TENNIS.com gear editor Bill Gray and his technical advisors will answer your equipment questions every Friday. Click here to send one of your own.
 I want to string my own racquets. Is there a decent machine I can buy for under $200?
—Nathan Dokko
The kind of stringing machines pro shops use have all sorts of electronic assists and computerized read-outs to measure string tensions as you go. They can easily run more than $1,000. The top-of-the-line machine is the Wilson Baiardo, which is used to string hundreds of frames daily at the U.S. Open, and costs around $6,000. But you’re in luck, Nathan. We found one basic manual machine, the Gamma X-2, at www.gammasports.com and Holabird Sports. It will do the trick for $159. (Holabird even told us it waves the shipping costs on the X-2 if you live in the U.S.)
The X-2 has a one-way clutch and floating string clamps, and if you don’t have a clue what means, rest assured that Gamma technicians can walk you through the process on the phone (800-333-0337, between 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. EDT). “We can almost always talk customers, even beginners, through it and get them up and running between five minutes and a half hour,” says Ron Carr, Gamma vice president, research and development. “The machine is easier to assemble than a bicycle, but a little more difficult to operate than learning how to ride a bike.” We suggest you also pick up a small gauge to monitor string tension. For $35, Unique Sports Products sells one which attaches to the stringbed.
Hi Bill, my husband and I want to start our five-year-old twins (boys) in tennis and we’re thinking about taking up the game ourselves. What racquet(s) do you recommend for the family without breaking the bank? To be honest, they could end up in the garage if it’s too hard for us to get the hang of the game.
—Kirstin in Dallas
We hope tennis passes the audition for your family, Kirstin, because it’s the only sport we know of where a family of four can play together for a lifetime and work up a sweat. We want your first experience to be a good one, so we recommend mom and dad try frames that have generous head sizes (to keep the ball from bouncing off the frame) and light weights (so you can swing them easily). Here are four for under $130 that Bruce Levine, TENNIS.com racquet advisor, suggests you try: Babolat’s XS, Head’s YOUTEK Mojo, Prince’s EX03 Hybrid and Wilson’s K-Factor Zen.
You’ll want to get the twins racquets with short lengths of 19-21 inches and flyswatter-like weights—specifically made for kids under 8. All manufacturers sell them for under $20. You should also check out the USTA’s QuickStart Tennis program, the tennis equivalent of T-ball, in which the twins play on special mini-courts (the lengths are equal to the width of a regulation court, and the nets are three inches lower). QuickStart courts and leagues are popping up all over the country as the major part of the USTA’s push to expand participation. In fact, Kiest Park, right there in Dallas, will debut 16 permanent QuickStart courts next week. For more info on U.S. QuickStart facilities, click here.
I play at a 3.5 (NTRP) level with a Babolat Pure Drive GT that I love, but I’d like to add more spin and power to my game. I currently use Babolat Duralast strings.
—Selvam Mascarenhas
Duralast is a good stiff, thick and durable string, but it won’t help you generate extra power and spin, says Bob Patterson, who runs Racquetmaxx.com, an online racquet customizer in Birmingham, Alabama. Bob says that for power, you want a string with more elasticity and resiliency, like gut or a multifilament, because these will return more energy to the ball as the stringbed deforms and snaps back on impact. For spin, he recommends a thin gauge string that will enlarge the spaces between the strings, creating more “bite” on the ball as you brush up on it to get topspin. “The best bet for Selvam may be a hybrid—a really thin poly-based synthetic like Luxilon TIMO 1.10 in the mains, and natural gut or a good multifilament in the crosses,” Bob says. “That combination should enhance spin and give the racquet a bit more pop.”
I was put in charge of running a tennis night as part of a doubles mixer, but I have no idea what type of playing format to set up. Do you have any templates or sheets that would help me?
