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Racquet Tech - July- 2009

Contents

18 Player Logs RG 2009

24 ERSA Greece News

27 Dwell Time - Rod Cross

5 New Products

3 My Serve

19 Industry News

PTR / ERSA in Italy

Head’s Golden Ball Rolls On

Dunlop Top German Ball

Tecnifibre at Roland Garros

Ashaway Soft Strings Up

Prince New EXO3 Rackets

12 Stringing Patterns

13 Roland Garros

RacquetTech III 2009

FEATURED ARTICLES

33


My Serve

Welcome to the July Issue of RacquetTech Magazine. On the cov-er is a collage of what we saw everyday during the stringing service at Roland Garros. Paris is a wonderful city but with our schedule of 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily we went from the hotel to the Metro to the stringing room to the Metro to the hotel everyday. It is always best to stay a few extra days after your time in the stringing room to see some tennis and visit the area. Our ERSA testers are some of the best stringers in the world. And they put their know-how and experience to work each year at major tournaments. At Roland Garros, three testers and Pro Tour Stringers were there, Richard Parnell from Spain, Sam Chan from England and myself, from Germany. Also, three more Pro Tour Stringers were on the team, Luis Pianelli from Argentina, Misel Milovanovic from Switzer-land and Petr Krejci from the Czech Republic.At Wimbledon, Richard Parnell and myself were there, along with Tester/Pro Tour Stringers Roger Dalton (UK), Vaclav Smat (CZ), Paul Brock (Germany), and Petros Biris (Greece). Petros Biris has also been active in Greece, stringing at the Status Athens Open with Sam Chan, and the Aegean Tennis Cup with Pro Tour Stringer Toru Yusuki from Japan. He has written a summery of the two tournaments in this issue.Greece is a small tennis nation but ERSA is very strong there, thanks to the efforts of Petros Biris and George Pahiakos. George has orga-nized 3 workshops and has 2 more coming up this year. He is now Manager and Organizer for Workshops and he will working together with Petros, our Greece General Manager and Tester.We have some made progress with our Annual Meeting/Sympo-sium. We could not get everything organized for this year so the first

ERSA Annual Meeting/Symposium will be held in southern Spain next Fall in the Mar-bella area. We will be sending out details in the next couple of months. Due to a large amount of damaged ring-books, we have decided to print the Digest in book form this Fall. We had to throw a Digest with a lot of power against a cement wall to get the same damage done that the Post Office has managed to do.

Best wishesMark Maslowski

Racquet Tech EuropeEuropean Racquet Stringers Association

DIRECTORMark Maslowski

OFFICE MANAGERSanda Maslowski

UK MANAGER Sam Chan

SPAIN MANAGERRichard Parnell

GREECE MANAGERPetros BirisGREECE WORKSHOP MANAGERGeorge Pahiakos

Czech Republic & SlovakiaVaclav Smat

FOUNDING MEMBERSAshaway BabolatHead IsospeedKirschbaum LuxilonPacific Wilson

COPORATE MEMBERSAshaway HeadPrince Völkl Fischer Dunlop Slazenger Carlton

STRING SUPPLIER MEMBERSApollo Leisure Bow BrandKirschbaum GosenKlip Europe Signum ProTOA Strings

Technical ConsultantRod Cross

CONTACTEuropean Racquet Stringers AssociationLenaustr. 3840470 Düsseldorf, GermanyPhone - +49-(0)211-87511548Fax - +49-(0)211-87511549email: [email protected]

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Kirschbaum Sportartikel GmbH · Schweerstraße 1 · D-58456 Wittenphone: +49 (0) 23 02-9 70 50 · fax: +49 (0) 23 02-7 76 76www.kirschbaum-strings.de · [email protected]

The Kirschbaum SPIKY SHARK based on ten years of know how of the SUPER SMASH SPIKY with its diagonal surface structure. The new SPIKY SHARK is equipped with an octa-gonal profile parallel to the string. Using a specially developed technique we accomplish distinctive peaks for an optimum grip to the ball to ensure best slice and spin transfer (US Patent 6,117,383).

Kirschbaum SPIKY SHARK – a new meaning of spin transfer!

– no string slipping – enlarged acceleration and high comfort – best spin transfer

(available in 1,25 mm / 17 and 1,30 mm / 16, 12 m- und 200 m-unit)

SPIKY® SHARK

NEWTHE STRING WITH A BITE

New Productss

Babolat introduces their new Team All Court 4, more lightweight, more comfortable, and with new technology. Used by tour players Robby Ginepri and Igor Andreev.This is an ultralight shoe at 370 grams. Made with more flexible materials and a Memory Foam all along the upper for a better fit. Also, Ortholite tri-material hygienic insoles are used.Technologies include Michelin Performance Rubber, Exact Pro tortion stabilizing and Vibrakill shock absorbing heel.

www.babolat.com

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Entdecke den High-tech-Schuh

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unter www.babolat.com

www.babolat.comOptimized Cell System

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o L.

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New Productss

Dunlop introduced their new DTB Official Dunlop Fort Tournament. Dunlop is the number 1 ball in Germany. The balls are available in 4er cans or 6er packs with 2 - 3 ball cans. The ball has been chosen as the official ball of the German Open in Hamburg, the top ATP tournament in Germany.

