.29 187 16.72Yonex Tour Super 880 Ti Soft 16L Nylon 1.28 188 9.77Silent Partner Filament Frenzy 16 Nylon 1.31 188 11.55Gamma Live Wire 17 Nylon / Zyex 1.24 188 13.74Pacific Space Power TX 17 Nylon 1.25 188 16.54Tecnifibre Multifeel 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.30 189 9.81Babolat Attraction 16 Nylon 1.30 189 10.03Volkl Power Fiber II 18 Nylon 1.19 189 10.39Alpha Element 16 Nylon 1.32 189 10.89Pacific Futura TXT 16L Nylon 1.29 189 11.16Head FiberGel Power 16 Nylon 1.31 189 11.62Head Megablast 16 Nylon 1.28 189 14.11Toalson Neo Natural Mugen 1.25 Nylon 1.27 189 14.48Tecnifibre NRG2 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.24 190 9.55Ektelon Lightning XX w/ Powerfoil 17 Nylon 1.24 190 10.85Yonex Tour Super 850 16 Nylon 1.31 190 10.89Isospeed Hybrid Long Life 16 Nylon / Polyester 1.29 190 11.07Kirschbaum Touch Multifibre 1.25 Nylon 1.25 190 11.20Head Synthetic Gut PPS 17 Nylon 1.22 190 11.38Unique Tourna Irradiated 17 Nylon 1.27 190 11.62

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)



Klip Kicker 17 Nylon 1.24 190 11.68Gamma Live Wire XP 16 Nylon / Zyex 1.32 190 12.04Babolat Addiction 17 Nylon 1.26 190 12.06Gosen OG Sheep Micro 18 Nylon 1.19 190 12.28Gamma Live Wire 16 Nylon / Zyex 1.31 190 12.87Pro Supex Maxim Touch 1.30 Nylon 1.29 190 13.06Ashaway Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.26 190 14.93Gamma TNT2 Rx 17 Nylon 1.26 191 10.96Wilson K Gut 16 Nylon 1.31 191 11.98Head FiberGEL Spin 16 Nylon 1.32 191 12.08Gamma Live Wire XP 17 Nylon / Zyex 1.25 191 12.35Topspin Sence Seven 16 Nylon 1.33 191 13.29Tecnifibre 505 HPR 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.26 191 14.09Dunlop Explosive Poly Max 16 Nylon / Polyester 1.29 191 18.35Tecnifibre X One Biphase 16 (1.30) Nylon / Polyurethane 1.31 192 10.08Tecnifibre X One Biphase 17 (1.24) Nylon / Polyurethane 1.28 192 10.12Prince Lightning XX w/ Powerfoil 17 Nylon / Polyester 1.24 192 10.94PowerAngle Duo Color TNT 17 Nylon 1.20 192 12.01Pro Supex Maxim Touch 1.35 Nylon 1.34 192 12.39Pro Supex Synthetic Gut 1.20 Nylon 1.19 192 12.55Gamma TNT2 Pro Plus 17L Nylon 1.25 192 12.74Kirschbaum Touch MultiFibre 1.30 Nylon 1.31 192 14.07Toalson Bio Logic 128 Nylon 1.28 192 14.97Mutual Power Semi Gut 16 Nylon 1.35 192 15.11Alpha Ultra Spin 15L Nylon 1.38 192 16.69Tecnifibre Multifeel 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.27 193 9.92Gosen OG Sheep Micro Super 17 Nylon 1.24 193 11.51Forten Omni Spin 15L Nylon 1.37 193 12.44Wilson NXT 17 Nylon 1.24 193 12.99Klip Venom 16 Nylon 1.32 194 9.96Babolat FiberTour 16 Nylon 1.32 194 10.45Head FXP 17 Nylon / Polyester 1.25 194 10.59Prince Lightning XX 16 Nylon 1.29 194 10.76Volkl Power Fiber II 16 Nylon 1.30 194 11.20Yonex Tournament 80 Spin 15L Nylon / Vectran 1.35 194 11.33Silent Partner Ultimatum 18 Nylon 1.19 194 12.04Forten Sweet 17 Nylon 1.27 194 12.62Ashaway Liberty 16 Nylon 1.33 194 12.90Alpha Claycourt Plus 16 Nylon 1.32 194 13.80Tecnifibre Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.27 194 13.96Wilson Super Spin 16 Nylon 1.29 194 14.20Wilson Hollow Core 16 Nylon 1.34 194 14.51Pacific Space Power TX 16 Nylon 1.32 194 16.65Alpha Gut 2000 15L Nylon 1.38 195 11.11Unique Tourna Spin Plus 16 Nylon 1.32 195 11.14Gearbox Mono Premium 18 Nylon 1.17 195 11.18Klip Excellerator 16 Nylon 1.30 195 11.44Klip Excellerator 17 Nylon 1.30 195 11.66Gamma TNT2 Ruff 16 Nylon 1.52 195 11.95Kirschbaum Hybrix Power 1.30 (Cross) Nylon 1.31 195 12.39Tecnifibre 505 Biphase 17 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.26 195 13.32Alpha Comfort Plus 16 Nylon 1.31 195 13.74Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Spiral Flex 16 Nylon 1.28 195 14.80Prince Recoil 16 Nylon 1.30 195 15.95Mutual Power Power Match (Mains) Nylon 1.33 195 17.50Yonex Tour Super 850 Pro 16 Nylon 1.34 196 11.13Head Synthetic Gut PPS 16 Nylon 1.31 196 11.69Alpha Prodigy 16 Nylon 1.32 196 11.95Gosen AK Control 17 Nylon 1.26 196 11.96Pacific Space Power TX 16L Nylon 1.31 196 12.31Prince Synthetic Gut Multifilament 16 Nylon 1.28 196 13.98Toalson Neo Natural Mugen 1.30 Nylon 1.30 196 14.64Ashaway Liberty 15L Nylon 1.41 196 16.25Tecnifibre NRG2 16 Nylon / Polyurethane 1.31 197 8.05Babolat Syntronic Brio 16 Nylon 1.34 197 10.52Forten Spin Gear Nylon 1.43 197 11.22Gamma Revelation 16 Nylon / Zyex 1.32 197 11.88Wilson Sensation 17 Nylon 1.25 197 11.91Alpha Hardcourt Synthetic 17 Nylon 1.26 197 13.58Kirschbaum Touch MultiFibre 1.35 Nylon 1.34 197 13.87Toalson Neo Natural Mugen 1.30 Spin Nylon 1.28 197 14.75

E-Force Fluid 17 Nylon 1.26 197 15.66Wilson NXT 16 Nylon 1.30 198 10.69Yonex Tournament 50 16L Nylon 1.29 198 11.53Babolat Addiction 16 Nylon 1.31 198 11.79Ashaway Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.34 198 12.12Pacific Premium Power X 16L Nylon 1.29 198 12.74Velociti Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.30 198 12.88Forten Dynamix 18 Nylon 1.21 198 13.01Mutual Power Dura Plus BX 16 Nylon 1.31 198 14.11Mutual Power Titanium 900 16 Nylon 1.33 198 14.31Mutual Power Topspin 16 Nylon 1.36 198 14.38Alpha Power Cable 16 Nylon 1.32 198 15.10Dunlop Explosive Synthetic 17 Nylon 1.26 198 15.62Gamma TNT2 Tour 17 Nylon 1.25 198 15.81Wilson NXT OS 16L Nylon 1.32 199 10.43Dunlop Comfort Synthetic 17 Nylon 1.23 199 11.78Yonex Tough Brid 130 16 (Cross) Nylon / Vectran 1.40 199 11.90Gosen OG Sheep Micro 17 Nylon 1.24 199 12.35Prince Tournament Nylon 15L Nylon 1.40 199 13.19Gearbox Mono Premium 17 Nylon 1.26 199 14.64E-Force Oxygen 17 Nylon 1.25 199 15.35Alpha Synthetic Gut MXT 18 Nylon 1.16 199 16.15Topspin Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.31 199 16.58Babolat Xcel Premium 15L Nylon 1.39 200 10.17Dunlop Comfort Synthetic 16 Nylon 1.32 200 11.07Wilson Strike Zone 17 Nylon 1.24 200 11.57Bow Brand Micro Tournament 17 Nylon 1.24 200 12.50E-Force Oxygen 16 Nylon 1.28 200 13.65Pacific Powerline 17 Nylon 1.25 200 14.70Bow Brand t2000 15L Nylon 1.37 201 11.38Mutual Power Response 16 Nylon 1.32 201 12.46Forten Ti Blend 16 (Main) Nylon 1.34 201 12.57Silent Partner Ultimatum 17 Nylon 1.28 201 12.66Alpha Sensor Fibre 16 Nylon 1.35 202 11.02Gamma Challenger 17 Nylon 1.27 202 11.33Klip Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.25 202 12.87Pacific Powerline 16L Nylon 1.32 202 12.90Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Titan 17 Nylon 1.25 202 13.05Alpha Hardcourt Synthetic 16 Nylon 1.31 202 13.30Pacific Premium Power X 16 Nylon 1.33 202 13.67Gamma Synthetic Gut w/Wearguard 17 Nylon 1.26 203 9.15Gamma Synthetic Gut w/Wearguard 18 Nylon 1.21 203 9.68Gamma TNT2 Rx 16 Nylon 1.36 203 9.81Kirschbaum Touch Classic 1.30 Nylon 1.30 203 10.94Kirschbaum Touch Classic 1.25 Nylon 1.24 203 11.23Prince Synthetic Gut w/Duraflex 18 Nylon 1.20 203 11.51Wilson NXT Tour 17 Nylon 1.27 203 12.46Klip Screamer Titanium 16 Nylon / Titanium 1.30 203 12.54Gosen OG Sheep Micro 16 Nylon 1.29 203 12.96Toalson Leona 66 15L Nylon 1.40 203 14.18Dunlop Explosive Synthetic 16 Nylon 1.32 203 15.39Tecnifibre Synthetic Gut 15L Nylon 1.36 203 16.74Alpha Synthetic Gut MXT 16 Nylon 1.31 203 17.05Gamma Synthetic Gut w/Wearguard 16 Nylon 1.31 204 10.03Gosen OG Sheep Micro Super 16 Nylon 1.30 204 11.29Gosen AK Control 16 Nylon 1.29 204 11.31Unique Tourna Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.22 204 11.31Unique Tourna Irradiated 16 Nylon 1.33 204 11.44Forten Sweet 15L Nylon 1.36 204 11.55Pacific Syntec 16L Nylon 1.32 204 12.37Klip Excellerator 15L Nylon 1.34 204 12.68Gosen Nanoblend 16 Nylon 1.24 204 12.97Silent Partner Head Spin 15L Nylon 1.38 204 13.18Silent Partner Titanium 16 Nylon 1.32 204 13.19Gosen OG Sheep Micro Spin 15L Nylon 1.35 205 10.25Wilson Extreme Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.28 205 10.30Forten Dynamix 17 Nylon 1.26 205 11.14Head Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.29 205 11.27Kirschbaum Profi Tour 1.25 Nylon 1.26 205 11.43Ashaway Super Kill 17 Nylon 1.24 205 13.23Fischer Tournament Pro 16 Nylon 1.36 205 13.54

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) Cont.


