My body could no longer take the punishment; I had to get out before I really got hurt. It’s not because I didn’t love my old racquet, I did, and still do, but my body just couldn’t take the physical abuse. Who can I blame but myself? Like how women seemingly always fall for the wrong guy, I fell for the wrong racquet, the wrong strings. I like stiff racquets strung with polyester strings at 2 pounds above mid tension. I’m no Wolfgang Puck, but I think I found the perfect recipe for Tendinitis Soup. It was time for a change.
Among the many perks of working at Tennis Warehouse is receiving early samples of upcoming racquets. In this case, I got to try out the new Volkl Power Bridge 9 before its official release. I’ve never been much of a Volkl guy, but I knew they are known for making arm-friendly racquets. A little comfort was exactly what I needed. Looking at the vitals, I liked what I saw: a bigger head size (98 sq inch), about 11.5 oz strung and 5 points head light. Not to mention the awesome paint job. This racquet was a looker!
The real test would be the all-important first hit. I strung it up with a soft co-polyester string and headed down to our indoor court. It took some getting used to, but I was very impressed. It was nice having a larger, more forgiving headsize (coming off a 93 sq. in). My groundstrokes felt great, and there was definitely more pace and spin on my shots. For the most part, the control I was used to with a more head light racquet was still there. Although with my old stick, I felt more accurate hitting down the line shots. This certainly seemed like a suitable replacement for my K Blade Tour.
In the following weeks, I tested it out on serves, volleys, etc. And I can definitively say it was impressive from all areas of the court. What really sold me, though, was the lack of pain in my shoulder and elbow. That’s what I was really worried about, but my worries were put to rest.
A miracle racquet? Not quite. It was a combination of many factors: a larger headsize, a thicker beam, drop in stiffness, and to top it off, Volkl has their Sensor Handle System in every racquet. A perfect racquet? Close. Adding half an ounce and making it a bit more head light would’ve taken this racquet from a 9 to a 9.5 for me.
After weeks and weeks of searching, I think I can finally settle down. I’m making room in my bag and the Volkl Power Bridge 9 is moving in. Much like Kana’s newfound love of the Yonex RQiS 1 Tour Light, I hope this relationship lasts. As much I love them, I’m done with the stiff, thin-beamed racquets………………..for now.
Have any of you given your abusive racquets the cold, frosty shoulder? I would love to hear them.
Lately I’ve noticed many manufacturers are coming out with thinner replacement grips. Is this an emerging trend? I certainly hope so. Before I began testing a lot of racquets, I never knew how much I liked to feel the bevels of a racquet handle. The bevels are simply the edges that define the handle’s shape.
To further alienate me from the bevels, I’ve long been a fan of overgrips. Generally I liked the feel of them better. I often found replacement grips to get too slick during play. My go-to overgrips have been Wilson Pro Overgrip and Yonex Super Grap. I wrapped them over whatever synthetic grip happened to be on the handle. I had no idea what I was missing.
For me, the light went off when I was playtesting the Wilson KBlade Tour. This racquet comes equipped with a leather grip. Purists might rebuff me for this, but I just can’t get used to playing with a leather grip alone. The grip gets too slick, and I feel like the leather aggravates my callouses. A leather grip with an overgrip? That’s another story entirely. For me, it’s a wonderful mix of feel. I can feel the contours but get a softer, drier grip. However, I don’t always want the added weight of a leather grip.
Here’s where the new generation of synthetic replacement grips comes in handy. The Dunlop Hydramax Pro, Prince ResiPro and Babolat Skin Feel are providing me with nice bevel feel. Another added bonus for me: the grip size feels smaller. I can comfortably play with most 4 3/8 grip size racquets now, and if I choose a 4 1/4 grip, which is my preference, when I add the overgrip, it doesn’t add too much bulk or remove all bevel feel. Ah, I love it when tennis just keeps getting better.
Signum Pro-Poly Plasma has been a popular polyester string, both with our play testers as well as with members of our Talk Tennis message boards (Editor’s note: It was at the request of our Talk Tennis members that we tried Signum strings and added them to stock). Signum Pro’s Hyperion 17 is one of Signum’s newest co-polyester strings, designed to provide the exceptional playability of Poly Plasma along with some added crispness and comfort.
