Diagonal Stringing

As far as I know, TAD (T.A. Davies) and Mad Raq (https://www.powerangle.net/history) are the pioneers of diagonal stringing for tennis rackets.

The advantages are well documented -- a 40% reduction in vibrations along with enhanced spins. (https://mazziotti.uchicago.edu/journal/MicahJoselow.pdf)

This has been on my to-do list for many years, and when a friend sent me a series of subtle messages egging me to do something, that tipped me to get this moving...

"No more new posts ah?"

"I read all already"

"I'm ok trying anything"

"Yes please do whatever you want for the rackets"

Many have successfully strung their normal rackets diagonally. I examined several posted online and felt that I wanted to do it slightly differently.

My objectives included:

(1) using one piece of string, rather than two or three, to limit the tie-offs to only two knots,

(2) keeping the number of shared holes to a minimum, zero if possible,

(3) maintaining the same number of strings as the racket's original string pattern, so in my case, the K Factor had 34 strings (16x18),

(4) ensuring compliance with the ITF rules (https://www.itftennis.com/media/7221/2023-rules-of-tennis-english.pdf), in particular, "The stringing pattern must be generally uniform and, in particular, not less dense in the centre than in any other area." 

(5) analyzing if there is a need or potential to develop version three of my proportional stringing.

Quite a lot of time was spent using fishing line to do "dry weaving" and exploring different options available. 

An important learning point was I needed an even number of strings on each side to finish outside the throat area. This allows me to tie-off at the sides. It is impossible to tie-off inside the throat area. In essence, that limited me to 14x14, 16x16, 18x18 or 20x20 string patterns.

Internal hoop dimensions are measured at 32.0cm length and 23.6cm width.

Based on my calculations, I suspected the hoop width would narrow as I apply tension. So I decided to mount the racket at 3 & 9 instead. 

Despite the 3 & 9 mounting, the hoop internal measurements lengthened 5mm and narrowed 4mm.

By any standard, this is a failed stringjob. However, due to the vested time, strings and effort, if this was my racket, I would still play with it. Since this is not mine, I'll defer to the owner. Even if I re-do it, I have not thought of any sureproof way to avoid the distortion.

From the initial 37 feet of 1.25mm poly string I alloted, both tails were about 3 feet each after tie-off. Tension was straight-up 55 lbs.

Playtest:

Merely bouncing a ball gave very interesting feedback. The vibrations clearly came from the sides rather than straight down centre after ball impact.

Attempts to "swipe" the ball generated a lot more spin than in traditional string patterns.

I'll let the owner playtest it. Will update here after. (Might take a month or two cos he's overseas now)

A Special Customization

  

Specially requested customization for an ardent fan of a very popular kpop girls group - Black Pink.

Cutting Down Racket Length

 

With Covid-19 still raging, especially the Delta variant, many are staying home voluntarily despite full vaccinations. 

Work-from-home remains the default in Singapore. 

Probably because of this, a lot of my old friends picked up tennis. A former colleague, now in his 70s and retired, pursued tennis rigorously. Taking lessons twice a week and playing another two more days with his wife. 

We caught up and played. He used an oversized head-heavy racket recommended by his coach. 

And I noticed the strain on his face as he struggled with his timing on every forehand shot. He thought that was normal and how tennis ought to be played. His coach commended his strokes. 

When I took his racket back for measurements and restring, I was shocked! 

His second hand racket had been modified previously. At 28 inches long, it weighed 297 grams with a balance of 36.5cm and a swingweight of 381 kg/cm2! 

Despite removing all the lead tape I could find, it remained too head-heavy. I suggested to cut down by half-inch for a start and he agreed. 

Some weight was added in the handle end to rebalance. The old kevlar/synthetic gut was cut and restrung with full poly at about 40 lbs using proportional stringing. 

He loved it from the first hit! 

"So easy!" he exclaimed! 

Longer is not always better. The specs has to be within his strength ability. He immediately sent in his wife's racket to be re-worked too. 

 

 

 

Warped Hoop - Head Gravity

The recently launched Head Gravity series of tennis rackets are really soft and arm friendly. 

This rare flex got many players on board, especially previous users of the Babolat Pure Drives and Aero Pros.

However, their feedback has been mixed. Some loved the Gravity while many others hated its inconsistency and lack of accuracy.

In stock form, I find the power and stability lacking.

However, it is the incredibly soft hoop that poses the biggest problems. It is almost as soft as the old but very popular Head Prestige.

Maintaining hoop shape while stringing this Gravity is challenging. I received so many badly warped hoops that rendered the racket unplayable.

Take a look yourself at the three videos below...

The stringjob in this first video was done by another stringer. You can see the Head logo stenciled. The hoop was approximately 24.8cm wide.

In the second video below, the hoop width was approximately 25.3cm after the strings were cut and removed.

 

 
The third video showed the width to be almost exactly 25.3cm after I restrung it. No stencil. Almost zero distortion.

Naturally, the player loved the distortion free stringjob.

If you have a Head Gravity playing inconsistently, it could be the stringing. Try measuring the hoop width without and with strings.

PS: Sorry about the lousy video quality...somehow it deteriorated after uploading