www.ersa-stringers.

com
ISSUE 8 - 2019

NEW PRODUCTS
HEAD Speed X MP
HEAD SPEED X S

ERSA ATW
INDUSTRY NEWS
MIAMI OPEN DUNLOP
ASHAWAY RACQUETBALL
YONEX NEWS
MSV News

STRINGLAB PLAYTEST
STRING TESTS
HEAD HAWK TOUCH
STRINGLAB AAAUZ
PRO STRINGER MAGAZINE IS FREE FOR ALL ERSA MEMBERS
1 ERSA PRO
DISTRIBUTION STRINGERARE
OR RESELLING // NOT
ISSUE 7-2019
ALLOWED
 I N N IS
I O N TEN .
U T N T Y. .
O L E O G
R E V L A M O L
A NOF ECHN I
MO ING T
STR

MonoGut ZX
MonoGut® ZX MonoGut® ZX Pro

ZERO POLYESTER ZERO POLYESTER

DYNAMIC SOFT POWER DYNAMIC SPIN

1.27
mm
40 ft 360 ft 720ft 1.22
mm
40 ft 360 ft 720ft
16 gauge
set reel reel 17 gauge
s et reel re e l

Dynamic stiffness of Zyex® polymer provides playability similar to natural gut

Absence of polyester increases power and decreases string bed stiffness
Superior elongation increases resiliency and control of the ball

® Zyex is a registered trademark of Zyex Limited

w w w. a s h a w a y u s a . c o m
8 0 0 - 5 5 6 - 7 2 6 0
 www.ersa-stringers.com

ISSUE
8-2019

CONTENTS
04 My Serve
06 New Products
07 Industry News
17 ERSA ATW
20 TIPS
20 STRINGLAB Play Test
23 String Test - HEAD Hawk Touch
25 String Test - STRINGLAB Aaauz

3 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019

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PRO STRINGER MAGAZINE

European Racquet Stringers Association
ERSA Australia - Noel Dodds

My Serve
ERSA Benelux
Dimitri Kaijser - Richard Musters

ERSA Brazil - ERSA Int. Headquarters

ERSA China - Roger Luo

ERSA Czech Republic & Slovakia
Vaclav Smat
ERSA Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Mark Maslowski
ERSA Indochina - Nguyen Hong Thuyet (Thierry)
ERSA Italy - Marco Rossani
ERSA Ireland - Rob Leahy
ERSA Korea - Taikki Lee
ERSA Spain / France- Richard Parnell
ERSA Taiwan - Bernie Chen
ERSA Turkey - Emre Tekmir
ERSA UK
Paul Skipp, Huw Phillips
Welcome to Issue 8 of Pro Stringer Magazine!
I am busy travelling to workshops in Europe, Asia and
South America this Fall. With the summer season
ending many of our managers are starting with
workshops all over the world.
NEWS! Richard Parnell has been named Vice
President of ERSA International. Richard has been
helping on the sidelines building up ERSA around the
world. He will be working together with me on many
new projects this year. He will keep his positions as
manager in Spain, France, Portugal and Indo-China.
We have a string test done by Pro-t-one this month
and with a team of ERSA play testers. This is the way
I would prefer to do the tests to compare how strings
come out in the lab and on the rackets of our
members.

ERSA Ukraine - Sergey Konovolenko Thanks also to Marco Rossani for all the good work
he has done in Italy. There are several items on his
FOUNDING MEMBERS activities in the magazine under ERSA ATW this
Ashaway Babolat
Head Isospeed
issue.
Kirschbaum Luxilon
Pacific Wilson Also congratulations to Marcelo Ferreira, tester in
Brasil offering free job training to underprivileged
CORPORATE MEMBERS
Ashaway Head Babolat
people to learn to string tennis rackets.
Prince Isospeed Yonex
Gosen Tecnifibre ERSA Europe Symposium 2020 will be held the end
of September. We are down to 2 sites now, 1 in
STRING SUPLIER MEMBERS
Apollo Leisure MSV
Croatia and 1 in Greece. A difficult search looking for
Krischbaum Signum Pro Pro-T-One a great venue, not too expensive, tennis courts, easy
Stringlab Sergetti Stringing to travel to, great weather and
lots of good restaurants.
ASOCIATION MEMBER
PTR Europe TIA UK
Tennis Europe Thanks to Pro-t-one for the
2 lab tests again this month,
TECHNICAL CONSULTANTS including one of my favorite
Rod Cross - Australia - Physics strings, HEAD HAWK
Gabriele Medri- Italy - Technical Adviser
TOUCH.
European Racquet Stringers Association
Spinciceva 33 A, 2100 Split, Croatia Best wishes,
Phone/Fax: +49 (0)15122637266 Mark Maslowski
www.ersa-stringers.com

