r/tennis • u/cchsbball23 WVSU Men's Tennis/ PTR Cert/ USRSA Master Racket Tech • Sep 26 '12
I am a USRSA certified Master Racquet Technician. AMA about your racquet and/or strings!
As the title says, I am a certified MRT and also 1 of only 2 in the state of West Virginia. I use my skills to run an indoor tennis club and coach at the collegiate level. I also get to try most of the strings before they come out, since I am a prototype playtester for the United States Racquet Stringers Assoc. I am on and off the computer throughout the day, so I will get back to you immediately! AMA!
Edit......im currently on the road with my team (friday night), i will get back with answers tomorrow!
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u/RegularFreddieWilson Sep 27 '12
Around the world or two piece? or box?
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 27 '12
I ALWAYS do a two-piece. The problem with a box/ATW is that you have different tensions for your outer 2 mains/crosses. It just doesnt seem to give the consistency of a 2piece.
With a two-piece, you have equal tension-loss from knot tying, giving a more balanced string bed. I know the guys from the Wilson tournament stringing team actually do their knot-strings at a 5lbs increase to help offset the loss. The USRSA, though, says that you shouldn't worry about tension loss that much. If you get you tie a proper knot, it wont make much difference...PLUS with the slight drop in tension will provide additional comfort on off center hits.
Being that I string for some high level club and collegiate players, the biggest positive from a two-piece method is that when these guys bust strings in the middle of a point, the string bed wont go to shit. In any one-piece pattern, you bust a string and half your stringbed goes limp. When using a 2piece pattern, you may snap a main, but your cross strings are still tight and intact. This, to me, is the x-factor in choosing a stringing pattern.
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u/dropshot Sep 27 '12
Although I'm happy people are asking more technical questions, I'll ask the simple one. When someone says "I want to buy a racquet, what should I get?", what do you tell them?
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 27 '12
My personal process is basically in this order:
What racquet are you currently playing with?
What type of level do you play at? (beg, inter, adv?)
What is your playing style? (power, control, spin, etc)
Do you have any brand allegiance?
The list goes on and on. As you know, our racquets are like Gandolf's magic staff. We know what we like, even if we dont know what we want. ALWAYS demo racquets. You can sit on tenniswarehouse all day long looking at specs and crunching numbers, but unless you try it in your hands with some decent strings, you're not guaranteed to find what you need.
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u/dropshot Sep 27 '12
Compared to a average stringer, what skills do you possess that makes you a "master".
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 27 '12
I would say speed and consistency. Also, the skill to string ANYTHING and do it properly. A lot of knowledge gained on the road to this "master" status is on the technical side of it, though. As I said in another post, we can take 2 completely different racquets and make them play SIMILAR. This has to do with more physics than pure tennis knowledge. Stiffness, weight, balance, etc are all taken into account.
Basically everything that you can think of beneath the surface of racquet stringing is what we specialize in.
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Sep 27 '12
I'm more curious about what you have to go through to get certified. I've been working in a shop for over 3.5 years (stringing pretty much every day that I'm in there) and have thought about getting my CS or trying for my MRT.
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 27 '12
When you join the USRSA, you receive a "stringer's digest" each quarter. This is a GODsend if you have a lot of business. Simply put, it is a publication of the stringing patterns/special instructions of EVERY racquet made from every brand, from tennis to racquetball to squash and badminton.
In these publications is a technical section. Study this in and out. It will show you different stringing patterns, "dos and donts" that most people dont know about, racquet customization, etc. The exam is a written test and a stringing practical. The actual number escapes me, but the percentage of people that pass it on the first try is very very low.
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Sep 27 '12
The guy that usually strings my racquets said my spare is on its last stringing because the "frame was starting to give." Granted, the racquet was almost 6 years old, but I thought I took good care of my frame.
What is the average "lifespan" of a racquet?
Are there any brands or models that are simply more durable?
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 27 '12
Stringing and restringing a frame can cause a lot of stress. If you live in a warm area, this can add some stress as well. You can see as you cut out the strings, the racquet expands back to its original shape. You can take great care of a racquet, but if you're playing a lot, there is simply not much you can do.
We all know the old folks that have been playing with their old racquets for 15-20 years. When you are younger, though, and hitting the ball with some pace and competitiveness, this simply isnt the case. Anywhere between 5-10 years old and you are left with a "dead" racquet, depending on how much you play. Thing about how your strings lose their feel...thats what happens to a frame as well.