Janaury 2010 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 27www.racquetsportsindustry.com

Alpha Quick Response 15L Nylon 1.38 205 18.94Bow Brand Ballistic 15L Nylon 1.35 206 10.59Velociti Synthetic Gut 15L Nylon 1.35 206 10.83Silent Partner Ultimatum 16 Nylon 1.33 206 12.81Alpha Viper MXT 17 Nylon 1.25 206 12.97Wilson Strike Zone 16 Nylon 1.29 206 13.32Klip Scorcher 17 Nylon 1.27 206 13.51Prince Lightning XX 17 Nylon 1.26 207 9.68Pro Supex Synthetic Gut 1.30 Nylon 1.30 207 11.27Pacific Futura TXT 16 Nylon 1.39 207 11.51Silent Partner Original Syn 16 Nylon 1.33 207 13.89E-Force Fluid 16 Nylon 1.29 207 15.43Alpha Tenacity 16 Nylon 1.26 207 20.84Dunlop S Gut Ti 17 Nylon 1.23 208 10.76Bow Brand Synthetic Gut XT 16 Nylon 1.33 208 10.85Kirschbaum Profi Tour 1.30 Nylon 1.28 208 10.89Forten Dynamix 16 Nylon 1.34 208 10.95Alpha All Player Nylon 15L Nylon 1.37 208 11.38Klip Blast 17 (Cross) Nylon 1.26 208 11.46Babolat Superfine Play 17 Nylon 1.25 208 11.49Kirschbaum Touch Titanium 1.30 Nylon / Titanium 1.30 208 12.11Klip Scorcher 16 Nylon 1.31 208 12.83Toalson Cyber Nylon Tour 135 L.E.O. Nylon 1.37 208 16.54Wilson NXT Tour 18 Nylon 1.24 209 9.53Gamma TNT2 17 Nylon 1.27 209 9.85Prince Topspin Plus 16 Nylon 1.29 209 10.06Head FXP 16 Nylon / Polyester 1.34 209 10.83Prince Synthetic Gut w/Duraflex 15L Nylon 1.35 209 11.13Gamma Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.26 209 11.51Wilson Sensation 16 Nylon 1.32 209 11.55Toalson Synthetic 130 Spin Nylon 1.31 209 11.68Prince Topspin w/Duraflex 15L Nylon 1.30 209 11.92Gosen Tecgut Super Tec Ak Pro 17 Nylon 1.24 209 11.97Topspin Nylon Pro 15L Nylon 1.41 209 12.35Klip Kicker 16 Nylon 1.32 209 12.55Mutual Power Super Power 16 Nylon 1.33 209 12.94Gamma TNT2 Tour 16 Nylon 1.31 209 14.49Toalson Cyber Nylon Tour 129 L.E.O. Nylon 1.28 209 16.36Gamma TNT2 16 Nylon 1.31 210 10.34Wilson Extreme Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.25 210 10.39Head Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.24 210 11.27Gosen Tecgut Remplir 16 Nylon 1.32 210 11.62Bow Brand Tournament 16L Nylon 1.32 210 11.97Tecnifibre Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.34 210 12.70Babolat Superfine Play 16 Nylon 1.32 210 12.76Topspin Fibre Touch 16 Nylon 1.30 210 13.01Pro Supex FT Ruff 1.25 Nylon 1.23 210 13.74Alpha Power Cable MXT 15L Nylon 1.37 210 14.91Wilson NXT Max 16 Nylon 1.34 211 9.71Gosen Tecgut Super Tec AK Speed 16 Nylon 1.32 211 10.45Forten Competition Nylon 15L Nylon 1.41 211 10.89Mutual Power Spin 16 Nylon 1.32 211 11.05Gamma Marathon DPC 16 Nylon 1.32 211 11.51Klip Blast 16 (Cross) Nylon 1.32 211 11.62Unique Tourna Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.34 211 12.76Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Titan 16 Nylon 1.28 211 12.94Babolat Powergy 16 Nylon 1.34 211 13.10Prince Synthetic Gut w/Duraflex 17 Nylon 1.26 212 10.69Forten Sweet 16 Nylon 1.33 212 10.78Gosen OG Sheep Micro Super JC 16 Nylon 1.30 212 11.05Gosen Tecgut Super Tec Ak Pro 16 Nylon 1.34 212 11.64Alpha Viper MXT 16 Nylon 1.29 212 12.35Carnelian Synthetic Gut 16L Nylon 1.32 212 12.92Pacific Powerline 16 Nylon 1.36 213 11.49RAB Endura Classic 16 (Cross) Nylon 1.32 213 11.62Prince Synthetic Gut w/Duraflex 16 Nylon 1.30 213 12.04Prince Synthetic Gut Original 17 Nylon 1.24 214 10.59Klip Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.33 214 10.98Gamma TNT2 18 Nylon 1.18 214 11.05Ektelon Synthetic Gut w/Duraflex 16 Nylon 1.31 214 12.24Pacific Dura Tech 16L Nylon / Aramid 1.27 214 13.12Babolat Razor Spin 16 Nylon 1.30 214 13.76Klip Synthetic Gut 15L Nylon 1.37 214 13.76

Babolat Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.26 214 13.90Gamma Synthetic Gut w/Wearguard 15L Nylon 1.38 215 11.18Gamma Ruff 16 Nylon 1.48 215 11.33Unique Tourna Nylon 16 Nylon 1.32 215 12.33Dunlop Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.31 215 13.21Pro Supex FT Ruff 1.30 Nylon 1.27 215 13.49Pacific Syntec 16 Nylon 1.37 216 12.15Babolat N.vy 16 Nylon 1.29 216 12.19Pacific Dura Tech 16 Nylon / Aramid 1.32 216 12.85Alpha Sphere 16 Nylon 1.31 216 14.88Gamma Dura Spin w/ Wearguard 16 Nylon 1.37 217 8.95Gosen Nanocubic 16 Nylon 1.32 217 10.81Gamma Challenger 16 Nylon 1.32 217 10.95Prince Synthetic Gut Original 16 Nylon 1.30 217 11.67Toalson Silencer 17 Nylon 1.26 217 13.96E-Force Platinum 17 Nylon 1.26 217 14.42Babolat Conquest 16 Nylon 1.33 217 14.99Gamma Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.30 218 9.86Wilson Ultra Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.32 218 10.28Gamma TNT2 15L Nylon 1.33 218 10.69Gosen OG Sheep Proform Tuff 15L Nylon 1.38 218 11.16Bow Brand Super Pro 15L Nylon 1.43 218 11.42Bow Brand Calibre 15L Nylon 1.36 218 12.28Babolat Conquest 17 Nylon 1.27 218 12.64Babolat Conquest Ti 16 Nylon 1.33 218 16.23Wilson NXT Tour 16 Nylon 1.31 219 8.98Dunlop Synthetic Gut 17 Nylon 1.24 219 10.04Gamma Marathon DPC 15L Nylon 1.44 219 10.80Gamma XL 16 Nylon 1.29 219 11.40Head Master 15L Nylon 1.39 219 11.58Gosen OG Sheep Rectangle Z 16 Nylon 1.36 219 12.79Ashaway Super Kill II 16 Nylon 1.31 219 13.16Head Master 16L Nylon 1.31 221 9.57Gamma Synthetic Gut 18 Nylon 1.22 221 10.14Bow Brand Superspin 1.33 Nylon 1.43 222 11.29Toalson Synthetic Tournament 16 Nylon 1.32 222 11.88Toalson TOA Gold 17 Nylon 1.26 222 12.92Toalson Silencer 16 Nylon 1.32 222 14.04E-Force Platinum 16 Nylon 1.28 222 14.40Gamma Dura Spin 16 Nylon 1.39 223 8.93Gamma Synthetic Gut 15L Nylon 1.37 224 11.42Fischer Pro Number One 16 Nylon 1.32 224 12.66Gosen X 3 15L (Cross) Nylon 1.36 224 13.12Babolat Synthetic Gut 16 Nylon 1.31 224 13.32Gamma Advantage 15L Nylon 1.39 227 9.90Toalson TOA Gold 16 Nylon 1.30 227 13.16Gamma Marathon DPC 17 Nylon 1.27 228 9.42Toalson Synthetic Tournament 15L Nylon 1.39 228 11.65Gamma Dura Spin 15L Nylon 1.41 230 10.23Gamma Dura Spin w/Wearguard 15L Nylon 1.31 233 11.00Ashaway MonoGut 17 Nylon 1.22 233 20.20Dunlop X Life Synthetic Nylon 1.37 236 14.73Wilson Ultra Synthetic Gut 15L Nylon 1.35 238 13.52Ashaway MonoGut 16L Nylon 1.27 242 19.40

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 17 (1.25) Polyester 1.27 199 13.72Head Sonic Pro 17 Polyester 1.23 199 23.09Pacific Poly Power 18 Polyester 1.09 201 21.17Tecnifibre Promix 16 (1.30) Polyester 1.29 204 14.99Polyfibre Poly Hightec 1.10 Polyester 1.09 206 23.68Isospeed Pulse 1.20 Polyester 1.23 209 21.78Super String Pure Control Orange Polyester 1.25 210 22.25Polyfibre Poly Hightec 1.15 Polyester 1.16 211 23.49Gamma Zo Tour 16 Polyester 1.32 214 20.73Head Sonic Pro 16 Polyester 1.31 214 22.18Isospeed Pulse 1.30 Polyester 1.30 214 23.74Gosen Polylon Comfort 17 Polyester 1.26 215 19.91Gosen Polylon SP 17 Polyester 1.25 215 20.70Pro Supex Poly Power Soft 1.15 Polyester 1.13 216 19.69Pacific Poly Power Pro 17 Polyester 1.21 218 21.78Kirschbaum Competition 1.20 Polyester 1.19 219 19.09Pro Supex Big Ace Micro 1.15 Polyester 1.20 219 19.34Isospeed Pyramid 16 Polyester 1.28 219 24.19Tecnifibre Black Code 18 Polyester 1.18 220 18.88Signum Pro Poly Deluxe 1.22 Polyester 1.20 220 19.11Polyfibre HighTec Premium 1.20 Polyester 1.21 220 23.13Pacific X Force 18 Polyester 1.19 222 17.09Tecnifibre Pro Red Code 18 Polyester 1.19 222 18.89Pacific Poly Power Pro 16L Polyester 1.24 222 21.65Unique Tourna Big Hitter Blue 18 Polyester 1.21 223 18.32Klip K Boom 18 Polyester 1.19 223 18.88Isospeed Hybrid Control 16L Polyester 1.25 223 20.73Kirschbaum Pro Line No.2 1.15 Polyester 1.16 224 18.92Tecnifibre Black Code 17 Polyester 1.27 225 18.03Topspin Cyber Blue 1.20 Polyester 1.22 225 18.17Pro Supex Big Ace 1.22 Polyester 1.21 225 18.68Gamma Zo Tour 17 Polyester 1.29 225 18.94Super String Terminato V1 Polyester 1.27 225 24.50Babolat Pro Hurricane 17 Polyester 1.25 226 16.83Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power Fluoro 123Polyester 1.25 226 17.64Toalson Cyber Blade Tour Thermaxe 123 Polyester 1.23 226 17.97Polyfibre Poly Hightec 1.20 Polyester 1.18 226 23.44Signum Pro Poly Megaforce 1.19 Polyester 1.19 227 16.67Kirschbaum P2 1.20 Polyester 1.18 227 18.10Pacific Poly Soft 16L Polyester 1.26 227 19.41Polyfibre TCS Rapid 1.20 Polyester 1.19 227 23.79Polyfibre Cobra 1.20 Polyester 1.21 227 24.43Pro Supex Poly Master 1.25 Polyester 1.26 228 20.59Pacific Poly Soft Pro 16L Polyester 1.26 228 23.92Kirschbaum Pro Line No.2 1.20 Polyester 1.18 229 18.19Unique Tourna Big Hitter Blue 17 Polyester 1.26 229 18.21Silent Partner Roly Poly 17 Polyester 1.27 229 19.62Kirschbaum Touch Turbo 1.25 Polyester 1.25 229 21.41Boris Becker Bomber 17 Polyester 1.24 229 21.59Polyfibre Viper 1.20 Polyester 1.21 229 24.43Polyfibre HighTec Premium 1.25 Polyester 1.24 230 24.01Polyfibre TCS 1.20 Polyester 1.19 230 24.16Polyfibre Cobra 1.25 Polyester 1.26 230 24.63Unique Tourna Poly Big Hitter 17 Polyester 1.26 231 18.15Pacific Poly Soft 16 Polyester 1.29 231 19.16Gamma Zo Twist 16 Polyester 1.28 231 22.71Topspin Titan Fibre 15L Polyester 1.39 232 12.65Luxilon Big Banger Ace 112 Polyester 1.16 232 17.05Pro Supex Premier Ace 1.20 Polyester 1.22 232 18.05Pacific Poly Power 17 Polyester 1.18 232 19.95Signum Pro Plasma Pure 1.18 Polyester 1.19 232 20.09Pro Supex Blue Gear 1.19 Polyester 1.19 232 20.53Yonex Tough Brid 125 17 (Main) Polyester 1.24 232 20.95Pacific Poly Soft Pro 16 Polyester 1.29 232 23.71Topspin Cyber Blue 1.25 Polyester 1.24 233 15.66Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.23 Polyester 1.25 233 17.48Signum Pro Poly Deluxe 1.30 Polyester 1.24 233 18.31Gamma Stinger (Main) Polyester 1.28 233 19.53Signum Pro Poly Power 1.30 Polyester 1.32 233 19.58Pacific Poly Power Pro 16 Polyester 1.30 233 21.19