4 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019

 www.ersa-stringers.com

ERSA Pro Certified Stringers

ERSA now offers tennis, badminton and squash certification for different levels of stringers, from beginners to
the top professional stringers in the world. The first level is ERSA Stringer is for new stringers to show they have
completed a stringing course and learned to string correctly. ERSA Professional Stringer is for stringing ser-
vices, such as coaches, club stringers, shop stringers, after passing a day of practical and written tests. Master
Professional Stringer Level 1 is for shop stringers and owners who can tune rackets, string at a high level and
have a broad knowledge of products for their customers. MPS Level 2 is for shop owners and managers. Pro
Tour Stringer certification is for minimum MPS Level1 who are stringing at ATP and WTA tournaments. There
are 3 levels for this certification, Level 1, Level 2 and Master Pro Tour Stringer.

ERSA PROFESSIONAL STRINGER ERSA MASTER PROFESSIONAL STRINGER

Professional Stringer - Squash - Stanley Yan Leung Wong - Hong Kong

Pro Tour Stringer Level 2 -Tennis - Marco Rossani - Italy, Paolo Facci- Italy,
Paolo Aramini - Italy

STRINGS
MADE IN GERMANY
SINCE 1985
 www.ersa-stringers.com
NEW PRODUCTS

The SPEED X MP is celebrating

HEAD’s most successful tennis racquet silo with
a special edition that comes with a luxurious
design celebrating SPEED’s 10th anniversary
in style. Based on the SPEED MP, it is created
for the fast-paced player who needs a lighter
tour racquet for better maneuverability and
easier handling. It features the Graphene 360
technology which provides greater stability and
optimized energy transfer for more power, thus
more ball speed. The SPEED X anniversary
package also comes with a matching dampener
and an extra set of LYNX strings making it the
perfect collector’s item for SPEED fans and
design enthusiasts alike.

The limited editionSPEED X S is

perfect for the occasional player who is looking
for a fast racquet. It features the Graphene 360
technology which provides greater stability and
optimized energy transfer for more power as
well as a luxurious design celebrating the silo’s
10th anniversary. Based on the specifications
of the SPEED S, it is easier to handle than the
SPEED X MP and therefore perfect for players
who need an extra amount of maneuverability.
It features the Graphene 360 technology which
provides greater stability and optimized energy
transfer for more power, thus more ball speed.
The SPEED X anniversary package also comes
with a matching dampener and an extra set of
LYNX strings making it the perfect collector’s
item for SPEED fans and design enthusiasts
alike.

www.head.com

6 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019

 www.ersa-stringers.com
INDUSTRY NEWS

Ashaway MultiKill® 17 Cruises

Through US Open Racquetball
Stringing Competition
While the main competition for this year’s US Open Rac-
quetball Championships played out in the fabulous “made-
for-TV” portable racquetball court at the Target Center’s
LIFE TIME facility in downtown Minneapolis, more action
was underway at the Lawler Sports booth where racket
technician Ian Titus was hard at work stringing rackets and tallying statistics.

And while 732 players from 13 countries fought out some 1,273 matches before Kane
Waselenchuk and Paola Longoria were crowned Champions, hardworking Ian strung over 200
frames. Of these, some 60% were strings made by Ashaway Racket Strings, Ian reported. Of the
Ashaway strings, the clear leader was Ashaway’s newest MultiKill® 17 -- noted for its soft nylon
feel and polyurethane-based durability -- which comprised 40% of those strung. Ashaway’s
Zyex-based PowerKill® 17 and UltraKill® 17 -- both notable for their power and tension holding
abilities -- followed with 25% each. Longtime Ashaway staple, nylon-based SuperKill® strings ac-
counted for a 10% share.

The clearest observable trend in stringing to

emerge from this year’s US Open Racquetball
Championships was higher tensions. According to
Ian’s analysis, most string tensions ranged well into
the mid-30s, with the lowest racket strung at 28 lbs.
and the highest at 40 lbs.
“We believe these higher tensions are an effort by
players to gain greater ball control,” said Ian “the
String King” Titus, owner of Lawler Sports. “There
are two reasons for this: first, all
manufacturers are producing more powerful rackets
these days; second, today’s elongated racket head
designs require longer strings. These combine to
produce a very stretchy, very bouncy string bed,
and stringing tighter will enhance control.”

Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co.