When stringing Hyperion it felt fairly similar to the Poly Plasma, with a slightly firmer feel. It was relatively easy to string compared to others polys on the market, as it did not tangle much nor was it extremely stiff.
The first impression I had of Hyperion was it made for a lively stringbed and a crisp feel. With this string, the ball explodes off the stringbed, which was a nice surprise as co-polys tend to have more of a dead feel to them. There was also excellent control and the tension was maintained nicely throughout the string life.
The main characteristics that stood out to me while hitting with Hyperion was the crispness and liveliness of the stringbed and the great control I had on all my shots. It was extremely comfortable to hit. I could really feel the ball grab the strings, then be released off the stringbed nicely. Even with the lively feel, I did not lose control, as would normally be the case. I was able to place the ball extremely well, and not lose accuracy, which is what typically happens when I find such a lively feel.
I was not able to generate as much power and pop as I would normally with my regular hybrid string job of Luxilon ALU Power mains with Wilson NXT crosses, nor was I able to generate as much spin. The string still maintained a nice amount of control. However, I like to feel that I have the ability to crack a mid-court ball and put it away, or be able to generate ample spin on a defensive ball so I can take a full swing and still bring it back into the court and I lost a little of both with Hyperion.
Overall, I had a nice experience hitting with Hyperion 17. Though the life span was short (I broke it on my third day of hitting), it was a really nice feeling co-poly string. Signum places this string in its performance group of strings, and with its playability, tension maintenance, and control, Hyperion has a lot to offer.
Maybe your feet are doing more than barking. I know there are times when mine are screaming.
However, I do my best to limit those occasions, which means good socks hold a spot very close to my heart.
The importance of socks hit me at a young age. You see, as a youngster I once threatened to run away from home. My bluff was called when I reached the front door of our house, and after running to my mom for a hug, she looked in my bag to see what I had packed. Along with a few other random items, I had packed every pair of socks I owned.
So it seems from an early age I’ve been of the opinion, if you’re wearing the right socks for the job, you’ll be all right.
Take tennis for instance. I pay very close attention to my socks when I play. I wear crew socks almost exclusively. Yes, this means I have great tan lines just above my ankles, but for me that’s not the main attraction. Rather, I just love the fit and feel of a good pair of crew socks. My ankles feel naked without them. I also often wear lace-up ankle supports when I play, so having crew socks helps prevent any rubbing around my ankles.
When heading out to play or practice, rarely is one pair of socks enough. Some folks double bag their groceries, I double bag my feet. That’s right, two pairs of socks do the job perfectly. The simple reason is that two pairs of socks provide better blister protection. The outer sock can slide against the inner sock, so there’s less rubbing for the skin to absorb.
Another plus for me is shoe fit. I have skinny feet, so wearing two pairs of socks helps me fill out the width of shoes a bit and gives me a more supportive ride. With two pairs of socks, my feet are less likely to slide around inside the shoes and that also helps me from getting blisters.
There are only two kinds of socks that I don’t double bag, Thorlo Level 3 and Eurosocks Slam Cool socks. Both offer the kind of protection around my heel and under my toes that I usually only get from two pairs of socks. The Eurosocks feature a thinner, more ventilated feel on the top of my foot making them more comfortable and breathable. That makes the Eurosocks my current favorites.
On big tennis days, socks are at the top of my priority list. Before a big match, I’m going to be digging through my sock drawer, looking for my favorite socks. After all, good tennis starts with good footwork, and good footwork comes from happy feet.
Keep your feet happy. Don’t underestimate the importance of good socks.
I was inspired to write this blog by the Talk Tennis thread “Yonex 110% Loyalty Tour.”
Since college, I’ve been honeymooning and breaking up with a plethora of racquets, but have had the strongest relationship with the Yonex RQ iS 1 Tour Light to date.
My timeline of racquets:
Racquet / Weight (strung) / Balance / TW Stiffness Rating / Time Used
Wilson Classic 6.1 / 12.8 oz / 11 pts HL / 72 / HS-College
After a month of heavy hitting in August, it took a toll on my right shoulder. Every time I hit, it felt what I could only describe as someone jabbing an ice pick into my front shoulder tendon and a ripping of muscles from my scapula. Icing and China Gel would only numb this agony for less than an hour, but I realized this was the worst my shoulder had felt since college.