—Sonia Cantu
Organizing and running a mixer can be a worse job than working for Pick-up Doggie Poop, Inc. That’s because you’re bringing together players of all different skill levels, and if you just randomly assign them courts you’ll get grief from all sides. The better players will gripe if they get stuck with beginners round after round, and the beginners will be in your face when they get bagled in the first and consolation rounds and are relegated to being spectators for the rest of the night. But there’s a nifty way to avoid all that: run a “compass” tournament where all the players (1) eventually seeks their own levels, (2) are guaranteed to play all four rounds and (3) will end up in one of the eight finals, even if they lose the first three rounds. The compass drawsheet has eight corners, and all teams gravitate to one where they’ll find parity. You’ll need eight courts and 16 couples. Limit each round to one set so that you’ll be able to get through the tournament in about 3 hours. We found Tom Polk, a compass tournament expert in Hunterville, N.C., who has agreed to fill in TENNIS.com readers on the detail—you can reach Tom at tpolk@compassdraw.com. But here are the basics:
First round: All 16 teams are listed in the center of the sheet and pair off to start the event. At the end of the round, the eight winners go due “East” on the drawsheet, while the eight losers head “West,” and the second round is played.
After the second round: The four losers on the East side of the draw go to the North section of the compass, while the four winners continue East. Meanwhile, the four losers on the West side go South, while the winners continue West.
After the third Round:
East: The two losers go Northeast corner, the two winners continue East.
West: The two losers go to the Southwest corner, the two winners continue West.
North: Two losers go to the Northwest corner, two winners continue north.
South: Two losers advance to the southeast corner, winners continue south
Fourth Round (the finals):
Finalists play in their respective corners – Northeast, East, Southwest, West, Northwest, North, Southeast and South.
Everybody goes home happy at the end of the mixer. The only downside: they’ll ask you to organize the next one.
TENNIS.com gear editor Bill Gray and his technical advisors will answer your equipment questions every Friday. Click here to send one of your own.
 Before we get this week’s questions, a comment on Maria Sharapova’s threads. A few readers took me to task for saying in a previous blog that whatever Sharapova endorses sells like hotcakes. They argued that they’ve yet to see any woman step on a tennis court wearing Maria’s little aqua number from the Australian Open. Okay, I admit that that one’s not going to race up the sales charts because of its “Little Mermaid” look and restricted body-type appeal. But retailers tell me the dress has become a great loss leader and traffic builder. Recreational players are flocking to the stores to try it on, and then buying something more practical and functional, usually a Nike skirt and tank. Julie Patterson, who own the “Love Forty” tennis boutique in Englewood, New Jersey, says she hasn’t sold either of the two Maria “Oz” dresses she’s had in stock since January, but they’re casting a huge halo over the entire Big Swoosh apparel line she has, which is why her sales are running 10-1 Nike over the other brands she stocks.
Now on to your questions:
I’m a senior in high school playing with 16-gauge Luxilon Big Banger Rough strung at 58-60 pounds of tension in my Babolat Pure Drive Roddick. Do you have any tips on strings that will help me increase control and increase spin? I have a windshield wiper forehand, but I’m having trouble getting enough loop in my shots to keep the ball inside the baseline.
—Tommie Wong
You’re in the right neighborhood, Tommie, but you may want to some alterations on the strings in your home racquet. Polyester-based strings like the Lux Big Banger take spin production to the max, which is why most tour players use it, so you’re not likely to get anything comparable to big-ball rotation by switching to a gut or a synthetic. Stay with the poly, but you can probably coax more spin out of your shots by opting for a thinner string—a 17 or 18 gauge—and raising your string tension to 66 pounds (the top of Babolat’s recommended range on the Pure Drive). That combination will likely lessen string life (there are always trade-offs), but should increase topspin, causing the ball to “dip” sooner, and make it more likely to stay in the court, says Dave Bone, executive director of the United States Racquet Stringers Association. Because you’re a Luxilon user, you might try the 17-gauge Big Banger Timo, or even Pacific’s Poly Power 18 (gauge). “It’s the thinnest poly we’ve tested and we test darn near everything,” he says. But be aware that any poly-based string strung will have a harsh feel, but you didn’t mention that you had any arm issues. If you do, see Javier’s question that follows.
I’m 35 and I used to play juniors so I have some pretty good strokes with plenty of spin, but I need more control. I use a soft polyester strung at 54 pounds of tension, but I’ve noticed my arm’s being getting tired lately after competitive matches. Any suggestions on how to get more control without getting an arm injury?