Prince introduces new GLORY strings. A new Patent Pending Co-Extrusion technology allows more durability and less shock. Soft polyester filaments are extruded in a stiffer durable polyester, offering half the shock of normal polyester strings. Available in 12.2 meter sets and 100 meter reels in Optic Yellow.

Prince uses it’s new Co-Extrusion Tecnology to produce TWISTED, a two colored string of-fering less shock and more durabiity. Available in 12.2 meter sets and 200 meter reels in blue/white, black/white, black/yellow combinations.Premier LT, using Micro Core Technology and high tenacitiy filament core offers 15% better tension maintenance. Linear technology alligns the 900+ filaments to move freely giving a gut like playability. The All-Time Number 1 Overall Synthetic String tested by Racquet Sports Indus-try Magazine in the USA. Visit www.princetennis.com


New Products

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HEAD Launches YOUTEK™ Radical SeriesLaunch of next generation racquets has stars to carry legacy

Radical changes are ahead for one of the best selling frames in the world, as HEAD announces the launch of the new YOUTEK™ Radical Series. The legendary frame, made famous by tennis great Andre Agassi, features updated technologies that has tennis stars, including Robin Soderling, Marin Cilic, Amelie Mauresmo, Patty Schnyder and Alize Cornet lining up to make a racquet switch before Wimbledon.

World No. 3 player Andy Murray will also switch to the YOUTEK™ Radical Pro within the next few weeks. He is often cited as the game’s fittest athlete and picks up where former No. 1 Andre Agassi left off: Successfully wielding the Radical as his weapon of choice as HEAD launches the next generation in the frame series.

YOUTEK™ incorporates d3o™, a “smart material” which dramatically changes its behavior under dynamic loading or impact. Located in the shaft of the racquet, d3o™ reacts to the needs of a player in nano seconds, providing a softer touch and better feel on slow speed impacts, like a slice or a drop shot, and increases stiffness necessary to create power on high speed impacts, such as a serves and passing shots.

Another feature of YOUTEK™ is the introduction of HEAD Grommets with Teflon® friction reducing polymer, which allow minimal string friction and creates a bigger “sweet spot” through the even distribution of tension across the entire string bed.

The YOUTEK Radical series includes the following racquets:

YOUTEK™ Radical Pro: This is Andy Murray’s racquet of choice for extra power. An open-string pattern provides extra-pop and spin and features a leather grip for ultimate tour performance.

YOUTEK™ Radical MP: The YOUTEK Radical MP provides a perfect combination of power and control.

YOUTEK™ Radical OS: The oversized version of Andy Murray’s racquet provides a larger sweet spot, making it a racquet you will be truly addicted to.

YOUTEK™ Radical Lite: A lighter version of Murray’s. Its excellent maneuverability and feel appeal to a wide range of players. The open-string pattern provides the extra spin you are looking for.


New Products

In addition, HEAD introduced the new Radical bag line. The new bags are designed with extreme abrasion and dirt resistant material on the bottom; longer, padded shoulder straps; metal buckles; and a detachable, adjustable, convertible shoulder strap system. The new Tour Package is available now in pro/specialty and sporting goods stores.

Andy Murray in Miami

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New Products

Rebound Pro- Tecnifibre introduces their new ladies’ line with a racket for the intermediate baseline player. Included are X-Tra Grip, Logo Dampener and a full cover. Available in grip 1-3.

TFIGHT 280- Tecnifibre introduces a new lightweight frame for young serious baseline players. The racket was designed for players between 12 to 15 years old. Included are Multifeel multifilament string, X-Tra Grip, Logo Dampener and a full cover. Available in grip 1-4.

Specifications UnstrungWeight 280g Head Size 615 cm² Balance 335mmSwingweight 280 Kg/cm²Pattern 16 x 19Length 68.5cm /27”Beam 21.5 mm Stiffness 67 RAGripsize 1,2,3,4

Specifications UnstrungWeight 295g Head Size 615 cm² Balance 325mmSwingweight 287 Kg/cm²Pattern 16 x 19Length 68.5cm /27”Beam 21.5 mm Stiffness 66 RAGripsize 1,2,3


New Members

EntdeckeDIE WELT

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WE MAKEA WORLD OFDIFFERENCE

Die Int. Plattform für alle

Trainer und Coaches

die professionell

unterrichten

INFO: PTR European HeadquartersLeichtergasse 28 - 39012 MERAN

Fon: +39 0473 230097 - www.ptrtennis.de - [email protected]

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Congratulations to the new ERSA Stringers, CS and MRTs this month.ERSA Stringer - Luciano Airaudo ERSA Stringer - Roberto CapelliERSA Stringer - Maurizio Carnevali ERSA Stringer - Jacopo De CarliERSA Stringer - Gianluca Magro ERSA Stringer - Luigi MeneghelloERSA Stringer - Leonardo Michelucci ERSA Stringer - Enrico SolforettiERSA Stringer - Giorgio Tombesi ERSA Stringer - Antonio ZaccaraERSA Stringer - George Lyperopoulos ERSA Stringer - Michalis KotsogiannisCS - Aristotelis Saratzidis CS - Gkantsidis Nikolaos


