April 30, 2008
Tennis Equipment Q & A - The best racquet for your playing level
Q. What's the best type of tennis racket equipment for a beginning, intermediate and advanced adult player?
A: The two primary measurements of tennis rackets are power and control. These are the yin and yang of tennis racket design. The perfect balance of power and control for one player will be totally wrong for another. As a general rule, however, you can say that beginning players have smaller, more hesitant swings that do not generate lots of power. Beginners rely on the racket to generate this power for them and therefore need a racket that has a high power rating.
Conversely, you can say that advanced players have bigger, more aggressive swings that generate lots of head speed and power. They don't need a racket with a high power rating since they are doing this work themselves. What the advanced player needs is a racket that gives them more control over their shots.
Another basic tenet of racket design is that bigger racket heads give more power, and smaller heads give less power. Power is affected by many other design elements as well, but you can use this basic principle to start your search for the perfect racket.
Courtesy of Do It Tennis
April 29, 2008
Babolat Announces New Tennis Shoe Models
From Tennis News
Babolat, one of the leading manufacturers of tennis products, announces the release of two new high performance tennis shoes: the 2008 Propulse model for men and the new Propulse tennis shoe for women, the Propulse Lady.
The 2008 Propulse tennis shoe, Andy Roddick's signature shoe, has all the same innovative technological features as its predecessor: Exact Pro, offering quick reaction for recovery and rebound on every step, Michelin OCS allowing for better traction, and an improved Michelin Hi-Tech outsole offering more resistance to abrasion. With these three cutting edge innovations, the Propulse is the most dynamic and durable shoe in tennis.
- A real sensation of forefoot recovery in play
- A shoe that lasts 40% longer than others
- A shoe that offers instant comfort
- Also available in a junior model
- 2008 Propulse with new silver/black color
Babolat Lady's Footwear
Babolat Propulse Roddick Mens
Babolat Propulse Roddick Mens - Black
Babolat Junior Propulse
Continue reading: "Babolat Announces New Tennis Shoe Models"
April 29, 2008
Inaugural Prince Plugged In World Championships to Showcase Top Junior Tennis Academies In Competition
From Prince Sports:
The stage is set. Country champions have been crowned and now, for the first time ever, top junior tennis academies from six nations are on their way to Rome, Italy to determine which academy is the best of the best.
In four years, the ground-breaking Prince Plugged In (PPI) program has revolutionized junior competition, training and education and online interaction, by connecting nearly fifty of the world's most elite high-performance tennis academies.
Coaches and players who have been accepted into the PPI program share revolutionary training tips, equipment insights, match-play strategies, and engage in a year-long series of team competitions called Challenge Cups - designed to help players reach their full potential. It is at these Challenge Cup events where academies battle one another to accrue points which ultimately determine the top academy in each country.
Continue reading: "Inaugural Prince Plugged In World Championships to Showcase Top Junior Tennis Academies In Competition"
April 29, 2008
Mother's Day Tennis Gifts - On Sale No Less
Racquets
Head Flexpoint 10 - An oversize, power-oriented racquet. Offers a very powerful feel thanks to its 31mm width beam. Also, slightly lighter than the other FlexPoint frames. Best suited for players with shorter, compact strokes looking for power. Recommended for the 1.5-2.5 NTRP level players. Liquidmetal Technology: Liquidmetal material is applied to four strategic areas of the racquet's head and it is the only material that utilizes all the energy your swing generates. No energy is lost on ball impact due to its liquid atomic structure. Hole+Dimple=Flexpoint: These two precisely engineered holes, positioned at 3 and 9 o'clock on the racquet head, work together to bring power in control. The dimple is engineered to create flexibility by reducing beam height by a maximum of 25%. The hole reduces sectional stiffness up to 50%. The hole and dimple allow a player to harness maximum power and control it.