Unique Tourna Poly Premium 17 Polyester 1.27 233 21.80Isospeed Hybrid Spin 16 Polyester 1.30 233 24.08Isospeed Pyramid Spin 16 Polyester 1.30 233 24.50Kirschbaum Pro Line No.1 1.15 Polyester 1.16 234 17.09Pro Supex Premier Ace 1.25 Polyester 1.24 234 17.57Klip K Boom 17 Polyester 1.23 234 17.99Volkl V Rex 16L Polyester 1.24 234 18.32Pro Supex Big Ace 1.25 Polyester 1.25 234 19.16Kirschbaum Touch Turbo 1.275 Polyester 1.26 234 21.21Polyfibre TCS 1.25 Polyester 1.26 234 23.86Tecnifibre Pro Red Code 17 Polyester 1.26 235 16.27Pro Supex Poly Control 1.25 Polyester 1.26 235 17.23Kirschbaum Competition 1.25 Polyester 1.28 235 19.07Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power Spin 127 Polyester 1.29 235 19.25Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.20 Polyester 1.21 235 19.98Gamma Zo Tour Rough 16 Polyester 1.29 235 20.52Signum Pro Poly Special 1.25 Polyester 1.23 235 20.64Gosen Polylon SP 16 Polyester 1.29 235 21.06Kirschbaum Spiky Shark 17 Polyester 1.23 235 23.42Topspin Cyber Flash 1.20 Polyester 1.20 236 17.47Klip Optic Nerve 17 Polyester 1.23 236 17.49Kirschbaum Pro Line No.2 1.25 Polyester 1.24 236 19.14RAB Endura Classic 16L (Main) Polyester 1.29 236 20.26Gosen Polylon Polybreak 18 Polyester 1.21 236 21.26Signum Pro Poly Fiber Titan 1.25 Polyester 1.26 236 24.10Prince Tournament Poly 16 Polyester 1.29 236 24.17Polyfibre Viper 1.25 Polyester 1.24 236 24.66Gosen Polylon Polybreak 17 Polyester 1.23 238 17.47Unique Tourna Big Hitter Blue 16 Polyester 1.29 238 17.88Pro Supex Big Ace 1.28 Polyester 1.25 238 18.68Forten Pro Select 17 Polyester 1.20 238 18.92Alpha Vengence 17 Polyester 1.26 238 22.36Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.18 Polyester 1.19 239 15.65Wilson Enduro Pro 17 Polyester 1.25 239 15.77Gamma Zo Power 16L Polyester 1.20 239 17.29Signum Pro Tornedo 1.23 Polyester 1.25 239 19.16Unique Tourna Poly Premium 16 Polyester 1.29 239 20.25Polyfibre HighTec Premium 1.30 Polyester 1.29 239 25.36Polyfibre Poly Hightec 1.25 Polyester 1.24 239 27.14Luxilon Big Banger TIMO 122 Polyester 1.20 240 14.07Topspin Cyber Flash 1.25 Polyester 1.23 240 15.54Pro Supex Premier Ace 1.30 Polyester 1.28 240 16.83Pro Supex Poly Control 1.30 Polyester 1.28 240 16.94Pro Supex Blue Gear 1.19 (Platinum Edition)Polyester 1.19 240 17.60Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power Rough 125Polyester 1.25 240 18.98Kirschbaum Hybrix Power 1.25 (Main) Polyester 1.24 240 19.14Luxilon M2 Pro 125 Polyester 1.26 240 21.70Polyfibre TCS Rapid 1.30 Polyester 1.29 240 24.45Polyfibre Cobra 1.30 Polyester 1.29 240 24.83Babolat Pro Hurricane 16 Polyester 1.31 241 13.61Gamma Zo Magic 16 Polyester 1.28 241 15.25Luxilon Big Banger TIMO 110 Polyester 1.15 241 16.91Unique Tourna Poly Big Hitter 16 Polyester 1.29 241 17.62Prince Tournament Poly 17 Polyester 1.24 241 24.23Pacific Poly Power 15L Polyester 1.33 241 24.83Babolat Duralast 17 Polyester 1.26 241 25.07Klip Optic Nerve 16 Polyester 1.28 242 13.58Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power 125 Polyester 1.23 242 17.13Gosen Nanocubic Nanosilver 17 Polyester 1.26 242 17.33Tecnifibre Black Code 16 Polyester 1.31 242 18.08Signum Pro Poly Fiber Titan 1.30 Polyester 1.30 242 24.89Klip Hardcore 17 Polyester 1.24 243 17.05Luxilon Big Banger XP 125 Polyester 1.25 243 17.78Pro Supex Blue Gear 1.25 Polyester 1.24 243 18.55Pro Supex Poly Power Soft 1.30 Polyester 1.32 243 18.76Signum Pro Poly Power 1.20 Polyester 1.20 243 19.50Kirschbaum Touch Turbo 1.30 Polyester 1.30 243 19.58Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.225 Polyester 1.23 243 19.74Signum Pro Poly Special 1.30 Polyester 1.28 243 20.33Topspin Cyber Whirl 1.24 Polyester 1.24 244 19.01Signum Pro Poly Speed Excl. 1.25 Polyester 1.27 244 19.56



Babolat Ballistic Polymono 17 Polyester 1.25 244 20.89Alpha Vengence 16L Polyester 1.29 244 22.05Signum Pro Plasma Hextreme 1.25 Polyester 1.25 246 16.23Topspin Cyber Blue 1.30 Polyester 1.31 246 20.38Polyfibre TCS 1.30 Polyester 1.29 246 24.74Signum Pro Poly Power 1.25 Polyester 1.26 247 17.88Dunlop Explosive Polyester 17 Polyester 1.26 247 18.00Kirschbaum Competition 1.30 Polyester 1.30 247 18.50Kirschbaum Pro Line No.2 1.30 Polyester 1.27 247 18.61Yonex Tough Brid 130 16 (Main) Polyester 1.30 247 22.42Polyfibre Viper 1.30 Polyester 1.31 247 25.18RAB Monoflex 16 Polyester 1.26 248 17.95Signum Pro Plasma Pure 1.23 Polyester 1.24 248 18.17Super String Viper V2 Polyester 1.25 248 24.56Luxilon Big Banger Original 130 Polyester 1.28 249 17.11Pro Supex Blue Gear 1.28 Polyester 1.26 249 18.04Gosen Polylon 17 Polyester 1.24 249 19.52Tecnifibre Polyspin 16 (1.275) Polyester 1.27 249 19.87Prince Tour 17 Polyester 1.25 249 21.37Polyfibre Poly Hightec 1.30 Polyester 1.29 249 23.77Luxilon Supersense 125 Polyester 1.26 250 19.21Signum Pro Poly Power 1.35 Polyester 1.35 250 19.38Signum Pro Poly Speed Excl. 1.30 Polyester 1.30 250 19.63Genesis Spin X 17 Polyester 1.26 250 21.08Toalson Cyber Blade Tour Thermaxe 130 Polyester 1.29 250 22.21Gamma Zo Life 16 Polyester 1.28 251 15.50Alpha Gut 2000 Poly 16 (Main) Polyester 1.31 251 15.52Kirschbaum P2 1.225 Polyester 1.23 251 15.76Kirschbaum Pro Line No.1 1.20 Polyester 1.19 251 18.96Signum Pro Poly Deluxe 1.25 Polyester 1.32 252 17.40Genesis Black Magic 17 Polyester 1.24 252 19.16Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.325 Polyester 1.33 252 20.75Kirschbaum Pro Line No.1 1.25 Polyester 1.22 253 16.67Dunlop Explosive Polyester 16 Polyester 1.29 253 16.98Prince Poly Spin 3D 16 Polyester 1.27 253 23.39Babolat Duralast 16 Polyester 1.31 253 25.33Forten Flexion 16L Polyester 1.24 254 15.53Signum Pro Plasma Pure 1.28 Polyester 1.29 254 19.56Gosen Polylon 16 Polyester 1.30 254 21.23Dunlop Comfort Poly 17 Polyester 1.26 254 21.24Gamma Monoblast 16 Polyester 1.28 254 25.56Kirschbaum P2 1.275 Polyester 1.24 255 16.47Klip K Boom 16 Polyester 1.31 255 16.96Super String Bionic V9 Polyester 1.23 255 17.09Head UltraTour 17 Polyester 1.22 255 19.29Yonex Poly Tour 125 16 Polyester 1.24 255 19.78Signum Pro Plasma Hextreme 1.30 Polyester 1.29 256 16.63Forten Flexion 16 Polyester 1.28 256 16.76Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour 17 Polyester 1.25 256 17.58Forten Intimidator 16 Polyester 1.30 256 17.91Gosen Polylon Comfort 16 Polyester 1.30 256 19.65Luxilon M2 Plus 130 Polyester 1.31 256 19.93Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky 1.20 Polyester 1.22 256 19.97Prince Tour 16 Polyester 1.28 256 21.57Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky 1.25 Polyester 1.26 256 22.02Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky 1.225 Polyester 1.23 257 14.58Signum Pro Poly Megaforce 1.24 Polyester 1.24 257 14.91Kirschbaum P2 1.25 Polyester 1.25 257 15.48RAB Endura Flex 17 Polyester 1.21 257 16.34Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.275 Polyester 1.26 257 19.53Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.25 Polyester 1.25 257 19.55Signum Pro Poly Speed Excl. 1.35 Polyester 1.39 257 20.00Babolat Ballistic Polymono 16 Polyester 1.30 257 20.31Tecnifibre Pro Red Code 16 Polyester 1.28 258 14.90Signum Pro Poly Megaforce 1.29 Polyester 1.30 258 15.06Topspin Cyber Flash 1.30 Polyester 1.27 258 15.28Topspin Concept Pure 1.24 Polyester 1.24 258 16.67Wilson Enduro Gold 16 Polyester 1.32 258 17.60Klip Hardcore 16 Polyester 1.27 258 19.42Genesis Spin X 16 Polyester 1.31 258 20.73Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky 1.275 Polyester 1.27 258 20.84Kirschbaum Pro Line No.1 1.30 Polyester 1.27 258 22.09Gamma Zo Sweet 17 (Main) Polyester 1.22 259 15.75