Roland Garros 2009

I arrived at Roland Garros the day before the main draw as I was running the stringing service for the ARAG World Team Cup during the qulification week. Most of the team was already there and were about 100+ rackets each ahead of me. This year we had Sam Chan back on the team and for the first time, Richard Parnell, our Spanish manager, and Misel Milovanovic, a Pro Tour Stringer from Switzerland. We had a very good team there with 6 Pro Tour Stringers and 5 Tecnifibre tournament stringers. Even though we were up over 300 rackets from last year, we were getting out of the stringing room about the same time or earlier than last year. Always enouogh time for a meal and a couple of beers with the team. Below is the information sheet from Tecnifibre for Roland Garros and I have included a page with some selected logs from some of the women and men palyers. If you are interested in any other info, such as juniors, seniors, wheelchair, or other players contact me with your request. Mark Maslowski [email protected]

Roland Garros Stringing service: French Open 2009 - TECNIFIBRE Official Stringer 11 stringers coming from France, Japan, UK, Argentina, Switzerland, Spain, Czech Re-public and Germany. 3,060 racquets strung during the 3 weeks (Qualifyings + main draws) : 300 racquets more compared to 2008 . Lowest tension: Filipo Volandri (Italy) : 10kg (22 Lbs) . Highest tension : Jürgen Melzer (Austria) : 35kg (77 Lbs) . Best customer : Serena Williams with 52 racquets strung


Roland Garros 2009

Monte Carlo 2009Monte Carlo 2009 - Tecnifibre official stringer 663 rackets strung this year during Monte Carlo Masters 1000 by the Tecnifibre Team. Thanks to Stéphane, Laurent, Ronald, Philippe and Benoit for their great job.

Some facts: About the winners:Singles: Rafael NADAL : 25kgDoubles: Daniel NESTOR : 55/53 lbs - Nenad ZIMONJIC : 24/22.5 kg Highest tension: Jurgen MELZER : 35/35 kg Lowest tension:Julian KNOWLE : 16.5/16.5 kg Biggest consummers:Ivan LJUBICIC : 40 raquettesRafael NADAL : 33 raquettes About Tecnifibre players:Fernando VERDASCO : 23/21 kgKristof VLIEGEN : 21/21 kg (Black Code 1.24/ X-One 1.24)Janko TIPSAREVIC : 26/25 kg (Black Code 1.24)Marc GICQUEL : 28/28 kg (Black Code 1.24)

Some tensions : . Rafael Nadal : 25kg (55 lbs) . Robin Söderling : 25.5 kg (56 Lbs) and 36 racquets strung during the tournament . Dinara Safina : 30/29 kg (66/64 Lbs) . Svetlana Kuznetsova : 26/25 kg (57/55 Lbs) . Fernando Verdasco : 23/21 kg (51/46 Lbs) . Mike Bryan : 50/53 Lbs (24 racquets strung) . Bob Bryan : 49/53 Lbs (28 racquets strung)

12 & UNDER l 14 & UNDER l 16 & UNDER

1 GAME1 TOUR1 CONTINENT43 ORGANISING COUNTRIES282 TOURNAMENTS7320 VOLUNTEERS10000 PLAYERS25936 MATCHES190000 TENNIS BALLS354200 SPECTATORS

STARS OFTOMORROW

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From its earliest tournaments into the1970s and its official creation in 1990,the Tennis Europe Junior Tour has

come to be universally recognised as the beststarting point for a successful career in tennis.A string of world #1s, from Ivan Lendl andSteffi Graf to Roger Federer and JustineHenin chose this path, alongside non-Europeans such as Lindsay Davenport,Lleyton Hewitt, David Nalbandian and AndyRoddick, all of who had an early taste of suc-cess on the courts of Europe’s premier junior

events.

The increasingly professionalorganisation of

the tournamentshas meant that the

Tennis Europe JuniorTour effectively serves

as a dress rehearsal for life as a professional

tennis player, with

a cumulative ranking system, a season-ending Masters tournament, Player of theYear awards, online ranking information,calendars and the playing records of potentialopponents.

The Tour has expanded from43 tournaments in its first yearto over 300 annual events forplayers of age categories 12, 14and 16 & under. Care is takenthat the focus is not solely onperformance, with sightseeingtours, players parties and edu-cational events held in tandem,

ensuring a social and informati-ve aspect to tournaments whichallows players to focus on morethan just their tennis and provi-

des an excellent opportunity tolearn about anti-doping, nutritionand training patterns, to name justa few topics.

Team events are some of thehighlights of the season, as topplayers earn an early chance to

represent their country at prestigious cham-pionships such as the Tennis Europe WinterCups by HEAD, the European Summer Cupsand the Tennis Europe Nations Challenge byHEAD. July’s European Junior Cham-pionships is without doubt the most sought-after prize for individual players, as pastchampions such as Novak Djokovic, ArantxaSanchez-Vicario, Martina Hingis and BorisBecker can attest.

As the tour goes from strength to strength, so does its appeal. Some 350,000 spectators attend Tennis Europe Junior Tour events each year to see around 10,000 young talents from over 100 countries take their first steps on the international tennis stage. Aside from extensive coverage atTennisEurope.org, reports about the Tour inover 780 newspapers and magazines and over 12,000 minutes of annual radio and TVairtime ensure that every day, people are lear-ning about the latest players to follow in thefootsteps of stars like Rafael Nadal, AndrewMurray, Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova incelebrating some of their earliest successes onthe Tennis Europe Junior Tour.

Tennis Europe Junior TourThe Tennis Europe Junior Tour is the leading pan-European competitive forumfor junior talent in any major sport. Jonathan Jobson reports

The Tennis Europe Junior Tour has proven to be

a fruitful training ground for world-class players

such as Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic.