PO Box 549
Ashaway, RI 02804 USA
Tel: (800) 556-7260 (U.S. only) or +1 (401) 377-
2221
Fax: +1 (401) 377-9091
Website: http://www.ashawayusa.com

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Grip enlarger available again

MSV grip enlarger is available again. It increases the
grip size by one size.
NEW PRICING
2.30€ per piece (order quantity: 1-4 pieces)
1.80€ per piece (order quantity: 5+ pieces)
As before it is delivered without packaging (another waste avoiding )

Cornelia Lister joins Team MSV

We are happy to announce that Swedish player Cornelia Lister joined Team MSV. Our Swiss
partner and ATP/WTA Tour stringer Rolf Friederich advises Cornelia and found the right string for
her: MSV Focus Hex Ultra 1.25. Her current WTA Doubles ranking is #76.

ENTDECKE Die Int. Plattform für alle

DIE WELT
DER
Trainer und Coaches
die professionell
unterrichten

WE MAKE
A WORLD OF INFO: PTR European Headquarters

DIFFERENCE Leichtergasse 28 - 39012 MERAN

Fon: +39 0473 230097 - www.ptrtennis.de - info@ptrtennis.de

8 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019

 www.ersa-stringers.com
INDUSTRY NEWS

THE MIAMI OPEN SELECTS DUNLOP AS OFFICIAL BALL

AND RACQUET BEGINNING WITH 2020 TOURNAMENT
Dunlop has announced it has reached a multi-year agreement with the Miami Open presented by
Itaú to become the Official Ball and Racquet for the tournament. Beginning in 2020 the world’s
best tennis players will be competing with the Dunlop ATP Extra Duty ball (for the men) and the
Dunlop Grand Prix Extra Duty ball (for the women) at the tournament widely regarded as the most
glamorous in the sport. The partnership extends Dunlop’s global reach and dominance in the ten-
nis ball market; it is currently the Official Ball of the ATP Tour and the Australian Open, in addition
to being played at more ATP tournaments than any other ball, making it the Number One Ball on
the ATP Tour. Official tournament merchandise including balls, rackets and souvenir autograph
tennis balls will be available for retail sale during the two-week event.
“A key part of our global growth plan is developing partnerships with the most elite tournaments
in the world,” said Masahiro Asahino, Dunlop’s Head of Tennis. “The Miami Open is one of those
premier tennis events, and the exposure it generates amongst tennis fans in North and South
America will help grow our brand in those important markets and beyond.”
“It’s fitting Dunlop’s largest sponsorship in the U.S. will be with the Miami Open, because, in many
ways, we have much in common,” said Kai Nitsche, VP and General Manager for Dunlop Sports
Americas. “We each have storied pasts, but it’s a recent commitment to the future that is most
exciting to fans. In 2017 SRI bought the Dunlop brand, and it has made enormous investments at
every level, while just last year the Miami Open moved into its brand new home, Hard Rock Sta-
dium, where it will flourish for years to come.”
“One of my chief goals as Tournament Director is ensuring the players are happy with every as-
pect of their experience, and the tournament ball is at the top of that list,” said James Blake, Miami
Open Tournament Director. “Since my time on Tour, the general consensus among the players is
that Dunlop has always produced the best, most consistent ball on Tour, so I’m glad we now have
it as the Official Ball of the Miami Open.”

DecoTurf has been chosen as Luxilon celebrated its 60th anniversary

the tennis court surface for the 2020
Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s the fifth
time that the California Sports
Surfaces product will be the surface for
the Olympics. The colors chosen for
the event are two tones: USOpen blue
and US Open green. DecoTurf
has been the playing surface of the US
Open since 1978.
The ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee
launched its new Wheelchair Tennis
Development Plan, designed to help grow
the sport around the world. The new plan
will benefi t from an annual investment of
$1 million from Kosmos as part of its Davis
Cup partnership with the ITF, alongside
support from the Cruyff Foundation.
in August with the release of the new ALU
Power 130 Diamond Anniversary Edition
string. In a new, larger 130-gauge offering,
the string offers the same combination
of power, control and spin, says
Luxilon, but now with added durability.
Visit Wilson.com for more information.
The ITF has made a series of changes to
the ITF Seniors Circuit for 2020 and 2021,
which the organization says are designed
to increase the number of players, nations
and tournaments on the Seniors
Circuit. Among the changes are revisions
to entry-level tournaments (Grade 4) to
provide a greater number of competitive
opportunities and appropriate formats.
Additionally, a new tier of tournaments
will be introduced in 2021.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

