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