—Javier
Gut is easiest on the arm, but switching from the polyester string will probably result in the ball flying out of the court, requiring a big adjustment in your game. A best-of-both-worlds option that a lot of pros use is a hybrid combination of poly strings in the mains and gut in the crosses. “Adding the gut in the crosses will give Javier a bit more comfort and a little more pop, so he shouldn’t have to work quite as hard to keep the ball deep and should lessen his arm fatigue,” says Bob Patterson, who strings at major top pro tournaments and runs Racquetmaxx.com, an online custom racquet shop in Birmingham, Alabama. You could also try the reverse—gut in the mains and poly in the crosses, which should boost power and comfort, but might make the stringbed too lively, especially on touch shots at net.
Any shoe suggestions for those of us with narrow feet? I usually have to wear extra socks so that my shoes fit snugly. And I wear a size 13 (14 in some brands), which adds further difficulty to the shoe search.
—Ted Julian
Tennis shoe brands literally go to great lengths in sizing from heel-to-toe but don’t give us a lot of options for the widths of our feet. Your best bet might be the New Balance MC804 tennis-specific performance sneaker that comes in a narrow “B” width option (and it comes in your size). You might also try on the Adidas CC Genius Novak. It doesn’t have width options, but we found it runs a little narrow when we reviewed it last fall.
I used to play with a Wilson Pro 85, but then my thumb went rheumatic, weakening my grip and forcing me into an ultra-light racquet. I switched to my wife's old Head i.S6 oversize that had the light weight (8.3 ounces) I need. Unfortunately, they don’t make it anymore. Is there anything out there close to it?
—Kurt Rosenfeld
Your thumb must really be hurting, Kurt, to make that kind of dramatic change—the i.S6 is a good four ounces lighter than the Wilson 85. The i.S6 belongs to a 90s generation of ultra-light racquets that were the rage back then but are long-gone from Head’s current catalog. But because your thumb problems require a sub-9-ounce racquet like the i.S6, we did a search of the online retailers for you. We couldn’t find the i.S6, but did find its earlier version, the Head Ti.S6 at tenniswarehouse.com, holabirdsports.com and midwestsports.com. All three are excellent places to search for discontinued models that you won’t find at stores. The Ti.S6 should feel familiar to you because its specs mirror the i.S6 in pickup weight, head size, swing weight, balance, beam width and length. We suggest you contact a few web retailers to find out their demo policies on the Ti.S6 and give it a try.
TENNIS.com gear editor Bill Gray and his technical advisors will answer your equipment questions every Friday. Click here to send one of your own.
 Hey Bill, in my racquet research, I've learned that a smaller head and tighter stringing tensions offer more control. But would a more tightly strung oversize racquet compare more favorably to a mid- or mid-plus size? Could you get the same control, but with the advantage of the oversize’s larger sweet spot?
—Brian Highland
Tight stringing will make that big sweet spot on the oversize go sour at first hit. There would be nothing “sweet” about it; in fact, it would be almost as dead as playing with a wooden paddle, says TENNIS.com racquet advisor Bruce Levine. More bad news: balls hit off center would cause the handle to twist like a top, especially if you’re using a smaller grip. Oversize frames should be strung at a low- or mid-range tension level.
Should I choose a racquet that complements my strong point, a decent forehand, or one that elevates my less refined area of putting too much topsin on the ball than I would like on my backhand and hitting short?
—Felix Vereker
Racquet guru Levine says it’s best to go with the kind of frame that accentuates your strengths. Assuming you play with a racquet with an open-string pattern that helps provide you the spin, you should stay with it and work on the stroke mechanics of your backhand by lessening your arm rotation. Hitting a slightly flatter ball should drive it deeper into the court.
After being transfixed by Justine Henin’s topspin backhand during the Aussie Open, I can’t imagine this diminutive Belgian weights up her racquet for power like the big two-handers on the tour. True?
—Jodie, Boulder, Colo.