Dunlop M Fil Lady - A lightweight and maneuverable racquet engineered with the female player in mind. The M-FiL Lady features a stiff racquet hoop for power and stability, while the proven ISIS handle system protects the player from racquet shock and vibration. Ideally suited for players with moderate, powerful strokes. Recommended for the 3.0-4.5. ISIS: (Impact Shock Isolation System), in the racquet handle, dampens frame vibration and helps protect the arm from tennis elbow. Includes racquet and matching sling-pack racquet bag. Racquet bag features a single racquet-specific pouch and a main compartment that can be used for an additional racquet or gear and accessories
Apparel
Balle de Match Women's Mandy Tech Top CLOSEOUT
Balle de Match Women's Desire Swing Skirt CLOSEOUT
Sergio Tacchini Women's Oralee Racer Tank w/ Interior Bra
Sergio Tacchini Women's Ondina Skirt w/ Interior shorts
And if all else fails, just get her a gift certificate - always a little less personal of course, but it ensures your mom gets what she really wants.
April 28, 2008
Tecnifibre TF 7000 Stringing Machine
No matter what style you prefer, we don't think you can go wrong with a stringing machine that looks and performs as well as the Tecnifibre TF 7000. Tension-pull speed, allowing you to modify the tension head and guarantees you the correct speed, regardless of the tension you have chosen. Allows you also to reduce the speed when you tie knots. Its dual-clamp system enables fast and accurate stringing.
Some more specs:
weight - 40kg
length - 1000mm
width - 550mm
height - 300mm
See more stringing machines at the What's All The Racquet store.
Vintage Tennis - adidas Tennis TC in Red, White and Blue
From SneakerFiles.com:
Sporting Adidas' traditional three striped silhouette, this Tennis TC appears very subtle, but definitely appealing. The white, red, and blue color-way combines with the simple design to deliver a great overall shoe that has a lot to offer. In addition, the toe box is composed of suede and the tongue features a net embossed design.
Image from SneakerFiles.com.
April 27, 2008
Shop for Roddick Gear and Help a Good Cause - All at the same time
Proceeds from all the new items in the AndyRoddick.com Proshop go to the Andy Roddick Foundation. Check it out.
From AndyRoddick.com
Lobster Economy, Pneumatic Tennis Ball Machine
This machine gives you a ton of value. It is not that expensive and it is very light. There are not a lot of bells and whistles, but if you're looking for a workhorse of a ball machine for a reasonable price, this is one to think about.
It uses a pneumatic tube, which uses air pressure instead of the "pitching wheel" to send balls over the net. Using this approach means fewer moving parts which means less breakdowns. Plus, it is a much more consistent placement of the ball - wheels can be inconsistent in the ball pattern (something I've learned first hand using a wheel-based Playmate ball machine, btw).
Specifications:
- Oscillation: strikes one spot only
- Shot Height: ground strokes to true lobs
- Weight: 20 lbs
- Ball Capacity: 50
- Ball Speed: 55 mph-15 mph
- Shot Intervals: 3, 6, 12 seconds
- Power: 110 Volt
We looked around and this is about the best price we've found
April 25, 2008
WATR Celebrates Earth Day All Week - HEAD Cool Earth
WATR covered HEAD's Cool Earth initiative at the beginning, but its worth mentioning again, being Earth "week" and all.
Cool Earth started in June 2007 aims to tackle the climate crisis in a cost-effective, mass membership way, long before governments are able to swing into action. It will enable individuals and groups including schools and businesses, to directly fund rainforest protection on a massive scale and safeguard this invaluable resource.
Cool Earth is looking to harness public opinion to put a fair value on the rainforests and stop global warming. Their help aims to not only protect the most endangered forest for the long-term but funds local conservation by local people. Sponsors of Cool Earth can view their plot with Google Earth, and there are 6,000 supporters already signed up, kudos.
You can support the HEAD Cool Earth effort by clicking here.
Or you can support HEAD by buying their tennis racquets, shoes, apparel and accessories.
April 24, 2008
Davydenko's Racquet Switch Leads to Spike in Popularity of Prince O3
Two weeks ago, Nikolay Davydenko put together a string of wins at the Sony Ericsson Open beating Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal en route to capturing the biggest title of his career. His play on court, combined with the romantic story of how he switched from the Ozone Tour to the denser string pattern of the Ozone Pro Tour prior to his first round match, and how he used the same frame to march through the draw, are becoming something of tennis lore. His results and outspoken affinity for his "new" O3 racquet, have not only led to a surge in his popularity but created a noticeable spike in demand for the racquet as well.