PARTNERS OF THE TENNIS EUROPE JUNIOR TOUR

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Roland Garros Player Logs


Industry News

1919

DUNLOP Fort Tournament Gewinner des tennis magazin Awards 2009

Drei Marken wurden für den tennis magazin Award 2009 in der Kategorie Tennisbälle nominiert: Dunlop Fort Tournament, Head No. 1 und Wilson US open. Der Dunlop Fort Tournament wurde zum besten Ball gekürt. Frank Binder, Marketing Manager bei Dunlop, nahm die Auszeichnung in der Buddha Lounge in Stuttgart am Donnerstag, 16. Juli entgegen. Der Award unterstreicht die starke Marktposition von Dunlop. Die Dunlop Aerogel 4D Technologiw wurde ebenso für den tennis magazin Award in der Kategorie „Turnierschläger“ nominiert, musste den Titel dann allerdings Babolat überlassen. Dennoch wurde Dunlop als eine der drei starken Marken in dieser Kategorie ausgewählt. Insgesamt wurden 11 Kategorien präsen-tiert. Mehr Informationen auf: www.tennismagazine.de

2009AwardAward

GewinnerKategorie:

Ball

tmAward Logo G Ball:Layout 1 01.07

DUNLOP Fort Tournament – Winner tennis magazin Award 2009Three brands have been nominated for the tennis magazine award2009 in the category balls: Dunlop Fort Tournament, Head No. 1 and Wilson US Open. TheDunlop Fort Tournament was voted as being the best ball. Frank Binder received the prize atthe Buddha Lounge in Stuttgart on Thursday, July 16. The award underlines the strong marketposition of Dunlop. The Dunlop Aerogel 4D Technology was also nominated for the tennis magazine award in the category “Tournament frames” but lost the title to Babolat. Nevertheless Dunlop was chosen as being one of the three strong racket brands in this category. Overall,eleven categories were presented. More information on : www.tennismagazin.de

DUNLOP WIRD OFFIZIELLER SPIELBALL BEI DEN INTERNATIONAL GERMAN OPEN IN HAMBURGAm traditionsreichen Turnier am Hamburger Rothenbaum weht in 2009 ein neuer frischer Wind mit Michael Stich als neuem Turnierdirektor, einer neuen ATP-Turniereinstufung, einem neuen Termin (18. – 26. Juli) und einem neuen offiziellen Spielball: DUNLOP. Zwar hat das Turnier die höchste ATP-Kategorie eingebüßt, als ATP 500 Einstufung ist es aber dennoch das größte Turnier in Deutschland und zählt zu den 20 größten Turnieren welt-weit.

Als Ball kommt der DUNLOP Fort Tournament zum Einsatz. Nicht nur in Hamburg, sondern auch beim Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, bei den BMW Open in München, beim ARAG World Team Cup in Düsseldorf und bei den Gerry Weber Open in Halle, ist DUNLOP offizieller Spielball.


Industry News

2020

HEAD’S GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY ROLLS ON IN LATEST TENNIS BALL CAMPAIGN

“Win and Play with Andy Murray” a Hit Among Fans

– Earlier this season, HEAD launched its Golden HEAD Tennis Ball campaign, giving tennis enthusiasts the opportunity to improve their game with a chance to win an exclusive training session with World No. 3 Andy Murray and a trip to the BARCLAYS ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The campaign already turns out to be a tremendous success - more than 10,000 consumers have participated and early winners have already been announced. “Win and Play with Andy Murray” has generated buzz in its early phase among consumers and fans alike. With more chances to enter and win, consumers are encouraged to continue searching for the winning

products on retail shelves near them.

And who finally will find the Golden HEAD Tennis Ball and have the once in a a life time opportunity to play with Andy Murray? This very special Golden Tennis Ball can be found in a HEAD metal can or at head.com. The lucky winner will be announced at the end of the promotion in early August. So take your chance and find the Golden HEAD Tennis ball before July 31st!

The Golden HEAD Tennis Balls hit store shelves last May and feature a stylish orange metal can. Recognized as the best by professionals, HEAD is the official tennis ball of the ATP, ATP Masters 1000 Series and BARCLAYS ATP World Tour Finals in London. The HEAD ATP ball is the most used ball on the ATP World Tour.

PTR Europe has organized their first Workshop and Certi-fication Testing in Marling, Itlay.Ten PTR coaches signed up for the two day workshop and certification testing. Mark Maslowski, ERSA Direc-tor, came down for the weekend to do the first workshop together with Michaela Traeger, ERSA MRT.The PTR has a lot of experience organizing and giving workshops to coaches, so we discussed many ways to improve the workshops in the future in Italy, to make them a great success.Thanks to Michaela Traeger, PTR, and Luciano Botti, Director - PTR Europe for the organization and planning. Also thanks to Michaela for translating the Techniques Section, Study Guide and Certification Tests into Ital-ian. The next workshop is planned in August at the PTR Europe Headquarters in Marling, Italy.For more information contact the ERSA or the PTR Eu-rope Headquarters in Italy.


Industry News

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Tecnifibre press conference in Paris: Fernando, Marcos & Gisela were there.Tecnifibre organized a press conference two days before Roland Garros for journal-ists from all over the world who wanted to know more about the values of the brand and players' equipment. Fernando Verdasco, Marcos Baghdatis and Gisela Dulko were there to talk about it. Some talented young players under contract have played with the pros after the interviews. Thank's to the players and all people who came.