Justine’s Wilson Tour racquet is, in fact, only a speck heavier than the off-the-shelf, store-bought version—11 ounces versus 10.8 ounces—says Ron Rocchi, who is Wilson’s global tour equipment manager and works on her racquets. But it doesn’t take two hands or Serena’s biceps to unleash the power of Justine’s frame because of its head-heavy balance and half-inch of extra length.
I switch from playing on clay to hardcourts on a pretty regular basis, often in the same week. Should I designate a racquet for each surface and string them up a little differently? Like, looser for more power on hardcourt, because the faster court means less time for a full-length swing?
—Tom Boyd
It isn’t worth the trouble, and you won’t notice the difference, says Nate Ferguson, who strings and customizes racquets for a lot of Tour players. His clients are so picky they’ll change strings and adjust tensions if the weather changes slightly and even everytime a fresh set of balls is put into play during a match. But they don’t even string differently for clay and hardcourts, he says. The only exception he can recall is Steffi Graf. “If pros don’t adjust their strings to a specific surface, I don’t see much benefit for the recreational player,” he says.
I live in the Northeast where winter indoor court time is ridiculously expensive. So my tennis buddies and I found a nearby high school court where they keep the nets up in winter. We figure as long as the court’s dry and it’s a little above freezing, why not put on some gloves and hit? We can take it, but can our racquets and the strings?
—Joe P.
We feel your pain, Joe, because here in New York City an hour of court time can cost $100. Unfortunately, the money you’d be saving on the high school courts would be washed away by equipment repairs. At below-freezing temperatures, both racquets and strings turn brittle, and the ball becomes rock-like in the cold. But, if you must, at least use an old racquet from the back of the closest and string it up with a low-end thick 15-gauge nylon at the at the bottom of the tension range.
I'm starting to play tennis again on a regular basis. In the past, I've played with an old 1986 Wilson Pro Staff 85. Unfortunately, I don't know how to compare it against the new racquets. Would you recommend any of the newer racquets that might be similar to the Pro Staff? Although I've played with Wilson, I heard that that the Babolat Pure Drive might be a good choice.
—Eric Lee
There are a lot of Pro Staff purists out there who regularly scour eBay for the old 85, believing that they just don’t make ’em like they used to. The fact is they make them better, with slightly larger and more forgiving head sizes, and using new technologies that expand prime hitting areas and add comfort without sacrificing feel and touch. Because you’re a Pro Staff fan, we suggest you playtest all the racquets in the new Wilson Six.One BLX line, from Roger Federer’s 90-square-inch Six.One to more forgiving frames like the Six.One 95 BLX, the Six.One Team BLX and the Six-One Light BLX. Try the Pure Drive, but you’ll probably find it to be a totally different hitting experience and harder for you to control with your Pro Staff background. The Drive has larger 100-square-inch head size and a thicker power-oriented beam.
If you’re over 30, you probably remember the shampoo commercial with the tag line, “Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.” That slogan started repeating itself in my head after the news the news that Adidas had bestowed a lifelong endorsement extension contract with Ana Ivanovic, the day after yet another bad weekend at the office. She had just gone 0-3 in Fed Cup play as Serbia lost to Russia, 3-2, her latest misfire in a year-long slump. An email response from Adidas explained the extension was based on her “persona, the combination of her on and off-court appearance. It shows that she can relate to consumers in the tennis, fitness and lifestyle arenas.”
 Off-court “persona” is a corporate euphemism for “sex appeal,” and the ability to “relate to consumers” means they want to buy the dresses she wears.
A few weeks prior, around the time Maria Sharapova was being bounced in the first round of the Australian Open, Nike ponied up an eight-year $70 million contract extension to make her the highest-paid female athlete endorser ever. She also made the 80th spot on BusinessWeek’s “Power 100” list of athletes. The magazine explained that she may be two years from her last Grand Slam title, “but her physical beauty has landed her more corporate sponsors than any other athlete.” Meanwhile, Forbes followed suit, labeling Maria the seventh most valuable “brand athlete” in sports. Roger Federer was the only other tennis player on the list at No. 3.