Ashaway Monofire XL 17 Polyester 1.26 259 17.13Pro Supex Poly Power Soft 1.25 Polyester 1.27 259 18.57Prince Poly EXP 18 Polyester 1.21 259 20.88Wilson Enduro Pro 16 Polyester 1.30 260 14.33Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.28 Polyester 1.27 260 15.98Luxilon Big Banger TIMO 117 Polyester 1.20 261 16.29Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky 1.30 Polyester 1.31 261 18.17Toalson Cyber Blade Tour Thermaxe 127 Polyester 1.27 261 18.99Luxilon Adrenaline 1.25 Polyester 1.23 261 19.40Genesis Black Magic 16 Polyester 1.28 261 21.35Pacific X Force 17 Polyester 1.25 262 13.47Yonex Poly Tour 130 16 Polyester 1.32 262 19.65Head UltraTour 16L Polyester 1.27 263 17.97Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.35 Polyester 1.37 263 19.36Super String Super Pro V3 Polyester 1.24 263 19.49Fischer Poly Pro 17 Polyester 1.27 263 21.06Pacific X Force 16L Polyester 1.32 264 14.33Topspin Cyber Flash 1.35 Polyester 1.23 264 15.44Gamma Dura Blast 17 Polyester 1.26 264 16.82Pacific Poly Power 16 Polyester 1.29 265 17.16Genesis Spin X 17 (Silver) Polyester 1.23 265 18.61Topspin Cyber Whirl 1.27 Polyester 1.28 265 20.48Luxilon Big Banger Original Rough 130 Polyester 1.28 266 19.21Kirschbaum Super Smash 1.30 Polyester 1.29 266 19.58Topspin Cyber Red 1.24 Polyester 1.24 268 15.88Topspin Cyber Black 1.23 Polyester 1.25 268 18.52Pacific Poly Force Xtreme 16L Polyester 1.27 268 19.39Kirschbaum Spiky Shark 16 Polyester 1.31 268 20.24Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.33 Polyester 1.34 270 14.26Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour 16 Polyester 1.28 270 16.61Prince Poly EXP 17 Polyester 1.24 270 21.66Unique Tourna Poly Premium 18 Polyester 1.21 271 15.39Kirschbaum P2 1.30 Polyester 1.30 273 15.74Topspin Concept Pure 1.29 Polyester 1.27 273 16.28Toalson Ultimate Polyester 130 Polyester 1.35 273 21.59Toalson Rencon 125 Polyester 1.26 274 13.42Pacific Poly Force Xtreme 15L Polyester 1.35 274 19.05Mutual Power Power Match (Crosses) Polyester 1.35 274 23.30Babolat Revenge 17 Polyester 1.26 277 19.32Prince Poly EXP 16 Polyester 1.28 277 21.48Signum Pro Poly Megaforce 1.34 Polyester 1.34 278 15.69Ashaway Monofire XL 16 Polyester 1.29 278 16.14Kirschbaum Long Life 1.38 Polyester 1.40 281 20.71Toalson Rencon 130 Polyester 1.31 282 13.64Signum Pro Poly Speed Spin 1.28 Polyester 1.29 283 18.00Signum Pro Poly Speed Spin 1.33 Polyester 1.32 289 18.34Pacific Poly Force 17 Polyester 1.24 294 13.41Prince Twisted 16L Polyester 1.28 298 18.91Babolat Revenge 16 Polyester 1.31 302 19.31Gamma Dura Blast 16 Polyester 1.30 303 12.68Pacific Poly Force 16L Polyester 1.30 320 17.84


30 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY January 2010www.racquetsportsindustry.com

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


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


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 18/17 (Main) Kevlar 1.15 557 14.33Wilson Hyperlast Spin 19 (Main) Technora 1.21 562 13.72Head FXP Blend 17 (Main) Kevlar 1.24 574 15.73Forten Aramid Composite 17 Kevlar / Nylon 1.17 597 11.27Forten 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 11.84Alpha Tourna Blend 18 (Main) Kevlar 1.18 634 21.03Gamma TNT2 Fusion Plus 19 (Main) Kevlar 1.23 640 17.33

Gamma Infinity 18 (Main) Kevlar 1.17 641 17.00Gamma Infinity 17 (Main) Kevlar 1.24 641 20.57Alpha Tourna Blend 17 (Main) Kevlar 1.24 647 20.64Alpha Tourna Blend 15 (Main) Kevlar 1.39 662 20.37Ashaway Kevlar 18 Kevlar 1.08 671 27.21Gamma TNT2 Fusion Plus 16 (Main) Kevlar 1.28 674 16.36Gosen Arammix Pro 18 Kevlar 1.09 697 17.03Wilson Hyperlast 15 (Main) Technora 1.41 709 13.15Prince Problend w/Duraflex 17 (Main) Kevlar 1.24 720 16.39Gamma Infinity 15L (Main) Kevlar 1.35 729 17.90Gamma Infinity 16 (Main) Kevlar 1.30 736 17.90Ashaway Kevlar 17 Kevlar 1.22 757 28.37Ashaway Kevlar 16 Kevlar 1.29 764 26.68Gosen Arammix Pro 16 Kevlar 1.28 795 19.14Prince Problend w/Duraflex 16 (Main) Kevlar 1.30 981 15.88

Pacific Tough Gut 16L Natural Gut 1.28 83 7.52Pacific 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 Ti. Power 16 (uncoated) Natural Gut 1.30 97 10.92Head Natural Gut 16 Natural Gut 1.25 99 8.73Grand Slam Gut Grand Slam Gut 15L (coated) Natural Gut 1.36 100 8.58Wilson Natural 16 Natural Gut 1.31 102 8.43Babolat VS Team Thermogut 17 Natural Gut 1.26 102 8.45Prince Natural Gut 17 Natural Gut 1.23 102 8.49Wilson Natural 17 Natural Gut 1.26 103 8.13Pacific Tough Gut 15L Natural Gut 1.40 103 8.66Grand Slam Gut Black Knight Gut 16 (Coated) Natural Gut 1.32 103 11.91Klip Armour Pro 16 Natural Gut 1.30 105 7.43Klip Armour Pro 17 Natural Gut 1.28 105 7.70Grand Slam Gut Grand Slam Gut 17 (uncoated) Natural Gut 1.28 105 7.87

Pacific Prime Gut 17 Natural Gut 1.22 105 8.45Pacific Classic Gut 16 Natural Gut 1.30 106 11.01Babolat VS Touch Thermogut 16 Natural Gut 1.30 107 8.31Pacific Tough Gut Imperial (Blue Spiral) 16Natural Gut 1.30 110 8.23Bow Brand Championship 16 Natural Gut 1.30 111 7.36Grand Slam Gut Ti. Power 16 (coated) Natural Gut 1.36 112 9.31Klip Legend 16 Natural Gut 1.28 113 8.77Grand Slam Gut Grand Slam Gut 16 (coated) Natural Gut 1.41 113 9.28Klip Legend 17 Natural Gut 1.27 113 9.31Prince Natural Gut 16 Natural Gut 1.31 114 8.49Babolat Tonic+ Thermogut Ball Feel Natural Gut 1.35 114 8.84Bow Brand Championship 15L Natural Gut 1.34 116 8.53Gamma Natural Gut Tour 16 Natural Gut 1.32 117 8.47Babolat VS Touch Thermogut 15L Natural Gut 1.35 118 8.68Babolat Tonic+ Thermogut Longevity Natural Gut 1.38 119 9.26Grand Slam Gut Grand Slam Gut 15L (uncoated) Natural Gut 1.48 129 11.22

But Babolat is the oldest tennis company in the world—it’s been making tennis strings for 135 years. In fact, Babo-lat invented tennis strings, pretty much at the same time thegame of tennis itself was born.In 1875, Pierre Babolat, who lived in Lyon (where the

company is still based, and still uses its original building),was making natural gut strings for musical instruments.Major Walter Clopton Wingfield visited Babolat to talk aboutstrings for wooden racquets for a new game Wingfield called“sphairistike” (a Greek word meaning “ball game”), which hehad patented a year earlier. (Thankfully, the game caught on,but not Wingfield’s original name for it.)From that point on, Babolat and his company became

dedicated to tennis.Now, Pierre’s great-great-grandson, Eric Babolat, heads

the company and his vision has been changing the fortunesof the family-run firm, bringing innovative products to mar-ket in the U.S. and around the world, establishing and main-

taining key relationships with pro and specialty retailers, andadding excitement for both recreational and pro players.His vision, products, growth and approach to business in

the U.S. is what makes Eric Babolat our choice for RacquetSports Industry’s 2009 Person of the Year.

Business ExpansionEric was thrust into the lead role at Babolat in 1998 when hewas 28 years old. In September of that year, his father,Pierre, was returning to France from the US Open when hewas killed in the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Nova Scotia.But Eric, now the fifth generation to run the company,

had been well-schooled in the family business. Under hisleadership, the company has been focused on, and is suc-cessfully executing, a strategic plan of expansion worldwide.In 1994, the company launched its first line of tennis rac-

quets, in Europe. In 2000, two years after Eric took the helmas president and CEO, Babolat racquets were brought to the


What’s the oldest tennis company in the world? For some, the answer may be sur-prising, since it was only in the last 10 years that the French company Babolatbecamemuchmore visible in the U.S. when it introduced racquets here.

U.S. market and quickly established a foothold that today givesthem nearly 25 percent dollar-market-share in pro shops andspecialty stores, as of June 2009, according to research bySports Marketing Surveys. Also in 2000, Babolat established itsU.S. headquarters in Boulder, Colo.The company’s biggest selling racquets, the Pure Drive (used

by Andy Roddick) and the Aeropro Drive (used by Rafael Nadal),are consistently at the top of the charts. In terms of dollar salesat pro shops/specialty stores for the firstthree quarters of 2009, Babolat has the topthree best-selling frames: the AeroproDrive Cortex Midplus, Pure Drive CortexMidplus and Pure Drive GT Midplus,according to TIA/SMS research.Babolat partnered with another iconic

French company, tire-maker Michelin, andin 2005 brought tennis shoes with Miche-lin soles to the U.S. market. (Roddickwears the popular Propulse shoe.) Thecompany has a tenniswear line in Europeand, if history is any guide, Babolat tennisapparel will soon find its way into the U.S.market. And there’s talk of possibly bring-ing Babolat tennis balls to market.Strings, of course, have been the com-

pany staple throughout its history (the pop-ular VS string was launched in 1925, and the companypioneered electric, then electronic, stringing machines in the1970s). Babolat, which had worldwide revenues of $120 millionin 2008, also makes tennis grips and accessories.Outside of its unprecedented growth in the U.S. market since

2000, what’s truly unique about the company is that for 135years, it has been solely focused on tennis. The slogan “tennisruns in our blood” is often repeated by Eric Babolat and takento heart by the nearly 300 employees worldwide.

Long-Term, Patient Growth“Our roots are deep in tennis, and we are completely dedicatedto the sport,” says Babolat. “But this industry is not so easy[today], the market is not really growing. So being specialized isa challenge.”But, he adds, the company has always been oriented toward

the long-term. “When we start or launch something, we want to

establish our brand as a leader.” Babolat’s strategy of introduc-ing products in a limited, controlled way in their home area,then patiently expanding to other locations, seems to be work-ing well. And importantly, it’s led to retailer and player loyaltythat helps to grow the brand.Also contributing to the company’s growth and success in the

U.S. is Babolat’s management team. Eric Babolat didn’t createda bloated infrastructure, so particularly during this time of down-

sizing and cutting back, the company was well-positioned with a streamlined team of provenprofessionals.Another key in the way Babolat does busi-

ness is its presence at the grassroots, with spon-sorships of teaching pros and promising youngplayers. When the company’s racquets debutedin the U.S., it didn’t take long for highly visiblepros and top juniors to put the brand in thespotlight. Among the top players who are long-time users of the brand are Roddick, Nadal andKim Clijsters, a credit to Eric Babolat’s eye fortalent.“Roddick using the Pure Drive racquet was a

huge factor in the company’s growth in theU.S.,” says CD Bodam, the president of RockyMountain Sports, who has dealt with Babolat for30 years. “Babolat’s success is a combination of

a good business plan, good resources, and some good luck.”That business plan includes a distribution strategy that has

garnered the loyalty of retailers in the U.S. and helped the brandto grow even more.“Babolat has not gone to places that don’t want to be part-

ners,” says Bodam. “Since its beginning in the U.S., the brandwas really picky, and that paid off and kind of kept a little cultgoing.” In the U.S., the company has nearly 50 employees andabout 1,500 tennis retail accounts.