Tennis hadn’t been fun with the pain, so I decided to recharge my mind and body. I took a full week off and finally started to recover. I started to lightly hit twice a week, but could still feel some pain. I began to test other racquets to see if I could find a light enough racquet that still felt like a player’s stick with just enough stiffness to have the control that I liked.
Standing in our racquet room, I scanned the brands trying to determine what I should hit with that day. My fellow co-worker stepped in saying that the Yonex RQ iS Tour Light felt forgiving when he hit it, so I tried it out. From the first hit I fell hard for this racquet. My groundstrokes were consistently deep with more topspin than I usually produced, the thwack of my shots sounded amazing, and my angle forehand seemed untouchable! After the love at first hit, I strung it up with an extremely soft-multi I was testing at 57 lbs and knew in that session that this could be it. This might be a racquet that I could see myself having a future with. My shoulder pain has dwindled, not all the way, but to a point where I’m comfortable, and my confidence has boosted back up again.
As in every relationship, racquet or life, one must compliment the other and bring a positive energy. So far, the positive energy along with the compliments I have been receiving about my game has been because of this racquet. Of course, I have gone through my doubts that this could only be a fling, but so far it’s a fling I’ve been looking forward to every time I play.
Let me start off by saying that after this string test I believe the Topspin Cyberflash string is an excellent polyester string at a great value. It is a co-polyester monofilament, similar to a Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power or Signum Pro Poly-Plasma, which is designed to enhance the already durable polyester string with added playability.
Stringing with Cyberflash was relatively easy compared to other polyester strings.It is slightly softer and stretches slightly more than others, like Luxilon Big Banger for instance. The texture of it reminded me a lot of the Prince Tour string — another co-poly string with great value.I strung the Cyberflash at 56 lbs in my Prince TT Warrior MP, which is normal tension for me to string a full bed of polyester.
The first impression I had of the Topspin Cyberflash was a nice balance between having a crisp and a soft feel.The ball exploded off the string bed with nice velocity, and it was comfortably soft on the arm. There was a little less power than I would have preferred, but the added control from the string made up for it.
On the serve as well as off the ground the Cyberflash provided added control and had nice access to spin.The string bed also had an element of crispness to it due to a nice amount of ball pocketing from the strings. The string held the ball on the string bed for a nice duration of time; not too long where I feel there is a loss of control, but not too little where I could not feel the ball.
At net I felt a lot of control from the Cyberflash, and good feel from the ball pocketing.The string did not lend itself to much pop or power on the volleys, nor did it offer much spin potential when trying to really stick the volley with lots of under spin.
Durability was right on par with most other co-polyester strings.After hitting a couple hours a day with open level players, the string lasted me just under a week, which is about what I would normally get out of most polyesters.Throughout the week, there was great tension maintenance all the way through the life of the string, which is always a concern for polyesters.
When taking all elements into account, I enjoyed playing with the Cyberflash quite a bit. The crispness and control from the string felt really nice, along with the added softness from it being a co-poly.I would have liked a little more power and spin from the string bed, but all in all it had a very nice feel.The durability and tension maintenance was excellent from the string as well.And at $7.49 a set, the Topspin Cyberflash is an excellent string with great value!
Guest blogger and Open level player Andy Gerst puts Volkl’s Cyclone string through its paces in this review.
A great new poly string being introduced to the market is the Volkl Cyclone string.It is a co-polymer polyester monofilament, designed to mimic the durability and control-oriented playability of a polyester while maintaining a bit more softness in order to provide more power and less stress on the arm.The Cyclone is also “gear-shaped” as opposed to the standard circular shape of the string, enabling it to provide more ball pocketing and added spin.
I strung up the Cyclone 16 gauge string in my Prince TT Warrior MP racquet at 56 lbs.I typically string my racquet in the high 50’s, but when stringing it up with a full bed of poly I drop the tension typically 2-3 lbs.As standard for a polyester string, it was a somewhat difficult task stringing it up.The added softness of the co-poly made it slightly easier to string than a standard poly, but the gear shape of the string also caused it to “burn” slightly as I pulled the crosses through when stringing.