"While it is sometimes difficult to ascertain whether there is a direct correlation between an athlete's on court performance and sales success, this is proof positive that it can make an impact given the fact that in the week immediately following his win, demand for the Ozone Tour and Ozone Pro Tour jumped considerably," said Linda Glassel, Vice President of Marketing for Prince. "In fact, from the week prior to Davydenko's picking up the new frame to the week following his win, we saw demand increase by nearly four times. When a player truly feels that a racquet has made a difference, it validates that there is something special."
Davydenko playtested the Ozone Pro Tour between the Pacific Life Open and Sony Ericsson Open and liked the feel of the denser string pattern immediately. He went into the tournament with a couple of the new racquets in his bag but favored one frame in particular and stuck with it throughout the tournament. During the trophy presentation, Davydenko told on-court reporter Mary Joe Fernandez that he would "keep this racquet forever". While he may feel differently as Prince introduces him to newer models moving forward, what is for certain is that his decision to pick up the Ozone Pro Tour, with its 18 x 20 (denser) string pattern, coupled with his championship run have proved to be an extremely positive combination for a Prince brand that is already seeing strong growth and momentum in the market.
With the win, Davydenko became the first Russian ever to win this prestigious event. In speaking openly about how comfortable he was with the Ozone Pro Tour, Davydenko piqued the interest of players globally, continuing the buzz around Prince's visible O3 racquet technology. Today, there are over 100 touring pros using various racquet models with O3 technology, and nearly everyone who has made the switch to an O3 frame has improved his or her ranking.
According to Tom Russ, Director of Touring Pros for Prince, "Nikolay is very in tune with his equipment. He was one of the first players on tour to switch to O3 and knew immediately that the denser pattern would give him added control. Players are very aware of what O3 technology has done to raise the rankings of their peers and new players are asking which O3 frame might take their game to the next level."
Following his win in Miami, Davydenko then went on to reach the finals of the clay court tournament in Estoril, Portugal. More recently, at the U.S Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas, in only his eighth ATP event, Marcel Granollers-Pujols won his first title, using the Ozone Tour to beat James Blake and move his ranking from #84 to #54.
Check out Prince O3 gear.
WATR Celebrates Earth Day All Week - Wilson Racquet Sports' Green Initiative
Like most other tennis companies (all companies for that matter), Wilson Racquet Sports has their own Green Initiative. Theirs is a program committed to developing and implementing environmentally responsible products and manufacturing procedures across their major product categories.
Many key elements of the Green Initiative have already been recently implemented into the packaging and manufacturing processes of current Wilson products. For tennis balls, all PET Wilson tennis ball cans now contain a minimum of at least 25% post consumer recycled PET. For 2007 alone, Wilson anticipates this will result in a reduction of 330,000 pounds of landfill waste.
For Wilson's accessories and indoor racquet sports products, new changes in packaging and manufacturing processes are also being implemented. Wilson has already replaced the non-recyclable PVC packaging for their racquetball gloves with cardboard, a recyclable material. Additional packaging changes are being made to other indoor products such as protective eyewear for squash and racquetball that will reduce overall packaging waste. In addition, for Wilsons Evolution Footwear line, Wilson is introducing new recyclable footwear inserts that will be standard in all Wilson tennis shoes starting in 2008.
Support Wilson by buying their products.
April 23, 2008
WATR Celebrates Earth Day All Week - Prince & Greenslam
Princeis a founding sponsor of GreenSlam, a program that aims to harness the power of sports to create socially responsible change with positive environmental impact. it was started last year by the sports' biggest social change-agent, Billie Jean King.
Unlike other one-off programs, this is an inclusive, expansive initiative that brings into the fold the strongest organizations and leaders from various industries around the globe, all focused on empowering millions of people. Like Billie Jean King, Prince is ready to take responsibility, make internal changes, and work together as part of the larger group to influence others and teach them to rethink, reuse, and recycle.
