Sometime late last year, I visited a tennis string factory.
During the visit, a series of introductions acquainted me with some folks from the industry. That includes other manufacturers, suppliers, and also some professional players and their coaches.
What happened was, in his group chat for sponsored players, the factory manager touted I had some fancy stringing (proportional stringing) that could make the stringbed play vastly superior.
That brought some to drop by the factory very very quickly! At their repeated request, I ended up agreeing to string three rackets for three different players so they could try it themselves.
I was unprepared for this. I had to work the calculations off my tiny phone screen, struggle with an unfamiliar stringing machine, and weaved with stiff frozen fingers due to the cold and dry weather.
I was so relieved when the rackets were completed.
That relief turned into joy when I started seeing these players grin, followed by shock and amazement after they had hit some balls with those three rackets.
Over the last few months, I have met and worked with almost the entire squad. Coaches and some parents included.
That explains why I was unable to write. After I settle the remaining players, hopefully, I can post more about my experiences and learnings.
As usual, no names would be revealed as these are still actively competing players. And whatever I can share would first be subject to their approval.
Wednesday 6 September 2017
Wednesday 26 April 2017
Oldie: Wilson Profile Tour 95
A player I was working with gave this oldie to me. It belonged to his dad who has long stopped using this racquet.
I changed the grips, restrung it and re-balanced it to my preference. Ended up almost 370 grams with swingweight about mid-350s.
Very rare for a stick from the 80s or 90s to have a trap door in the butt cap. Made adjustments very easy!
It played very well. The flex recovery was very fast. All my playing partners felt there was no flex at all. But it was there! All in the hoop, nothing at the throat at all.
Really a beast of a racket to play with. Enormous power, with surprisingly, fantastic built-in dampening.
Only problem was it was not really a 95 square inch. Probably much closer to 90. I aligned the Wilson Profile Tour with the ProStaff 90 and it was only marginally larger.
No wonder I struggled finding the sweetspot sometimes.
Nevertheless, an absolute delight to play with!
Monday 3 April 2017
Some Random Modifications
Questions I'm most commonly asked regarding modifications:
Before modifications
- I am not a pro player, does it make a difference?
- Would the racket become too heavy and unwieldy for me?
- Would it really make any difference to my game?
After modifications
- The racket played so well now, why didn't you suggest this earlier?
- Can you replicate the same mod on my other sticks?
- Why didn't you tell me earlier it was not a stroke/technique issue but racket problem?
- What did you do to my racket to make it play so well?
Here's a few I did recently...
Player #1
- 30+ years old lady using Wilson K Factor K Surge
- needed greater racket stability to hit through shots
- silicone in the handle for dampening and balance
Player #2
- regular racket scraper
- worn top grommets and badly worn-off graphite at hoop
- new grommets replaced
- lead inserted to restore swingweight to former specs
Player #3
- competitive player with Blade 98
- wanted to beef up power and add dampening
- likes to use heavy spin hence polarized racket weights
Player #4
- recreational and occasional player using Head TiS6
- needed some extra mass for stability (added 50 grams!)
- added dampening to protect old tennis elbow & wrist pain
I like the fan-shaped string pattern in the Head TiS6. Natural "built-in" proportional stringing.
Applying lead tape and silicone is not difficult. The real work is in assessing the player accurately, then determining/calculating the correct specs, while ensuring the ratios are maintained for that players' tempo, strength and style of play.
Before modifications
- I am not a pro player, does it make a difference?
- Would the racket become too heavy and unwieldy for me?
- Would it really make any difference to my game?
After modifications
- The racket played so well now, why didn't you suggest this earlier?
- Can you replicate the same mod on my other sticks?
- Why didn't you tell me earlier it was not a stroke/technique issue but racket problem?
- What did you do to my racket to make it play so well?
Here's a few I did recently...
Player #1
- 30+ years old lady using Wilson K Factor K Surge
- needed greater racket stability to hit through shots
- silicone in the handle for dampening and balance
Player #2
- regular racket scraper
- worn top grommets and badly worn-off graphite at hoop
- new grommets replaced
- lead inserted to restore swingweight to former specs
Player #3
- competitive player with Blade 98
- wanted to beef up power and add dampening
- likes to use heavy spin hence polarized racket weights
Player #4
- recreational and occasional player using Head TiS6
- needed some extra mass for stability (added 50 grams!)
- added dampening to protect old tennis elbow & wrist pain
I like the fan-shaped string pattern in the Head TiS6. Natural "built-in" proportional stringing.
Applying lead tape and silicone is not difficult. The real work is in assessing the player accurately, then determining/calculating the correct specs, while ensuring the ratios are maintained for that players' tempo, strength and style of play.
Monday 27 March 2017
Replicating a Pro Stock - Wilson ProStaff 90
A tennis coach cum former tour player asked if I could replicate a pro stock racket he had bought some time ago.
