Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
N EW PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
- MANTIS
MANTIS TOUR
TOUR POLY
POLY
Y
- YONEX
YONEX VCORE
VCORE TOUR
TOUR G
- DUNLOP
DUNLOP NATURAL
NATURAL TENNIS
TENNIS
ASHAWAY
A SHAWAY CROSSFIRE
CROSSFIRE ZX
ZX
- PLAYTEST
PLAYTEST
IINDUSTRY
NDUSTRY NEWS
NEWS
ERSA
E RSA AROUND
AROUND THE
THE WORLD
WORLD
IISSUE
SSUE 4 - 2014
2014
EUROPEAN RACQUET STRINGERS ASSOCIATION
european
e uropean rracquet
acquet s
stringers
tringers a
association
ssociation
RACQUETTECH
XTRA CONTROL.
XTRA SPIN.
Add that little Xtra to your game
The ESP approved Prince Tour XC & XS strings help deliver that Xtra Control
and Spin to your game. Check them out at iam.princetennis.com
Warrior 100L ESP
Tour 98 ESP
Features
04 My Serve
06 New Products
12 Industry News
22 Ashaway Playtest
25 Sell Yourself
Industry News
- Prince Paris Tour 2014
- Head Golden Ball
- Head Ultimate Match
- Babolat Connected at
Roland Garros
- Playsight Tracking
Technology
4
My Serve
RACQUETTECH EUROPE
STRINGS
MADE IN GERMANY
SINCE 1985
6
New Products
MANTIS Sport , the British racket sports brand, has launched a new ultra-premium specification
polyester string into the market. According to Martin Aldridge, Founder & Managing Director of MANTIS
Sport, the MANTIS Tour Poly (1.22mm) consists of a perfectly balanced blend of modern materials &
technology and will be the flagship of the company’s polyester family of strings.
“The design and development of our product range is based on the collaboration of a team consisting of
elite custom stringers with extensive experience in Grand Slams, World ranked players and distinguished
professionals from key areas within the sport. This synergy of opinions and feedback ensures that when a
new product is launched it offers consumers unmatched performance but at a highly competitive price.”
In order to attain such a high quality product as the Tour Poly an extensive amount of rigorous analysis
needs to take place. A technical brief is submitted by the R&D team following on from significant expert
feedback in relation to the pros and cons of using a co-polymer string. As a result of this, several prototype
sample options are sent out to our various experts around the World for ‘blind testing’. Not only are these
strings reviewed against our existing range but also against the current market leaders as our benchmark.
The data from our team of experts is then collated and compared against our existing strings and the
market leaders. It is at this stage that a product is then developed for market launch if the feedback
confirms that we have found a winning string that enhances these positives and reduces the negatives
of using a co-polymer. In other words, a product will only be launched if there is a clear enhanced
performance benefit to the consumer.
The culmination of this highly analytical process is the MANTIS Tour Poly (1.22mm) - an exceptional string
that sets the bar at a new high. Our tests revealed an improved dynamic elasticity which helps to produce a
comfortable feel on impact. In addition, the Tour Poly provides exceptional playability across a wide range
of tensions – something which is often hard to achieve but is exactly what Tour pros are looking for from a
high performance string. At 1.22mm diameter the Tour Poly enables you to achieve extra ‘grip’ on the ball
thus enabling excellent levels of spin. In addition, the materials within the Tour Poly enable it to maintain its
durability to the levels of other 1.25mm gauge offerings. Even in the later stages of string life, as you start to
notice ‘notching’ within the string, it still maintains its excellent overall playability and consistency.
The final ‘test’ will be from players around the World when they try the MANTIS Tour Poly 1.22 for
themselves.
The high end Tour Poly string has been released today in the global market as a pre-production model and
you can find it with the code name “Prototype Red” through our distributors.
7
New Products
New Products
New Products
10
Sign-up 2014
2014
1 Year Membership -99€
2 Year Membership – 170€
3 Year Membership - 220€
Name_____________________________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________________
Postcode___________________City____________________________________
Country___________________________________________________________
Signature_____________________________________________________
Prince Paris Tour 2014. Prince players Mike and Bob Bryan, David Ferrer
and Jelena Jankovic were active promoting tennis in the Paris area during
Roland Garros this year.