Recreational Tennis Players Increasingly Disillusioned withHigh-Tech Strings

Perhaps it’s a function of the aging demographic in the recreational tennis market, or a function of the economic downturn, or perhaps it’s a combination of both, but according to Steve Crandall of Ashaway Racket Strings, players seem disenchanted with today’s high-tech, high-end strings, and are increasingly turning to softer playing, more economical alternatives. And Steve Crandall should know: Ashaway is the only US maker of racket strings and has been providing string to tennis players of all stripes for nearly three-quarters of a century. High-end polyester monofilament strings--we call them ‘gut on steroids’--

are designed for hard-hitting, high-end players,” said Crandall, “not normal, everyday players. Most recreational players don’t hit the ball hard enough to benefit from them. But people read how the pros use these fancy strings and want to try them. Then they find that for their game, they’re not worth the added cost. Now--and we’re seeing this in our sales figures--they’re turning back to more traditional multifilament and synthetic gut strings which offer a good combination of performance, economy and durability.” Traditional multifilament and synthetic gut strings play softer than the stiffer, high-tech monofilaments, which can be a benefit for no-longer-quite-so-young players, Crandall added. “None of us like to admit it,” he said, “but we feel it more after a good hard round on the court, especially in our joints. A softer playing multifilament or nylon string can significantly reduce impact shock on our arms and shoulders. That way, we can still look good without the tennis elbow!”But the economy may also play a role in string choice. “In my experience, people don’t stop playing during hard times,” Crandall said. “In fact, they may even tend to play more, especially if they’ve been laid off. They need to keep active, stay in shape, reduce stress. But they may put off buying big ticket items: instead of buying a new racquet, they’ll buy a new grip, or they’ll keep wearing their old shoes longer than they might otherwise. And while they will still do the necessary things like restring their racquets, they may opt for a less expensive brand of string or look for a more durable string.”


TENNIS STARS GAEL MONFILS AND MARION BARTOLIHOST JUNIOR CLINIC, AUTOGRAPH SIGNING ANDMEDIA Q&A SESSIONTwo of the world’s best tennis players put their skills on display and offer valuable feedback to dozens of junior players in Paris, France. During their country’s Grand Slam, France’s own Marion Bartoli and Gael Monfils were on hand to hold a special clinic for kids, autograph session and exclusive media Q & A sponsored by global tennis equipment leader, Prince.“I am very excited to join Prince and be part of this event. Paris is a special tournament for me – to be able to play in front of my countrymen, in my hometown, is an honor and something I take very seriously,” says Monfils. “I look forward to talking to the kids, sharing some training tips and getting thechance to spend time with media prior to the start of the tournament.”

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Industry NewsPrince Enhances Popular EXO3 Racquet Line with Three New Models in U.SEXO3 Ignite 95, EXO3 Ignite Team 95 and EXO3 Blue 110 Prince is set to introduce three new EXO3 models just in time for summer. Two new advanced player frames and a classic oversize frame will allow more players to take advantage of this ground-breaking racquet technology. “The EXO3 Ignite is built for a very particular high-level player and will help continue our assault on that growing segment ofthe market. The EXO3 Blue 110 is built with the millions of recreational club players in mind who look to Prince to help them have more fun on court and who seek the ultimate in comfort and power.” EXO3 Ignite 95, EXO3 Ignite Team 95 & EXO3 Blue 110The EXO3 Ignite 95 will join the already popular EXO3 Graphite and EXO3 Rebel racquets in providing advanced-level players an EXO3 racquet with classic features for ultimate control and feel. As with the EXO3 Rebel 95, the racquet choice of Gael Monfils, the EXO3 Ignite 95 will also be available in a “Team” version – the EXO3 Ignite Team 95 - for competitive players who want a lighterweight,more maneuverable offering. In addition, the EXO3 Blue 110 will be positioned between the EXO3 Silver 118 and EXO3 Red 105 for club players who want the advantage of EXO3 technology in a standard 110 square inchoversize frame.Addit ional Informat ion and Speci f ics on Each New EXO3 Model :EXO3 Ignite 95:Built for advanced level players with faster swing speeds who are looking for aheavy, yet head light racquet with extra feel and great access to power. EXO3 Ignite Team 95:Perfect for intermediate to advanced players who like a classic, mid-size framein a slightly lighter weight for added maneuverability and more power from thebaseline. EXO3 Blue 110:Featuring both the Energy Bridge and Energy Channel, this frame is designedfor the club player looking for the incredible EXO3 feel in a classic oversize frame.For those who enjoy the forgiving nature of a larger sweetspot and comfortableride.Visit www.princetennis.com for full information.

Prince Junior Players Enjoy the 2009 Easter BowlSeven Champions, Four Finalists & One Sportsmanship Award Cap

One of the United States’ premier junior tournaments wrapped up this past weekend in Palm Desert,California – the 2009 USTA Spring Championships, otherwise known as, the Easter Bowl. When all was said and done, the event saw seven champions, four additional finalists and one sportsmanship awardwinner– all from the Prince junior roster – not bad for a week’s work. “We are extremely proud, though not surprised, that our juniors did so well here. We have an extremely talented, and growing group ofathletes,” said Jackie Spicijaric, Manager, US Junior Development andCollege Promotions. The Easter Bowl brings together the best boys and girls from the 14, 16,and 18 age groups.