Tennis isn’t alone in the beauty-first contemporary world of marketing and advertising. Misty May-Treanor, a 2004 and 2008 Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist, made BusinessWeek’s list, too. Her uniform – a bikini – “has proved top be a good recipe for catching the attention of sports fans and advertising executives alike,” the magazine said. Danica Patrick is the only female driver to ever win an Indy car-racing event – in 2008 in Japan – but she has become better known as the “Go Daddy girl” in the racy ads for the domain brand.
All this focus on skin-deep marketing is probably what caused Marion Bartoli, ranked ahead of Ivanovic and Sharapova on the WTA Tour, to wonder out loud recently if the 5-foot-6 and 139-pound Frenchwoman (pictured) was sponsorless because she wasn’t “blonde enough, not thin enough, not tall enough.”
But one thing Bartoli didn’t mention is she’s also never won a Grand Slam. “The fact that Ivanovic and Sharapova have won Slams gives them a measure of performance credibility that puts them above and beyond Bartoli and even Anna Kournikova,” says sports marketing analyst Bob Dorfman, author of The Sports Marketers’ Guide. “If female athletes are good looking enough, they don’t have to be consistent winners – if they’ve succeeded in the big events once upon a time, there’s more forgiveness by advertisers on the performance side.”
And there’s no question Ivanovic and Sharapova sell the products they endorse -- not just dresses and watches, but even the racquets they use – albeit with limited success lately.
Sharapova has played with three different Prince racquets in the past five years, most recently switching to the EX03 Black 100 at the Australian Open. The first two models – the 03 White and the 03 Speedport Black — were two of the industry’s best selling frames, according to the company. Further, the company says she has a “halo effect” on Prince products she doesn’t endorse, such as string, grip, footwear and apparel. “Her influence is undeniable,” a spokesman says. “She is a player that not only influences [buyers], but transcends the sport.”
It’s the same at Yonex, Ivanovic’s racquet brand. Her RQiS 1 Tour XL model is one of the company’s two best sellers and consumers don’t ask for it by its model name, they call it “Ana’s racquet.”
So don’t hate them because they’re beautiful. They’re doing the job for their sponsors, which makes them worth every nickel.
Most of us don’t actually “buy” the notion that paid-to-play celebrity endorsers really love or even use the products they hawk, but that’s not stopping marketing folks from shelling out more than $1 billion a year to their hired shills.
The practice of spokespeople paying mere lip service for payment has gotten so out of control that the Federal Trade Commission last month issued new truth-in-advertising guidelines for celebrity endorsements. Basically, the FTC is sending a message to the likes of Britney Spears that she should be able to prove she really does shop at Kohl’s, and to Lee Majors that he had better be a true believer in the $14.95 hearing aid he touts on those late-night TV infomercials.
Some of us noticed a minor transgression by an A-list endorser Thanksgiving weekend when it turned out the car veteran Buick pitchman Tiger Woods cracked up was a Cadillac SUV, showing that in real life he wouldn’t be caught dead—or injured—in a Buick Enclave.
In fairness to Woods, the Buick deal—which was supposed to extend through 2009—was prematurely ended late last year when the recession put a stranglehold on the car business.
That also happened to be about the time that another athlete, Nikolay Davydenko, was told by Prince Sports that his racquet endorsement contract wouldn’t be renewed for 2009.
The difference was that after he got the boot, Davydenko retained his loyalty to the Prince Ozone Pro Tour by continuing to sing the praises of his magic racquet. He has repeatedly credited the Ozone as a major reason for his Top-5 finishes from 2005-08, the years of his Prince contract. Davydenko is particularly fond of the racquet’s O-Technology—big holes (instead of traditional grommets) around the frame which reduce wind resistance and hence increase racquet-head speed, according to the TENNIS.com review.
While Woods was plowing his Caddy through a neighbor’s tree, the Russian was plowing through the field at the Barclay ATP Finals in London. The little guy’s boffo run—he defeated all of this year’s Grand Slam event champions—ended when he played the biblical David to 6-foot-5 Juan Martin del Potro’s Goliath in the finale, thumping the Tandil tree topper in straight sets.
