Beginners: Get the Equipment to Enjoy the Game

p grass roots programs all across the USA.  My advice is to seek out one of the programs. If you don’t belong to a club or have interest in one, many of the best and most active programs can be found at local parks.  Having a community really makes the sport enjoyable and you will meet some great new friends.  Whether you are competitive or just want to play for the exercise or both, hopefully you will find a program and facility that will meet your needs.  To play all you really need is a racquet and a good pair of shoes.

Let’s start with the shoes.  Since I am the RACQUET Guru, I will just cover the basics. You need tennis specific shoes. Running shoes are a big NO NO!  Running shoes are designed for running — straight ahead. Tennis involves movement in all directions. Wearing running shoes or casual sneakers to play in can easily result in a severe ankle or knee injury.  You may be able to get away with a cross-trainer or basketball shoe if you have one and don’t want to invest in a tennis specific shoe. Lateral stability is the key.  If you plan to play on a clay court you must have a tennis shoe. The courts can be damaged by other types of shoes and most facilities will not let you play without proper shoes.

Now, the racquet.  Generally, racquets are available in a wide variety to suit different playing styles and skill levels.  If you are new to the game, chances are you have not yet developed a playing style and if you have the chances are pretty good that your game will change quickly as you begin to improve you skills.  For this reason, I recommend that for your first racquet you go “middle of the road.”  This will insure that you will get good use from the racquet as your game develops and you won’t out grow the racquet too soon.  Let’s break it down by the characteristics of the racquet you need to look for.

HEAD SIZE – This is the hoop area with the strings. Racquets are available from about 85 square inches up to over 130 square inches.  I recommend starting with something between 107 and 116 square inches.  Larger heads produce more power and more forgiveness on off center shots but can be difficult to control.  For a beginner using a super large, powerful racquet may be a little easier at first, but it will limit you ability to develop your strokes. These racquets are so powerful you can’t really take a swing at the ball and control it.  A moderate oversize will allow you to learn to swing through the ball and get good depth on your shots but still be able to control it as you learn.  Smaller head sizes are easy to maneuver but have a small sweet spot and are difficult to generate much power.

GRIP SIZE – Racquets are available in 6 sizes graduating in 1/8 inch increments for the circumference of the handle. The following chart shows the common sizes. The key is to get a grip that fits your hand. A pictorial is available here to show you how to measure for your perfect grip size. http://www.racquetmaxx.com/measure-your-grip.html
Not all racquet models are available in all sizes.  Getting the proper size is crucial to prevent arm injuries.

LENGTH -The standard length for an adult racquet is 27 inches although that varies greatly these days. Racquets can be up to 29 inches in length and still be legal under the rules of tennis. Longer racquets produce more power and reach but are much more difficult to maneuver. I recommend sticking with a 27 – 27.5 inch racquet.

POWER LEVEL – Every racquet manufacturer makes a line up of racquets to cover various power levels. Many things contribute to the power of a racquet – head size, stiffness, length, weight, swing weight, and string pattern, to name a few.  This is where you may need a little help from the sales people, if available. If you are shopping at a pro shop or tennis specialty store, you should be able toget good advice. If you are shopping at a big box chain store, chances are you are on your own. Many of the bigger on-line retailers have good information about the racquets so you can get a good idea. You want to go “middle of the road” because as a beginner, you will need the racquet to help you generate power and depth of shot, but you do not want to go so powerful that the racquet is doing all the work. If so, you will never learn to stroke through the ball and improving will be more difficult.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY – If possible buy your racquet from a dealer that has a DEMO program.  Even though you are a beginner, just trying 3 different racquets and choosing the one that works best for you will make a world of difference.  You may not be able to say why you liked racquet A over racquet B, but you will notice subtle differences. Most specialty and pro shops have demo racquets to try. Even the bigger on-line retailers have programs.

Get out there and have some fun!  One of the greatest things about tennis is that no matter what your skill level is there are always players at the same level to play with!  Most of us are never going to be pros, but we can fun and get some great exercise at the same time. And, I have made some really great friends on the tennis court. ENJOY!

Poly Strings – Do They Live Up To The Hype?

If you have watched any professional matches on TV over the last three years, chances are you have heard the “expert” commentators talking about the “these new strings” that  are making the players able to hit the ball so hard and with so much spin.  Maybe you watch the matches with volume muted. I certainly cannot blame you for that!  Sometimes it seems the announcers forget about the match and just like to hear themselves ramble on. Often they make a good point but then just can’t leave it at that.  Such is the case with many of the string comments that I have heard.  Inevitably, they continue to talk about the strings of which they really know little about and end up giving erroneous information to millions of viewers.