After winning her second WTA title of the year at the Kremlin Cup in
Russia, Belinda Bencic (SUI) called her performance in the finals "the cherry on top."
Bencic was a last-minute addition to the field in Moscow, needing to reach the finals to
qualify for the Shiseido WTA Finals in Shenzhen. In her opening round match, Bencic
found herself down 0-3 in the deciding set before rallying back with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
victory.
In the quarterfinals, Bencic came back from 1-4 down in the opening set and saved two
set points to force a tiebreaker. Eclipsing the one-hour mark in the match, Bencic finally
secured the first set 10-8 in a tiebreaker and carried that momentum into the second,
escaping with a 7-6, 6-1 win.
With her 2019 season riding on her semifinal match, the 22-year-old admitted how
nervous she was before stepping on the court. However, Bencic kept her emotions in
check from the beginning and advanced in straight-sets.
“I stepped up my game when I had to, just really focused on myself,” said Bencic. “I
knew it was just one match away, and it was a unique opportunity.”
In the finals, Bencic again rallied from a set down and won 12 of the last 14 games to
wrap up her stay in Moscow with the trophy. With her victory, the 22-year-old climbed
three spots in the rankings to match her career-high of 7.

A finalist no more. On Naomi Osaka’s (JPN) third trip to the Toray

Pan Pacific Open finals, she put all nerves aside in her birthplace city of Osaka and
cruised to a straight-set victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win her fourth WTA
singles trophy.
With the tournament being moved from Tokyo to Osaka in preparation for next year’s
Olympics, Osaka was even more motivated to win the title.
"It's really special for me to win here,” said Osaka. "This is the city where I was born
and honestly I think that gave me a lot of power to play constantly match after match.”
In the championship match, Osaka came out firing on both ends, consolidating early
breaks in both sets with dominant serving. She won 100% of first serve points and
never faced a break point all match.
2019 Toray Pan Pacific Open: Osaka wins in
Osaka
Although she was the top seed, Osaka had to
defeat three straight opponents who she
had a losing record against in WTA-sanctioned
matches in Yulia Putintseva (0-3), Elise
Mertens (0-1), and Pavlyuchenkova (0-1).
"I just wanted to win this really bad," said
Osaka.
The World No. 4 is the first Japanese player to
win the Pan Pacific Open since Kimiko
Date in 1995, accomplishing this feat without
dropping a set the entire tournament.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Denmark Open 2019: Momota, Gideon/Sukamuljo

Odense, Denmark – Kento Momota (JPN) and Marcus F. Gideon and Kevin S. Sukamuljo (INA) continued
to add to their impressive hardware collections from the 2019 World Tour, while building on their leads
against competitors in their respective categories. It was Momota’s eighth Tour win this year – and his fourth
consecutive since winning the World Championships –
while it makes six for Gideon and Sukamuljo.
In women’s doubles, Baek Ha Na, 19, won in her first
Tour Final appearance, alongside partner Jung Kyung
Eun (KOR).
Momota faced a resurgent Chen Long in the finals, who
held the slimmest lead in their head-to-head record, 5-4.
But Momota, who has not lost a match since July, seemed
destined to even that score at this meeting. In the first
game, while the lead changed hands a few times, it would
be mostly Chen out front until 14-all. From there, Mo-
mota found his imperturbable rhythm, and won the next
seven points uninterrupted to take the game. The second
game never saw Momota surrender the lead, winning
21-14, 21-12.

The MSV Focus Hex® Soft 1.20 string and
10 other edged monofil strings were tested for 10 weeks
by 18 players of the German tennis MAGAZIN.
Overall Rating: GOOD
#2 Overall
#1 Value for Money
#2 Power
#2 Control
#2 Touch
#2 Spin
Conclusion: "Super value for money!"
Universal Tennis
Releases
UTR App, Available for Free
Universal Tennis has released a
mobile tennis application now available
in the App Store designed to
make it easier for players of all skill
levels around the world to discover
more opportunities to connect
through tennis.
At the core of the Universal Tennis
platform is the Universal Tennis
Rating (UTR), which measures tennis
skill across age, gender and geogra-
phy.
UTR and the Universal Tennis
platform have been adopted by play-
ers,
coaches, organizers, academies,
clubs and colleges worldwide.
The new UTR app is free for all
tennis players of any age and skill
level. In the U.S., all USTA and college
players already have a rating and
profi le on UTR. Every tennis player
worldwide can use the new UTR app
to claim or create their free profi le.
Visit MyUTR.com.
13
www.ersa-stringers.com
INDUSTRY NEWS
2019 US Open Sets
Attendance Records
The 2019 US Open set an all-time
attendance record, with 737,872 fans
coming to the USTA Billie Jean King
National Tennis Center throughout the
two weeks of the main draw.
Arthur Ashe Stadium sold out 23 of 24
sessions.
COACHING CHANGES
Simona Halep has reunited with coach
Darren Cahill, who guided her to her
first Grand Slam title and the world #1
ranking.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Anabel
Medina Garrigues have extended their
working relationship for the rest of the
year.
Naomi Osaka has split with Jermaine
Jenkins and is currently without
a coach.
Angelique Kerber has switched from
coach Rainer Schuttler to Dirk Dier.
Denis Shapovalov is working with
former world #8 Mikhail Youzhny, while
Kyle Edmund has split with
coach Mark Hilton.
ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019
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INDUSTRY NEWS