The first impression I had when hitting with the Cyclone was the stiffness as well as the ball pocketing that I found.It had a really crisp, solid feel as I struck the ball, while still maintaining excellent control.Another characteristic that instantly stood out to me was the way the strings grabbed and pocketed the ball in the string bed at impact.While most polyester strings provide a dead and stiff feel off the string bed, with the Cyclone I could really feel the ball as it struck the strings, and upon release it had a tremendous amount of spin.
On groundstrokes and serves I was able to generate lots of power and spin, most likely due to the “gear shape” of the string and the added ball pocketing it felt like I was getting.Control was somewhat less than other polyesters, but the extra power and softer feel made the string more comfortable to play with than other polyesters.
At net Cyclone provided lots of bite to my volleys.I was able to really stick my volleys deep in the court, and was really impressed at how much I was able to feel the ball on the strings compared to other polyesters.My volleys also were knifing through the court with lots of underspin and bite.
Durability was slightly less than other polyesters that I have played with in the past.I am an open level player playing hard almost everyday, and the string broke in less than a week, which is longer than I get with my usual hybrid set up (2-3 days), but less than I would normally get out of a full bed of poly (1 ½-2 weeks).The string began to lose tension towards the end of its lifespan, about 5-6 days after stringing (fairly standard for a polyester).
All in all I really enjoyed playing with the Volkl Cyclone.I was impressed by the power and ball pocketing compared to other polyesters, as well as the slightly softer feel due to its co-polymer composition.In addition, at $5.95 a set the Cyclone is an excellent value string.In conclusion, I would highly recommend the Volkl Cyclone, and at $5.95 a set I would be hard pressed to find a better value for the money.
I could no longer resist the machine. It was just too tempting. I wanted to know how it would feel, how it would work. There’s no way it could replace a human, could it? I mean, I’ve dabbled in the past, but not like this.
The time had come; I was going to have a full one on one, man versus machine, hitting session with our ball machine. The setting was perfect, I would utilize our indoor tennis court, the balls would be contained in a small area, but more importantly, I would be isolated. No one watching, no one judging.
This was no ordinary ball machine. This was the top of the line model. What the T1000 was to Terminators, this was it for ball machines. What I was up against was the Tennis Tutor Plus Player model. After doing some research and reading up on the functions, I formulated a game plan. First bucket, volleying using the 2 line narrow function. 2nd bucket, work on my groundstrokes using 2 line wide. Finally, 3rd bucket, player mode: the machine would simulate points by hitting balls short, long, left, right.
I had the machine centered on the baseline, set the trajectory, maxed out the speed (I figured I could handle it), flipped the On button and it whirled to life. After a few test shots, I had it dialed in to where I wanted. I felt like I was standing before a firing squad, but I needed the repetitions. What seemed like an eternity later, the machine was out of ammo and I was actually breathing pretty hard. Round 1: Tie
After reloading the machine with balls, I was ready for round 2. Side note: Is picking up balls not the worst thing ever?! Time to polish up my groundstrokes. Side to side, the machine had me on a string. It was relentless, like it had no soul! ¾ of the way through, I thought I was going to cough up both lungs and my heart. The last few balls, I didn’t even go for. At this point, my shirt is drenched, my water bottle drained, and I’m in such need of oxygen that breathing out of my nose is no longer an option. Round 2: Machine
Ever so slowly, I made it around to picking up the balls; it was time for the third and final round. After almost passing out in round 2, I decided to fill the hopper up only half way full. I’m a problem solver! First shot goes to my forehand, and so the “point” begins. I was running, but to my surprise, a lot of shots were coming right back at me. Some balls even hit the net or went long. So this machine isn’t perfect after all. In my totally biased opinion, I won that round. Round 3: Human
At this point, I am exhausted. I can’t remember the last time I had such a physically demanding workout. And that is what I’ve learned about going up against the machine. It is the perfect opponent for running you ragged and working on fine-tuning your strokes. The repetition and consistency of the shots allowed me to self analyze and make adjustments after each shot I hit.
