Price: $210 Head Size: 110 square inches Length: 27.25 inches Weight: 8.1 oz. (unstrung), 8.7 oz. (strung) Balance: 11 points head heavy (strung), 14 points head heavy (strung) Ideal Swing: Short to medium String Pattern: 16 mains/20 crosses Beam Width: 28 mm dual taper NTRP: 2.5-4.0
How It Tested: The lightest frame in the BLX family packs a potent punch and pleasantly surprised play-testers with its mobility. Some compared their experience to getting behind the wheel of a Hummer and finding that it cornered more like a car.
Likes: One of the lightest oversize frames we tested this year impressed play-testers with its power, maneuverability and comfort. Its mobility enhances its versatility: it provides the stability flat-ball strikers relish while offering the maneuverability top-spin hitters crave. The black, gold and white cosmetic gives this game-improvement frame a similar look to Wilson’s player frames. And as one of the least expensive racquets in the BLX family, this frame offers ample bang for the buck.
Dislikes: While some players may feel apprehensive about playing with a wide beam, this is not an ostentatious, oversize frame. Its head heaviness combined with the lightweight is not ideal for players with full swings, but that’s not who the frame is designed for.
Bottom Line: Wilson has succeeded in creating a multi-faceted frame that merges the power of an oversize with the maneuverability of a mid-plus racquet. If you’re a beginner or intermediate player with a shorter backswing and need additional pop on your shots, this lightweight racquet could fill the bill. Older, intermediate doubles players who are experiencing power deficiency or aren't as mobile around the court should enjoy the Tempest's easy power production and feather-light weight.
Additional comments from Bruce Levine:
TENNIS racquet advisor Bruce Levine is a former touring pro who has coached on both the men’s and women’s tours. Bruce is the general manager of Courtside Racquet Club in Lebanon, N.J., has worked as a full-time teaching pro for 30 years and lectures nationally on racquets and equipment.
Price: $149 Head Size: 100 square inches Length: 27 inches Weight: 9.0 oz. (unstrung), 9.6 oz. (strung) Balance: 2 points head heavy (unstrung), 5 points head heavy (strung) Ideal Swing: Medium to long String Pattern: 16 mains/19 crosses Beam Width: 23 mm/24 mm/22 mm NTRP: 3.0-4.5
How It Tested: Playing with the Tour Lite 100 is like hitting against a talented junior who might not look imposing, but surprises you by the end. The EXO3 port holes are positioned on the side of the head—not at the top and bottom, as is the case on the EXO3 Tour 100—so the main strings don't float as much on contact. The double bridge at the bottom of the hoop dampens string vibration and diminishes shock. Play-testers reported the racquet had a more classical feel than they anticipated.
Likes: It's a lightweight racquet that doesn't feel flimsy. The slightly head-heavy frame and open 16 x 19 string pattern is adept at imparting spin for a sub-10 oz. stick, but flat-ball hitters can still wind up and wail on the ball. It’s comfortable and won't strain your arm.
Dislikes: Because of its lighter weight, the racquet did not provide substantial help on off-center hits.
Bottom Line: Don’t let the title fool you: while this racquet is Lite in name and weight, it produced substantial spin and surprising pop for its size. It doesn’t offer all the bells and whistles of Prince’s heavier (and more expensive) player frames, but if you’re a junior looking to transition from a game-improvement frame to a lighter performance frame, or an older player who prefers the Prince EXO technology in a lighter, more maneuverable stick, the Tour Lite may be the right prescription.
Additional comments from Bruce Levine:
TENNIS racquet advisor Bruce Levine is a former touring pro who has coached on both the men’s and women’s tours. Bruce is the general manager of Courtside Racquet Club in Lebanon, N.J., has worked as a full-time teaching pro for 30 years and lectures nationally on racquets and equipment.
Weight: 12.8 oz. Sizes: 5.5-14.5 Colors: White/red MSRP: $110 Foot types: Neutral Wear Testers’ rating: 7.5 Dr. Sharnoff’s rating: 7.6
Likes: The endurance rubber outsole with winding channel tread provides stability and supports sudden changes of direction. Three-layer power cushion provides support, while stretch material in the upper increases flexibility. No break-in time required.
Dislikes: The narrow heel and wider forefoot is designed to make the shoe ergonomically correct, but some wear-testers with pronated and supinated feet experienced discomfort. (Wear-testers with neutral feet reported a snug fit and good comfort, due to the wider forefoot.) The shoe comes in just one, vanilla color.
Bottom Line: This is a satisfactory though unspectacular shoe. The 304CF works best for the beginner or intermediate player seeking a lighter, non-aggressive-looking shoe; some advanced players may find it a bit under-built.