To me, pro stock is just a customized frame based on a particular user's requirements.
That said, of course the manufacturer's pro room would be able to do much more, such as the grip, flex profile, string pattern, graphite layup, etc
This coach just wanted something close to what he had. I have never met him, so there was no way to verify if his racket was indeed pro stock.
After I received the funds, I procured the racket and start tweaking it to his specs.
He asked me to post some pics of the modifications process in this blog. No details though. So here they are...
To me, pro stock is just a customized frame based on a particular user's requirements.
That said, of course the manufacturer's pro room would be able to do much more, such as the grip, flex profile, string pattern, graphite layup, etc
This coach just wanted something close to what he had. I have never met him, so there was no way to verify if his racket was indeed pro stock.
After I received the funds, I procured the racket and start tweaking it to his specs.
He asked me to post some pics of the modifications process in this blog. No details though. So here they are...
Friday 3 March 2017
Head Prestige Tour 660
To many racket connoiseurs, the made in Austria Head Prestige Tour 660 is very difficult to string properly.
The challenge stems from its very soft flex and hoop which distorts very easily.
Not my preferred racket to work on too. Many extra precautions to adopt. But, once in a while, I like challenges...
Strung with full poly strings.
New stringjob with full poly on the left while old stringjob with the stenciled head logo on the right. Both done one-piece.
Seems to me the old stringjob compressed the frame narrower.
When I checked my unstrung and strung hoop distortion, mine was out by 0.5mm. Not too bad. I'll take it!
In case you missed it, here's a previous experiment I did with my friends on stringing very flexy frames:
Racket Flex and String Tension Preference
The proud owner of this PT660 couldn't wait to take it out for a game!
The challenge stems from its very soft flex and hoop which distorts very easily.
Not my preferred racket to work on too. Many extra precautions to adopt. But, once in a while, I like challenges...
Strung with full poly strings.
New stringjob with full poly on the left while old stringjob with the stenciled head logo on the right. Both done one-piece.
Seems to me the old stringjob compressed the frame narrower.
When I checked my unstrung and strung hoop distortion, mine was out by 0.5mm. Not too bad. I'll take it!
In case you missed it, here's a previous experiment I did with my friends on stringing very flexy frames:
Racket Flex and String Tension Preference
The proud owner of this PT660 couldn't wait to take it out for a game!
Monday 13 February 2017
Hitting with Pace
Many people claim that they are able to sustain pace in a rally. But without actually measuring that pace, it is very easy to over-estimate their hitting ability.
It is actually very easy to measure average pace. Start a rally with your hitting partner and get a third party to start the stopwatch at the moment the racket first strikes the ball. That first strike is counted as zero. Get that friend to count to a total 10 hits and stop the stopwatch.
Divide the total time taken for 10 consecutive hits to get an average timing per shot. Most rallies are contacted quite close from baseline to baseline. That's 78 feet long, or about 24 metres.
Since we have distance and time, we can now work out the average rally speed:
Distance = Speed x Time
Speed = Distance / Time
If you take a look at some videos of pros in actual match conditions. Their ball speed is quite astounding!
On average, for men, they have about 1.3 seconds between impacts. Translated, each player have a total of only 2.6 seconds to run and hit each shot.
Their average rally ball speed would approximately be:
24 metres in 1.3 seconds, or 18.46 m/s (24/1.3). Or about 66 kilometres per hour.
If you are unable to sustain a consistent rally for at least 10 shots, tone down to a level where you can. Most likely you are over-hitting above your ability to control the ball. There is no point hitting this hard or fast without control.
Or if you think that it is your hitting partner giving you junk balls that you cannot hit any pace with, think again.
Most of the time, it is because you yourself could not generate pace. Therefore, you need a heavily loaded and fast incoming ball so you could tap on the speed through the rebound off your strings.
Maybe the circle of old players I know does not hit hard, but so far, among those who claimed they hit with fast pace, very few really could. Especially when given no paced "junk balls" bunted back at them.
To me, the acid of a good player is the ability to take any shot - lobs, low skidders, topspin, slices, flat, and generate pace consistently.
Similarly, it is this group that benefits most from full poly stringjobs as well. (link)
It is actually very easy to measure average pace. Start a rally with your hitting partner and get a third party to start the stopwatch at the moment the racket first strikes the ball. That first strike is counted as zero. Get that friend to count to a total 10 hits and stop the stopwatch.
Divide the total time taken for 10 consecutive hits to get an average timing per shot. Most rallies are contacted quite close from baseline to baseline. That's 78 feet long, or about 24 metres.
Since we have distance and time, we can now work out the average rally speed:
Distance = Speed x Time
Speed = Distance / Time
If you take a look at some videos of pros in actual match conditions. Their ball speed is quite astounding!
On average, for men, they have about 1.3 seconds between impacts. Translated, each player have a total of only 2.6 seconds to run and hit each shot.