12
Industry News
Every athlete wants to win gold. And now tennis fans around the world can join the gold rush! From May 15
to July 31, the 2014 HEAD golden ball promotion offers the chance to win a trip to the 2014 Barclays ATP
World Tour Finals, one of 1.000 daily HEAD prizes, and even 10 pieces of real gold.
Finding the gold is comparably easy: all tennis fans have to do is find the code inside a HEAD ATP ball can,
check it online at www.head.com/tennis/goldenheadball and see how lucky they are in the Golden HEAD Ball
sweepstake. Fun side benefit of the can initiative: Pieces of real gold have been hidden in a total of ten HEAD
ATP tennis balls worldwide.
The gold rush is also joined by ATP’s top-ranked players: Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray use unique and
very entertaining methods to find the golden prize. Their quest for gold, which might even serve as inspiration
on how to find the gold, is documented in HEAD’s digital spot on head.com/tennis.
The HEAD ATP ball does not only offer pieces of gold. Featuring Encore™ technology and
SmartOptik™ felt for better visibility, the official tennis ball of the ATP World Tour and the
Barclays ATP World Tour Finals embodies three decisive advantages for pros and amateur
players: it picks up more spin, allows even better control and stands out with its improved
durability. “It is the best ball in tennis today,” Novak Djokovic confirms. “I like to play with
touch and with control, and in addition it allows me to produce a lot of spin - this ball gives
me everything I need!”
Besides daily prizes and pieces of real gold, the grand winner of the 2014 Golden HEAD
Ball promotion will win a trip to the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London and a
chance to see the eight best tennis players in the world.
head.com/tennis
facebook.com/headtennis
twitter.com/head_tennis
instagram.com/headtennis_official
13
New Products
Industry News
The campaign kicks off when the two tennis superstars appear in a video that shows them in a rather
compromised position: blindfolded in the backseat of a SUV. The internet community is completely left in
the dark as to who took the players and why – until the current World’s No. 2 and No. 8 announce that they
have been released. Obviously this is not how the story ends.
The following campaign’s hero spot provides some more clues and needed background. After a long ride in
the SUV, Novak and Andy find themselves as special guests at a birthday party of a little girl and a strange
guy who have one very interesting request: The two tennis stars have to compete against each other in
what can only be called the “Ultimate Match”. The catch: only if they go above and beyond and play a
match to remember, will their dubious host let them go. What follows now is a battle of the wills with a sur-
prising sudden end involving a net-cord shot, a dog, and a sneaky get-away.
While battling it out during the Ultimate Match, the two tennis superstars are thankfully supported by their
respective racquets from the “HEAD Graphene Racquet Series” featuring the exclusive HEAD technology
Graphene. The world’s strongest and lightest material allows for the weight on the racquet’s shaft to be dis-
tributed where it is needed most for perfect control, playability and more power with every swing.
The hero spot will be published on May 22, 2014 on HEAD’s YouTube channel while a 30 second TV spot
will air on Eurosport during the second week of the French Open. The movie trailer like spot will direct view-
ers to the campaign website www.head.com/G which hosts additional information about the story, HEAD
products and the innovative technology Graphene. Fans around the world will have the opportunity to par-
ticipate in an online sweepstake and show their creativity to win special prizes.
Created by the Berlin-based agency Aimaq von Lobenstein, the films have been produced by Czar Berlin,
directed by Johannes Schroeder and produced by Birke Birkner.
New Products
Industry News
Industry News
The International Tennis Federation shall rule on the question of whether any such equipment is
approved, or not approved. Such ruling may be taken on its own initiative, or upon application by
any party with a bona fide interest therein, including any player, equipment manufacturer or Na-
tional Association or members thereof. Such rulings and applications shall be made in accordance
with the applicable Review and Hearing Procedures of the International Tennis Federation.
APPENDIX III
WE MAKE
A WORLD OF INFO: PTR European Headquarters
Industry News
The 2014 finalists are automatically the top two seeds in the 2015 World Group, while the remain-
ing seeds were based on the latest ITF Fed Cup Nations Ranking of 21 April 2014.
A great group of nations will be represented in World Group play with Fed Cup powerhouses like
Czech Republic, Italy and Russia, but also newcomers like Canada and Poland.
