A change of plan

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Tennis-wise it has been a great week so far. My game is feeling good, both physically and mentally, and I’ve been able to get in plenty of hours out on the drilling court as well as a handful of sets. Physically, my knee is feeling better than it has in some time. I’ve been pushing myself to the limit over the last week and so far the body’s holding up nicely. It seems like the more movement and gym work I do the better the knee feels. When I barely move or skip a day or two of running on the treadmill or out on the field that’s when things tighten up and become stiff and sore. Sometimes these kinds of injuries don’t make sense, but hey, I’m smiling and I’m going to run with it and ask questions later.

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Babolat Roland Garros Gear

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Ciao!

The competition is heating up in Rome today at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the countdown is on to Roland Garros! I wanted to tell you about all of the Babolat French Open equipment that we have in here at Tennis Warehouse that will get you ready to go for the French.

This year, Babolat decided to give their ever so popular, (and my personal favorite) Pure Drive Racquet the special Roland Garros paint job. I may be biased, as my love for the Pure Drive series is no secret, but I am enjoying this color update to this frame. It isn’t too loud but rather has some accents of the colors of the French flag with Roland Garros written on the throat of this frame. Included in this color update is the Pure Drive Lite and Pure Drive Junior Racquet.

Babolat Roland Garros Equipment

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Happy Hour at Tennis Warehouse!

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Who doesn’t like Happy Hour?!

Here at Tennis Warhouse, we decided to combine two of our favorite things:

Tennis and Happy Hour!

Each week we will feature some great specials that you can only buy during Happy Hour! Including racquets, apparel, bags, shoes, etc.!

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When: Every Wednesday between 3pm – 6pm PST.

Where: Click HERE for HAPPY HOUR DEALS

Make sure you check out the deals and steals every week!

Cheers!

Play with Heart,

Michelle

Week 1 FDL Results

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The Friday Doubles League kicked off last Friday with a close battle between Team Johnson & O’Leary (Andy and Spencer) and Team Blonde (Brittany and Michelle). After a number of deuce games that went back and forth to start the match, Andy and Spencer were able to nudge their noses into the lead and stay there, hanging on for an 8-5 victory.

In the second match, Team Air Cooled (Chris and Granville) came out on fire against Team Leftovers (Troy and Mark). They never took their foot of the gas pedal and cruised to a 8-0 victory.

Chris and Granville got off to a hot start in Week 1 with an 8-0 victory.

Chris and Granville got off to a hot start in Week 1 with an 8-0 victory.

“We came out strong and just kept getting stronger,” Chris said. “We wanted to send a message to the rest of the league,” Granville added.

Week 1 Results:
Team Johnson & O’Leary def. Team Blonde…8-5
Team Air Cooled def. Team Leftovers…8-0

Week 2 Schedule (both matches scheduled for Friday):
Team Johnson & O’Leary vs. Team Leftovers
Team Blonde vs. Team Air Cooled

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Here’s a few more questions I got to ask Chris and Granville today after their match:

Q: Both of you have playtested for a while here at TW…what are currently a couple of your go-to racquet/string setups?

Chris: “I’d have to say the Volkl C10 Pro, Babolat Pure Drive Roddick and Volkl Organix 7 295 are my favorite racquets right now.  My favorite string is still Volkl Cyclone, but I also really enjoyed our recent Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky playtest.”

Gran: “Today was my first match with my old Six.One since my shoulder surgery, and it felt great. I strung it up with Babolat XCel 16g at 52 pounds. The ultimate though is the Pro Staff 6.0 Classic strung up with natural gut, the way I used to do it back in the day.”

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Q: If you could sit down and have a meal with one current pro tennis player, who would it be and why?

Chris: “I’d have to say Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  I interviewed him in Indian Wells and he seemed like a really nice guy, so I think it would be a fun dinner.”

Gran: “Julia Goerges, for obvious reasons…”IMG_8759 copy

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Q: Picks for the French Open coming up?

Chris: “Rafa and Serena.”

Gran: “Rafa and Victoria Azarenka.”

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Stay tuned for this week’s results and more interviews! Thanks for reading.

AG

Nike Paris Tees

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Get French Open ready with these tees from Nike! Nike has captured the spirit of the terre battue with these tees just in time for Roland Garros.

Nike French Tee

 

I’m a big fan of tennis tees and love to wear them for practice or even just to pair with jeans for a casual outfit. Both of these new Nike tees caught my eye!

Nike Men's Paris Tee

 

 

 

 

Check out the Women’s Nike Paris Get Dirty tee and the Men’s Summer 2 Advantage Paris tee along with all of the other new Nike Men’s and Women’s gear we have in for the clay court season! Both tees are Dri-Fit material with a fun print to wear on or off the court.

Play with heart!
Michelle

 

 

Martina Hingis after 30

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We saw her grow up right before our eyes on the WTA Tour. One thing was always certain, she had tons of talent, a beautiful game and will remain in the record books for a long time. With a resume of 43 WTA Titles, the number one ranking on the WTA, 5 Grand Slam Singles titles (3 Australian Opens, 1 Wimbledon Championship, 1 US Open title) — Martina Hingis is continuing to expand her wins on the WTA, but this time, as a coach.

