SF Tennis Freak

Archive for the ‘Equipment’ Category

This week’s question comes from David S. of San Francisco, and is one of the most common questions when buying a new racquet.

Question: I want to buy a new racquet, but I don’t know what to look for. How do I know which racquet is right for me?

Answer: Keep it simple when choosing a racquet. Here are 4 easy tips to help:

1. Demo several racquets
2. Ask yourself “Do I need more power or more control?”  This will help you decide on racquet stiffness.  Stiffer = more power, More flex = more control
3. Use as much weight as you can handle in a racquet (it adds to stability)
4. String patterns matter. Open pattern = More spin, Closed pattern = more control and durability of your strings.

Good luck with your search.

Thanks Marla!
Got a tennis question, but no one to ask?
Send it via email or tweet for “Ask Marla”, a (hopefully) weekly (or biweekly) question-and-answer with Marla Reid of San Francisco’s City Racquet Shop.

About Marla Reid

Marla Reid is a respected tennis pro/coach in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s coached nationally-ranked teams and players at Occidental College, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, University of Kansas, and Florida Tech, and has over 15 years of experience at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels. Marla has an M.A. in Exercise Physiology, and is a seasoned racquet stringer.

About City Racquet Shop

City Racquet Shop offers, superior products/services, outstanding customer service, and a community-oriented destination for tennis players to shop, hang out and talk about tennis.

City Racquet Shop online: www.cityracquetshop.com
City Racquet Shop on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/city-racquet-shop-san-francisco
City Racquet Shop on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cityracquetshop

Question: If my feet hurt after playing tennis for a couple of hours, do I need different shoes or can it be helped with insoles?

Answer: Insoles might help, but you should also look at buying shoes that provide the padding you need. It’s also good to alternate between two pairs to help extend shoe life and minimize wear and tear on the padding.

Thanks Marla!
Got a tennis question, but no one to ask?
Send it via email or tweet for “Ask Marla”, a (hopefully) weekly (or biweekly) question-and-answer with Marla Reid of San Francisco’s City Racquet Shop.

About Marla Reid

Marla Reid is a respected tennis pro/coach in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s coached nationally-ranked teams and players at Occidental College, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, University of Kansas, and Florida Tech, and has over 15 years of experience at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels. Marla has an M.A. in Exercise Physiology, and is a seasoned racquet stringer.

About City Racquet Shop

City Racquet Shop offers, superior products/services, outstanding customer service, and a community-oriented destination for tennis players to shop, hang out and talk about tennis.

City Racquet Shop online: www.cityracquetshop.com
City Racquet Shop on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/city-racquet-shop-san-francisco
City Racquet Shop on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cityracquetshop

In my continuing effort to provide/promote the sharing of information for tennis enthusiasts everywhere, I’ve decided to add a new component to my blog: Ask Marla.

Whenever I have questions on equipment, technique, or anything else for that matter, I go to my friend Marla. Marla is the proprietor of City Racquet Shop in San Francisco (with her partner Sheila), and is a veritable gold mine of helpful information.

I approached her with the idea of answering a weekly question from readers, and she gladly accepted. This won’t be a column or anything like that (given Marla’s limited time), simply answers to the hot topics on your tennis radar: maybe a question on overgrips, hybrid string jobs, or best type of shoe for your foot, stuff like that.

Keep it simple, and I’ll let you know if your question will appear in the coming weeks. 
Click here to send a contact message with a question (put Ask Marla in the subject), or tweet a question using #AskMarla.

Advantages:
Longer lasting
Cool black color
Good for flat ball strikers

Disadvantages:
Loss of feel and spin,
Slickness reduces “bite”
Not good for topspin strikers

A few weeks back, I took my racquets in to my regular stringer with both sticks badly in need of new strings. One racquet had broken strings.  The other had strings that were so heavily frayed that they were ready to break if the wind blew too hard. With a scheduled practice the next day, I needed to get at least one of them strung.

I usually get my racquets strung with Wilson NXT 17g. But Marla, my stringer, said that she had a surprise for me on the string shelf. At first I thought she meant a price reduction (just kidding). Then I noticed the surprise:  a new “black” version of the NXT 17g strings! She said they were supposed to play the same as the original “natural” string and last longer.  The pitch sounded good, so I had her put them into both racquets.

Before I share my thoughts on the new Wilson NXT 17g “black” string, let me give you my thoughts on the original “natural” version.  I love these strings!  They give me excellent “feel” and ball control.  They give me the ability to place my serve wherever I want in the service box.  They grip the ball perfectly on my groundstrokes, and allow me to use my topspin to full advantage on both my forehand and backhand.  And volleys, which can sometimes be my nemesis, feel controlled and comfortable.

Did I mention that I love these strings?!?!

The only downside is that they don’t last as long as I would like due to their softness and texture.  This is especially true when strung at higher tensions (60+) AND if you hit with a lot of topspin like I do.  Hitting about twice a week, I can pop a set of strings in about 4 weeks if my racquet is strung at 60lbs (the range for my racquet is 57 +/- 5 lbs). That decreases to 3 weeks if strung at 62, and even less if I “shank” a shot.

Personally, I don’t mind the shorter lifespan of these strings because of the added confidence they give me in terms of topspin and ball control.  I play my best tennis when I can swing freely, and these strings allow me to do just that.  It’s more than a fair trade-off!  I wish I could say the same thing about the new “black” version, but I can’t.

The black color is due to a coating that allows the strings to last longer than the uncoated “natural” version. That’s a good thing when the cost of strings and labor per racquet strung can set you back 35 bucks a pop.  At least it sounded like a good thing until I gave them a try and realized they were the completely wrong string type for my game.

