May 2009 Monthly Archive

Take the Offensive

We’re fighting a battle in my town — and it’s probably similar to what many of you may have gone through. Our park and rec director has proposed a wonderful new public recreation area that includes tennis courts. However,... (Click here to read more...)

Industry News

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

Letters: In praise of tennis

I just read Paula Hale’s “Your Serve” in the April issue of RSI and was very pleased with the kind words about our CTA, Brandon (S.D.) Tennis Association. I couldn’t agree with you more about the wonderful aspects of... (Click here to read more...)

Letters: Open letter to TV tennis producers

I am a former USPTA Pro who now just plays for fun. When I started playing in the 1960s, tennis was rarely on television. Now, all the big tourneys are televised, and there’s even a whole channel devoted to... (Click here to read more...)

Let’s Keep This Sport Moving Forward!

From the TIA President (Click here to read more...)

Bright Spots for Our Sport

From the TIA Executive Director (Click here to read more...)

Talking points

Share the industry news. (Click here to read more...)

Support Your Industry

As the trade association for our sport, we’re dedicated to making this industry strong and increasing tennis participation — so all businesses grow and prosper. And, together with our industry partners, we put 100% of our resources back into... (Click here to read more...)

The Soft Market

These seven outdoor winners are excellent examples of clay-court construction. (Click here to read more...)

Staying Afloat

How can you weather this economic storm? We asked four retailers how they’re keeping above water. (Click here to read more...)

Playtest: Luxilon M2 Pro

M2 Pro is a new string in more than one way. First, it is one of the latest offerings from Luxilon. Second, M2 represents a completely new category of string from Luxilon, incorporating a breakthrough in string technology. Third,... (Click here to read more...)

Building a Healthy Roadmap for the Future

The TIA’s executive director says while the good news in participation is very positive, we are also focusing on the issues challenging our industry. Tennis participation has been on a healthy growth trend, thanks to the combined efforts of... (Click here to read more...)

Head Crossbow and Airflow hybrid

Q: I’m trying to string one of Head’s new Crossbow racquets with a hybrid, but I can’t figure out how to do it. According to your stringing instructions, you do the mains and the two bottom crosses all together. How... (Click here to read more...)

Pro racquets

Q: I’ve heard that the racquet companies make special racquets for the pros … ones that the average player can’t buy. Why don’t they allow others to buy pro racquets, so we can play like the pros?... (Click here to read more...)

General clean-up

I recently discovered that Kirkland Baby Wipes are very efficient for wiping down my stringing machine and associated tools. There are 576 ultra soft wipes in the package and each measures 7x8 inches. The cost is approximately three cents per... (Click here to read more...)

Calibrating your lead tape

Like other customizers, I measure, cut and weigh strips of lead tape. There are a couple of additional steps I take to make customizing easier and more accurate. Whenever I buy a new roll of lead tape, the first thing... (Click here to read more...)

Finessing a blocking string

Sometimes when starting the crosses on a two-piece job you can’t get the end of the crosses into the tie-off hole. Instead of risking life and limb with an awl to open up space to insert the string from outside... (Click here to read more...)

Snapping your CAP

Usually when you are restringing a Head racquet that has the CAP bumperguard on it, tensioning the string results in a satisfying “snap” as the string is pulled through the CAP opening, toward the frame. However, sometimes these bumperguards can... (Click here to read more...)