Prince will lead by example - understanding that to improve the environment and to ask others to sacrifice, it must continue to look at its own operations. Similar to what the company does in terms of product design, Prince will continue to innovate and deliver the freshest, most cutting edge thinking to its production, packaging, distribution, and administrative practices in order to continue to develop and execute eco-friendly processes.
In addition, the company will work as part of the Green Dream Team engaging in a variety of intitiatives including a largescale sports equipment recycling program that will help consumers take their old (and usually non-biodegradable) sporting goods equipment to drop-off centers, such as tennis clubs and stadiums, where they can be reused instead of being thrown away.
To support GreenSlam, click here.
Or support Prince for their good works by purchasing their tennis racquets, shoes, apparel and accessories.
April 22, 2008
Hybrid Stringing Saves Money and Improves Performance
Or so says Ashaway's Steve Crandall. "Chronic string breakers and young and upcoming tennis players would do well to consider hybrid stringing," he says.
Why? Because "hybrid stringing...can not only improve a player's performance, it can also save them money. Hybrid stringing involves using one type of string for the racquet mains and another type for the crosses...Hybrid stringing has since become very popular among top players as a way to tailor racquet performance to their individual style of play."
Interesting money-saving point: "...younger players on tight budgets, as well as chronic string breakers, can use the technique to save money on string...The trick...is to buy string in bulk reels instead of individual sets."
Read more
Check out Ashaway strings here.
WATR Celebrates Earth Day All Week - Organic Tennis T-shirts
Happy Earth Day! What better way to celebrate than to wear your belief in organic and eco-friendly materials on your tennis t-shirt. This comes from the aptly named, Organic Tennis, whose motto is "Tennis with a higher consciousness". The t-shirts are 100% combed organic cotton, plus they're soft and comfortable feel. The Organic Tennis logo "for the natural player" is located on the right sleeve.
April 21, 2008
Lobster Elite 3 Battery Ball Machine
It may not look a heck of a lot like the Lobster Elite 2...but the Lobster Elite 3 Battery ball machinepacks quite a bit more whallop. This ball machine really does a good job of simulating match play. It also has vertical and two-line oscillation, which is enough to make the fittest pupil beg for mercy.
This is a durable and pretty light (44 lb) model, with the same cool, sleek design you saw in on the Elite 2. The hopper can hold 150 balls, and the battery life ranges from 4-8 hours so you're good to go for most of your teaching and drills.
- Oscillation: Random / Horizontal / Vertical / Horizontal + Vertical
- 2-Line Feature: Narrow / Wide
- Speed : 80-10 mph
- Ball Capacity: 150
- Feed Rate: 2-10 sec.
- Power: Battery
- Court Time 4-8 hrs.
- Elevation: Electronic 0-50 deg.
- Weight: 44 lbs.
- Spin: Top, back
See more ball machines at the What's All The Racquet store.
WATR Celebrates Earth Day All Week - SIGG Water Bottles
Stop taking bottled water on to the court, leaving an empty plastic container to live forever in some landfill. Same money and the environment by refilling your SIGG Swiss Engineered Water Bottle.
This is not your everyday thermos. Its well-designed with meticulous Euro craftsmanshipm and they come in all sorts of funky and cool designs. Swiss-made, SIGG's are unbreakable, and they have a hygienic-special, non-toxic inner liner that is tested 100% safe and 0% leaching (although to be honest I'm not sure what that means). Plus, if you ever do get sick of your SIGG, they are 100%recyclable
Buy SIGG water bottles.
April 20, 2008
Tecnifibre TF 8000 Stringing Machine
This is one of the "Big Kahunas" in the tennis racquet stringing world. It is used all over Europe and throughout the ATP Tour, including the French Open, Paris-Bercy, Berlin, Doha, and Marseille.
Why do many of the pro tournaments count on the Tecnifibre TF 8000? There are several reasons. One, the clutchable tension head allows you to pull a very short string. Two, it pre-stretches the string during tensioning - which is something professional stringing services look for.
Specifications:
Weight - 110 lbs/47kg
Length - 1050mm
Width - 560mm
Height - 360mm (adjustable)
Check out the Tecnifibre TF 8000 Stringing Machine.