No1 seeds Czech Republic will travel to Canada and play a Canadian team led by WTA Rising
Star Eugenie Bouchard, while the 2013 champions Italy will host France, whose team includes
Alizé Cornet and WTA Rising Stars Caroline Garcia andKristina Mladenovic.
Poland, anchored by Agnieszka Radwanska, plays Russia, the first time the country is playing the
World Group stage in Fed Cup history!
Final
The 2014 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Final between Czech Republic and Germany will take place in
Czech Republic on 8-9 November at a venue to be confirmed in due course.
Designed for Pro‘s. This monofile polyester string offers ultimate control
combined with high ball speed. Now released!
Diese Monofile Polyestersaite wurde speziell für die Anforderungen auf der Profitour entwickelt. Volle Kontrolle bei
hoher Beschleunigung. Jetzt released nach erfolgreichem Einsatz auf der Tour!
www.isospeed.com
20
Industry News
Industry News
• Mark Ein: Founder/early investor in five companies that have reached billion dollar valua-
tions; founder/owner of the four-time WTT defending champion Washington Kastles and Board
member the International Tennis Hall of Fame;
• Dr. James Loehr: Co-founder of the Human Performance Institute and performance coach to
Jim Courier and Monica Seles
• Ray Benton: Former PROSERV president and current CEO of the Tennis Center at College
Park (Md.)
• Gordon A. Uehling III: Former ATP ranked tennis player, coach and founder of CourtSense -
the first "SmartClub" in the world which all his courts are equipped with "SmartCourts"
• James Kern: Veteran Wall Street Executive with over 2 decades of Capital Markets exper-
tise. James will be joining PlaySight's Board of Directors
Based on concepts originally designed to train fighter pilots, PlaySight‘s
SmartCourt is an affordable, proprietary technology that is easily in-
stalled at tennis facilities and private courts.
The SmartCourt provides players with professional real time (and post
session) match statistics, analytics, line-calling and video, combining
capabilities to dramatically enhance the tennis-playing experience and
greatly improve training and coaching efficiency.
Using five HD cameras, PlaySight's SmartCourt automatically classifies and tags all the events that
take place during a session without the need for court-side operators or wearable sensors.
Players can watch selected events (e.g. every backhand down the line that went long), with no
need to watch the whole video or manually tag it.
PlaySight is also able to record 3D tactical game management information including the height of
balls over the net, speed of every shot and the depth of balls hit within the court.
The SmartCourt is easily operated by the players through a courtside kiosk and all video and data
can be shared within seconds with coaches, friends and family at remote locations.
Players can also track distance covered and calories burned during a match or practice session.
The Company plans to apply their affordable technology to basketball, soccer, hockey, baseball
and other fields of sports with the same SmartCourt concept and has already seen the installation
of 35 SmartCourts globally, including 19 in the United States including the first collegiate court at
The University of Georgia.
More than 100 facilities in Florida, California, New York and at other locations around the world are
scheduled for installation later this year.
Tips
KISS- Keep it Simple Stupid - The best advice for beginner stringers is to string everything with
4 knots to start out. You only have one thing to learn and every racquet can be strung this way.
You can string all the rackets without learning Around-the-World. You will not be stringing for pro-
fessionals and need a quick easy method to not make mistakes. We recommend this to shops to
do first with new employees, which cuts down on the number of mistakes that can be made. After
mastering the 4 knot methode, it is easy to learn new 2 knot methods, such as ATWs.
String Test
Ashaway Crossfire ZX 17
Ashaway has come up with some interesting Hybrid combinations for their Monogut ZX Pro. We
have tested the Crossfire ZX 17 in this issue and will publish the Crossfire ZX Tour in the next is-
sue. Ashaway Crossfire ZX 17 is a hybrid with Kevlar® *Plus mains and MonoGut ZX Pro crosses.
The mains are braided aramid fibers and PTFE fibers added to give a softer feel to the Kevlar
strings. The strings are much softer than the original aramid Crossfire strings. The cross strings
are Zyex® MonoGut ZX Pro 1,22mm giving a soft feel and a lot of power for a monofilament. We
tested the Monogut ZX earlier and on top of a total different sound from polyesters, it had a lot
more power also.
