tennis racquets and strings workshop...
TRANSCRIPT
Tennis Racquets and Strings Workshop
Presentation Outline & Summary
at the Wellness Institute
April 8th, 2019
Summary:
In about an hour, this workshop provided a non-technical overview of a fairly technical topic. Our goal was to
equip tennis players with a better understanding of the issues involved in selecting racquets, strings, grip size,
and string tension based on the player’s game and swing style! Well-chosen equipment is essential to
individual performance, comfort, health/injury avoidance, and fun! One size does not fit all!!
As we learned in the workshop, the combination of a particular racquet, string and string tension forms a
“system”which has performance characteristics including:
• Overall weight + balance = “swing weight”, affecting power, control, and comfort
o Generally speaking, swing weight is chosen so that, given a player’s swing speed, adequate
power is achieved (force depends on both mass and acceleration!), adequate comfort is
achieved, and for a reasonable balance of power and control
o Generally speaking, a player’s racquet should be heavy enough to achieve power and comfort
but light enough to be maneuverable and to support a well-timed swing and contact point
• Overall flexibility or stiffness, which also affects power, control, and comfort
o Generally speaking, the player’s racquet and strings should be flexible enough for power and
comfort, but firm enough for adequate control
• String type, elasticity, gauge/thickness, and tension, which affect arm comfort, potential for power,
spin potential, and control potential
o Generally, more elastic/stretchy/softer/thinner string and lower tensions provide greater
power, playability, and comfort (depending on swing speed and style!)
o Generally, less elastic/stretchy string and higher tensions provide more control (depending on
swing speed and style!)
o Generally, thicker strings are more durable
o Thinner gauge strings generally provide better playability and more spin potential
• Head size and stringing pattern/density, which affects size of sweet spot, power, control, spin
potential, swing speed potential, and torque/twisting of the player’s arm on off-center hits
o Lots of potential trade-offs here, but dense/closed string patterns generally provide more spin
and control potential, while open patterns provide more power potential
• Grip size
o Generally, small enough to encourage ‘free swinging’ mechanics on serves and ground strokes,
and at the same time big enough to control the racquet and minimize torque at impact on all
shots (but especially volleys) with reasonably light grip pressure
We also learned that given the wide range of racquets and strings available, the goal is to pick a racquet
which suits the player’s swing and game, and then, tune/customize the racquet to the player by choosing
spring type and string tension. Well-chosen racquets generally do not require further customization of the
frame itself – rather, the recommended approach is to work closely with a stringer to tune a suitable racquet
with strings and tension which are well-chosen for the player!
And finally , we learned that strings should be replaced frequently enough to maintain reasonably-consistent
tension, and that it’s generally “a good thing” to consider strings as ‘sacrificial’ (better the strings than your
arm!), to use more “playable” strings which wear and even break periodically (depends on the player and the
swing). Consult your stringer! Make them part of your team!!
Additional Notes and Announcements:
At the first sign of significant weakness or injury, please consult the Wellness Institute.
FREE “fit-for-tennis” injury/fitness screening at Wellness (a program we do together) is educational. Send me
an email for more info or to schedule screening.
Coming soon to the Wellness Institute: Head demo racquets to check out for play-testing (announcement
shortly).
Wayne Lilley, [email protected]
Summary from Craig Weyer regarding Tennis Elbow:
• Tennis elbow is typically caused by poor swing mechanics
• 50% of tennis players get tennis elbow due to these poor mechanics (vs 17% of other active activities)
• Poor mechanics are typically bent wrist with elbow away from body at contact
• Tennis elbow can take a year to heal (no quick fix available)
• Tennis elbow is not inflammation, but rather tearing of the fiber & needs to heal slowly with gentle re-
introduction of power
• Cortisone is not recommended, as it only helps in 10% of cases in short term but after one year is
worse than before (weakens tendons, ligaments and affects joint)
• Physical therapy with dry needling is 4 times more effective than cortisone
• Braces are no more effective than cortisone, but compression straps during play may help with
comfort and may help to prevent further injury
Many thanks to:
Craig Weyer and The Wellness Institute, [email protected]
Joe Keenan, [email protected]
Tim Keller, [email protected]
Slides from the presentation follow.
Please feel free to email me for additional information,
for racquet recommendations, and for string recommendations.