Their average rally ball speed would approximately be:
24 metres in 1.3 seconds, or 18.46 m/s (24/1.3). Or about 66 kilometres per hour.
If you are unable to sustain a consistent rally for at least 10 shots, tone down to a level where you can. Most likely you are over-hitting above your ability to control the ball. There is no point hitting this hard or fast without control.
Or if you think that it is your hitting partner giving you junk balls that you cannot hit any pace with, think again.
Most of the time, it is because you yourself could not generate pace. Therefore, you need a heavily loaded and fast incoming ball so you could tap on the speed through the rebound off your strings.
Maybe the circle of old players I know does not hit hard, but so far, among those who claimed they hit with fast pace, very few really could. Especially when given no paced "junk balls" bunted back at them.
To me, the acid of a good player is the ability to take any shot - lobs, low skidders, topspin, slices, flat, and generate pace consistently.
Similarly, it is this group that benefits most from full poly stringjobs as well. (link)
Tuesday 31 January 2017
Frivolous Demands for Perfection
Since the 1990s, when I first starting stringing tennis rackets, I have not met nor heard of anyone who restrings multiple rackets daily.
Not even someone who does so every few days. Only a few restring every week.
And all these refer only to those who are using the same rackets with same strings and same tensions.
Conversely, there are plenty who play till the strings break, or restring only once every few months.
Ironically, it is this group of infrequent re-stringers, that is the most unreasonably demanding of stringjobs.
They purport to have exactly matched rackets from special sources. So the strings must all have identical tensions, frequency and stringbed stiffness.
Else the inaccuracies would cause a complete derail and loss of control of their otherwise perfect strokes.
If a Wilson Pro Knot was used instead of their regular Parnell knot, they cannot serve aces anymore. Or if tension was applied for half a second longer on one string than the other racket, they could not clear the net.
What these folks do not understand is that all rackets are strung one at a time. The moment each string is clamped, tension starts dropping via string creep. And the mains are always completed first before the crosses.
Even within strings from the same reel, there are tolerances. I have seen differences that could even be picked up by the naked eye. For some brands, the start of the reel snaps easily while others may play stiffer nearer the end of the reel.
If one is fussy enough to measure the string gauge with a pair of vernier calipers, you would find the differences in gauge unsettling. All these within the same reel.
Obviously, different batches from different reels fare much worse.
As for rackets, everyone knows the manufacturing tolerances are getting wider compared to the 80s. Total weight, swingweight and balance tolerances seem to be getting wider than before.
From my experience, the general pattern appears to be, the better skilled the player, the less fussy about the equipment. And vice versa.
If anyone still expects perfect stringjobs from me, they would first have to:
(1) send in 100% identical sticks and strings, and
(2) send in video proof that you can hit ten consecutive serves that are exactly 100mph, clears the net tape over the same spot by exactly 3.5", have a ball spin rpm of precisely 2500, and leave only ONE ballmark on the ground due to your immaculate accuracy.
I look forward to meeting you!
Not even someone who does so every few days. Only a few restring every week.
And all these refer only to those who are using the same rackets with same strings and same tensions.
Conversely, there are plenty who play till the strings break, or restring only once every few months.
Ironically, it is this group of infrequent re-stringers, that is the most unreasonably demanding of stringjobs.
They purport to have exactly matched rackets from special sources. So the strings must all have identical tensions, frequency and stringbed stiffness.
Else the inaccuracies would cause a complete derail and loss of control of their otherwise perfect strokes.
If a Wilson Pro Knot was used instead of their regular Parnell knot, they cannot serve aces anymore. Or if tension was applied for half a second longer on one string than the other racket, they could not clear the net.
What these folks do not understand is that all rackets are strung one at a time. The moment each string is clamped, tension starts dropping via string creep. And the mains are always completed first before the crosses.
Even within strings from the same reel, there are tolerances. I have seen differences that could even be picked up by the naked eye. For some brands, the start of the reel snaps easily while others may play stiffer nearer the end of the reel.
If one is fussy enough to measure the string gauge with a pair of vernier calipers, you would find the differences in gauge unsettling. All these within the same reel.
Obviously, different batches from different reels fare much worse.
As for rackets, everyone knows the manufacturing tolerances are getting wider compared to the 80s. Total weight, swingweight and balance tolerances seem to be getting wider than before.
From my experience, the general pattern appears to be, the better skilled the player, the less fussy about the equipment. And vice versa.
If anyone still expects perfect stringjobs from me, they would first have to:
(1) send in 100% identical sticks and strings, and
(2) send in video proof that you can hit ten consecutive serves that are exactly 100mph, clears the net tape over the same spot by exactly 3.5", have a ball spin rpm of precisely 2500, and leave only ONE ballmark on the ground due to your immaculate accuracy.
I look forward to meeting you!
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