Ashaway said these strings were designed to offer a new mix of power, spin and durability. Their
target was to hard hitters looking for a new string with better playing characteristics than polys and
less tension loss.
The Crossfire ZX 17 comes in Gold/Black mains and Natural crosses. The strings are available in
Hybrid Sets or 110 meter and 220 meter reels for each string.
Kevlar® is a registered trademark of E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co.
Zyex® is a registered trademark of Zyex Ltd.
Visit www.ashawayusa.com for
more information.
In the Lab
The coils measured meters for the
Crossfire +Plus mains and meters
for the MonoGut ZX crosses. The
main strings measured 7.3 meters
and the crosses 6.9 meters. The
diameter for the mains measured an
average of 1.20 mm before stringing
and 1.18 mm after stringing. The av-
erage diameter for the crosses mea-
sured 1.29 mm before stringing and
1.27 mm after stringing. The strings
added 14 grams to the weight of the
unstrung racquet. The tension right
after stringing measured 39 DT on a
Beers ERT 300 and 38 DT after 24
hours with no playing, which is less
than 3% tension loss. The testers
received unmarked packages of
24
String Test
strings and tested the strings from 3-5 weeks. 25 stringers tested the string with playing levels
from intermediate to nationally ranked players. No one broke the strings playing as most cut their
strings out after 3 weeks and averaged 12.8 hours of play.
Stringing
We instructed the testers to string the same as polyesters with the tension after our experience
testing the MonoGut ZX last year. After the test, we would recommend 1 kilo less than with polys
to get the same DT. Most of the polys we have tested at 25 kilos had a DT of 34-37 and 39 with
the Crossfire ZX 17. This should give you the same Dynamic Tension plus very little tension loss.
No one complained of any problems stringing the Hybrid. The mains are soft and a few testers
had a little difficulty getting the string into the knot hole. The mains had almost no coil memory and
were easy to install. The crosses had a little coil memory but no one had problems installing a half
set of string. None of the testers complained of problems tying knots and one broke the strings
while stringing (Cinching the knot with a starting clamp). Most of the testers found the stringing dif-
ficulty about average.
Playtest
The testers found the string from the same as their string to better than their string in control, dura-
bility and spin potential. Playability, power, touch, comfort and string movement were rated a little
less to a little better to their normal string. The playability ratings were higher for the players using
polys as their regular string and lower for the testers using multifilaments.
Conclusion
All the testers found the string more playable and comfortable than normal polys. This is new
hybrid and can be popular with many players. Some of the testers found they had more spin with
their thin polys but not the comfort and power. Most of the testers said they would consider adding
this string to their sortiment for players looking for a durable hybrid that is not hard on the arm.
Comments
“Really soft feel even though it strung up tight. I thought it would be too tight for me”
Senior Tournament Player & Coach, Head Extreme, ProLIne 2 / VS Hybrid
“It did not hurt my arm even though the DT was higher than my string at the same tension.”
Men’s 35 Player, Babolat Aero Pro Drive
“I did not notice any difference with my string with spin and power, but did not loosen up much
after 10 hours of play.”
Coach, Head Radical, Alu Power / TGV
“I thought it was Kevlar in the mains and poly in the crosses, but it played much softer and with
more power.”
Senior Men’s 40 Player. Prince EXO3 Tour
25
ERSA ATW
ERSA ATW
Marketing
Sell Yourself!!!
I hear all the time from our members that the large internet shops are killing their business. The
most important thing to learn is not to compete directly with these companies. They have
up to millions of Euros for advertising, sponsoring and websites per year in their budget.
It does no good to complain, so start looking at what you can sell to your customers.
Start off by identifying your strengths and weaknesses. Write them out in two lists. Next, identify
your biggest online competitors strengths and weaknesses. Most of the big online shops have
every model and every size and color of most products on hand. This is where small shops cannot
compete. Compare the lists and identify where your place in the market can fit in.
The next question you have to ask yourself is “Why should someone buy from me?” What can you
offer customers that make you unique in this industry or in your area? Which things can you offer
in your area that no one else can and customers cannot get online?