The string they are talking about are co-polymer based monofilament strings that have become enormously popular over the last five years, not only on the pro circuit but also in the clubs and parks.  The Luxilon brand was the first to make inroads in this market, but with their success, soon every manufacturer had a co-poly string or two. Each company is now trying to invent a better mouse trap and the strings have gotten more diverse and for the most part, much better for the average player.

So, what is magical about these strings?  Well, nothing really.  I promise — there is no magic! Just like everything else, you may try one and think so, but others will try the same one and think it is horrible.  As always, different strokes for different folks.  The strings do have some general characteristics, but before I get into all that, let’s back up a bit and read my earlier article on string types 101 to make this all a little easier to understand. Now that you are familiar with the different construction types, let’s talk about the co-polymer strings that are so popular.  For the sake of simplification, I will refer to them by their “street name” — POLY.

Poly strings are very stiff and have very little elasticity.  This is what makes them popular especially with big hitters. Because of the lack of elasticity, the ball doesn’t trampoline off the stringbed, meaning a player can take a big swing at the ball without it sailing long.  The stiff string also digs into the ball generating more spin as the strings brush across the ball.

So, why wouldn’t everyone use these strings? Well… for the exact same reasons. Because there is less trampoline effect, many players will have to swing harder to get the ball deep into the court.  In other words, you will have to work a lot harder to get good depth on your shots.  And because the string is so stiff, there is also a lot more shock transfer to the player upon impact with the ball making for a harsh feel and it could lead to arm injuries.  Most manufacturers of poly strings recommend dropping the tension to compensate for these factors. While most recommend a 10% reduction, it really depends on the string and the player.  Some need more and others less. You will need to experiment to find what works best for you.

While many players use a full poly setup, most use a HYBRID setup by combining the poly string with a much more elastic string such as natural gut or a multifilament synthetic to balance out the issues described above.

Rafeal Nadal uses a full poly setup of Babolat RPM Blast 1.35mm. I strung for Rafa earlier this year during the U.S. Open Series and he was going with a tension of 25 kilos in his Babolat AeroPro Drive racquet.  That is on the low end of the recommended tension for that racquet but is spot-on for the recommendation of dropping tension for poly.

A hybrid setup using poly mains (vertical) and gut or synthetic crosses (horizontal) is the most popular for the pros and recreational players.  You get the advantages of the poly but the harsh effect is lessened by the softer cross string.  Maria Sharapova uses Babolat RPM Blast in her mains and Prince Natural Gut in the crosses at tensions in the high fifties. An added advantage for recreational players is that the poly strings are generally more durable than other strings. Since most pros get their racquets strung for every match, this isn’t a big deal for them. But if you are a frequent string breaker, you may find that the poly will help you get some extra life for your string jobs.

Roger Federer and a few others opt to reverse the norm by using natural gut in the mains and poly on the crosses. Roger uses Wilson Natural Gut and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Rough with tensions in the mid-fifties depending on conditions. Since the main strings do much of the work, this hybrid setup provides a more lively stringbed than ones using the poly in the mains.

Should you try poly?  CERTAINLY! You will never know unless you try.  It is certainly not for everyone. Kim Clijsters uses a full set of Babolat VS natural gut. It obviously works for her so why change?  If you are looking for a change, experiment with some different setups. Talk to your Racquet Technician about what might work for you. You’ll never know unless you try. If you find a new setup that kicks your game up a notch or two, you will be glad you did!

String Types 101

Strings come in all shapes, sizes and colors. With the recent advances in technology and materials there are now literally thousands of different constructions and combinations of materials used.  So what is the best string? Just like in racquets, what works well for one player may not be the best for another.  Choosing a string that meets your specific needs is critical to getting the optimum performance from your racquet. In an attempt to simplify the dizzying diversity of string types, we’ll break them down into four basic groups – natural gut, multifilament synthetics, synthetics with a core and monofilaments.

The first strings used for tennis (think 1875 or so) was natural gut. Tiny ribbons of sheep or cattle intestines were twisted together to make the string.  This was actually a conversion of musical strings at the time and then perfected for the new game of tennis. Gut strings are still used today. Obviously they have evolved over the last century along with the racquets and the game itself. But, generally they are made the same way. Chemicals have been added to increase the durability but making natural gut strings is still a very labor intensive process which explains the high cost.  Frankly, after seeing the process, I have no idea how they are able to keep the cost as low as it is. Anyway, I digress!  Gut strings are considered the most playable strings available.  Because they were once living tissue, their resiliency and elasticity has yet to be duplicated by man-made materials. Gut offers superb feel and unequalled power.  Players with arm injuries find this to be the most comfortable and shock absorbing string choice.