Protecting the Brand“Babolat has been really conscious of protecting their brand,”says Brad Blume of Tennis Express in Houston, which Babolatnamed its 2009 Retailer of the Year. “It’s done an amazing jobin maintaining price and brand integrity and not going after thediscount market.”“Babolat has become the premier brand in tennis retail,”

adds Mark Mason of Mason’s Tennis Mart in New York City.“They’ve taken a huge percentage away from other brands, andthey don’t sell to big-box stores. You never hear of Babolatflooding the market with off-price racquets, as we know othercompanies do. Ask any specialist focused on margins; your bestmargins are with Babolat. Rarely do people come into my storesaying they can get a Pure Drive for less, and asking me tomatch that price. It’s a winning combination for specialty retail.”The reason for this, adds Mason, is the leadership provided

by Eric Babolat, along with the way the company is structured.“Eric’s greatest advantage is he’s not part of a larger companywith a corporate structure, so there’s not that pull for justgrowth,” Mason says, “because then it’s growth no matter howyou do it.“Dealers know that if anybody sells below MAP, Eric will act

quickly on it. Bottom line, they’re the best partner we have



because if you have a franchise with them, theyreally are behind you.”“A lot of retailers have a long relationship with

our company,” says Babolat. “That’s important—we’re confident in their knowledge and passionfor the game and their understanding of the prod-uct. Their professional advice is really the key forthe support they can bring to the brand, and wewant to provide them with product that is easy tosell with good marketing points.”“Right now, Babolat is the clear industry leader

in terms of policy and responsibility,” says TonyTaverna, who owns two Perfect Racquet retailstores in Connecticut.“They’ve been able to do what no other com-

pany has been able to do: Have at least a two-yearlife cycle on all new racquets; when introducing anew technology, they manage inventory so oldermodels sell through with minimal discounting; they keep theracquet line streamlined so they don’t over-saturate the mar-ket; and they successfully govern distribution channels so thatbeing an authorized dealer has very real benefits.“As racquet, string and grip SKUs keep multiplying in this

industry,” adds Taverna, “I’m hoping Babolat won’t compro-mise and will continue to stick with its tennis-specialty-friend-ly policies.”

A “Family” AtmosphereBabolat’s relationship with dealers speaks well to the “family”atmosphere that Eric fosters. “You can see it throughout thecompany,” says Susan DiBiase, the U.S. mar-keting director who joined Babolat in 2006. “Itstarts from the top down. We want to be suc-cessful, but we’re not an in-your-face kind ofbrand. The whole company wants to makesure we never lose that.“And it’s the same with our players,” she

adds. “You see it with Nadal and Clijsters—they’re total winners, yet very humble andapproachable and nice. That’s a value that Erictries to instill in everybody, it’s a huge part ofthe way everything’s organized.”Recently, DiBiase says, Nadal came by the

office in Lyon and spent four hours goingaround with Eric and talking to every employ-ee. “The employees love working for Eric.”And employees know it’s all about the fam-

ily—which is the brand. “It all goes back toEric’s philosophy and how that has trickleddown to everyone,” says Mickey Maule, Babo-lat’s U.S. national sales manager, who’s beenwith the company just over two years. “Ourbrand is first, and every decision goes around that.”Important in the longevity of the brand, say both DiBiase

and Maule, is having “long-sellers.”“We don’t introduce a product, then six months later yank

it and flood the market with closeouts,” says DiBiase. “It’simportant for our brand and for our dealers to know thatwe’re there for them.”

“It’s something dealers always bring up to us,” adds Maule.“We give the consumers a chance to really buy into some-thing. Our dealers know our programs and philosophies areeasy to work with.”

Innovation and VisionDealers also know the innovative products and technologiesthat Babolat brings to market. “Eric is a visionary in thisindustry,” says Mason. “I always look to Babolat for the mostinnovative products.”“Product innovation is a big key for success and quality,”

says Babolat. “We have technologies and products that aregreat for every kind of player, at every level.”Adds DiBiase, “The U.S. is the biggest mar-

ket for Babolat, and Eric understands that theU.S. is a different market than the rest of theworld, and he always listens to our point ofview. For instance, we have the whole over-sized racquet market here that they don’t havein Europe. Eric is just great, though, and reallyapproachable. He’s personal, and personable.”And Eric Babolat is looking to help the over-

all U.S. tennis market; he recently joined theboard of directors of the Tennis Industry Asso-ciation. “Eric’s perspective on the U.S. tennisretail market will provide valuable insight aswe move forward with ways we can help theindustry overall,” says Jolyn de Boer, the exec-utive director of the TIA. “We’re happy thathe’s involved as a member of our board.”“To me, Eric is the most important leader

in the industry,” concludes Mason. “He wantsto improve the experience of players on everylevel, and to make the game even easier. I

wish other companies would market more like Babolat.”“We are a mix of innovation and heritage,” says Babolat.

“Very few companies in the world have that, and I’m veryproud of that, of those tennis roots. The more that players feelBabolat is their brand—this is what makes us strong and helpsus build. We want to take the time to grow our history in themarket.” —Peter Francesconi

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Keep your eyes focused onwhere you want to be. “Tennisruns in our blood,” says EricBabolat, and that theme setsthe tone for the company’sstrategy.

� Create strong partnerships withcustomers and accounts, andwork together.

� Internally, make it a team effortacross the board. Rather thanpeople out for themselves, theyshould be looking out for thebest interest of the brand.

� Be personable, open, honestand genuine. Eric Babolat’sapproach to others draws themin, rather than alienates them.


Alongside picturesque LakeOconee sits Reynolds Planta-tion, in the town of Greens-

boro, Ga., 75 miles east of Atlanta.This private community is host tothe award-winning Lake Club TennisCenter, with its four hard and fourclay courts—and an array of pro-gramming for all ages and all levels.Impeccable service and attention

to detail are hallmarks for this facility, which is run by Direc-tor of Tennis Dave Neuhart, a Peter Burwash Internationalpro. The programs and services are all “very member-driven,”he says. And it’s the all-around attention to its members andprograms that have helped to make Reynolds Plantation RSI’s2009 Private Facility of the Year.The site has received many honors, including being named

a Top 50 Tennis Welcome Center and winning a 2009 USTAOutstanding Facility award. “We work hard to provide thebest in tennis for our members and guests,” says Neuhart,who was named PBI Tennis Professional of the Year in 2000.“Dave’s patience and attention to detail are second to

none,” says Bill Dopp of the USTASouthern Section. “And his tenniscenter has a growing membership.”“Players have a lot of opportuni-

ties to get involved with guests andcommunity mem-bers,” saysNeuhart. The clubhas a “tennisconcierge” to get

players together, and there is never a lack ofCardio Tennis, leagues, clinics and privateinstruction.There are junior programs as well, along

with social activities, mixers, and round-robins. And members get free lessons fromPBI teaching pros there to train. The fully-stocked pro shop carries all major brands ofracquets, apparel and footwear.The club, says Neuhart, “probably com-

prises one of the friendliest membershipsanywhere.” —Cynthia Sherman

Ron Rocchi’s first job, in seventhgrade, was stringing for a localshop near Chicago. Now, as Wil-

son’s global tour equipment manager, he’stasked with designing products, includingperformance racquets.His drive to offer players the best pos-

sible in products and services has led tothe formation of the Wilson StringingTeam, the innovative Baiardo stringingmachine, and a desire to elevate the stan-dards of stringing. In fact, few people havedone more to raise the profile of racquetstringers than Rocchi. And for 2009, he isRSI’s Stringer of the Year.The Wilson Stringing Team includes

many of the best stringers in the world.The team is the official stringers for the USOpen, Australian Open, Sony Ericsson, and 25 to 30 otherATP and WTA events. “Customer service is at the forefront,”Rocchi says. “Our customers, the top pros in the world,expect the very best quality and service.

“But another thing wehighlight is the tremendousjob that stringers do,” headds. “For decades, it’sbeen somewhat of an over-looked profession.”“All of the practices that

Ron’s instituted for histeam are helping to raiseprofessional standards,”says David Bone, the exec-utive director of the U.S.Racquet Stringers Associa-tion (and co-publisher ofRacquet Sports Industry).“And that filters right down to the recre-ational level, too.”“Ron is great to work with,” says Tim

Strawn, founder of the Grand Slam Stringers Symposium, atwhich Rocchi has presented for the last three years. “Ronknows what he wants. And he really puts his heart into it.”

—Peter Francesconi

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Sweat the smallstuff. For members,it’s the attention todetail that counts.

� Monthly themedactivities, and otherevents, help keep itvery “member-driven.”

� Get people play-ing—and having funon court—rightaway.

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Whether stringing forpro or rec players, it’sabout personal inter-action, quality string-ing and customerservice.

� Know string patterns,types and tensions tobecome an expert incustom-fitting clients.

� Become “super-detail-focused”—have standardmethods, for instancealways tying a certainunique knot.


The tennis industry puts a lot ofemphasis on what's new. Butsometimes, it's easy to overlook

the fact that proven, even “old-school,”ways of doing business may still be thebest: delivering quality work, charging rea-sonable rates and above all, keeping yourpromises. It’s these “traditional” methodsthat often build a successful “family”business.When Thomas DeRosa Sr. started build-

ing clay courts in 1930, he did it out of ded-ication to and pride in the sport he loved. When his sons,one of whom is Tom DeRosa, became involved with thebusiness, they continued that tradition of success, and thathas made DeRosa Tennis Contractors Inc. of Mamaroneck,N.Y., our 2009 Builder/Contractor of the Year.“Our reputation is probably our strongest point because

everyone knows what we do and our quality,” says TomDeRosa, the second generation and the current owner. (Hisson works summers with the company and expects to followhis father after college.)

DeRosa handles allaspects of jobs—fencing,paving, lighting, landscap-ing and more. “If you con-trol it all, you know it will bedone the way you want it,”he says. Away from thecompany, DeRosa is anaccomplished pianist andsinger and leads a band.“Tom has a reputation

for quality and integrity,”says Fred Stringfellow, executive v.p. ofthe American Sports Builders Associa-tion. “He’s been a Certified Tennis CourtBuilder since 2003 and has been theASBA’s CTCB certification chairman forthe past several years.”“I think the world of Tom,” says Tom

Magner, Eastern regional manager withDecoTurf. “He's been involved in this industry since he was akid. And he plays a mean keyboard.” —Mary Helen Sprecher

“Everyone has their own approach tocustomer service,” says TracyLynch, the wholesale accounts

manager for Lee Tennis of Charlottesville, Va.“The first thing we do is listen to our cus-tomers, then ask questions to find out whatthey need and come up with solutions.”Lynch—who manages each of Lee’s 320

wholesale accounts in the U.S., Mexico, Cana-da and the U.K—has been listening to his cus-tomers for 11 years. And he’s become anexpert at it—and in giving his customers whatthey need to run a successful court-buildingbusiness. That’s why Lynch is RSI’s Sales Repof the Year.“Tracy’s great,” says Stephen C. Dettor,

COO of Fast-Dry Courts Inc. and president of 10-S TennisSupply. “He makes sure we get the technical and marketingsupport we need. But more than that, he’s a trouble-shooterand problem-solver for us.”

“Tracy is a great leader, educator and manager,” says PatHanssen, Lee’s director of sales. “He’s an expert on clay

courts, clay-court construc-tion and maintenance, andcourt lighting. He’s proactivein learning our accounts’businesses, spending timewith them on job sites, sup-porting and training theirstaffs, and creating buyingprograms to make themmore profitable.”In his spare time, Lynch

plays league tennis, but he’salso a high-level football offi-cial—he’s officiated in theNFL and currently worksNCAA Division I and UFL

football games.“I think my personality type is to run to the problem,

don’t take your time getting to it,” says Lynch. “Often mis-takes should be treated as opportunities. No one expects youto be perfect, but customers do expect you to make good onyour product.” —Peter Francesconi

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Listen to customersand ask questions tofind out what theyneed.