Tennis Europe President Vladimir Dmitriev delivered

good news at the European Regional Meeting in Lisbon, which was attended by delegates from 44
nations. Mr. Dmitriev announced that he had recently secured two new sponsors for
Tennis Europe and that the resulting €88,000 income will provide the first installment for
the newly created ‘Tennis Europe Fund.’ The Fund will operate independently from the
International Tennis Federation and benefit all European member nations
for their development and junior activities.

ITF Board of Directors 2019-2023 The 2019 Tennis Europe

• President: David Haggerty Juniors & Pro Conference
• Katrina Adams will be held in Milan, Italy, from 6-7 Novem-
• Carlos Bravo ber, during the ATP
• Martin Corrie (GBR) Next Gen Finals tournament. For further infor-
• Bernard Giudicelli (FRA) mation, contact Stephanie Kamberi.
• Jack Graham
• Nao Kawatei
• Anil Khanna
The Tennis Europe Top
• Ulrich Klaus (GER)
• Salma Mouelhi Guizani
Executives’ Meeting
will take place in Madrid, Spain, from 19-21
• Camilo Pérez López Moreira November, coinciding with
• Alexey Selivanenko (RUS) the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals. The confer-
• René Stammbach (SUI) ence will focus on the topics of Sports Man-
• Stefan Tzvetkov (BUL) agement and Leadership in
• Bulat Utemuratov Federations. For more information, contact
Following some late withdrawals, 12 Europeans Nadja Koran.
were amongst the 29 total candidates.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

WTA and Tennis Europe team up for player education project

Tennis Europe and the WTA have announced plans to collaborate on the Tennis Europe Junior
School in 2020.
Designed to help prepare young players for their life as professional tennis players, the School is
the sport’s first international educational program for the 14 and 16
& Under age groups. Around 500 young athletes have benefitted from onsite classes at eight
leading Tennis Europe Junior Tour events in 2019, and learned about topics including:
• Anti-Doping
• Integrity in Tennis
• Agents and Sponsorship
• Tennis Ecosystem
Meanwhile, the current content is also available online in the form of video clips for all the Tour’s
20,000 eligible junior players.
Having given its official approval to the project, the WTA can now contribute to the selection and
creation of content tailored specifically for young female players, send experts to Junior School
classes, and advise on a wide range of topics in the Junior School curriculum.
Tennis Europe CEO Thomas Hammerl initiated the project in 2018, and commented, “We are very
proud to officially welcome the WTA on board. Both organisations recognise the importance of
education for players and furthermore we believe it is vital that players receive consistent
messages throughout their journeys, so this cooperation is particularly significant. We are looking
forward to working together to ensure that young players from Europe and beyond get prepared
for their life on the WTA Tour.”
“The WTA is looking forward to collaborating with the Tennis Europe Junior School in 2020 as we
look to support these young players and prepare them for a rewarding
and successful career,” said Ashley Keber, WTA Vice President, Member Relations. “The WTA
will work closely with Tennis Europe to develop, enhance and educate these players during their
formative years, working in tandem to provide training and skill-building along their developmental
spectrum with the ultimate goal being a smooth transition to the professional circuit and a healthy
and successful career.”
Tennis Europe runs more than 400 junior tournaments across the continent across three age cat-
egories and provides important rankings for players aged 14 and 16
& Under. Education is a key pillar of the organisation’s strategy and the European Federation is
currently working on the creation of new Junior School content to be
launched for the 2020 season.
The most recent School classes saw three events held simultaneously, in Most (CZE), Moscow
(RUS) and Klosters (SUI) at the European Junior Championships.
The final class of the year will take place at the Tennis Europe Junior Masters in Reggio Calabria,
Italy, in earlyOctober.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