TWO CHAMPIONSONE STRING

Squash Champions Natalie Grainger and David Palmerboth win consistently with Ashaway strings

Natalie uses SuperNick XL Micro 18 gaugefor powerful drives and deft touch shots.

David chooses PowerNick 18 gauge for exceptional powerand durability point after point, match after match.

Whatever your style of play, there is anAshaway squash string that will improve your game.

ADVANTAGE ASHAWAY The Choice of Champions

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STATUS ATHENS OPEN $125.000 Men’s ChallengerBy Petros Biris

Running its’ second successful year Status Athens Open offered to players and coaches a great week with luxurious services such as 5 star hotel and full meals. The event was held at the same historical club that the first Olympic Tennis Event of 1896 took place. The venue was very scenic having clear view from the courts to the ancient Temple of Olympian Zeus.

More than 2.152 meters of string were used for the restringing of 205 rackets mostly due to string breakage during match or practice. More than 40 rackets were strung daily the busiest 2 first days of the tournament with 2 Babolat machines and diagnostic equipment.

The Official Stringing Team of the successful Status Athens Open tournament was run by RacketSpecialist.gr and its’ owner Petros Biris together with the help of British stringer Sam Chan and his wife Corrie Chan for the front desk service.

Being a team for many years at Wimbledon and Roland Garros the stringing team worked flawlessly the 2 busiest days delivering more than 40 frames daily on players’ demand. The point was to deliver the poly-bagged strung rackets always on time, as we noticed that many of the players were coming in for restringing before their match.

Highest tension recorded was that of German doubles winner Marc Philipp with 30/29kg. Australian Peter Luczak have had his rackets strung with 14kg one of the lowest tensions recorded on tour. Worth noticing are the 10kg used by Vollandri during this year’s French Open.

Biggest string breaker was tournament singles winner Rui Machado from Portugal who needed 18 rackets to reach the final.In a short conversation we had with French Alexandre Sidorenko (ATP ranking 156) we discovered that before switching to his current string he was breaking 6 frames strung with1.25 poly in an hour, that is a broken string after every 10 minutes!

We have had a few emergencies during matches with that of singles final being the most demanding one, where we had to deliver a 10 minute emergency restringing to Spaniard Daniel Munoz De La

Status Athens Open


Aegean Tennis Cup

Nava. The players were very pleased with the “Grand Slam” quality of the stringing service not omitting to

thank us during their speech on the finals that was very rewarding.

AEGEAN TENNIS CUP 2009 $125.000 Men’s Challenger By Petros Biris1344 meter of strings were used

to fill out the holes of a total of 128 rackets mainly due to the warm spring weather that made the hard court surface even faster and the loss in control after a few hours more perceivable.

The Aegean Tennis Cup was held in Rhodes (or Rhodos or Rodos) island situated at the Aegean Sea. Being one of the biggest poles of tourist attractions in the Mediterranean sea it justifies high spectators attendance during the whole week. The $125.000 Challenger really impressed professional players, coaches and press with the highest of standards, providing free hospitality during the whole week at 5 star hotel suites including breakfast, lunch and dinner even at player’s loss!!! A unique opening ceremony was held at the medieval castle of Rhodes in an atmospheric night with knights and a players “beach” party with exotic cocktails! Stringing at the tournament was enjoyable with plenty of room for consultation regarding tensions and for other slight adjustments that really helped some of the pros. Among them singles finalist Simon Stadler (GR) who really appreciated our advice of switching tensions (stringing for conditions) and making considerable alterations according to his frame and strings known as custom stringing. Until then Simon was stable mind regarding his tension. We also let Benjamin Becker find out how he could translate dynamic tension measurements into having a consistent stringplane feel on the tour. Other players who seek for consultation were singles semifinalist Amritraj, Bastl, and Haggard. Chris Guccione when he first came to the stringing room he told us about having problems with premature string breakage on top (every after 30 minutes) something we successfully resolved with customized stringing techniques. Highest recorded tension was that of doubles winner Rajeev Ram (USA) who strung at 68/66 lbs. On the other end that of Alex Bogdnanovic (GB) with 21kg were the lowest tension recorded.Germans Simon Stadler and Benedikt Dorsch strung the most frames with 8 each.Besides stringing I was very lucky to do the warm up to Marco Trungelliti and the 2 session beneficial training to Alexandros Georgoudas finalist at the juniors Australian Open 2009 whom I know since his was 12 years old as a great opportunity to work on my playing and coaching abilities. The Official stringing team was run by RacketSpecialist.gr and its Greek owner Petros Biris with the great help of Toru Yusuki from Japan, both having vast experience in Grand Slam stringing and other major events. At the front desk was Greek Ilias Kontaktsis who also kept full records on players’ equipment.


Dwell TimeBy Rod Cross

The DilemmaMost Saturday mornings I drop off my wife at the supermarket and wander over to the tennis shop to talk tennis with Ron and Steve, both USRSA members, both expert stringers, and both with strong views on all aspects of tennis. Our verbal rallies are just as much fun as an actual game of tennis. Recently, Steve tried to tell me that the ball sits on the strings for a longer time if the racquet is swung toward the ball. In most of my laboratory tests I let the ball impact on a racquet that is initially at rest, either with the head clamped or with the racquet suspended by two long lengths of ordinary string attached to a support above the racquet. That way, the ball doesn’t go flying off through the lab window or smash into anything important.

