January 2007 Monthly Archive

USRSA Members' Choice Awards 2007

Our exclusive rankings, based on responses by USRSA members, will help you pick the right strings for your shop. (Click here to read more...)

USRSA Members' Choice Awards 2007 -- Alphabetical scores

Company String Gauge Play. Dur. Comf. Avr. # Babolat Attraction 16 7.56 6.29 7.38 7.08 48 Babolat Attraction Power 17 7.87 5.97 7.67 7.17 30 Babolat Ballistic Polymono 16 5.65 8.41 5.94 6.67 17 Babolat Conquest 16 6.61 5.82... (Click here to read more...)

USRSA Members' Choice Awards 2007 -- Categorical scores

Playability StringGaugeScoreBabolat VS + natural gut179.79Babolat VS + natural gut169.67Babolat VS Team Thermogut179.67Wilson Natural169.5Babolat VS Touch Thermogut169.48Babolat Tonic+ Thermo Ball Feel15L9.44Wilson NXT179.04Tecnifibre NRG2 SPL189Gamma TNT188.96Gamma Professional178.93Gamma Professional168.9Tecnifibre NRG2 SPL178.9Gamma Live Wire XP178.83Wilson NXT Tour178.75Tecnifibre X-One Biphase168.71Tecnifibre X-One Biphase178.6Wilson NXT Tour188.56Wilson... (Click here to read more...)

A Growing Tennis Village

The TIA's executive director says collaborations within the industry are what lead to the growth of the sport. (Click here to read more...)

A Tennis Wish List

As we begin the New Year, we asked people in the industry — including teaching pros, pro shop and facility managers, court builders, manufacturers, and more — to tell us what they'd like to see. (Click here to read more...)

PTR on Campus Program Trains and Certifies Full-Time Students

With a double major in marketing and business management, Ondrej Vana plans to get a job in business after he graduates in 2008 from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark. He'll always have a second career option, however, since... (Click here to read more...)

Strings of Success

How do you know what to stock for your shop? We provide expert guidance that can help you — and your customers — find the right strings. (Click here to read more...)

Spin Off the Court and Strings

I noticed something interesting at the Australian Open in January. That is, I could sometimes read the label on the ball as the ball travelled over the net, even though the players were hitting topspin groundstrokes. The ball was... (Click here to read more...)

Prince Synthetic Gut Multifilament 16

Synthetic Gut Multifilament is Prince's latest offering for the player looking for a playable multifilament string with a crisp feel and good durability, at a midrange price. Synthetic Gut Multifilament is available in 16 and 17 in natural only.... (Click here to read more...)

A Solid Foundation

There's been a lot of good news in tennis lately. Participation is rising, equipment sales are up, the number of "play occasions" has increased. And, of course, the big statistic that many people have quoted over the last six... (Click here to read more...)

A Team Effort

Jimmy Pitkanen says both players and coaches have a lot to gain from the team experience. (Click here to read more...)

New Members: Your Key to Staying in Business

"Recruit or perish." Many organizations live by that saying. So, too, should your club or facility. Since some degree of annual attrition is unavoidable, if you don't bring in new members, your business will gradually whither away. The tennis... (Click here to read more...)

Against the Wall

With Rapid Rally, beginning players have a fun way to get into tennis. (Click here to read more...)

Industry News

Information to help you run your business. (Click here to read more...)

Mark of Distinction

RSI and the ASBA bring you the best in tennis court construction. (Click here to read more...)

Lee's Facility Analysis Survey Offers 'Roadmap' for Court Owners

Confused about how to improve the performance of your clay courts? Looking for a long-range plan to upgrade your facility, but don't know where to begin? Is your facility seeing the effects of age, and you're not sure just... (Click here to read more...)

Busy Making a Living? College Courses Are Just a Mouse Click Away

Tennis teaching professionals must be self-motivated and goal-driven to be successful. The organization that the pro works for has the responsibility to provide them with the necessary environment in which to perform their tasks, but the professional must be... (Click here to read more...)

Marketing avenues

Q: I'm wondering how I can promote my stringing business beyond handing out fliers. Clubs have their pros doing stringing at local events so I always feel uncomfortable marketing myself around there. Should I ask the local pro shops if... (Click here to read more...)

Racquets going soft

Q: Do racquets go soft with age, and if so, how do you measure it?... (Click here to read more...)

Cleaner Stenciling

I use my workbench to stencil. It can be messy but, before starting, I spread out pages from my local newspaper. When I am done, I discard the top sheet of the newspaper, and have a clean work surface for... (Click here to read more...)

Starting without Slippage

As others have pointed out, pulling tension on the first center main puts a lot of stress on the clamp holding the other center main. With no string tension behind it to help, that first clamp can and will move.... (Click here to read more...)

Better Clamp Cleaner

Instead of using an alcohol-soaked cloth or a regular pipe cleaner, I've found using decorative pipe cleaners packaged as Chenille Stems found in craft stores much better. They are longer and have a sturdy core wire with soft bristles. Bend... (Click here to read more...)

TLC for the RDC

I was getting varied swingweight readings on my Babolat Racquet Diagnostic Center (RDC). I took the cover off and found that there is a ball bearing system on top that is exposed to dust from outside the machine. I blew... (Click here to read more...)

Bumperguard Storage

I keep my bumper guards in a smallish box that forces them into the shape of a mild arc. This way when I need to install them, they are pre-formed to follow the form and shape of the racquet. It... (Click here to read more...)

Careful cleaning

When using rubbing alcohol to clean a stringing machine, keep the bottle away from the machine! Bottles can tip over and spill, damaging your machine. My advice is to apply the alcohol to the cloth and walk the cloth over... (Click here to read more...)

Finding facts fast

Finding the stringing pattern for common frames in the Stringer's Digest is a step that can be made a little quicker. Instead of just putting plain tape on the page I want to mark, I use my own string labels,... (Click here to read more...)