NEWS SHORTS
Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Slovakia and Sweden are the European
nations to have secured
spots at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifiers
in 2020. They will be joined in the
qualifying draw byBrazil, Ecuador, Korea
Republic, Uruguay and Uzbekistan and either
Pakistan or India, plus the 14 nations that end
in 5th – 18th place after this year’s finals.
The 2020 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas quali-
fying draw is as follows (home nations listed
first): USA vs. Latvia, Netherlands vs. Belarus,
Romania vs. Russia, Brazil vs. Germany,
Spain vs. Japan, Switzerland vs. Canada,
Belgium vs. Kazakhstan, Slovakia vs. Great
Britain.
Ties will be played during the weekend of 7-8
February.
David Ferrer will take over from Albert
Costa as thenew Director of the ATP Barce-
lona Open Banc Sabadell.
Kim Clijsters has announced her return to
professionaltennis in 2020. The Belgian
became the first mother since 1980 to win a
Grand Slam title when she returned from a
first retirement to win the 2009
US Open. As a former world #1, Clijsters is
entitled to receive unlimited wild cards.
Former world #12 Tatiana Golovin
is also due to return to the tour next month,
having been forced to retire in 2008 with a
chronic back injury.
Juan Martín del Potro will return from
knee surgery in Stockholm next month.

WTA tennis will return to Berlin in 2020,

The French Tennis Federation has
with the creation of a new Premier Series
signed a three year deal with sports retail
grass court tournament during the week of 15-
chain Intersport, who will become its official
21 June.
distributor. The FFT intends to use
The next week, a new ATP 250 series grass
the partnership to develop and support the
court event will take place in Santa Ponça,
practise of tennis in clubs.
Mallorca. The tournament will offer €900,000
in prize money and will replace the Antalya
Open in Turkey. Air Asia is set to be an official partner of the
Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals in 2019
and 2020.
Karen Khachanov has signed a three-
year deal to compete at the ATP Halle tourna-
ment and becomes the fourth Top 10 player to Eurosport announced massive growth in
confirm for 2020. audiences for its coverage of the 2019 US
Open, with an average 25% increase across
it’s 11 main markets of Denmark,
US software firm Oracle will fund and
Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands,
create a series of professional tennis tourna-
Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, and
ments in the USA.
Sweden. Viewing figures during the men’s
The Oracle Pro Series will contain around 25
final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil
men’s and women’s tournaments ranging from
Medvedev were 62% higher than last year’s
$25,000 - $108,000 and offering ATP and WTA
final, while Serena Williams and Bianca
ranking points.
Andreescu’s women’s final saw a 28%
increase compared to 2018.
Daniil Medvedev has added Russian
commercial bank Tinkoff to his growing list of
endorsements.
16 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019
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ERSA ATW

Test Day in Milan, Italy with Mark Maslowski, ERSA President and Marco Rossani, ERSA Italy
manager. Along with members taking the Professional Stringer and Master Professional Stringer
Level 1 certification, Marco Rossani, Paolo Facci and Paolo Aramini passed their ERSA Pro Tour
Stringer Level 2 Tennis Certification. They are members in the strong team Marco has built up in
Italy stringing in Rome every year.

Congratulations to Richard Parnell on

his his promotion to ERSA International Vice
President. Richard is ERSA manager for France,
Spain, Portugal and Indo-China. He has
experience in the tennis industry as a pro
stringer stringing at Wimbledon, Roland Garros,
Australian Open, Davis and Fed Cup along with
many ATP and WTA tournaments. Richard also
has experience as a shop owner, worked for
several of the top brands over his career and has
trained and certified many of our top stringers for
the ERSA.
Richard will be working on several new projects
to expand ERSA in new areas.

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ERSA ATW

Marco Rossani and Paolo

Facci traveled down to Palermo for the WTA
Palermo Ladies Open July 20 - 28, 2019.
The stringing service was sponsored by Wilson
Italy.

Marco Rossani was invited by the PTR in Italy

(Professional Tennis Registry, the largest international
coaching association in the world) to give a pre-
sentation to over 200 coaches in Italy. He cre-
ated a lot of interest in stringing among the coaches.

Marcelo Ferreira, ERSA Brazil tester and workshop leader, conducted a basic
stringer workshop in Rio together with HEAD offering a course to needy young men and children
from five projects in Rio.
Marcelo is busy with workshops all winter in his city of Ribeirao Preto and running his busy shop.
He is also organizing a min - Symposium in December this year.

18 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019

 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
 www.ersa-stringers.com
TIPS

SQUASH CLOSED STRINGING PATTERN

I found stringing 4 knots top to bottom same tension on narrow squash rackets makes the frame
much narrower at the throat. I started stringing the rackets 3 pounds less on the crosses. I tried
ATW first and then the crosses from the 4th cross up tieing off then afterwards doing the last
three crosses at the bottom down. This not only looked better but there was no change in the
frame shape.