Steve’s argument was as follows: If the racquet is initially at rest and suspended by long strings, then a ball hitting the strings will push the racquet away in one direction while the ball bounces off in the opposite direction. That way, the ball loses contact with the strings sooner. But, if the racquet is swung toward a ball, then the racquet and the ball both move in the same direction after the collision. The ball stays on the strings a bit longer because the racquet is following the ball and pushes forward on the ball rather than pulling away from it. The separation between the ball and the strings must be rapid if the ball and strings move off in opposite directions, whereas the separation takes longer if the ball and the strings are both moving in the same direction. That sounds perfectly reasonable and logical, but it is wrong. There is a difference in the distance over which the ball and the strings remain in contact, but there is no difference in the time they remain in contact.

I told Steve that he was wrong because the collision can be observed in a moving frame of reference or in a stationary frame of reference and the collision will be exactly the same, so the dwell times will be the same.

Changing the frame of reference is something that physicists are comfortable with, but it didn’t convince Steve. There are several other ways to look at the problem, but they take a bit longer to explain.

What Determines the Contact Time?The contact or dwell time of a ball on the strings depends on the stiffness of the ball and the strings, and upon the mass of the ball and the racquet. It does not depend on the speed of the racquet, and it doesn’t depend on the speed of the ball. To see how this arises, we can consider a slightly simpler case where a ball is dropped vertically onto the court. If a tennis ball hits the court at a speed of 20 feet/s on the way down, it will bounce upwards at about 15 feet/s. In order to reverse direction, the ball has to come to a complete stop at some stage during the bounce. It comes to a stop because the ball pushes down on the court so the court pushes up on the ball. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That might sound like mumbo jumbo, but it’s true. If you are standing at the net and your partner serves a ball into the back of your head, then the ball bounces backward off your head. Something pushed the ball backwards and that something was your head. It’s the same with the court.

The force on the ball slowing it down from 20 feet/s to zero depends on the ball stiffness. If you squeeze a ball in your hands with a force F = 18 lb, it will squash a distance x = 1/4 of an inch. The ball stiffness is k = F/x = 18/0.25 = 72 lb/in. When a ball is dropped onto the court it squashes. If it squashes by 1/4 of an inch, the force on the ball is 18 lb. If a stiffer ball, like a baseball, is squashed by 1/4 of an inch, the force on the ball would be around 100 lb.

Let’s suppose the average force on the tennis ball is 18 lb. How long does it take to stop? That depends on the mass of the ball. If the ball weighed only 5.7 gm, it would take 0.2 milliseconds. If it weighed 570 gm it would take 20 ms. But it weighs 57 gm and it takes 2 ms. And it takes about 2 ms to accelerate up to 15 feet/s as it leaves the court. So the total

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Technologydwell time is about 4 ms. The details of this calculation are given in our book The Physics and Technology of Tennis.

If you throw a ball onto the court at 40 feet/s, it will bounce up at about 30 feet/s, but it still spends about 4 ms on the court. If the ball hits the court at twice the original speed, it will squash twice as far, so the force on the ball is twice as big. If the force is twice as big and the incident speed is twice as big, then it takes the same 2 ms to come to a stop. Actually, there is a slight reduction in contact time as the ball speed increases, but that’s because the ball gets stiffer when it is squashed farther.

Contact Time on StringsWhen a ball bounces off the strings of a hand-held racquet, the contact time is around 5 ms rather than 4 ms (for reasons described later). The ball and string system work the same way as any other mass on a spring. Get a long rubber band, cut it to make a long stretchy string, tape a mass on one end and tie the other end to a support. Pull the mass down ¼ inch and let go. The mass will bob up and down about once or twice every second. Then pull the mass down ½ inch and repeat. This time the mass will move faster, but it bobs up and down at the same rate. It travels faster, but it travels farther (up and down ½ inch instead of ¼ inch), so it takes the same time to complete each up and down cycle. A tennis ball is not tied onto the strings of a racquet, so it bounces off. But, if you glued a ball onto the strings, it would take 5 ms to complete each half cycle, just like a mass tied onto a rubber band. The contact time is very short compared with the mass on a rubber band because the strings are a lot stiffer than a rubber band.

The contact time of a steel ball on a steel plate is about 0.00005 seconds because a steel ball and a steel plate are both very stiff. And the contact time is the same regardless of whether the ball hits the plate or the plate hits the ball.


Contact DistanceTo consider Steve’s argument in more detail, let’s go back to the case of a ball hitting the racquet strings. Suppose that the collision time is 5 ms (0.005 s), the racquet is initially at rest and the ball is traveling at 30 feet/s toward the right just before impact (Figure, Case 1). Suppose that the ball bounces off the racquet at 12 feet/s toward the left and the racquet heads off toward the right at 16 feet/s. These numbers are realistic and typical of how most racquets would behave. The average recoil speed of the racquet is 8 feet/s (starting at zero and finishing at 16 feet/s), so the racquet head travels a distance 8 × 0.005 = 0.04 feet = 0.48 inches during the collision. The ball also travels 0.48 inches to the right before it loses contact with the strings, but at the instant it leaves the strings it is traveling at 12 feet/s to the left.