Afterward, the media asked the still sponsorless and Ozone-toting Nikolay if he thought his London success would finally get him a racquet deal, any deal with any brand. He said sure, that would be easy, but he can’t give up his magic racquet. As he put it in the post-match news conference: “Doesn't matter, [about] other racquets… for me it's important how I play first, not about money, how much another company pay for me. Then I [risk] losing everything, out of Top 10.”
Which prompted the obvious follow-up question: “How come Prince does not sponsor you any more?” He answered, “Prince give everything to [Prince endorser Maria] Sharapova, and no money anymore.”
The interview transcript noted that he was smiling when he said that. He was exaggerating, of course. Sharapova is probably Prince’s highest-paid endorser, but there are 104 other ATP and WTA pros who have “Team Prince” endorsement deals these days, and the highest ranked of its 64 male pros is No. 13 Gael Monfils, who has never even made the cut for the eight-player ATP year-end finale.
But all racquet companies guard their money relationships with players closely, so when I asked Prince what the deal (or no deal) was, I got a predictable response in the form of a statement, part of which read:
“We don’t discuss our player endorsement discussions, and any speculation regarding a more formal endorsement with Davydenko is just that.” It was followed by the equally predictable, “Yes, we are delighted that Nikolay has continued to find success with Prince racquets and O-Technology, and wish him continued success.”
My best guess is Prince dumped Davydenko for the same corporate belt-tightening reason Buick released Tiger Woods, and I suspect all the tennis brands these recessionary days might be reevaluating their pro-player spending as well.
A Prince spokesman did note that the company’s online traffic doubled on the Monday after the London event from the same day the week prior, but the brand couldn’t tell how much of the spike could be attributed to Davydenko’s performance, or to the London doubles win by Team Prince’s Bryan brothers that weekend, or to the overall holiday gift rush.
But for Prince the Davydenko performance must have been a marketer’s dream—it got the bang for no bucks. And more importantly, it came from the only kind of sincere celebrity endorser there is—the so-rare unpaid pitchman, and it kind of makes you wonder if you should have what he’s having.
I won’t be test-driving a Buick this week, but I’m pretty sure I know what racquet I’ll be playtesting.
The only sure things in the life of your tennis racquet are death and the taxes you paid when you bought it. All of today’s premium racquets are built to stay as tough as an F-150 pick-up, but the graphite, titanium and/or carbon fibers in the frame weaken after thousands of whacks. How do you know when it’s time to bury Ol’ Faithful? We asked Bruce Levine, chief racquet advisor for TENNIS.com and TENNIS magazine, for some tips to stave off the Grim Racquet Reaper:
 Q. When will I know that my racquet is dead?
Bruce: The big uh-oh moment comes when you hit right after a new string job and you can’t tell the difference. It plays soft or mushy like a wet noodle, and you’re not getting any sense of where the balls are landing on the stringbed.
Q. When can I expect it to go belly-up?
Bruce: Depends on how often you play, how hard you hit and the climate where you play. It could be as little as two years for an aggressive five-times-a-week player who strings at the top of the tension range and refuses to come in from the 35-degree cold of winter; to six years if you only play once a week, hit soft bullets, string loose, and live in cold-and-humidity-free Tucson, Arizona. Of course, the quickest way to kill a racquet is the Dr. Kevorkian assisted-suicide method of smashing it on the net post after you blow an easy overhead.
Q. Are there other factors?
Bruce: Restringing takes a toll on the frame, particularly on the grommets, so if you have it done often that will also shorten the racquet’s life expectancy. The string machine stretches the hoop and the materials in the frame stretch with it. Insist that your stringer pre-stretch the string by hand before putting it on the machine. Also make sure your stringer uses a “six point” machine, which holds the frame securely in place and minimizes distortion of the head of the racquet.
Q. Are you saying it’s better to restring only when the string breaks?
Bruce: No, you should restring often because the synthetic or polyester—and especially gut—will go dead long before the racquet’s demise.