GRIP ENLARGERS
Sometimes when you use an build-up sleeve to build the grip up, because of the shape of the
grip capor trimming it at the butt cap, you are able to see the sleeve looking down at the grip cap.
Trim the build up sleeve a few millimeters from the edge of the grip cap. Then use black electrical
tape to tape it down. This keeps it neat looking and stops the sleeve from sliding down later on.
You can also tape it at the other end. This makes it neater when changing grips.

GRIP ENLARGERS 2
If you have a grip enlarger that shrinks different lengths all the time, you need to trim it afterwards.
Start shrinking the sleeve at the opposite end from the butt cap. Line it up so you start at the
correct point and shrink up to the butt cap. Trim it down 3 mm from the end of the butt cap and
tape it down like in the last tip above. Here you only have to trim one time. I just finished work-
shops in three countries and had stringers in each country trimming both ends. With the Apollo
Leisure sleeves I can trim before and shrink down as they shrink only 1-2 mm each time. Then I
only have to put on the basic grip.

20 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019

 www.ersa-stringers.com
PLAYTEST

STRINGLAB Aaauz soft-solution 1.23mm PLAYTEST

This month we have an ideal situation with a playtest and a lab test from Pro-t-one with the same
string. We received sets of Aaauz soft-solution 1.23 mm for the playtest. It is interesting that
sometimes the playtesters have different results than the lab test.
In the lab
We tested the 1.23 mm string. It is also available in 1.28mm for more durability. The coil measured
12 meters. The diameter measured an average of 1.25 mm prior to stringing, and 1.23 mm after
stringing. We recorded a stringbed stiffness of 35 Dynamic Tension on a Pro-t-one Chromatic
String Tuner immediately after stringing at 25 kilos in a (16 × 19 pattern) racquet on a Tecnifibre
ATP constant-pull machine.
After 24 hours (no playing), stringbed stiffness measured 33 DT units, representing a 6 percent
tension loss. The Aaauz soft-solution 1.23 mm added 17 grams to the weight of our unstrung
frame. The string has a smooth surface and very smooth coating. The DT tests were in the above
average range for this type of string.
The string was tested for five weeks by 22 ERSA playtesters, with playing levels of intermediate to
nationally ranked. These are blind tests, with playtesters receiving unmarked strings in unmarked
packages. Average number of hours playtested was 9.9.
Stringing
No playtester broke his sample during stringing and all stated it was the same or much easier to
string for a polyester string and no problem with coil memory. No one had problems with friction
burn. No Problems were reported tying knots.
Playtest
All of the testers found the string average to very good in control, spin potential, string movement,
comfort, feeling and power. Durability was rated from good down to very bad. Two tournament
players broke the string in under 2 hours. Tension loss was tested in the lab as very low for a soft
poly, which most of the testers agreed upon.
Conclusion
Aaauz soft-solution 1.23 mm is a soft comfort poly with good control and spin potential.
This string should be recommended to good club players to tournament players looking for the
comfort of a nylon string with the spin, control and durability of a poly. We would recommend using
the 1.28 mm for string breakers.
“ Great comfort and control. I would highly receommend this string.”
“ Very good string. Comfortable and good for spin.”
“ I use Luxilon Original and broke the 1.23 in 90 minutes. The string played great and I would like
to try the thicker version.”

21 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019

 www.ersa-stringers.com
STRING TEST
HEAD HAWK TOUCH 1.25 - string test

   
 

HEAD, the famous Austrian brand, needs no presentation…. not only for its racquet range but also for the
complete and high quality string range they can offer.

We have tested one of their top tournament strings, HEAD HAWK TOUCH 1.25mm.

First element we have to underline is that the HAWK TOUCH IS NOT THE SOFTER VERSION OF THE
HAWK but a slightly different version of their top competition string, looking a deeper contact and feel on the
ball.

The STATIC STIFFNESS is high describing a rigid string with a tournament string position and range position.
The material behavior is linear and constant describing a good response with a good plasticization position to
increase ball contact and feel, hitting with good pace and speed.

The DYNAMIC STIFFNESS is intermediate and not so high for a competitive rigid string.

The maximum "resilient-elastic" string response is around 20kg but our advice is to string at the lowest tension
you can manage to get the right control; the recommended tension goes from 16-18kg up to 20-22kg.
23 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019
 www.ersa-stringers.com
STRING TEST

The string’s position are quite clear and describe a CONTROL & SPIN oriented monofilament with a medium-
good dynamic tension stability and durability even if you could feel a string change and tension adjustment if
you are a good player with good power and speed.