April 19, 2008
Tretorn Wagon Hits NYC
Scandinavian clothing and design store [hus] and Tretorn have taken a page from the hot dog and soft pretzel vendors in NYC - selling Tretorn products from a wagon. The wagon's made from wooden boxes. To quote Cool Hunting, "expect...prices a little north of the average dirty water dog."
If you're in NYC, here's where the wagon will be:
19 April 2008
Jackson Square Park map
Intersection of 8th Ave and Greenwich Avenue
10am-5pm
26 April 2008
Christopher Park map
Intersection of Grove and Christopher St
10am-5pm
3 May 2008
Bleeker Street Playground map
Intersection of Bleecker and Hudson Street
10am-5pm
Not in NYC and want to check out some Tretorns? Click here.
Image and heads up via Cool Hunting
Saturday Squash - Ashaway Product News
A lot has been going on with Ashaway.
Primarily a string maker of strings for all racquet sports, they've branched out into footwear as well in the squash arena. Here is some recent news.
Ashaway Introduces New Line of AMPS™ Squash Shoes - Ashaway has introduced a new line of squash shoes that are anatomically molded to the natural shape of the human foot. Ashaway AMPS™ (Anatomic Multi-Performance System) athletic footwear supports the whole foot, not just the ball and heel, thus increasing comfort and stability, and reducing foot fatigue. Read more
New Ashaway SuperNick® XL Micro Squash String Provides Increased Durability, Improved Shot Making, and Stronger Brand Recognition - Ashaway Racket Strings has improved its SuperNick® XL Micro squash string to provide increased durability, improved shot making, and stronger brand recognition.
By modifying the string's unique construction of nylon multifilament core and double-braided multifilament jacket, Ashaway has increased linear density of the finished string, resulting in superior durability for an 18 gauge string while still providing gut-like performance and excellent playability at lower tensions. Read More
Ashaway Racket Strings Introduces New Squash Shoe Model - Ashaway Racket Strings has introduced a new model to its growing line of squash shoes. Available for the fall season, the new Ashaway AST™ 5500i shoe is higher cut at the ankle with high-top lace eyelets, and incorporates a greater composition of leather throughout the upper portion for increased support. Like the other models in the Ashaway squash shoe line, the 5500i is built on Ashaway's unique Anatomic System Technology (AST) which increases comfort and stability and reduces foot fatigue. Read More
Ashaway squash gear.
April 18, 2008
Youth Tennis Apparel: LMT Boys Classic Tennis Crew Shirts
Up and coming tennis stars need cool duds too, they all want to look like the 'big boys on the professional tour, and these short- and long-sleeved crews fit the bill. Made of 100% tech micropoly. Colors: White, White with Black Sleeve Stripe, White with Navy Sleeve Stripe.
LMT Boys Classic Tennis Crew Shirt
LMT Boys Classic Tennis Long Sleeve Crew Shirt
Vintage Tennis Friday: Adidas Stan Smith Canvas
Adidas continues to release styles under the Adidas Tournament Collection which consists of other vintage adidas models. These cool kicks have a canvas upper that looks off-white (I'm color blind) According to SneakerFiles, these are reported to be releasing on in the UK, but a U.S release date has not been confirmed.
Check out adidas Stan Smith footwear.
From SneakerFilesvia Crooked Tongues. Image via Crooked Tongues.
April 17, 2008
U.S. Sporting Goods Sales Continue To Outperform National GDP
The economy may be going through a tough time, but it doesn't seem to be hurting the sporting goods industry too much. My guess is that when times are tough, people look for value in entertainment, and although there is an initial outlay for equipment, its not that expensive to play once you have it.
In 2007, total manufacturers' sales (in wholesale dollars) for the sporting goods and fitness industry in the U.S. grew at an annual rate of 3.3%. While down from higher growth rates in 2005 (6.8%) and 2006 (5.8%), the sporting goods industry has continued its streak of outperforming GDP for non-durable goods which was 2.2% -- according to the U.S. government in 2007. Read the whole press release or learn more at SGMA.
According to Tenniswire.org, there is more good news - tennis has both the GDP and the sporting goods category beat with a 6.5 percent increase. They note, and we agree, that it appears that all the TV coverage, marketing efforts and grassroots work is still paying off.