As for brand durability....I wouldn't say one is more durable than another, but there are differences. Head and Prince racquets demand that you string the crosses from the top to bottom (head to throat) to avoid unnecessary stress on the racquet due to its construction. This COULD be labeled as a design flaw in durability, but I wouldn't go that far.
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u/dropshot Sep 27 '12
If you were to work with an average player to get their racquet strung so they could "optimize" how they like the racquet, what process would you go through?
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 27 '12
You will have to define "optimize". I mean, we can refurbish an older racquet with new grommets, grip, strings, etc. If you are talking about performance, optimization is COMPLETELY a personal preference. This is where my knowledge comes in to play because I will have all the answer as to what is possible and what is not.
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u/bearscanblowme Sep 27 '12
I currently play with a prince ExO3 black with the string ports strung with pro hurricane at 60 lbs. Not having played without the string ports, how do they affect the performance of the racquet? Is it simply a matter of feel or are there effects to the power as well? Also, have you ever timed yourself for a speed stringing? If so, what's your record? I remember Nadal sending a racquet out to get restrung in the first set of an Australian open match this year and he got it back before the set was over. Thanks for doing this!
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 27 '12
Quickly with the speed thing, they said he had his done in 12 minutes. My fastest is 12:21 in a competition and normal time is around 15-16 minutes if im just hangin out. Tournament stringing is a monster that is hard to tame! Easily stringing hundreds of racquets personally in 2 weeks.
Many people claim that going with the O-ports make a huge imapact. What the o-ports do is extend the string all the way to the edge, getting you more movement. Most people claim to get a bit more spin and slightly more "pop" out of it.
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u/radiationnation Sep 27 '12
When I see a player switch racquet brands (Sharapova from Prince to Head, Verdasco from Technifibre to Dunlop,) how much of a difference does it really make in their game? How long do you think it takes for them to adjust?
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 27 '12
Mostly everytime a player switches to a different racquet, its by their own accord. Companies make a pitch to players all the time to check out their equipment, but they usually only change if it's something they like.
Djokovic was just a weird story. Everyone blamed it on the racquet at the time, just because they could. I remember Berdych switching to this new Instinct. He actually played with his Radical for about 2-3 months AFTER the announcement that he switched.
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u/THEMACHIINE Sep 28 '12
I play D1 college tennis and I've been using the Kblade 98 for the past five years but they don't make these racquets anymore so I am looking for a similar alternative? Ive tried the Kblade blx and it has NO feel compared to the older one. Any ideas on a similar feeling racquet?
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 30 '12
I know a lot of people in your situation that have switched to the Head Radical. Something with some nice flex and that thin/square beam. Additionally, the Prince Rebel might suit you as well, but you'd be giving up a couple inches of head-size.
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u/THEMACHIINE Sep 28 '12
Also whats your opinion on string that generates the most spin? I currently use BB rough but am looking for something with even more bite ( i noticed you recommended the Gamma Zo Verve earlier). Solinco anything would be a bonus as well because thats our sponsor. Thanks.
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 30 '12
Those "rough" strings don't do much in my opinion. I also don't think that any of them really do MUCH at all, but something like Verve has more chance than something like BB Rough. As I said somewhere else, out of all the strings, Gamma Ruff is the top notch spin string, but not durable. If you are going to go with Solinco, get some "BarbWire". It is much like Gamma Zo Twist. Pretty cool stuff.
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u/theHappySquirrel Sep 29 '12
I play with the new Wilson Pro Staff 90 BLX strung with MSV Focus Hex 1.18 (sometimes 1.10) at 51-54 in the mains and Gosen OG Micro 1.23 in the crosses. My question is the tie offs. Is it normal to have the last string cross over so many holes or cross over other string? I find this so frustrating when the closest big grommet for tie offs is 2-3 holes away.
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u/cchsbball23 Sep 30 '12
Yes, many MANY many Wilson's tie off on a cross string that is a couple grommets up from the last main. They actually pursuade you to do this by making that grommet larger as well.
If it bothers you that much, you can widen another grommet with your awl before you start to string. If this isn't something you are comfortable doing, just pull your last cross at 5 lbs higher tension and then tie your knot as best you can.
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Sep 30 '12
what do you think of goldentennis.com strings? I'm on a budget and they have a very ambitious motto: "Our strings are comparable to industry leaders . . . they just cost less!"
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u/ChrisTheJackson Sep 26 '12
I have the Wilson sensation strings strung at 60 on the pro staff 90 and play an all court game at the 4.0 level. Is there another type of string that would benefit my game? What would they be?