1. Stringing and Repair Services - This is the basis for most small to medium sized specialty
shops. You can quickly string and return rackets to your customers which the online shops cannot
do. We string in our shop between 2,000 and 2,500 rackets per year for local customers. We also
know that 50% are regular customers who string a lot and purchase reels from us and the other
50% are from intermediate players who string 1-2 times and year and are not interested in pur-
chasing reels from us. The second group is more profitable than the first as they purchase a single
set of string each time plus pay for the stringing.
You can also correctly put on basic grips and overgrips for your customers which many cannot do
so they do not purchase online.
We also change grommet sets for our customers when the grommets crack or bumperguards
where out. For customers who purschase rackets from us, we do this free of charge, which has
built up our racket sales over the last 15 years.
Racket Tuning - Contact local top players and inform them of your service and the advantages of
it. Offer free racket checks for multiple rackets. Have the top juniors and tournament players bring
in their rackets and check them for weight, balance and swingweight. They are usually way off and
you can sell them on racket tuning very easily. We have had four to eight rackets come in with a
range of 15 grams, 16 points swingweight and balance over 1 cm. different.
2. Consulting - As experts in the racket sports industry, we can offer better advice on strings,
grips, rackets and accessories than an online internet shop. We can look at the players on court,
talk to them and ask questions before offering advice. We have had hundreds of customers who
bought rackets online, with and without telephone consulting, them came to us with tennis arm or
their game had gone downhill drastically after buying a racket. We are in a tennis hall in a tennis
club and have courts and a ball machine and video available to analyze the players before giving
advice. This area takes time to build up as most of the growth comes from word of mouth. We
now have people coming in everyday who were recommended by one of our happy customers.
28
Marketing
3. Become Certified - The ERSA now offers courses and certification in tennis, badminton and
squash. If there is some badminton and squash being played in your area, getting the new Certi-
fied Stringer Badminton and Master of Racquet Sports (Tennis, Badminton & Squash) makes a lot
of sense. Maybe you will only get a few more string jobs a month in the other areas but your busi-
ness will be known for it’s expertise. Advertise your certification in any press releases, ads, busi-
ness cards and stationary you use.
4. Websites - This is a necessary tool today even if you cannot compete with the large online
retailers. You still have to have a web presence. How much you invest in this depends on what
you can get out of it. A lot of young customers use their smart phone or pad to shop. To make your
online shop compatable for Apple and Android systems, you will have to spend a larger sum of
money to make it work on these systems.
5. Promote Tennis in your Area - You can work together with tennis clubs, tennis coaches and
tennis academies promoting your shop. Offer polos or t-shirts to teams with your logo on them.
Buy windscreens with your shop info on them. Some clubs are happy to get them for free and oth-
ers want you to pay a small space rental fee per year per windscreen.
Offer your stringing services to local tournaments. We strung for five years at the Wolrd Team Cup
near our shop and have over 250 regular customers from outside of our city who drive in to get
stringing, test rackets, gripping and advice.
6. Choose the Right Products - This breaks down into 2 areas. The first is knowing your cus-
tomers and what they are interested in. What type of rackets, strings, shoes are sellable to them. If
you are in a nobel club with wealthy clients you need a different mix of products than someone in a
small town or in a public court facility.
Second, the area sales reps can help a lot either by sponsoring programs for you, such as team
clothing, balls, shoes, offering player contracts to top players in the area using your shop or help-
ing you find the right products and amounts to order. Find out which reps and companies are inter-
ested in helping you grow your business. You will find some that will not help out at all and some
will come by every month and see if they can help in some way.
7. Quality Employees - Make sure you have the right people working in your shop. Write out
a complete job description before you start looking for a new employee. Go over everything with
the person. After interviewing invite the top two or three back for another interview and discussion.
Also, appearance is very important. The employees should be dressed appropriately for the job. If
your shop is in a tennis club, everyone can wear the same tennis clothes with your logo on it.
Friendliness is all important. Coming from the USA, I was in shock going into retail stores. I got
the impression of unfriendliness, not caring, to the point of sales people not waiting on you. All the
employees should know every article in your shop that you sell and how to sell it. This takes time
and effort from the manager and owner. This is what will make or break your shop. We can only
sell our good service, expertise and friendliness when someone comes in. Make your employees
feel like partners in the business. Try setting goals for the season or year offering incentives if the
goals are reached. If it is not your employees business and they have no advantage of selling
more, most of the time they will not give their best effort.