Dr. David G. Sharnoff is a podiatrist practicing in Shelton, Conn. He has served as TENNIS’ shoe adviser since 1986 and as a consultant to the WTA since 1989. A graduate of Ohio State, he played on the university’s varsity tennis team for four years.
Since reaching the San Jose final in February, Fernando Verdasco is 2-5 and has fallen outside the Top 10. This week, the Spaniard hopes to turn things around on the clay of Estoril. I had a chance to speak with Verdasco in Miami, where we discussed his racquet, childhood heroes, most memorable matches and more:
Tim Smyzcek earned a spot in the main draw of this year's French Open by defeating Donald Young in the final of the USTA French Open wild card playoffs on Friday. I talked with the 23-year-old American, currently ranked No. 174, about his gear, his goals and his 11-year grind—with a violin.
Price: $189 Head Size: 110 square inches Length: 27.5 inches Weight: 9.2 oz. (unstrung), 9.9 oz (strung) Balance: Even (unstrung), 8 points head heavy (strung) Ideal Swing: Short String Pattern: 16 mains/20 crosses Beam Width: 27.5 mm/27.5 mm/29 mm NTRP: 3.0-4.5
How It Tested: Combining the sheer size of a sumo wrestler with the dexterity of a dancer, the OverDrive impressed testers with its playability from the baseline. Babolat’s Cortex System technology is designed to diminish vibration, enhancing the frame’s crisp, comfortable feel. Stability was a noticeable asset on service returns. Players who have suffered a power loss as they’ve gotten older will enjoy the OverDrive’s ability to hammer booming serves.
Likes: Players with extremely slow swings will still enjoy stability because of the head's mass. It’s a tribute to the string pattern than you can still hit hard, flat shots with control while still enjoying easy access to spin. Cosmetically, the racquet carries a clean look that recalls Babolat’s best-selling Pure Drive, though this frame has more white in the hoop and the throat.
Dislikes: The primary concern was the racquet’s maneuverability at net. Though there was no problem getting the oversized head up quickly for overheads, some players were challenged trying to repel rapid-fire volleys. Because of its head heavinees, proceed with extreme caution if you have tennis elbow.
Bottom Line: Older players, club doubles specialists and beginners will get the most out of this frame. If you’re a baseline grinder who hits heavy topspin, this is a borderline racquet, as the mass in its head might make it a challenge to consistently generate spin. But if you want to hang around at the baseline, this is an effective and comfortable frame that's easy to use. If you have all-court aspirations, this is not the right stick for you.
TENNIS racquet advisor Bruce Levine is a former touring pro who has coached on both the men’s and women’s tours. Bruce is the general manager of Courtside Racquet Club in Lebanon, N.J., has worked as a full-time teaching pro for 30 years and lectures nationally on racquets and equipment.
Price: $229 Head Size: 110 square inches Length: 27.25 inches Weight: 9.3 oz. (unstrung), 10 oz. (strung) Balance: Even balance (unstrung), 2 points head heavy (strung) Ideal Swing: Short to medium String Pattern: 16 mains/19 crosses Beam Width: 26 mm/28 mm/24 mm NTRP: 3.0-4.0
How It Tested: The EXO3 Blue is the middle child in Prince’s game-improvement frame family, which includes the Silver 115 and Red 105. Play testers reported that it had the broadest appeal of the trio, providing an agreeable blend of power and precision. Flat-ball hitters were pleased with the frame’s firm response.
Likes: Though it’s an oversized frame, there was no discernable twisting on off-center hits. This is a stable stick that offered more control than some testers anticipated from a 110-square-inch sized head. EXO3 ports with Thermocarbon string suspension inserts provided a larger sweet spot for an arm-friendly frame.
Dislikes: There was some sluggishness getting up on overheads. Some testers felt challenged trying to add rotation to groundstrokes off hard, flat shots hit directly at them.
Bottom Line: Prince provides a power boost without sacrificing control or punishing players’ arms with the EXO3 Blue. It’s an ideal frame for a 3.0 or 3.5 singles player who prefers more string space than an oversized frame offers.
TENNIS racquet advisor Bruce Levine is a former touring pro who has coached on both the men’s and women’s tours. Bruce is the general manager of Courtside Racquet Club in Lebanon, N.J., has worked as a full-time teaching pro for 30 years and lectures nationally on racquets and equipment.
In the past 12 months, Jurgen Melzer has reached a career-high ATP ranking (of No. 8) and defeated each of the three big guns in men's tennis, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Before his latest conquest (Federer, in Monte Carlo), I talked with the soon-to-be-30-year-old in Miami—where he was doing promotional work for Dunlop—about his game, frame and newfound fame:
It was born as a pizza cutter with training wheels and has evolved into a slice of gear ingenuity, complete with its own commercial catch-phrase topping.