In the mid twentieth century, as plastics became more prevalent in everything we use, nylon strings became the norm for most players. At the time it was a fraction of the cost of natural gut and lasted much longer. The pros and top club players stuck with the gut, but the masses preferred the nylon strings.  As products do, the nylon synthetics improved and today the most popular of these are referred to as “Synthetic Gut.”  Why? It sounds good and sells products!  Most of these strings labeled as synthetic gut are simply nylon string. Most feature a solid core of nylon wrapped with many smaller fibers. Stringers and other industry nerd types (myself included) will refer to these as “wraps.” They are the most popular strings on the market. The center core helps retain the tension better while the smaller outer wraps makes the string more playable. As new technology and materials have come along there are now literally thousands of variations on this construction.  There are multi-cores and multi-wraps. There are also combinations of different fibers, although nylon is still the most popular, it is not uncommon to see it paired with more high tech fibers.

In attempt to try to duplicate the playing characteristics of natural gut, multifilament strings were introduced in the 1970’s.  These strings bundled hundreds and even thousands of tiny fibers together without a center core.The early strings played great but went dead in minutes.  Through the years they got much better but not until the last decade have multifilament strings made giant leaps in both playability and tension retention.  The French company, Tecnifibre, was one of the early developers of this type of string construction and continues today as leader in this category with several different strings. Although still a step below natural gut, a good multifilament is an excellent choice for those seeking a powerful and comfortable string.
The most recent segment are the monofilament polyester based strings.  Going the opposite direction from natural gut, poly string is very stiff and has little or no elasticity.  There popularity is due to their durability (if you tend to break strings) and for the spin they can produce in the hands of an advanced players.  The first poly strings were very harsh feeling due to their stiff nature.  Big hitters love the fact that they can hit out on the ball and not worrying about the ball flying because the strings are so dead.  As with other strings, the poly based strings are becoming more varied and many of the newer ones are much softer than their predecessors, although they play much firmer than other synthetics.

Many players, including most of the top touring professionals, are using hybrid string jobs. A hybrid is simply using a combination of two strings – one for the main string (vertical) and a different one for the crosses (horizontal).  Most use a poly based string in the mains for spin and control paired with natural gut or a multifilament in the crosses to provide some feel and comfort.  A few, including Roger Federer, opt for a reversal of this setup using gut mains and poly crosses. This provides the player with a bit more feel and power.

Talk to your stringer and/or your coach about what string may be best for your game and your style of play.  You will never know if your setup is the best for you if you don’t experiment and try some different setups.

Product Review: Babolat RPM Blast

Last year everyone was talking about Maria’s “little black dress” at the U.S. Open.   This year the talk may focus on the little black STRINGS!  Maria Sharapova and many other top pros are using a new co-polymer string from Babolat called RPM Blast.  The black color is unusual and is easy to spot on the court, but that is not why it has become the choice of many top professionals.

The string was introduced to the pros at the Australian Open in January. Test samples were distributed to the touring professionals before the string even had a name. Reels and packages were simply identified by a product number. Those samples were well received because by the time the tours had moved to the USA, many top players had already made the switch.  Our RACQUETMAXX Team is the official Stringing Team for the Morgan Keegan Championships (ATP) and the Cellular South Cup (WTA) in Memphis, Tennesee in February. We were amazed at the number of players who had made the switch, since pros are usually very slow to embrace change. Several players including eventual Champions, Sam Querry and Maria Sharapova were using the new string.  I spoke to Sharapova’s coach Michael Joyce during the tournament about the new strings. He told me that Maria had tested several new string setups prior to Australia and found the new Babolat string combined with natural gut was the best one for her. Recovering from shoulder surgery, Sharapova’s biggest concern was comfort and keeping her arm and shoulder injury free while not sacrificing performance from the string.

The popularity on the pro tours and the media attention the black strings received prompted Babolat to speed up the planned 4th quarter launch of the string to meet the demand. The string finally shipped to dealers in April but was in a perpetual state of backorder until recently because of the overwhelming demand.

So is this string really that good?  Some will say yes and the sales figures will certainly back up claims that it has been well received not only by the pros but also by those playing in clubs and parks.  Will everyone like it? No. It is a poly string and many players prefer a softer feeling string. Strings are personal preference based on an individuals particular style of play.