Now suppose the ball is at rest and the racquet approaches the ball at 30 feet/s traveling from right to left (Figure, Case 2). That is what happens in a low speed serve. In that case, the ball will end up traveling from right to left at 42 feet/s and the racquet will be traveling at 14 feet/s from right to left just after the ball loses contact with the strings. (I got those numbers by subtracting 30 feet/s from all the previous numbers.) That is what a bug would see if it were flying at 30 feet/s beside a ball traveling at 30 feet/s. The bug would think the ball is at rest and it would see the racquet approaching at 30 feet/s.

When a moving racquet strikes a stationary ball, the ball speeds up and the racquet slows down. The average speed of the ball during the collision is 21 feet/s (starting at zero and ending at 42 feet/s). Assuming that the collision still lasts 5 ms (which it does), the ball travels to the left a distance 21 × 0.005 = 0.105 feet = 1.26 inches before it loses contact with the strings. The racquet slows down from 30 feet/s to 14 feet/s, at an average speed of 22 feet/s, and travels a distance 22 × 0.005 = 0.11 feet = 1.32 inches before it loses contact with the ball.

If the ball travels 1.26 inches and the racquet travels 1.32 inches before they lose contact with each other, then something strange has happened. Surely they must travel the same distance before they lose contact.

The reason is that the average speed is not exactly as we have calculated it. It is true that the average of 30 and 14 is 44/2 = 22, but if the racquet spends most of its time traveling at around 30 feet/s and only a short time traveling at around 14 feet/s then the average speed will be greater than 22 feet/s. We only need a slight imbalance here to come up with the correct result that the ball and the strings travel the same distance before they part company. The imbalance arises because the ball is not perfectly elastic. There is a certain force on the ball while it is squashing and a slightly smaller force while it expands back to its original shape. That’s why a ball dropped onto the court will not bounce back to its original height. The ball loses some energy during the bounce. The lack of symmetry in the force on the ball and the racquet (the forces are equal and opposite) means that the ball speed and the racquet speed are not quite symmetrical either. In other words, the average speed during a bounce is not exactly the same as adding the initial and final speeds and then dividing by two.

In our first calculation in Case 1, the ball and the strings both travel about 0.5 inches before they part company. I cheated a bit when I got 0.48 inches, since I ignored the lack of symmetry in the force, but if I do the calculation properly, the answer is about 0.50 inches. In both Case 1 and Case 2, the average speeds cannot be calculated exactly from simple averaging, but simple averaging is nearly correct and is close enough to show that Cases 1 and 2 are quite different in terms of the contact distance.

In Case 2, the ball and the racquet both travel about 1.3 inches before they part company. What we see here are two situations where the dwell times are the same, but the distances over which the racquet and ball remain in contact are different. If the racquet and ball fly off in opposite directions, they remain in contact over a relatively short distance. If the ball and the strings move in the same direction after the collision, then they remain in contact over a larger distance.

Effect of Racquet Mass on Contact TimeThere is one situation where Steve’s argument can be used to get the correct answer, even though the argument is not correct when comparing Cases 1 and 2. The contact time of a ball on the court is about 4 ms. The contact time on the

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strings of a hand-held racquet is about 5 ms. If I clamp the head of a racquet to something much heavier, such as a heavy table, then the contact time on the strings is about 7 ms. In Steve’s terms, the contact time is lengthened because the racquet head is not pushed away from the ball so the ball sits on the strings for a longer time.

The general rules about contact time are:

Contact time decreases if the stiffness of the ball increases.•

Contact time decreases if the stiffness of the string plane increases.•

Contact time increases if the mass of the ball increases.•

Contact time increases if the mass of the racquet increases.•

Contact time does not depend significantly on the speed of the ball or the racquet, although there is a slight •decrease if there is a big increase in the speed of the ball or the speed of the racquet.

Contact time for a bounce on a hand-held racquet is about 4.5 ms near the racquet tip, about 5 ms in the middle •of the strings and about 5.5 ms near the throat area.

The last rule is another case where Steve’s argument is OK. If the ball strikes near the tip of a stationary racquet, the tip recoils rapidly and the contact time is short. If the ball strikes near the throat, the racquet recoils more slowly and the contact time is longer.

If a ball strikes a heavy concrete slab, the contact time is only about 4 ms because the slab is very stiff. If the ball strikes the strings of a racquet clamped to the slab, the contact time increases to about 7 ms because the strings are much softer than the slab. If the racquet is lifted off the slab and held by hand, the contact time is about 5 ms because the ball pushes the racquet away and quickly loses contact with the strings. But, if the ball is at rest and is struck by a racquet, the contact time is still 5 ms because there is no difference in mass or stiffness of either the ball or the racquet.

Contact Distance When ServingIf you serve a ball at 100 mph, the ball remains in contact with the strings for about 5 ms and is pushed forward a distance of about 9 inches before it leaves the strings. At the instant the strings first contacted the ball, the racquet was traveling at about 71 mph at the point of contact (and around 100 mph at the tip). At the instant that the ball leaves the strings, the ball is traveling at 100 mph and the racquet head is traveling at about 36 mph at the point of contact. They are not traveling at the same speed when they lose contact because the strings stretch and eject the ball out of the frame at a higher speed than the frame itself. That’s what the strings are there for. In addition, the ball gets squashed and it pushes itself off the strings as it returns to its normal shape.

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