The downfall? Well, first, it’s obviously no substitute for playing points. But, it’s just not nearly as fun as playing against a friend/opponent. There’s no trash talking, no camaraderie. But then again, it can’t drop shot you all day like some people I play against.
Having a ball machine around is the ultimate training tool. It might not be the most fun of all tennis activities, but if you want to get better, this machine is an asset. I can definitely see myself adding a “ball machine day” into my weekly tennis routine.
In the on going battle between man and machine, man still has the advantage.
But the gap is closing.
Have any of you hit against a machine before? What did you think? I’d love to hear your experiences and/or tips for using a ball machine.
For the longest time, it could be nothing but a Tourna Grip to adorn my racquet handle. Tourna Grip is known for its absorbent properties and even though it didn’t get too hot where I grew up, I still loved it.
Sure, durability would bite with Tourna Grip and after one set I should really have been putting a new one on, but I loved it nonetheless. As a junior player, money was tight but Tourna Grip still worked with some improvisation.
Back in the day I would get four times the use out of one grip. Having a one-handed backhand helped, as I would only use the bottom of the grip. When the bottom wore out I would simply flip it. The part of the grip that used to be up by the racquet shaft would now be down at the butt cap. After that wore out, I would then turn the grip inside out. I know, pure genius right? The cool thing about Tourna Grip is that the side of the grip that is supposed to be up against the handle doesn’t really feel that much different than the correct side to use. Ok, it’s not quite as tacky, but it offers better grip than the regular side once that has become dirty and worn.
So there you go, four uses out of one grip. Not too shabby.
I guess I really came to appreciate the true benefit of Tourna Grip when I moved to Florida to train in my late teens. The heat and humidity had me leaking sweat like a dodgy faucet leaks water. I would usually find myself sweating pretty heavily by the end of the warm up. Shoot, even walking to the court can work up a pretty good sweat in the Florida humidity. In those kind of conditions, nothing works better than Tourna Grip.
Fast forward to the present day and the California heat is doing its best to heat up our indoor playtesting court at Tennis Warehouse. I’m back to sweating like my Florida days.
That “foot fault” should NOT have been called. Yes, I said it.
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard, seen or discussed Serena’s tirade during the semi-finals of the US Open. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a quick recap: Serena is down 1 set, down 5-6, serving at 15-30 when she gets called for a foot fault. What happens next, even John “You cannot be serious!” McEnroe says went too far. Serena unleashes a verbal attack at the line judge and eventually gets penalized one point, which happened to be match point. Game, set, match.
What Serena did was completely unnecessary and out of line. That, I’m not disputing. Everyone’s focused on the reaction, or rather, overreaction to the call.
What about that call?
In a perfect world, referees, umpires and judges are supposed to call a game the same way, whether it’s 0-0 or a tie game in a final. Sure, a foot fault is a foot fault and rules are rules, but I don’t feel that call should’ve been made at such a crucial point in the game. Especially since it was as close as it was. If her foot was across the line, I understand, it was blatant. But video footage can neither confirm or dispute if the call was correct, it was that close.
These types of unofficial/official rules can be found in many other sports. In basketball, there’s palming/carrying. Every NBA player does it and it rarely, rarely gets called. Imagine if that was the NBA Finals, and they called palming on Lebron James with 30 seconds left in the game. That ref would’ve never left the stadium alive.
In football, offensive pass interference is a call that you will see once in a blue moon. And when it does get called, it’s because it was so obvious that the ref had no choice. Imagine it’s 4th down, 2:00 minutes left, and Randy Moss gets called for offensive pass interference at the goal line in the Superbowl with his team down 3. You think there was anyway that referee would’ve left the stadium without a security escort?
My point is, there are certain rules in every sport that don’t get enforced, especially in high stake games or matches. A semi-final at the US Open with the defending champion down a set and serving to stay in the match seems to fall into the “high stake game” category doesn’t it?
What do you think? Should that call have been made? What if it was Federer vs. Nadal at the Wimbledon finals, 5th set, match point? Should it be called then? Share your thoughts and opinions here.
Recent Comments