Ah Just String it at Whatever!

You don't wanna now how many times I've heard this when someone asks me to string thier racquet. At that point I usually spend a minute or two getting information from the owner about how thier current racquet feels or plays and how often they restring. Too many people just take tension for granted. In fact, it just might be the most important factor in determining how a particular racquet plays. Let's take a moment and look at this important topic.

String Tension
Ok. I know doesn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out what string tension is. It's how tight a stringer pulls the string across your frame. All racquets come with a manufacturers 'recommended' tension printed on the side of the throat. Most usually sit between 50lbs to 65lbs however again, this is only what's recommended. John McEnroe played with strings tensioned at 43lbs in his Dunlop as a professional. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Pete Sampras tensioned his Wilson Pro Staff racquet at +90lbs (not recommended). Anyhow, how tight or loose you string your racquet will depend on how you want your racquet to play. I'll explain with this diagram.

Now it's pretty simple. The tighter you string your racquet the stiffer your string bed is. The stiffer your string bed is, the more flat or predictable your string bed is when the ball impacts it thus giving you better control. Now one of the shortcomings of tight strings is that since they are so stiff, the strings absorb alot of the energy of the incoming ball and reflect very little. This means you need to generate more racquet head speed to put pace on the ball. Another problem is shock, because your essentially hitting the ball with a hard object (your string bed), the shock of the impact with ball tends to be absorbed by your racquet and then subsequently your arm. If you string your racquet and you find your arm hurts after a few rallies, chances are you've strung it too tight.

Conversely, if you string your racquet on the looser side, you make your string bed more elastic allowing the strings to flex and reflect some of energy of the incoming ball. This causes a trampoline effect giving you more power into your strokes. However, unlike the stiff string bed the looser one tends to be less predictable on impact and you end up sacrificing some control. Also in contrast to the tight stringbed, a looser string bed will be more comfortable on the arm since alot of energy of the ball is reflected back into the incoming ball and not up your arm.

Another issue with string tension is durability and tension maintenance. The tighter you string the more the pressure you put on your strings on and off the court. Hence a tighter racquet won't last you as long as one that strung at a lesser tension. You will find this doubly so if you hit with extensive spin.
Excessive grinding of the main strings across the cross strings on a tightly strung racquet can break in a single hitting session depending on the power and stroke of the player. Another issue you have is string stretching, even within 24 hours of a racquet being strung the strings will begin to lose tension even if you don't hit with it. This stretching process will be accelerated the tighter you string your racquet. Some multifilaments have been known to drop 4% to 8% in tension overnight (unhit!).

That said, every string you try will have a sweet spot for you in terms of tension. My suggestion is, if you trying out a new racquet out for the 1st time just stringing it right the middle of the recommended tension. This is where the racquet manufacturer found the optimum balance of control, power and comfort. Then next time you string it, take the tension up or down a couple pounds and see how that feels. If may seem a expensive way to experiment but just like you won't buy the 1st racquet you try, you shouldn't be satisfied with your string off the get go. This also applies when switching strings. Just because you hit with String X at 56 lbs doesn't mean you will have the same experience at String Y at the same tension. If may take 3-4 stringings to find the right tension for you.

Anyhow, the takehome message is 'experiment' and find where a particular strings gives you a nice balance of control and power and comfort. That said, IMHO, I suggest playing with the tightest tension you can comfortably play with it. Not only will this give you more control but will help you develop your game more. Abbreviate swings and short follow throughs can sometimes be sympton of a racquet strung too loosely. However, I don't recommend going too much above the maximum suggested tension, you'll more then likely void your warranty and in the worse case, damage your racquet. Remember, Pete Sampras has a life long sponsor with Wilson, he can afford to break a few racquets on the stringer.

Strings, strings and more strings.

Hi folks,

I hope everyone had a great holiday season filled with good friends, food and of course lots of TENNIS. Anyways, one of my new years resolutions (besides dropping 4% in bodyfat, eating better, cross-training more) was to write in my blog at least twice a week. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this one going.

Recently, there's been quite alot of buzz in my tennis circles about strings so I've decided to dedicate this post on strings and how to get the most out of them. My hope is that this may help players realize the importance of choice of string, gauge and tension and how it may influence they way they strike the ball.

The way I like to look at strings is they are like the tires on your car. You may drive a Ferrari but it your tires are bald or flat or both you aren't getting optimum performance out of your car or in this case your racquet. I see strings as the 3rd most important peice of tennis gear you possess (1st in your shoes, 2nd is your racquet). So lets explore and see what type of string might be the best for you.

Let's start off with materials or types of string. I like to catergorize them into 5 main types.