The POWER is average but not the main feature of this string even if the RESILIENCE PEAK  REACTIVITY
 BALL REPULSION is good for a polyester monofilament string.

The CONTROL is at maximum levels as well as SPIN ATTITUDE also thanks to the silky finish and the round
cross section of the string, good to increase snap-back action on the ball.

THE HEAD HAWK TOUCH 1.25mm IS A HIGH LEVEL TOURNAMENT STRING WITH A VERY STRONG
PERSONALITY, GOOD FOR BIG HITTERS, SERIOUS COMPETITIVE PLAYERS WITH GOOD TECHNIQUE, ARM
SPEED, POWER AND PACE. VERY GOOD WITH FULLBED STRINGJOBS AT MEDIUM LOW TENSIONS AS WELL
IN HYBRID REVERSE COMBINATION WITH NATURAL GUT ON MAINS OR IN TRADITIONAL HYBRID
COMBINATION WITH MULTIFILAMENTS OR SYNTETIC-GUT ON CROSSES.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL NOT TO THINK THIS IS THE SOFT VERSION OF THE HAWK GOOD FOR JUNIORS, LADIES
AND SENIOR PLAYERS…… THE ADJECTIVE SOFT MEANS MORE CONTROL AND CONTACT ON THE BALL!

for more info please check the website www.stringingpedia.com

Ing. Gabriele Medri
pro-t-one tech lab

data and test provided by pro-t-one & www.stringingpedia.com

        

24 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019

 www.ersa-stringers.com
STRING TEST
STRINGLAB AAAUZ SOFT SOLUTION 1.28MM

   
 

STRINGLAB is a young Italian company well known for a wide string portfolio going from soft to hard
monofilaments, syn-guts, multifilaments, natural gut, stringing machine and accessories.

The new "child" from the monofilament string range is an intermediate tournament level string with a good all-
round performance, offered in bright red color, 1.23mm and 1.28mm gauges with flower shaped cross-section.

Technically speaking the string is a co-polyester extrusion with a special coating finish and treatment, giving a
good slippery effect when you pass the string between your fingers and allowing a good spin performance and
snap-back.

The STATIC STIFFNESS of the string shows a good linear response with an intermediate stiffness (0.85kg/mm), good
for intermediate players as well as for tournament players looking for ball contact, comfort and power. Due to the silky
finish the string will appear softer on court thanks to low friction and string movement.

The DYNAMIC STIFFNESS with "used stabilized string" is 240g/mm - 230lb/inch typical values for modern
monofilaments.
25 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019
 STRING TEST
We can describe the string as a POWER & SPIN oriented string with a good dynamic response.

The slingshot effect is noticeable if you string at intermediate tensions as well as the ball contact and pocketing on the
stringbed.

The DYNAMIC STABILITY is quite good but could feel a natural tension adjustment after the firsts two-three hours of
play due to the assessment and alignment of the molecular polyester chains.

If you want to get the best from this string the average recommended tension goes from 18 to 22kg but if you
need to increase control for good and fast hitters the right solution could be stringing up to 23-24kg, especially
if they use open string patterns.

THIS AAAUZ SOFT SOLUTION IS A VERY VERSATILE STRING GOOD FOR INTERMEDIATE UP TO
COMPETITIVE TOURNAMENT PLAYERS LOOKING FOR A POWERFUL, SPIN ORIENTED AND
COMFORTABLE STRING.
YOU CAN USE THE STRING ALSO IN HYBRID MONO-MONO COMBINATION COMBINING THE 1.28 AND
1.23 GAUGES TO HAVE EXTREME POWER AND SPIN COMBINATION, THE CROSS STRING TO
SOFTEN THE STRINGBED OR WITH STANDARD HYBRIDS COMBINATION WITH NATURAL GUT,
MULTIFILAMENTS AND SYNTHETIC GUTS….. AAAUZ SOFT SOLUTION COULD BE YOUR RIGHT
SOLUTION!
for more info please check the website www.stringingpedia.com
Ing. Gabriele Medri
pro-t-one tech lab

data and test provided by pro-t-one & www.stringingpedia.com

        
26 ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2019
HEAD PRO PLAYERS MAY PLAY WITH DIFFERENT RACQUETS FROM THE MODEL SHOWN.

FOR THE PAST DECADE, SPEED HAS BEEN THE CHOICE FOR CHAMPIONS WITH A FAST GAME.
SPEED X CELEBRATES THE LEGACY OF 10 YEARS OF WINNING, THROUGH A UNIQUE AND DISTINCTIVE
COMMEMORATIVE DESIGN. WELCOME TO THE X VERSION OF THE FASTEST RACQUET WE MAKE.

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