Q. Is there anything I can do to extend the racquet’s lifespan?
Bruce: Have the grommet strip replaced when you restring—not just the top edge that a lot of people call the bumper guard, but the whole strip. It should only cost you between $5 and $8 extra. You should also keep your frame in a racquet bag with a thermal lining to protect it from heat, humidity and the cold. Never, never keep it in the trunk or the garage. And if you have to be like Marat Safin, then beat the racquet against the soft back curtain of the court, if it has one, instead of the ground. Or, even better, learn to curse in French.
Q. What about taking it with me on a plane?
Bruce: It’s always better to carry on your racquet, but some airlines have deemed them potential weapons. They can be safe from the baggage (mis)handlers in a well padded suitcase.
Andre Agassi’s tell-all autobiography, Open, goes on sale today, which means it has about a seven-day head start in the race to the top of the best-seller charts against Sarah Palin’s memoir, Going Rogue, due out next week.
But because a manuscript about playing tennis has about as much chance of grabbing the masses as a Siberia guidebook, Open’s pre-publication promotional machinery has been peppering us these past few weeks with a series of spicy revelations: that Agassi dabbled in recreational drugs and wiglet rugs; and that his self-esteem was so low during the mullet period that he was dumbfounded that kids would want to emulate him. “Even I didn’t want to be Andre Agassi,” he writes.
But for those of us who would much rather play tennis than read about the personal trials and tribulations of the pros, and those of us who don’t know crystal meth from “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” the significant passages in Open are Agassi’s thoughtful insights into the art of playing tennis at the highest level.
Competitive tennis “is non-contact pugilism,” Agassi writes, differentiating his game from that played by mere mortals. “Tennis beatings are just deeper below the skin [like] the old Vegas loan shark trick of beating someone with a bag of oranges, because it leaves no outer bruises.”
Some eye-Open-ers that might be applicable to the recreational player’s game:
The greatest game-changer. Agassi contends that the advent of polyester tennis string, which he personally discovered at Wimbledon in 2000, has made a bigger difference in the pro game than fitness or other racquet technology because of the vicious topspin it creates. He writes that polyester “has turned average players into greats, and greats into legends.”
Grips are as personal as a thumbprint. Most of us use whatever comes from the factory or maybe wrap our sticks with a soft, tacky or sticky overgrip. Agassi’s grip is based on a precise mold of his hand, right down to the size of his calluses and the force of his squeeze. “A millimeter difference, near the end of a four-hour match, can feel as irritating and distracting as a pebble in my shoe,” he writes.
The balanced hitting diet. Tennis is all about degrees of aggression—you have to play aggressively enough to control a point, but not so aggressively that control is sacrificed. Agassi’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, had this to say about the value of letting an opponent lose: “Every shot doesn’t have to be a killer. Sometimes the best shot is a holding shot, an OK shot that gives the other guy a chance to miss.”
Find your money shot. For Agassi, it was the down-the-line backhand. “You can pay a lot of bills with that shot,” is the way Gilbert explained it.
The best mental preparation. Agassi put it this way: “The perfect blend of caring and not caring.”
Look to steal your opponent’s signs. Body language speaks loudly. Boris Becker telegraphed where his serve was going. He had a habit of sticking out his tongue “like a tiny red arrow” in the direction he was about to place the ball in his pre-serve ritual. Todd Martin’s eyes would look in the direction of the opposite side of the court where he was about to serve.
The key to a long tennis life. Keep the ball in front of you and take it on the rise. It reduces unnecessary stress and torque on the body.
Yes, playing down is bad for your game. “I’m at my worst against lesser opponents,” Agassi writes. “I play down to their level. … Against bad players, I press, [which is] one of the deadliest things you can do in tennis.”
Some pretty thoughtful advice from somebody who contends in Open that he’s always hated the game we love.
 Thanks for the responses to last week’s story on the 10 player types and their equipment needs. It seems we have in our midst a lot of “Baseline Retrievers,” who should be thinking about using gut strings for more power; “Wild Thangs,” who should consider polyester strings if they don’t have any arm issues; and “Club Contenders” who, in pursuit of more effective volleys, should opt for larger grips and should try adding weight to the heads of their racquets for stability.