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Turning 33 this September, Martina looks to be doing a great job settling into life after being a teen tennis phenom. In the recent weeks, she has been spending a bit of time a little closer to the WTA, coaching talented Russian player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Martina, who previously was a member of the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy coaching staff, has paired with Pavlyuchenkova for her first taste of working as a full-time personal coach. The two paired up right in time for the clay season. The 21 year old Russian has had some success this year winning a title in Monterrey, but she has noticeably been struggling in the major tournaments of the year. Pavlyuchenkova has suffered first round losses in the Australian Open, Paris, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. Since the two have paired up, the duo has already seen some success with Pavlyuchenkova winning a title on the red clay in singles (Portugal) and doubles (Madrid).
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String of the week – Head FXP Tour

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HFXPT16-BL-1

The basic facts

  • Construction: Four polyester fibers wrapped with 8 multifilament layers and a no-friction outer shell.

  • Gauges: 16 & 17

  • Color(s): Black & Blue

  • Available in: sets and reels

  • Feel: Comfortable. Somewhat muted compared to a firm monofilament.

  • Recommended to: Intermediates looking to transition into a more control oriented string. Also great for advanced players looking for the control and spin of a co-poly with less impact shock and vibration on off-center hits.

How does it play?

Control meets comfort!

Head FXP Tour blends stiff and soft materials to provide a comfortably firm feel with a nice balance of pop and precision, akin to a well crafted hybrid. The core of this innovative string is comprised of four polyester fibers. This supplies control and durability but with a friendlier feel and less vibration than a polyester monofilament. Surrounding the core are eight multifilament wraps designed to increase shock absorption and comfort. Head constructs this one with a firm and slippery coating to allow the strings to move out of position and snapback with more force. The result is easy access to spin punctuated by more RPMs and some explosive bounces. Players looking for exceptional durability, precision and spin (along with impressive comfort and liveliness for a control string) are encouraged to check this one out.

Staff feedback

  • Low vibration. Not a bad option for the poly player who is looking for a genuine boost in comfort. Somewhat muted feel.
  • Nice bite and pocketing with easy access to spin.
  • Plays like a very responsive hybrid with a good blend of control, durability and pop.
  • Very Versatile! Can be strung a little tighter than a monofilament to add more control without giving away too much comfort. Strung looser, this one provides a soft ride with some nice touch on volleys.

 

Resting, training, and getting ready for Mexico!

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At the end of another week of tough training, I can really feel myself getting stronger. I had to take a few days off following the Ojai tournament with a weird neck strain, so I really tried to push myself this week. Aside from my normal daily knee maintenance program, I did a lot of hard work in the gym and in the pool. The biggest thing for me right now is trying to stay healthy and keep my knees pain free, and a huge part of that is leg strengthening.

It’s been a tough, arduous road back and I’m trying to slowly get the strength I had back before the injury back in my legs. What makes it tricky is the fact that I want to push myself and build strength as quickly as possible, but at the same time I have to make sure that I don’t push to the point of pain and end up right back where I started — with an inflamed patella tendon. So far the balancing act is working and I’ve had a great week.

The strokes are feeling good and my game is finally coming together. I’ve been training with Dennis Lajola, a standout from the University of Hawaii and current touring pro who has been ranked as high as 535 in the world. We’ve had a bunch of great hitting sessions and practice sets in the last few days and things are really starting to fall into place.

In other news, I’ve decided that I am going to Mexico at the end of the month for 3 Futures events in Quintana Roo – Cancun. Dennis and I are going to travel together, as well as pair up for doubles, so I’m really looking forward to a great trip and finally getting my professional career started. In the meantime, it’s time to step up the training and get ready for the Mexican heat. Stay tuned!

Matt

Tony’s Tennis Tales

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Hi everyone!

I am happy to announce that Tennis Warehouse has given me the opportunity to share with you my tennis journey. Many of you know me from several years of discussions on the message board, including meeting in person as well. Still, let me introduce myself with a bit of background information to begin the season.

I grew up in a small farm town in central Minnesota. I started playing tennis around age 9 and got serious about the game around 12. Though the conditions were tough for tennis where I am from, I was able to improve year by year and eventually develop into one of the top juniors in the section, winning the state high school singles tournament one year as well. I played college tennis in Santa Barbara, CA at an NAIA school as well as St. Cloud State, a NCAA Division II school in Minnesota. It was in college that I really made some progress with my game as I got better opportunities to improve. I’ve also become much stronger even after college by continuing to seek better competition in prize money Open events and Pro Circuit Futures tournaments. I’ve been able to win most of the regional opens, with several wins over full time touring players ranked up to the top 700, and many top college players.

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The TW Friday Doubles League (FDL)!

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As the weather heats up, so has the competition amongst our playtesters here at the Warehouse. We are starting a Friday Doubles League, starting this week. Over the next two months, we will play a round robin format, and then finish the league with a playoff seeded off the results of the “regular season”.

There will be four teams:
-Chris/Granville (Team Air Cooled)
-Michelle/Brittany (Team Blonde)
-Troy/Mark (Team Leftovers)
-Andy/Spencer (Team Johnson & O’Leary)

Each team will play one match per week and play every team twice over the course of the next six weeks. At the end of the six weeks, we will do a playoff with the seeding based off the results of the six weeks. After two more weeks, we will have a champion!

The format of the matches will be 8-game pro sets, and the matches will be played on Fridays unless there is a scheduling conflict for the players. We will be posting pictures and videos of the matches, so let us know the matchups you want to see and we’ll try to put together some highlights of the most requested matches.

For Week 1 (May 6-10), the matchups are:

Brittany/Michelle vs. Andy/Spencer
Troy/Mark vs. Chris/Granville (next Tuesday, due to a scheduling conflict)

Stay tuned for updates following the first week of matchups!

AG