The black strings are significantly stiffer than the natural version.  Any “feel” that I had previously perceived was non-existent. The coating also adds a slickness to the strings, causing them to not grab the ball as needed for topspin shots.  This makes the task of “lifting” an opponent’s low balls much more difficult.  This lack of lift on my forehand caused shots to either end up at the bottom of the net, or fly well beyond the baseline.

Here is an assessment of the NXT 17g “black” strings from a week’s worth of hitting:

• Serve: I lost significant “feel” and spin on my serve, taking away the confidence I’d previously had to place my serve in the service box as needed in order to be competitive at 4.0. This is a significant because my serve is the cornerstone of my game.
• Forehand: I lost my control and ability to hit the strong topspin shots I love, either crosscourt or inside-out, that allow me to attack. The lack of topspin control causes the ball to sail long or dump into the net if mishit.
• Backhand: This shot fared the worst with the loss of “feel”.  An improperly struck shot (on a stroke that is already not one of my strongest), is pretty much “dead in the water” leaving me completely vulnerable to attack.
• Overall, the loss of confidence in my ability to attack my shots was reason enough to end the trial period on these strings.  Confidence is everything in tennis, and I had none with these strings.

I would have a hard time recommending these strings to anyone who hits with heavy topspin, or who likes a soft string with “feel”.   However, I can see these being an ideal string for the player who likes to hit a flatter ball with moderate pace, and prefers a sturdy yet thinner gauge string. And the black color does look pretty cool!

As for me, I’m going to see if I can modify the strings to help soften them up and lessen the slickness.  It’s either that or cut them out and pay another 70 bucks for a second re-stringing in as many weeks.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

It took a lot longer than expected to get my new racquets. But after finally getting them out on the courts for a hit, they seem to have been well worth the wait!

This weekend was spent breaking in both sticks on successive days: Saturday at Buena Vista Park tennis courts then Sunday at USF Tennis Courts.

The injured hamstring is healed, and the body felt fit. So off I went to hit. Saturday at Buena Vista park, the first day, was okay but a little rough. I was hoping for a great first experience with “my” racquets, not demo racquets with bad stringing and a grip size that was way too small for my mega-hands. It was just okay though. After 3 weeks away from the courts, it was hard to gauge the merits of my new racquets while also struggling with sloppy technique and bad footwork.

Today (Sunday) was much better on all fronts. Footwork was better, stroke production was better, focus was better. That allowed me to focus on adjusting to the racquets. They are great, but they are dramatically different than my Volkl’s. I gotta stay calm and keep the swing relaxed with my head down on the ball and NOT looking at my target. When I do that it feels sweet. If I don’t, it doesn’t feel god awful… and that is a good thing! 😉 THAT is why I switched racquets. Now it’s just going to take some time to make sure I get the “sweet” feeling more often than not.

Spoke to a friend who is captaining a team, so now I’m getting ready for 7.5 Combo season this fall — with my new sticks. I think it’s gonna be a good one.

That is certainly a mouthful, right!

I went into this demo process knowing that I wanted to make a decision quickly in order to get the new racquet and start going through the funky transition process.  Already feeling pretty good about the Head racquet I had demoed the previous weekend,  I knew I had a good starting point for any new demo variations.  I went back to SFTC to pick up the Head again for more testing, and also to give the Wilson K Blade 98 a try.

I had reservations about the K Blade.  If you read my last “demo” post you might remember that Wilson racquets and I don’t tend to play nicely together.  And of all the pros I would ever think my game could favorably compare for racquet use, Roger Federer is definitely the low man on that mini totem pole.  But there I was, on Saturday, hitting with the K Blade 98.

The  racquet felt really good in my hand.  The head seemed a little small, but overall the feeling was a good one.  After some “shortball” warmup, we moved to the baseline and started hitting.  The first shots came to my backhand.  WHOA!  Hitting backhands hadn’t felt so nice and sweet in quite some time.  These were some of most solid backhands I have ever hit.  The sound off the racquet, the pace and depth.  It was very nice.  Then I tried to hit forehands… and the budding love affair quickly vanished.

I hit my forehand with a fair amount of topspin.  I need a racquet that allows for that kind of sweep up the ball without also needing pinpoint accuracy in order to hit the sweet spot.  THIS is not that racquet.  The sweet spot is just about the size of a tennis ball (or at least it feels that way).  If I hit the ball squarely it was okay.  If I hit the ball slightly off, it was a shank of epic proportions with shock down my arm to match.  Back to the racquet bag.

I picked up the Head and was immediately back in love, but with a slightly different twist.  The Speed MP 315 I demoed the previous weekend was a 16×19 string pattern.  This time, Lynnette at the SFTC pro shop gave me the 18×20 so I could see the difference, however slight, between the two.  It was pretty much perfect.  The 16×19 string pattern was good but this one felt ‘just right’.

Serves, forehands, backhands… all good.  It’s still a pretty big adjustment from my current heavier and more head-heavy Volkl racquet, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  This racquet requires technically sound and relaxed strokes.  As soon as you attempt to “hit harder” or go for the kill shot, it’s easy to over-swing and either shank the ball or meet the strike-zone ridiculously early (sending the ball straight to the bottom of the net).  With only a good relaxed stroke, all the rest falls into place.

Sold.
I never imagined having something in common with Novak Djokovic’s tennis game, but I guess I do.  The millions of dollars and grand slam titles would be nice, but I’ll settle for a good racquet instead!  Now to order them, get them strung, and start getting ready for the 2012 USTA season. 🙂