Your feedback will help us consider the different player types in future gear reviews. Some of you identified an 11th player type we overlooked—“The Bargain Hunter,” an especially relevant category in the recession, and one that we plan to add to the mix.
We also asked Nate Ferguson, founder of Priority One Tennis and racquet customizer to the stars, to answer a few of your questions. These represent some of the recurring themes we noticed among the responses to last week’s piece.
She wants to be ‘Amazing Grace’ for the team: “I’m a high school player, somewhere between a 4.0 and 4.5, who really wants to help our team win more this year! What would Nate suggest to improve my consistency, help me develop an all-court game and keep me from popping a lot of strings? –Grace
Ferguson: Try adding some weight with lead tape to the head of the racquet and see if that helps improve your consistency and power, Grace. In addition to giving you a power boost, the heavier racquet will slow down your and control your swing, plus help you net fewer volleys than you would with a lighter frame. You might also try a hybrid combination of Luxilon polyester in the main strings (for durability) and gut in the crosses (to help you control your new power game).
He’s a racquet flip-flopper: I’m a self-taught player who came to tennis after playing high school and college team sports. I’ve gotten myself to a 3.5, mostly from watching tennis and using my quickness. I can get to most balls, but I lack the stroke fundamentals and hit short a lot. I’m switching back and forth between a Babolat Pure Drive and the Prince 03 White. –Cory of Pocatello, Idaho
Ferguson: First, you need to commit to one of the two racquets because they’re at polar opposites, Cory. I’m also curious why your cross-string tension is four pounds greater than in the mains. The pros sometimes do this but their racquets are highly customized from the handles to the hoop. But since you’re buying your sticks off the shelf, you should use equal tension on the mains and crosses since that’s the way they were designed.
He’s playing through pain: I am a 5.0 baseliner getting over tennis elbow pain, and I love hitting with lots of topspin, but I’ve had to switch to Luxilon Big Banger Ace strings because nylon and synthetic gut just don’t last. I know that Nate says they’re not the “correct” choice for someone with elbow pain, but I have reduced my playing time in order to enjoy the strings. –Alladio
Ferguson: I’d never recommend that anybody with arm, shoulder or wrist problems string with Luxilon—it’s just too harsh, Alladio. Since you’ve decided to trade off frequency of play with quality of play to get the supreme spin that Luxilon delivers, you should at least soften the blow to your arm by using gut in the mains to go with Lux crosses, and drop your tension into the lower ranges to help protect your arm.
The dilemma: Big or small grip? I’m in my late 40s and hit flat with a one-handed backhand. I want to get some spin on the ball as well as improve my volleying. I’m wondering if I should go to a thinner handle, like a 4 1/4-inch from my current 4 3/8. –Rui
Ferguson: The smaller grip will help you get a more wrist into your shots and help create a little spin, but at the expense of improving your volleys. Larger grips provide more stability at the net and prevent twisting on off-center hits. I think you should stay with your 4 3/8, Rui.
Kevlar no, polyester, yes: I’m an 18-year-old 5.0 who uses Kevlar in the mains, and I know they’re bad for the arm. I’d like a little more power on my backhand and forehand topspins. –Nik
Ferguson: Try polyester strings in the mains, Nik. They’re much more responsive than Kevlar, help create way better spin and are easier on your arm without giving up your 5.0 level of control. Poly won’t be quite as durable, but it comes close and beats Kevlar in every other category.
Stretching the life of his strings: I am 52 with some wrist problems and currently playing with light and long Gamma G260 and a standard-length Fischer M Pro. I string loose with full gut for comfort but the strings move around too much and don’t hold their tension for long. Which racquet should I use and would string savers solve the problem? –John
Ferguson: Players with wrists problems shouldn’t be playing with light and long racquets, John. It’s a bad combination. That eliminates the lightweight and 27½-inch long Gamma. The Fischer is about an ounce-and-a-third heavier which makes it the best bet, and you should keep the string tension low. But string savers won’t lock the strings in place; they just help with wear-and-tear from friction. The way to prolong string tension is to tell your stringer to pre-stretch the string by pulling at the two ends before it goes on the machine.
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