RPM Blast is one of the softest feeling poly strings we have ever tested but it is still much stiffer than normal synthetics. If you have tried a poly before and found it to be too harsh feeling, you may want to revisit them again as the RPM and several new generation poly strings are much softer and easier on the arm than their predecessors.

Another improvement is that the new string, while softer feeling actually retains tension and playability longer than earlier poly strings.  Polys, in general, lose their resiliency fairly quickly compared to other synthetics.

Babolat RPM Blast is available in both 16 gauge (1.30 mm) and 17 gauge (1.25 mm). The string features an octagonal shape instead of the normal round profile. This enhances the bite on the ball. Another unique feature is the Cross-Linked Silicone coating that reduces friction allowing the string to remain straight when hitting those ferocious topspin winners! If you like a firm string bed and spin is your game, use a full set like Rafael Nadal does.  If you need a little more feel and comfort, try combining it with natural gut or a soft multifilament in a hybrid setup. It is certainly worth trying. We consider it to be one of the top performing co-polymer strings on the market.

Should your next string job include natural gut?

With my years of experience stringing on the pro tours, I’ve seen a lot of changes. There have been changes in racquets as they have gotten stiffer and lighter. When I started stringing at Tour events in the early nineties, the largest head size we saw was a 95. Now 100 square inch frames are the norm. But there is no doubt that the biggest change has been in string.  Natural gut was by far the norm among the top players. Up and coming players often used nylon synthetics just because they could not afford the gut. Poly was around but was generally only used by clay court specialists from South America and Eastern Europe. In those days the poly strings more closely resembled something that belonged in a weed whacker rather than a tennis racquet. They were very stiff and usually very thick.
Today, the poly and co-poly strings are continuing to evolve and are, by far, the most popular segment of strings on the pro tours.  I will be discussing the new wave of poly strings in a future article, but today I want to address the forgotten string –natural gut.  It is not really forgotten, at least not on the pro tours.  As a matter of fact, gut is as popular as ever.  A few players still use all gut, such as Kim Cljisters.  More common are gut/poly hybrids. Some use the gut in the main strings with poly crosses such as Roger Federer and Mardy Fish. Most opt for poly mains and gut crosses like Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray.
Their choice is really no surprise. Natural gut is unmatched for its responsiveness, feel and resiliency. Even with the recent advances in synthetics and the popularity of polyester strings, gut is still the top choice to offset the harsh, stiff feel of the poly.
Gut strings are made from the intestines of cows (cats were never involved!). “The first tennis strings for tennis racquets were adapted from strings used for musical instruments.” says Jean-Louis Boyre, of Babolat, the leading gut manufacturer. Sheep intestines was the material of choice then. In 1875, two years before the first Championships were held at Wimbledon, the Babolat company transferred its expertise in gut strings for use in tennis racquets. Now, over 135 years later, the company is run by the sixth generation of the Babolat family, and it is the largest distributor of natural gut tennis strings in the world.
Natural gut is superior to synthetic strings because it was once a living material. Just as wood – a natural, living material – used in construction because it can breathe, expand and contract and provides strength with flexibility, the tissue from a cow’s intestine provides properties that synthetically manufactured fibers cannot. “The resiliency, elasticity and ability to hold tension cannot be reproduced in synthetics,” says Boyre.
The ability of a string to deflect and pocket the ball, then snap back quickly to its original form determines its power. Stiff synthetics such as kevlar snap back quickly but lack elasticity, while more flexible synthetics pocket the ball, but don’t spring back as quickly. The elasticity and resiliency of natural gut gives it the best of both worlds, providing both power and responsiveness.
The professional players that I string for tell me that gut gives them more “feel” of the ball than synthetics. They say that the ball seems to dwell on the strings longer.
The biggest reservations that non-professional players have in using gut are cost and breakage. Natural gut is expensive, no question. “It is a very labor intensive process to manufacture the string,” says Babolat’s Boyre. Although it costs more to string with gut at the outset, it may prove more cost effective in the long run. First, natural gut may last longer in your racquet than synthetic strings. Because it retains its elasticity and resiliency — hence its playability — for a longer percentage of its life than synthetic string, you can use gut for a longer period of time. If you’re an active player playing two or three times per week, a synthetic string will last approximately two to three months. Gut strings will last four to five months.
According to test done by the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association, two identical racquets were measured over a twenty-hour period. One racquet was strung with gut at 68 pounds, the other with a synthetic string at the same tension. After eight hours, the synthetic string lost 18% of its original tension, whereas the gut string lost only 1% of its tension. After the full twenty hours, the synthetic lost an additional 20%, the gut only 10%.
If you’re a big string breaker, gut may prove more costly because it won’t last any longer than most synthetics of similar gauge. But, if you don’t break strings often, natural gut string may prove to be more cost effective for you. While poly strings may be the choice of pros with incredibly fast swing speeds, most of us mere mortals need a little more help from the string bed to give us power, feel and forgiveness that gut provides.  Even if you like your poly string, try using a hybrid with gut next time to see if you don’t get more feel and comfort.  The comfort cannot be overstated, especially for players that have any kind of arm injuries. natural gut will provide more comfort and less shock than any other string.
If you’re not a string breaker, give gut a try. But, I will warn you — you may never play with a synthetic string again!