NYLON
These strings are what you find in most racquets that come prestrung in stores. They are tough as nails (you can think of it as really thick fishing line) and resistant to wear and tension loss. The caveat is as tough as they are against wear, they are also very tough on the arm not to mention low on feel. Most kids are fine with nylon and they are easy on the pocket book (usually the least expensive). If your son or daughter is a competitive junoir that goes through strings like no tomorrow, these are the strings for you.

SYNTHETIC GUT
Though there are some who will argue that anything that isn't gut is a 'synthetic gut' technically. This type of string type has in recently years become it's own genre. It's a mid-range string cost wise usually consisting of multifilaments (more then one type of material weaved together) to simulate the feeling of natural gut strings but have higher resiliency to wear and tension loss. One of the most popular Syn. Guts is Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex. It was so popular back in the day that some pros (ie. Michael Chang)
continued to play with it instead of natural gut. This string offers a nice lively string bed with mid-range feel and durability. It's a good choice for those players who want a good quality string but don't want to pay through the roof. They are usually a little pricier then nylon but better for your game and your arm.

SPECIALIST MULTIFILAMENTS
Now here's where it gets kinda of hairy. Now I mentioned before that syn. gut was a multifilament string. However it's not the only multifilament string. There's a myriad of multi's that don't fall into the syn. gut genre. This is where a ton of string companies spend thousands of man hours trying to weave different materials together in different patterns to make a uber-duper playing string. I can't begin to tell you the amount of different compounds they use but to help catergorize them these strings usually fall into 4 different genres, Power strings, Control strings, Comfort strings and Spin strings.


Power Strings - These strings are more elastic thus returning more energy into the ball once it's struck wit the racquet. The downside of these strings is they string bed is less predictable thus you lose some control. I'd recommend these strings if you are the power-baseliner type or counter-punching type.

Control - These strings are stiffer and absorbent thus the ball tends to stay longer on the string bed thus giving you more feeling and control with the ball. Unlike springier power strings, you will have to generate slightly faster racquet head speed to get the same depth you would with power strings. These strings are better for all court style or serve and volleying types.

Comfort - These strings are meant to absorb shock of the uncoming ball. Unlike control strings these are softer and meant distribute the initial impact along the stringbed before it reaches your arm. Players with tendinitis in the arm or shoulder will appreciate these strings because it will allow them to play longer without discomfort. They usually have moderate amounts of control and power.

Spin - Some like to also call these control strings but I like to put them into thier own catergory. These strings and textured with uneven surface allowing the strings to dig deeper into the ball and impart more spin. If your a big topspiner or a slice-doctor you'll appreciate the extra bite you'll get from these strings. However, be forewarned, the more spin you impart the more your strings will move and saw into each other. These strings are partically known for thier durability.


POLYESTER
A recent addition to the string market, these strings are made of the same material as cheap T-shirts however they are nothing but 'cheap' and are only 2nd to Natural Gut in terms of expense. Made popular by Luxilon, this string is a very hard, stiff string with the consistency of hard plastic. They are so stiff infact that most manufacturers recommend stringing these 4-10pnds lower then your regular strings. Due to thier very stiff playability these strings are ultimate in biting into the ball and imparting spin. Polyester also provides good power due to the springy nature of the material while the stiff stringbed offers good control as well. While this may sound like the ultimate string there are a few caveats. Polyester is very hard on the arm, if you have any arm/wrist problems I don't recommend them, some player refer to it as 'Piano Wire' and with good reason. Durability is also an issue with polyester, depending on your style of play, the elasticity of the strings can last anywhere from 3-4 hours of hitting to 25 hours of hitting. At that point however the strings will feel like your hitting the ball with a damp dish towel (or T-shirt pardon the pun). The tricky thing is that the strings will look perfectly fine from the outside due to it's hard/plasticky nature. You will have to cut them out at that point and kiss your $50+ goodbye.

NATURAL GUT
Like it's name refers, everything about Natural gut is well 'Natural'. Originally create out of cow intestines and later sheep, it is still considered the pinnacle of power, control and comfort. It was originally developed by Pierre Babolat in 1875 and his string, VS gut, is still very popular with todays pros. However, because the process in which it's manufactured it's still the most expensive string on the market. Moreover, due to it's organic nature it's highly suspectable to wear, humidity and it's a bitch to string (don't ever kink natural gut). If you've never played with natural gut, I recommend you trying it once before you shuffle off the mortal coil. However, I then promplty suggest forgetting about the wild 'Last Tango in Paris' experience you had with it and go back your regular string. It's a delight to play with but it's just too expensive for it's durability.

So that's it for this blog. Next blog I will talk about string gauge, tension, string patterns, restringing and hybrids.

The sound of 'hollow' power (TIP)

Ok forgive my cryptic title. It's a slow day at the office (it's the 24th of Dec) and I feel like being creative. Anyhow, I thought I begin my 'TIPS' blogs with a little tidbit that's beneficial to every player, 2.5 to 4.5. Heres goes.