The String Thing isn’t edible, but it has made that picky pre-point practice of string straightening a more appetizing prospect for players, who can now roll through the process rather than risk flaying their fingertips.
If you’ve watched Tennis Channel during the past three months you’ve probably seen the commercial for String Thing. It stars former Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis, whose blunt assessment of the product’s performance value—“It’s a no-brainer!”—recalls Clara Peller’s hamburger commercial query “Where’s the beef?” in bidding to brand it in pop culture consciousness:
Size matters, and Philippoussis said when he saw how small the String Thing was, he was sold on its big potential.
“Over the years I’ve played, people approach me with products that are just gimmicks,” says Philippoussis, who filmed the String Thing commercial at a friend's backyard court in San Diego last January. “So I was a little reluctant at first, but when they told me it was a product that straightens strings I’m like, ‘Whoa, at least that’s original and useful.’
“I was expecting it to be as big as a paddle, but when I saw how small it was and how quickly and easily it worked, I was blown away. I think it’s one of the best tennis products that’s ever been invented because it works and it helps solve a problem players of all ages and all levels have: the strings move, and if you don’t straighten them out it can affect the way the ball comes off the racquet.”
So what exactly is the String Thing—and does it really work?
Smaller than a tennis ball, the 3 ¼-inch-long device consists of a clear plastic shell that encases dual wheels with teeth, which roll across the surface of the string bed. It retails for $19.95 and comes in two versions: one for open string patterns (16 x 19 patterns with string spacing greater than 5/16 of an inch) and one for a dense string patterns (18 x 20 patterns with string spacing of 5/16 of an inch or less). Invented by Dave DeSure with modifications from Scott Byrum, the concept for the String Thing began as a pizza cutter with added wheels, before the pair refined it through 14 variations until reaching its present form.
When I tested it out, I was struck by how quickly it straightened the strings—it does work—but to get the desired result, you'll need to brace the butt cap of the racquet against your hip or leg. In the commercial, Philippoussis is strong enough that he can hold the racquet in one hand and use the String Thing with the other. In reality, that move should best be left to a pro, as it ratchets up the degree of difficulty. But when you find a groove, the String Thing is easier to use than tying shoes, straightening strings in seconds. String Thing marketing execs Stephen Byrum and Michael Cole say its wheels “are made from a proprietary substance so that the wheels won’t damage the strings and won’t wear out with repeated usage.”
We also found the String Thing to be quite durable, holding up to drops onto court and even a toss against a wall. And should the shell detatch, it can be reassembled quite easily.
While players who play with polyester strings may not require consistent string straightening, those who hit with heavy spin (which repeatedly displaces strings), tournament players who use multiple racquets per match, stringers and racquet customizers may find the product most appealing. Why straighten strings at all? If strings are out of alignment it can impact the shot off the strings and some stringers say repeated rubbing of strings can increase the risk of rupturing a string. Philippoussis, whose father Nick is the String Thing sales rep for Australia, believes the beauty of the String Thing is it can touch a chord with all players.
“Sure, you can be one of those people who say ‘Oh, why spend the 20 bucks, I’ll just use my fingers,’” Philippoussis says. “But what if you’re a competitive player who goes through five or six racquets a match? What if you’re a stringer who does dozens of racquets a day? What if you’re a woman who has nice manicured fingernails and you don’t want to risk breaking them? Or what if you string very tightly and it’s hard to straighten strings just using your fingers? I’m telling you, this is truly a no-brainer. You don’t need a sales pitch—you put the product in people’s hands they try it once and most are hooked immediately because it works quickly and easily and anyone can use it.”
Likes: Wilson has created a breathable, comfortable shoe with a very good flex point. An all-court, full herringbone outsole provides durability, while the comfort stems from the DST foam, full-length insole. Wilson’s nanoWik moisture management lining keeps feet cool and dry. A white and blue version of the Tour Spin II is set for release in June.
Dislikes: Some wear testers weren't enamored with the aggressive black and lavender color scheme.
Bottom Line: Wilson has shrewdly blended several technologies into the Tour Spin II to ensure comfort and durability while keeping the shoe sleek and relatively light. It succeeds as a lighter performance shoe capable of enduring all surfaces at an affordable price.
Dr. David G. Sharnoff is a podiatrist practicing in Shelton, Conn. He has served as TENNIS’ shoe adviser since 1986 and as a consultant to the WTA since 1989. A graduate of Ohio State, he played on the university’s varsity tennis team for four years.