� Partner with cus-tomers, so that“there’s a benefit forboth sides,” saysLynch.

� Be available to cus-tomers. “We take ateam approach. I’min touch personally,and we have threein-office sales repsdevoted to specificterritories.”

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Let customerschoose. "I tell themthe pros and cons ofsurfaces, then letthem decide," saysDeRosa.

� Don't get stuck in arut, but don't overdoit. "You have tochange with thetimes. And you can'tdo everything, butyou can do every-thing the best youcan."

� Learn everything youcan. “Court buildersshould have a knowl-edge of the gameand of construc-tion—everythingfrom the base up."


What happens when a very pas-sionate tennis player and parentsees courts in town falling into

disrepair? If you’re Ellen Doll of Minneapo-lis, you step up and start gathering supportto save the courts.Doll started the nonprofit Support the

Courts (www.supportthecourts.net) in 2004and since then has been the driving force inrenovating four public sites in the last fewyears, saving a total of 20 tennis courts. Andshe’s not done yet, with more locations scheduled to receiveher special brand of attention. Her efforts to pull together localgovernment, community groups and residents has led to Dollwinning RSI’s inaugural Tennis Advocate of the Year award.“I didn’t see that the Park Board had it in their plans to ren-

ovate the courts, and so far, we’ve raised closed to a milliondollars and renovated four sites,” says Doll, who recently wonthe USTA Northern Section’s Community Service Award.“The Park Board owns the land; we’re renovating courts

they own. They’ve allowed us to hire our own contractor, thenwe do the work as high quality as we can and donate it back

to the Park Board, and theypromise to maintain it.”It’s a formula that is work-

ing for Minneapolis. The firstsite that Support the Courtsrenovated, six courts at Ken-wood Park, was finished in2006. “They get the most useof any in the city,” says Doll,“and they’ve just come alive.People play constantly.” The

next three sites all serve major city highschools and have tennis programming foryoungsters.”"Ellen is doing extraordinary things for

tennis,” says Becky Cantellano, USTA North-ern’s director of tennis programs and ser-vices. “She sees dilapidated courts andunderfunded programs as an opportunity forher to contribute, rather than another reasonto complain. She speaks up, pitches in, andmakes change happen.” —Peter Francesconi

Everyone knows it’s a toughretail environment. Still,tennis shops are finding

ways to do business. For BradBlume at Tennis Express in Hous-ton, it’s a return to fundamentalsthat is helping to see him through.“From the top down, our team

is very customer-oriented,” hesays. “One of the things we do super-well is always try to findthe right product for our customer—we’ll do whatever we canto get them what they want.”It’s the willingness to go the extra mile that sets Tennis

Express apart. That’s why the store is RSI’s Pro/SpecialtyRetailer of the Year.“Brad’s commitment to excellence and quality has result-

ed in one of the most successful, largest pro/specialty tennisshops in the country,” says USPTA CEO Tim Heckler.The store is about 5,500 square feet, with another 2,500

square feet for storage and executive offices, including forTE’s internet team. Blume says at least 10 people work thefloor at all times. Four of the five stringing machines are on

the store floor, and usually atleast two stringers are in action atall times. For 30 minutes everyweek, there are “team training”sessions for employees.“We try to have a broad selec-

tion and keep items in stock,”says Blume.“And we

always try to cross sell, so for instance, ifyou buy a racquet, we’ll give a special priceon a bag.”The store is very involved in the com-

munity, too, including donating to theHouston NJTL, supporting the Houston Ten-nis Association and more. TE also hostsclinics with pros; last spring, 250 peopleturned out to see James Blake.“We’re about creating memorable expe-

riences for our customers,” says Blume,“because we believe that drives loyalty.”


TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Greet people at thedoor. TE also givesout a “greetercoupon” that showswhat specials aregoing on.

� Train your staff tocross-sell relatedproducts.

� Get involved in thecommunity.

� When dealing withmunicipal govern-ment, don’t force it.“You have to buildthe relationship andreally listen,” saysDoll. “And some-times you just haveto wait for the righttiming.”

� One of the mostvaluable volunteersfor Doll’s organiza-tion was someonewho did graphicdesign work. “Theproject comes aliveonce it’s on paper,when people seephotos of childrenand bad-lookingcourts,” she says.

� In an all-volunteerorganization, expecta lot of work to fallon a few people.

TIPS FORSUCCESS


It’s quite an understatement tosay that Dan Faber is a busyman. Faber is the executive

director of the NJTL of Trenton,N.J., one of the most active NJTL’sin the country.“Our mission is to enhance lives

and strengthen character by pro-viding opportunities in tennis, edu-cation and nutrition,” says Faber,who has a master’s degree in edu-cational administration. In 2008, Faber resigned from teach-ing to work for the NJTL full time. In his time there, “We’vegone from 250 kids to touching the lives of 2,500 kids.”“Dan mixes the passion of a teacher with the business

savvy of an executive to create a large and sophisticatedNJTL chapter on the cutting edge of youth developmentwork,” says Dan Limbago, the USTA’s national manager forthe National Junior Tennis and Learning network. And for2009, Faber is RSI’s Junior Tennis Champion of the Year.“We have quite an array of opportunities for our partici-

pants,” says Faber. The NJTL runs after-school and summer

programs, many of which have anacademic component designed to“enhance what they learn in the class-room.”More than 1,000

kids from 20 publicschools participatein a program usingQuick- Start Tennisthat culminates in acitywide tourna-

ment. Summer camps are at eight parksand schools. The MITES program (Mobile ITEducation Support) brings 10 laptop com-puters from site to site so kids can work onthem. The NJTL also provides college schol-arships. And all this just scratches thesurface.“This past year, we grew by 40 percent

in both revenue and participants, and we’relooking to do the same next year,” saysFaber. —Peter Francesconi

Local tennis heroes are all aroundus. They run programs in parks,they form CTAs, they run

leagues and mixers. In Cobb County,Ga., Lisa Stone and Susan Chambers,both of Marietta, formed a program forschoolchildren that has taken off. Andfor 2009, both women are RSI’s Grass-roots Champions of the Year.In 2008, Stone’s son wanted to play

tennis for his middle school, but therewas no team (in fact, the school districtdoesn’t have, or support, any sports for elementary- or mid-dle-school kids). That set Stone in motion—she contactedthe USTA to see what could be done, and started networkingin the community, and she formed a Junior Team Tennisprogram for grades 6 to 8.“We started in fall of 2008 at four middle schools and fig-

ured we’d get 10 kids from each school,” says Stone (at leftabove). “It turned out we got 180 kids, and wound up with16 teams—everything from kids who had never picked up aracquet before to tournament players. We ran a six-week

season and the kids had a total blast.”The next year, the league doubled insize, to 380 students from 11 schools,making up 32 teams.Then, in the fall of 2009, Chambers

got involved. “I asked Lisa if there wasan elementary-school league, because Iwanted my son to playtennis with his class-mates,” she says.“There wasn’t, and Irealized we should

start one.” In its first season for grades 2 to5, there were about 135 kids on 16 teamsfrom eight schools. The kids use the Quick-Start Tennis format and all get together atone time and place on Friday afternoons.“This league is probably the most amaz-

ing thing I’ve seen,” says Karen Zuidema,the tennis service rep for Georgia. “Thereneeds to be more people like Lisa andSusan.” —Peter Francesconi

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Use tennis as a hookfor teaching responsi-ble behavior, sports-manship, health andfitness, leadershipand more.

� Academic curriculumfor kids needs to beas engaging as thetennis.

� Use your connec-tions. Faber used hiseducational contactsto help create a 24-week curriculum forNJTL kids.

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Use all the resourcesyou can—local,state, sectional,national.

� Kids love the idea ofplaying on teams,with their classmates.

� Network with friendsand other tennis play-ers, for suggestionsand help.


Talk to people about Dean Oba ofSalt Lake City, and certain wordskeep coming up: “phenomenal,”

“generous,” “amazing,” “inspirational.”“He’s the complete package,” says

Linda Vincent, executive director of theUtah Tennis Association. “He’s been amentor and coach and has volunteeredenormous amounts of his time to helpwork with wheelchair tennis players.We’re so grateful.”“He’s just an all-around amazing guy,” adds Dan James,

the USTA’s National Director of Wheelchair Tennis. “A gen-uinely great person.”Oba fits all of those descriptions. And to the honors and

accolades, he can now add another: RSI’s 2009 WheelchairTennis Champion.Last year, Oba received the David L. Freed Lifetime Service

Award from the USTA Intermountain Section as the drivingforce behind wheelchair tennis in Utah. He started playingwheelchair tennis 30 years ago and is an accomplished tour-nament player, but his passion for the sport runs deep.

Oba has been instru-mental in developingwheelchair tennis pro-grams in the Salt LakeCity area, and he’sspent countless hourshelping kids and adults.“Along with othergroups, we’ve devel-oped this really nice

program,” says Oba. “We have a great net-work of groups and people that have reallybeen supportive.“Our philosophy is if someone is going to

take a risk and come out and play, we wantto make sure they have an enjoyable time,”he adds. “Fun is a huge component of whatwe do.”“Dean is one of those people who touch-

es your life,” says Patricia Chien, the USTA Intermountain’srecreational tennis coordinator. “When you talk to him, youget inspired.” —Peter Francesconi

im Reffkin has served as director oftennis for Tucson, Ariz., Parks & Recfor 34 years, directing operations at the

award-winning Randolph Tennis Center. Inappreciation, the city last Septemberrenamed the facility in honor of Reffkin,and RSI is pleased to present our MunicipalFacility of the Year award to the recentlychristened Reffkin Tennis Center.Under Reffkin, the center expanded

from 10 to 25 courts and has won numer-ous awards. It’s also the site for at least 10national championship events. Thousands of kids—andadults—go through RTC’s QuickStart Tennis clinics everyyear, says Reffkin. There are 15 different events using theQST format, and RTC has 10 courts permanently lined forQST, which he says “lends credibility to the program.”RTC also has a unique “participation pathway,” says Assis-

tant Director of Tennis Jeff Brack. “It’s a logical numerical sys-tem, with corresponding tournaments for each level. It keepsthe chain of players moving from one level to the next.”

The RTC’s Smith-PerryTennis Academy is one ofthe largest junior develop-ment programs in theSouthwest. The center alsohas the largest USTA Ten-nis on Campus program inU.S., with 227 studentsfrom the University of Ari-zona, who, by the way, aretrained to teach QST.“Jim recognizes that the

college program encourages these kids to be future leaders inthe sport. Very few public tennis centers get that,” says GlennArrington, the USTA’s Tennis on Campus national programmanager.The main thing, says Reffkin, “is that we reach every pos-

sible level of play, every income level, and age group, andhave a rich menu of 90-plus events and tournaments fromwhich the local economy thrives. We want to get a lot of newplayers and keep growing the game.” —Cynthia Sherman

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Make sure peoplehave fun right fromthe start.

� Look for differentways to recruit newplayers. Oba alsocoaches wheelchairbasketball and pullsplayers into tennisfrom that.

� Develop relation-ships with othergroups. Oba main-tains ties with rehabcenters, tennis facili-ties and civic organi-zations, such as theRotary Club—all ofwhich help thewheelchair program.

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Make QuickStart Ten-nis a priority as adynamic progressiveprogram.

� Encourage total fami-ly participation tokeep tennis, and yourcustomer base,growing.

� Encourage communi-ty involvement andhost tournaments.

