Bruce Levine is the General
Manager of Courtside Racquet Club in Lebanon, NJ and Head Racquet
Tester for Tennis Magazine and tennis.com. Bruce is a USTA Middle
States Board member as well as the First VP of USTPA Middle States.
He is a frequent speaker at USPTA, PTR and TIA International
conferences.
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RACQUET BASICS
A Racquet
Guide for Tennis Professionals
As a tennis professional your guidance
is tantamount to your students and members when they are choosing
a racquet to either replace their existing frame or to upgrade
their current frame to match their (hopefully improved) skills.
Here are some basic thoughts to help you
match and sell racquets to your clients;
Understand what makes the racquets tick;
Beam width
The wider the beam of the racquet (cross
section), the more inherent power there will be and thus the
more power frame will generate for the player; the thinner the
beam width (cross section), the more the player must generate
their own power.
Pick up weight
The pick up weight of the racquet is the amount the racquet weighs
in grams or in ounces. A lite frame may feel great but may not
play with much stability and conversely a heavy frame may be
stable however difficult to maneuver and play with on the court.
Swing weight
The swing weight is a very critical issue in a racquet. It is
the function of the pick weight of the racquet compounded with
the balance of the racquet. If a racquet is light but also very
head heavy, the swing weight can be quite high and the racquet
unwieldy; however a racquet that is heavy but head light may
have a lighter swing weight, This area is a very very personal
part of racquet selection but I must warn you that a swing weight
that is too high on a racquet that head heavy and light is a
clear target for tennis elbow issues.
Stiffness
Stiffness is also know as RA in the industry. A really stiff
racquet is going to be very unforgiving and without any extra
bells and whistles or special grommets will make the off center
hits very jarring and uncomfortable.
String Pattern
There are two general types of string patterns open and closed.
Open will make the racquet feel a bit more spongy or soft and
closed will feel firmer; more importantly these two patterns
can affect spin that is placed on the ball.
An open pattern helps enhance spin by allowing the ball to lay
in the string opening more readily as they are larger; a closed
pattern is more densely populated and the space between the strings
is much tighter so the ball does not lay into the string bed
quite so easily. A pattern of 16x18 or 16 x 19 is generally considered
open; patterns of 18 x 20 are considered tight or closed patterns.
Do I need a
new racquet?
The answer to this question is not always yes but............
The reason players need or look to purchase new racquets are
numerous, but here are some of the big ones.
New technology
New technology will make the game more enjoyable for your client.
As the racquet evolution in each brand's line progresses forward,
there are changes that make racquets more comfortable and more
user friendly. If your client is having arm trouble, needing
more power or just looking for a few more bells and whistles
to help them along, this is a great opening for you to introduce
some new racquets.
It's long
in the tooth!
Your client is playing with a frame that is clearly older and
out dated. Frames die and material gets soft and loses its dynamic
energy (way too technical a term for me but....). When this is
visible to you there is another excellent opening for you to
introduce a new opportunity for your client.
Health and
well being
If you have a client who is complaining of elbow issues; you
should look into the latest technology and measures for safety
related to their elbow; head light or even balanced, lowest amounts
of vibration and dampening qualities and most forgiving grommet
systems. Time for another sale!
How do you help
your member/client demo a racquet?
First and foremost, I would urge you to ask your client to only
take two racquets on the court at a time; their current frame
and one that you have helped them select. They should play a
bit with their current frame and then start out with the newer
frame that you have recommended. They should note as should you
the things it is helping them do better and where they are having
trouble with the new frame.
After they have chosen the frame that they enjoyed better of
the two, they should then put the least favorite of the two frames
back on the wall and try to compare the one that they liked better
with another test frame.
This process can take a while but is worth the effort and time
as your client will end up with a racquet that they really enjoy.
Before a decision is finalized, I would recommend the following
steps;
With the frame that your client has chosen, play two matches;
one with someone that always beats your client and another with
someone that your client always beats; note the results. Your
student should also take a clinic if they are a clinic taker
regularly and ask the professional (you) how they did with the
racquet. Also if they are lesson takers, then they should do
the same with the prospective new racquet ask the pro as well.
Now that I have
a new stick how do I string it?
There are multitudinous variations of string that can be used
in all tennis racquets, but basically there are 4 categories;
mono-filament, multi-filament, natural gut and the ever popular
polyesters and co-ployesters.
Gauge this!
You must be concerned with gauges as they are important in durability,
touch, feel and overall playability. The higher the gauge the
thinner the string and the lower the gauge, the thicker. High
gauges, will give you more feel, touch and better playability
but they will break and fray quicker. Find a happy medium that
offers what you need. Poly and co-poly strings can be played
with in lower gauges as they do not break as easily as mono and
multi filaments.
Mono-filament
Mono-filament strings are made up of generally nylon or synthetic
materials and have a single core. These are the basic "syn
gut" strings that are easy to string, fairly durable and
quite common around the club. These are also the least expensive
of all the types of strings that are for sale and offer very
few benefits other than the durability.
Multi -filament
Multi -filament strings are made of a core and several different
string either wrapped or placed around the core or center of
the string and then put together and covered by a single coating.
These types of string tend to be a bit more expensive and have
much more benefit in terms of touch, feel, control and playability.
You may lose some durability but the enjoyment your student will
get from playing with these types of string has a much greater
upside than downside.
Natural Gut
Natural Gut is the most comfortable and vibrant string that is
made. It allows players to feel and control the ball the best
BUT it is also the most temperamental and for sure the least
durable of all the strings made today. Natural gut allows players
the ability to string racquets with a bit more tension as it
is easiest of all strings on the arm and provides as I mentioned
the best playability.
The temperamental side of natural gut is that it frays and loses
tension with humidity and moisture. Natural gut is also loses
tension more quickly than any of the other strings. Also natural
gut is excellent for players who have arm/elbow issues.
Polyester
The amazing and dreaded Polyester is a great addition for our
tour playing customers but not so great for my pal Mrs. Blivitz!
The real deal with polyester is that it is a very dead material
and because of this trait allows players with a fast and long
swing to swing for the fence and the ball will stay in the court.
Poly also has a quality that tends to grab the ball which aids
in the generation of spin. Today we have also seen the invention
of co-polyester string which is softer (not too soft but its
noticeable), allows for greater playability and a bit more feel.
Today's poly's also have ridges or "sides" which grab
the ball even better to allow for increased spin potential. It
should be noted that just putting poly in a racquet will not
generate spin, that must come from the player and his or her
swing.
The down side to polyesters is that they are a fairly dead even
when just put in your client's racquet and die rather quickly
upon use. More importantly is that breaking the polyesters is
very difficult to do and rarely happens, which leads people to
keep them in their racquets too long which leads to elbow stress
etc.
Tension relief?
I promise this article is almost done, but before I go, I would
be remiss without talking about string tension. There are a couple
of simple philosophies that re worth mentioning so hang with
me for about two more lines OK?
1) The stiffer the frame the lower the tension should be and
the larger the head of the frame, the higher the tension should
be. Something has to give and a stiff frame with a stiff string
bed will cause your arm, more your elbow, to suffer. Conversely
too loose a tension on a soft frame will feel quite mushy and
unplayable (that is a technical term in this article).
2) In general increased tension will lead to greater control
and less power, while decreased tension will lead to greater
power and less control.
Best of luck with helping your students
and clients and I always welcome e-mail or calls regarding racquet
questions. You can email me at brucel@courtsideracquet.com or
call me at Courtside at 908-713-1144
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