Racquet Customization is NOT just for Pros

You might be surprised to know that professional players play with racquets just like those used by the rest of us mere mortals playing in local leagues, tournaments and clubs. But there is one very important difference between the pros racquet and your racquet – theirs have been customized to their exact specifications.  A great analogy is shopping for new suit.  You can probably find a good fit off the rack, but with a little tailoring the suit will fit you perfectly!

The most common customizations include modifying the racquet’s weight, balance or swing weight.  The pros play the game for a living, so it’s not surprising that they recognize how important having the right equipment is to playing their very best.

Is it possible that racquet customization could elevate your game to a new level? While you might not be playing for a paycheck, the answer to that question is a definite, yes. Racquet customization probably won’t get most weekend warriors ready for the pro tour, but it just might give you an edge over your opponent at your next league or tournament match.

So how do you get your racquets customized and how do you determine what the perfect specs are for you?

Finding your racquet nirvana will likely take some trial-and-error experimentation and a racquet technician experienced in customization.  A good technician can help you through the process of finding what works and doesn’t work for you.

If you’re only making minor modifications, you can certainly do-it-yourself with a bit of lead tape, but I would caution against it.  Your racquet is a very highly engineered piece of equipment and adding weight haphazardly can result in the racquet performing worse instead of better.  It can also lead to chronic injury.

An experienced technician can keep things in balance and get the optimum performance from the racquet. With the technician’s experience, and the feedback he receives from you throughout the process, your customized racquet can take your game to a new level.

Many think that you should play with the heaviest racquet you can handle and this used to be true for most pro players.  All other things being equal, a heavier racquet will provide more power and stability.  A heavier racquet will also absorb more shock, which may help alleviate or prevent arm injuries.  Many of the top pros today play with racquets  that are much lighter than their predecessors of only a decade ago. It really comes down to what works for the player. The key ingredient concerning the weight of a racquet is how heavy is too heavy?  If the racquet is so heavy that you become fatigued from wielding it throughout the course of a match, you may want to lighten it up.  Also, if the racquet is so heavy you cannot swing it fast enough to get it through to contact the ball properly — in other words, it makes you “hit late” — then it is too heavy.

While weight is a key component in tweaking your racquet for optimum performance, swing weight is even more important.  What is swing weight?  If you are an engineer or a racquet designer it’s dynamic inertia, but for the rest of us it is simply how heavy the racquet feels while being swung.  Swing weight affects the maneuverability and stability of the racquet which is why it is so vital in determining the best racquet for you. While you can determine your racquet’s weight with an accurate postal scale, you will need a specialized swing weight scale to measure the swing weight. Technicians that focus on racquet customization will have one available.  The swing weight is determined by the overall weight of the racquet and how that weight is distributed throughout the racquet.  A ten-ounce racquet that is head heavy (more weight in the head) can feel heavier than a twelve-ounce racquet that is more head light.  For optimum performance you’ll want a weight and swing weight combination that compliments your particular style of play.  Some experimentation will be needed to find that perfect combination.  While a heavier swing weight will provide more stability and pop, it will also slow down your racquet head speed.  Again it will take some experimentation to find the right combination to compliment your swing and style of play.

An experienced racquet technician can assist you in fine-tuning the specifications of your racquet to insure it provides you the best performance on court. It can be as simple as a detailed evaluation of your current racquet and some trial-and-error testing.  Or if you’re serious about finding perfection and want to speed up the process, you may opt for an on-court evaluation with the technician, which can help the technician determine how your racquet can become a real asset in accentuating your strengths and compensating for your weakness.  He can watch you hit, looking for things that can be tweaked to help your racquet better compliment your game.

The basic message here is that if you want to get the most from your racquet, it would be wise to get it fine-tuned for a perfect fit.