J


The term “public park” generallyevokes images of … unkemptmunicipal courts, few, if any,

amenities, and no real ambience.Then there's our choice for RSI’s

Public Park of the Year: the Amandaand Stacy Darling Memorial Tennis Cen-ter in Las Vegas. The center, whichopened in September 2005 as part ofthe 110-acre Kellogg Zaher Sports Complex, is the largestpublic outdoor tennis complex in Nevada, with 23 lightedhard courts and a stadium court that seats more than 2,000.The courts stay busy, and the sport keeps growing, withcomprehensive programming for all levels of play.“I'm particularly proud of our developmental programs,”

says Sandy Foley, the center’s coordinator. “It's very inex-pensive, very community-based. We get a lot of kids fromneighborhood schools, then their mothers, fathers, siblingsand friends get involved.”In a city that has made tourism an art form, the Darling

Tennis Center stands out as an athletic attraction, says Ryan

Wolfington, executivedirector of USTA-Neva-da. “It has been the sin-gle best contribution totennis in the Las Vegastennis community,” hesays. “My guess is theDarling Tennis Centeralone will increase ten-

nis participation by 20 percent. The biggestimpact for the community is the economicdevelopment, bringing in regional, nationaland international tournaments.”And, says Greg Mason, senior director of

sales for Head/Penn Racquet Sports, whichhas worked with the facility to put on spe-cial events, the staff provides an outstand-ing experience. “The service level is second to none,” hesays. “Here, you get the feeling of being in a private club.You have top-shelf courts, a stadium court, everything—andthey operate so efficiently.” —Mary Helen Sprecher

What makes a great CTA?Programming and activi-ties, of course. But the

Western Wake Tennis Association inWestern Wake County, N.C., goeswell beyond that. And for 2009, theWWTA is RSI’s CTA of the Year.“Western Wake has everything,”

says David Slade, the USTA’s nationalmanager of CTAs. “They’ve takenQuickStart Tennis to the next level with permanent courts,they have a strong board, great programming, relationshipswith park & recs and towns, and more.”WWTA, with 2,600 members, offers league play, sanc-

tioned tournaments for adults and juniors, youth tennis,events for seniors, player development, academic scholar-ships to college, scholarships to attend tennis camps, andtennis for special populations, including wheelchair playersand Special Olympics events.The organization’s strength, says WWTA President

Donna Gast, is its membership. “We’ve been able to recruitcommitted volunteers to whom tennis has become more

than just a game—it’s become alifestyle, one that we want to share,”she says.The CTA provided QuickStart equip-

ment to all five park & rec departmentsin its local area, as well as equipment toprivate clubs. In 2009, WWTA took theprogram a step further with the intro-duction of its PhysicalEducation Tennis Pro-

gram, which provides training and equip-ment to six public elementary schools in thearea. WWTA plans to expand the programto the remaining 26 public elementaryschools.Careful, steady growth has been the hall-

mark of the association. “We realize thereare programs and needs that we can’t meetourselves,” says Gast. As a result, WWTAhas partnered with other CTAs, charitableorganizations and with the Cary Tennis Parkto achieve its goals. —Mary Helen Sprecher

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� “Reach out to schoolsand the community,”says Foley. “That'swhere your playerswill come from.”

� Be beginner-friendly.“Come if you can'tplay. We'll teachyou,” she says.

� Get quality instruc-tors. “The first experi-ence should alwaysbe with your bestinstructor.”

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� “Prioritize yourefforts, and pick asmall number of pro-jects to go whole-hog on,” says Gast.

� Grow your effortsslowly and put quali-ty into your projects.

� Think big, but be pre-pared to follow up.


In recognition of a career of accom-plishments spanning more than 30years, Robert Greene Jr. of Rangeley,

Maine, has been recognized with the 2003International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Ten-nis Educational Merit Award and 2009USPTA Alex Gordon National Professionalof the Year Award. He is a two-timeUSPTA New England Division Pro of theYear winner and five-time USPTA NewEngland Division Tester of the Year. Now,he can add RSI’s 2009 USPTA Member ofthe Year to his accolades.“Bob’s industry experience, including

his tennis-teaching career and volunteer service, demon-strates his talent for educating both on and off the court,” saysUSPTA CEO Tim Heckler. “He’s among the USPTA’s mostactive members and has demonstrated his dedication throughyears of volunteer service as a teacher, committee member,mentor and speaker. His commitment to teaching and volun-teering has ensured our game’s success with perhaps hun-dreds of potential new players.”

Greene, director of ten-nis at the Balsams GrandResort Hotel in DixvilleNotch, N.H., has sharedhis passion for tennis andbreadth of knowledgethrough USPTA and USTAcommittees and nationalworkshops. He has beenequally committed to giv-ing back to the communi-ty through USPTA FreeLesson Days and as a vol-unteer coach with Tenaci-

ty, a non-profit organization in Boston.Greene is as adept at teaching begin-

ners as he is advising touring pros—andenjoys both. Ultimately, he hopes to run tennis camps foraspiring touring pros, similar to the one he attended under theguidance of Fred Perry in the late 1970s.“I’m always looking for ways to grow this great game,” he

says. —Cindy Cantrell

There are some people in thisindustry you just can’t avoid. KenDeHart is just such a person. He’s

involved in so many aspects of tennis—asa director of tennis, teaching pro, coach,teacher of tennis teachers, presenter,author and so much more.“Ken’s spent nearly 40 years educating

tennis teachers and coaches around theworld,” says PTR CEO Dan Santorum. “Hehas a true passion for teaching tennis. Buthe not only shares his knowledge with oth-ers, he also takes the time to learn moreand more about how to teach the sport. Hesets a tremendous example for others.”And for the example that he sets, DeHart is RSI’s 2009 PTRMember of the Year.DeHart has been the director of tennis at the San Jose

Swim & Racquet Club in California for eight years. “We teacha lot of lessons, and a lot of my lessons are for non-mem-bers,” he says. “If I can convert one out of every five or six tomemberships, I add a lot of value to our club. So much of my

time in tennis has beenon how do you market orcreate added value.”For more than 20

years, DeHart has pre-sented at the annual PTRSymposium and alwaysreceived top marks, saysSantorum. He’s a greatclinician, hosted andhelped produce three ofthe PTR’s most widelydistributed DVDs, is com-mitted to community andcharity events, and is one

of only a handful of pros who are MasterProfessionals in both the PTR and USPTA.Continuing education has always been

huge for DeHart, who has a master’s degree in education. “Iattend as many continuing ed opportunities as I can,” he says.“And since I get to speak a lot, it forces me to have new thingsto talk about all the time.” —Peter Francesconi

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Drop-in clinics letnon-members test-drive the club andyour instruction, andlet members see newfaces.

� Get involved in pro-fessional develop-ment—never stoplearning and sharingwhat you’ve learned.

� If you pay enoughattention to continu-ing education, writ-ing articles, runningevents, etc., you’llnever get burnedout.

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Network with fellowteaching pros. You’lllearn lessons thatcan’t be found inmanuals.

� Invest in yourself byseeking developmentopportunities.

� Promote yourself aswell as the game:Offering free lessonsis one way to show-case your expertiseand benefit theindustry.


Tennis most likely was in the cardsall along for Rich Johns of SaratogaSprings, N.Y. After all, his middle

name is “Ace.”Johns, who is the tennis coach at Sarato-

ga Springs High School, has led his teams to17 league championships and nine section-al titles. But more important, he runs a No-Cut tennis program that, over hisremarkable 35 years of coaching, has had asmany as 150 players. Honored by the USTArecently with its Starfish Award, Johns isRSI’s 2009 High School Coach of the Year.“Rich is widely recognized for many con-

tributions on and off the court,” says USTASchool Tennis Manager Jason Jamison.“He’s kept tennis in the forefront in his local community andhas made a significant impact on the lives of students.”“Our program’s foundation deals with respect,” Johns

says. “Kids understand that the core values that are mostimportant to us are respecting the game, yourself, youropponents, the spectators, your coach. You’re around good

people and we expect you to be that way,too. I take that into the classroom, also.”Johns is a social studiesteacher in the middleschool.Over the years, Johns

has gained a lot of supportfrom the community, andit’s helped him build hisprogram and promote ten-nis. In fact, he was able topush a building projectthat placed 12 courts in aprime area on the highschool campus. There areanother six courts at the

middle school.“I’m fortunate to be here in Saratoga

Springs,” says Johns. “The community,school district, parents and players are allso supportive of what we try to do.”


In the past year, the USTA MidwestSection has compiled a list ofaccomplishments spanning com-

munity tennis, youth and junior teamtennis, no-cut high school, collegiateand adult competition, USTA Leagues,QuickStart and recreational coach work-shops, high performance, tennis servicerepresentative initiatives, and its foun-dation. Most of all, however, Executive Director Mark Saun-ders says he is proud of the dedication and longevity of hisstaff. Combine it all, though, and you have RSI’s USTA Sec-tion of the Year.“Despite recent economic challenges, our volunteers and

staff remained positive and dedicated to fulfilling our mis-sion,” Saunders says. “In addition, our districts, USTA orga-nizational members, USPTA and PTR pros, college and highschool coaches, and communities continue to embrace ourprograms. We are so fortunate to have a talented and pas-sionate team of volunteers, staff and teaching pros workingtogether to provide high-quality tennis programs andevents.”

According to GlennArrington, the USTA’snational manager of Ten-nis On Campus & TennisServices Representa-tives, another corner-stone to the section’ssuccess is its well-round-ed team of TSRs. “Mid-

west continually receives some of thehighest marks in the country for its atten-tive service and support in helping local ten-nis providers in fostering growth,” he says.Kirk Anderson, the USTA’s director of

recreational coaches and programs, notesthe section leads the country in trainingworkshops for both recreational and Quick-Start Tennis coaches. “Midwest is doingsome outstanding work organizing programs and trainingcoaches,” he says. “This will pay dividends for years to comeby getting more children on the court and keeping them inthe game with team-based programs.” —Cindy Cantrell

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Give credit where due.Johns acknowledgesthe support of players,coaches, parents, theschool district and thecommunity at large.

� Show respect to yourstudents, and they’llrespect you, yourcoaches, the game,and their peers andopponents.

� Get involved in thedistrict and communi-ty. It helps build therelationships you needto grow the program.

TIPS FORSUCCESS

� Provide a high level ofmember and customerservice. Listen tothem, solve their prob-lems, satisfy theirwants and thankthem.

� Develop a team ofpassionate and talent-ed volunteers andstaff. Give them astrategic direction andfinancial resources,and then get out oftheir way.

� Accept and embracechange and be cre-ative with thosechanges. Embracenew ideas andtechnology.


String Playtest

EASE OF STRINGING(compared to other strings)Number of testers who said it was:much easier 2somewhat easier 4about as easy 24not quite as easy 7not nearly as easy 2

OVERALL PLAYABILITY(compared to string played most often)Number of testers who said it was:much better 0somewhat better 9about as playable 10not quite as playable 19not nearly as playable 1

OVERALL DURABILITY(compared to other stringsof similar gauge)Number of testers who said it was:much better 6somewhat better 14about as durable 17not quite as durable 1not nearly as durable 1

RATING AVERAGESFrom 1 to 5 (best)Playability 3.6Durability (17th overall) 4.3Power (8th overall) 3.7Control 3.7Comfort 3.2Touch/Feel 3.2Spin Potential (11th overall) 3.5Holding Tension 3.6Resistance to Movement (17th overall) 3.9

M2 Plus is a new “multi-mono” fromLuxilon that offers the advantages ofboth multifilament and monofilamentstrings. Luxilon M2 Plus has dynamicvariable flex which reacts to the powerof your shots. It acts like a multifila-ment at lower power, touch shots –providing increased feel and softness –and like a monofilament at higherpower shots – providing control.

The patent-pending M2 Plus consistsof an interior of ten filaments — five tri-angular and five oval-shaped — sur-rounded by a matrix of polymer. Allparts of the string are extruded simulta-neously using Luxilon’s proprietary mate-rials. For more information aboutLuxilon’s M2 line of strings and the“multi-mono” technology, see ourplaytest report of M2 Pro in the May2009 issue of RSI magazine.