Have you ever gone to a professional tennis tournament (ITF, ATP, WTA) and gone to practice courts? Have you ever closed your eyes and just listen to the sound the tennis racquet makes when the balls thier strings? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. It's a hollow sounding 'popping' sound. Your first impression is wow they are hitting the ball hard but when you look at the players hitting it looks so effortless. No strain on thier faces or nor do they look tense. There just going along their every day business while blasting forehand and backhands 70-75 mphs.

Can you do this? Impossible? Not quite. I'm going to show you a way to produce that hollow popping sound and maximize the easy power potential in your swing. It all begins with your grip. 90% of all rec players grip the racquet too hard. Here's the problem though, to tighten your grip you need to contract the muscles in your forearm, that in turn makes the arm stiff and rigid which robs you of power and makes your arm a shock absorber (ow!). Yes, yes I know, you need a firm grip to play tennis, you've been told that a hundred times. They truth is you only need to firm up your grip at one point during your swing. That's right, the moment of contact.

Ok. Next time your out on the court try this. Hold the racquet in your hitting hand loosely. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 having it slip from your hand and 10 gripping it as hard as you can, try a 3. Another one I like to use it hold it as you were holding a bird, not tight enough to crush it but tight enough to not let it fly away. Now take a few shadow swings with the racquet. Feel the how effortless the racquet flows through the air with your loose grip and arm relaxed. I know what your thinking, I couldn't possibly hit a groundstroke like this. Now here's the trick. When swinging, you want to tighten your grip a bit right before the moment of contact. Then after contact let the grip revert back to it's previous loose mode as it glides over your shoulder to the follow-thru position.

It will take a while to master. Sometimes I have people whisper to themselves - 'Loose' - 'Squeeze' - 'Loose' - outloud to help develop a rhythm. The 1st loose being in the racquet take back, squeeze being the contact, and the 2nd loose being the follow thru. However, once you've got it down, you should notice that your racquet is gliding through the air faster and more fluidly. Moreover, you see a effortless increase of power on your shots. It will feel like your hitting the ball less hard but watch that ball fly with wicked spin and pace. Lastly, you should hear a distinctive hollow, popping sound when striking the ball. This is generated by the sound of strings and racquet flexing and taking the impact of the ball rather then your arm. Strive to make this sound with every shot and always remind yourself it's related to how tight/loose your grip and arm is.

So keep popping those balls and I'll see you next post!

Anyhow, I hope this helps. Merry X-mas and Happy New Year.

Mike

Crazy Marat for another year.

(Taken from the offical marat safin website)

Friday 19.12.08 Marat News
Marat has made his decision and decided he will continue playing tennis for next year 2009. At the moment he will play Hopman Cup from 3rd January then Kooyong and the Australian Open where he will be seeded 29. Further details of his schedule will be released as and when available.

It's official folks we've got the crazy stud for one more year. Yeah, it's true, I'm a fanboi of Marat. However, let's be clear now, he drives me nuts, like pull my hair out, throw the remote through the window, beat my head against the wall nuts. Despite this, I still watch his matches and yes, they are entertaining, win, loss or well self-implosion. Well it's good to have him around for 2009. It was kinda of hilarious to think he was just as popular as number 90 in the world as number 3-4, maybe even more so.

Yeah, he's had his critics over the years. Yeah he probably could of won 2-3 more grand slams had he stayed focused more or was more mentally tough. 'Great talent but wasted' is the usual commentator quote. Personally, I don't think he's wasted anything at all. He's lived his life on his terms and played out the career the way he wanted to. Yeah, he get's frustrated on the court, he's blown matches but he's also played some of most brilliant artistic tennis against the worlds greats. You take the highs and the lows.

Honestly, sometimes during one of his tirades, I take comfort in the fact of how truly human he is. We've all dropped our racquets in disgust. Wanted to scream aloud after a blown overhead. Hell I've never broken a racquet but I've come pretty close. IMHO, I think that's why people like him. When people see Marat, they see parts of themselves out on the tennis court oppose to most of the other emotionally flat robots out there. He feels the game, it means something to him whether he takes it by the horns or throws it away in disgust. There's an emotional connection to the game we've all felt whether we're up 3-1 or down break point. That's why we love the guy. Here's to you big guy. Davai!

Wow my first blog....

Hi folks,

This is my first blog ever. I've heard about other people doing this stuff but I've never really guts to make a online diary. Anyhow I've dedicated this blog to everything tennis, tennis, tennis. It's not a far stretch to say I'm a huge fan of the game in all aspects. These include the Mental side, the technical side, all tennis equipment and brands and I just love watching the professional circuits both mens and womens.

I've played college tennis but everyday I'm still out there busting my butt trying to make myself and others better. So here I am to share what I've learned and what I'm still learning about playing and teaching tennis.

Thus the journey begins. This is my story. Hope you can join me.

Mike