Luxilon tells us that M2 Plus is forplayers who want to experience the ben-efits of Luxilon string but need a softerfeel from their string.

Unlike other Luxilon strings, there areno recommendations to lower the ten-sion when stringing with M2 Plus. Due toits unique nature, this string can bestrung like a normal synthetic, or with aslight reduction in tension.

M2 Plus is available in 16 gauge onlyin pearl only. It is priced from $17 perset of 40 feet, and $318.50 for reels of660 feet. For more information or toorder, contact Luxilon at 800-272-6060,or visit luxilon.com. Be sure to read theconclusion for more information aboutgetting a free set to try for yourself.

IN THE LABWe tested the 16 (1.30) gauge M2 Plus.The coil measured 40’. The diametermeasured 1.33-1.36 mm before string-ing, and 1.29-1.31 mm after stringing.We recorded a stringbed stiffness of 73RDC units immediately after stringing at60 pounds in a Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 95(16 x 18 pattern) on a constant-pullmachine.

After 24 hours (no playing), stringbedstiffness measured 67 RDC units, repre-

senting an 8 percent tension loss. Ourcontrol string, Prince Synthetic GutOriginal Gold 16, measured 78 RDCunits immediately after stringingand 71 RDC units after 24 hours,representing a 9 percent tension

loss. M2 Plus added 18grams to the weight of our unstrungframe.

The string was tested for five weeksby 39 USRSA playtesters, with NTRP rat-ings from 3.5 to 6. These are blind tests,with playtesters receiving unmarkedstrings in unmarked packages. To opti-mize playability, we instructed ourplaytest team to reduce the referencetension by 10 percent. Average numberof hours playtested was 22.3.

During stringing, M2 Plus felt slip-pery enough that it was sometimes diffi-cult to hold the tip between the fingersduring installation of the crosses. M2Plus also remained mildly cantankerousthroughout the installation process, buton the other hand there was virtually noneed to straighten the crosses afterward.

No playtester broke the sample dur-ing stringing, eight reported problemswith coil memory, two reported prob-lems tying knots, and none reportedfriction burn.

ON THE COURTAs with Luxilon M2 Pro we playtestedearlier, our playtest team loved M2 Plus.M2 Plus scored 8th highest of the 137strings we’ve playtested to date forPower, and 17th highest in both Durabil-ity and Resistance to Movement. It alsoscored well above average in Playability,Control, Spin Potential, and TensionRetention. In six of our nine voting cate-gories — Durability, Power, Control,Spin Potential, Tension Retention, andResistance to Movement — M2 Plusscored in the top ten percent of allstrings we’ve tested. In the Power cate-gory, M2 Plus is the new top-scoring“poly.” All together, M2 Plus scored 12thbest overall, with an overall average thatis also in the top ten percent. In fact, M2

Luxilon M2 Plus



“ Very solid feel at impact. Excellent spin.Uniquely playable poly.” 4.5 male all-courtplayer using Prince O3 Speedport Black Teamstrung at 60 pounds LO (Prince Premier LT17)

“ This is an arm-friendly polyester with theperfect blend of power and control. Where do Isign?” 4.5 male all-court player using YonexRDS 001 strung at 52 pounds CP (TopspinCyberflash 16)

“ This is the best polyester I have ever tried. Ican take a full swing without worry. The depthand trajectory are very predictable. After 25hours, it shows no sign of wear. I have neverbeen a fan of polyester ... until now.” 4.5male all-court player using Prince OZone Sevenstrung at 60 pounds LO (Babolat Conquest 16)

“ Good control. No string movement. Top-spin lobs come down hard and fast. Big hittingtopspin players need look no further.” 3.5male baseliner with heavy spin using PrinceO3 Blue strung at 5.5 pounds CP (Luxilon BigBanger TIMO 18)

“ Above average tension maintenance. Verylittle string movement. Folks who can generatetheir own power will be rewarded withtremendous control.” 4.5 male all-courtplayer using Head MicroGEL Prestige MP

TESTERS TALKstrung at 54 pounds LO (Luxilon Big BangerAlu Power 16L)

“Wow! Effortless power and endless control.Defensive saves find the back court. This stringenables confident tennis. After 6 hours of hardhitting, power and control suffer a bit.” 5.0male touch player using Wilson K Five strungat 47.5 pounds (Polyester 16)

“ Solid feel. Softer and more playable thanmost polyester strings.” 4.0 male baselinerwith heavy spin using Wilson nTour strung at56/54 pounds LO (Signum Pro Poly Plasma 17)

“ I am not a polyester user, but this string haspiqued my interest.” 4.5 male serve andvolleyer using Head MicroGEL Radical TeamMP strung at 58 pounds CP (Gamma Profes-sional 17)

“While impressed by the durability, resis-tance to movement, and power, I find every-thing else to be average.” 4.5 male all-courtplayer using Prince EXO3 Rebel (port inserts)strung at 56 pounds LO (Polyester/Nylon Multi-filament 17/17)

FREE PLAYTEST STRING PROGRAMLuxilon will send a free set of

M2 Plus to the first 500 USRSA members who cut out (or copy) this coupon and mail it to:

Offer expires 15 Jan 2010Offer only available to USRSA

members in the US.

Name:

USRSA Member number:

Phone:

Email:If you print your email clearly, we will

notify you when your sample will be sent.

USRSA Attn: Luxilon String Offer, 330 Main Street, Vista, CA 92084

or fax to 760-536-1171, or email the info below to

[email protected]


For the rest of the tester comments, visitwww.racquetsportsindustry.com.

Plus was a virtual tie (.01 difference!) withLuxilon M2 Pro.

Two players broke the sample duringthe playtest period, one at two hours andone at seven hours.

CONCLUSIONAs with Luxilon M2 Pro, there’s a lot tolike with M2 Plus, but one number thatjumped off the result sheet was the 8.2percent tension loss that, while low forany synthetic string, is great for a “poly.”And with its range of tension possibilities,current “poly” users can string it up tight-ly to get the traditional benefits of a Lux-ilon string, while newer “poly” playersand experimenters can string it moreloosely to optimize playability or bettermatch up in a hybrid combination.

If you think that Luxilon M2 Plusmight be for you, fill out the coupon toget a free set to try. —Greg Raven �

STRING STRAIGHTENINGEven though the recommendation is tostraighten the cross strings as you install andtension them, with some strings, it’s virtual-ly impossible as the last tensioned crosswants to pop back away from the previouslyinstalled cross. For this reason, manystringers use an offset awl to straighten thestrings after tying off the crosses, before dis-


Tips & Techniques

mounting the racquet from the machine.If you want to straighten as you go, how-

ever, one way to do it is to straighten thecross behind the cross currently under ten-sion. This works for me even on the reallyslippery strings.5 sets of Wilson Sensation 16 to:James Sly, Carpinteria, CA

TRIMMING GRIP TAPE

When wrapping grip tape around a freshreplacement grip or overgrip, I like to havethe tape finish on one of the wide “flats”of the shaft. This helps prevent tape creep,and the exposed end is much less likely tobecome detached and start unraveling. Ido this even when I have a grip band toput over the grip tape, as I often see rac-quets where the band has slid up the shaftto the point where it no longer secures thetape.5 sets of Pro Supex PF Blend 17/16 to:Alan Yoshida, Hollywood, CA

STRINGING MACHINE PROTECTIONThis idea comes from another dear friend,Sam Chan of the U.K. When using a string-ing machine with outside arms the use ofstarting clamps, awls, etc. tend to scratchthe arms. To stop this from happening,use racquet head tape on the arms. Usethe synthetic leather type that stretches toconform it to the arms.5 sets of Gamma Synthetic Gut with Wear-Guard 16 to:Vince Chiarelli, MRT, Largo, FL

—Greg Raven �

Readers’ Know-How in Action

Tips and Techniques submitted since 2000 by USRSA members, andappearing in this column, have all been gathered into a single volumeof the Stringer’s Digest—Racquet Service Techniques which is a bene-fit of USRSA membership. Submit tips to: Greg Raven, USRSA, 330Main St., Vista, CA 92804; or email [email protected].


In our struggling economy, I recentlyfound myself out of a job due to pro-gram cuts. Many other teaching pros

were losing their jobs as well. The jobmarket was tight and I knew it wouldtake several months to find another job.It can be a depressing time if you let neg-ative thoughts get into your mind. Some-times things happen that are out of yourcontrol and all you can do is try to staypositive. I would like to share with youthree tips that helped me survive themonths that I was not working.

My first goal was to do somethingevery day that would further my careerin the long run. Since I wasn’t working, Ihad time to write articles that I haddeclined in the past. I went to USPTAconventions and meetings that were usu-ally scheduled at a difficult time for me toattend. After a lengthy application andevaluation process, I was selected toattend the weeklong USTA High Perfor-mance Program in Carson, Calif. I wouldnot have considered this program in thepast because of the time commitment.However, it proved to be very informa-tive. I gained a lot of confidence in myabilities and it opened up some doors forthe future.

During my “down time” I also had achance to watch some of my tourna-ment-level students compete in USTAtournaments. Watching players actuallycompete in a match gives a teaching progreat insight into the player’s mental andemotional capacity. Most pros work onstroke production, but the mental side isequally important. I watched as my play-ers tried to navigate through the ups anddowns of match play. I learned that asteachers, we also need to focus on errormanagement skills and controlling emo-

tions as adversity comes and goes. Mostof the matches turned out to be roller-coaster rides of emotions and momen-tum swings. Being there to witness whathappens in a match allows me to reallyidentify more specific needs of mystudent.

In addition to watching my playersplay, I played in several tournamentsmyself. I believe if you put yourself in thesame situation as your students, you arebetter able to relate to how they feel.How many teaching pros try to giveadvice to students on tournament playand they have never played in a tourna-ment themselves? I also had an opportu-nity to help with two national tourn-aments and learn the ins and outs of run-ning a big event.

I also spent some time working forthe public parks in a low-cost tennis pro-gram. The environment and expectationsare certainly different from those of a pri-vate country club or a collegiate team.Gaining experience working with largegroups is also valuable. Everything youdo in the industry will add knowledgeand experience to your repertoire.

The second goal is to do one activitythat you enjoy every day. This could beexercising, reading a book, watching amovie, or calling friends who you have

Holly Chomyn is a Master Professional withthe USPTA, the highest professional rating inthe organization. She has coached USTA andALTA teams, USTA Junior Zonal teams andbeen a USTA High Performance coach. Shealso has coached the men’s and women’steams at the University of Delaware for 12years.


“My first goal was todo something everyday that would furthermy career in the longrun.”

not spoken to recently. It is important todo something that makes you happy evenif it is for a short time. In my case, I did theabove activities plus I volunteered to walkdogs for the local SPCA. Volunteering willkeep your mind off of your troubles andallow you to concentrate on others whoare less fortunate.

The third tip is to stay or get intoshape. It is easier to stay in shape than tolose your fitness and try to get back inshape when you start a new job. This willalso help avoid injuries. If you are not inshape, now you no longer have an excuse.Even if you cannot afford a gym, you canstill stretch every day along with an absworkout, push-ups, Pilates, and some freeweights. Exercising will also make you feelbetter by relieving stress and releasingendorphins.

The hours of your day will be filled ifyou do these three activities every day.More importantly, it will keep you physi-cally, mentally, and socially engagedinstead of sitting around feelingdepressed. These tips will give you a goalto focus on every day. I found that with theextra time to do other tennis activities, Ifilled out my resume and gained experi-ence in areas that I had not worked before.In the end, my time off helped me expandmy career. �

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

Your Serve


Making the Best OfA Bad Situation

B Y H O L L Y C H O M Y N

A veteran coach and teaching pro used thetime she was out of a job to expand hercareer, and her opportunities.

Documents

201001 Racquet Sports Industry