Strings & Stringing

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

As you may or may not know, I offer both beginner and advanced stringing classes. A recent “graduate” of my beginner class wrote to one of my closest friends asking him for some advice.

Sam Chan of London, UK and I have strung all over the world together and communicate almost daily. Sam is a world-renown tournament stringer, and one year did all four Grand Slam tournaments! He also went to Beijing to train Chinese stringers before the Olympics. Originally from Hong Kong, Sam told me he learned English in a pub. I can’t imagine trying to learn to speak, read and write Cantonese, so I have a deep respect for Sam and his ability to communicate. Although his English is imperfect, his message quoted here with permission is sage-like. ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

There has been much interest in what goes into the process of providing stringing services for the professional tennis players on tour. During the week we have been here in China, many photographers have come into our office taking pictures of our operation. Many curious staff members and spectators have stopped by, or spent time watching us through the large glass wall that is the back wall of our stringing room. ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

Q. I am an ADVANCED BEGINNER talent wise in tennis, and I don't have a C-L-U-E on how I should string my racquet. I own a HEAD FLEXPOINT RADICAL (98 inches). Head says I should use Head FXP strings. But, Head offer 3 types of strings. (CONTROL; DURABILITY, & POWER)
What's an advanced beginner to do ...?! ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

You CAN love your stringer, IF…. ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

Something happened recently that made my blood boil. During a televised match, the badly misinformed sportscaster started talking about strings. He said that there were three kinds of strings: natural gut, synthetic, and Luxilon. From there he went into a lecture about how much Luxilon has changed the game.

First, Luxilon is NOT a type of string; Luxilon is a brand name! Second, any string that is not natural gut is therefore synthetic! Now, let’s clean up the rest of the trash. ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

When you look at a strung racquet and all the holes are filled up, the string job must be okay…right? That’s not necessarily true. Let me share with you some obvious and some subtle signs of good stringing. Pick up a freshly strung racquet and look for these things: 1) are the strings straight? 2) are there any misweaves? 3) are there any crossovers where the strings run along the outside of the frame? 4) do the tie-off knots look secure and have short “tails” resting against the frame? The correct answers should be: yes, no, no, and yes. ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

We keep hearing more and more about hybrid stringing that the pro’s use, and how you should be using it. First a little background--hybrids are in no way new. “Hybrid” just means the main (vertical) strings are different material than the crosses. The first type was, as suggested by Dave Bone (USRSA director) in a recent TENNIS magazine article, stringing with natural gut mains and nylon crosses. This will approximate stringing with all natural gut at a lower cost. Going one step further, using a softer (multifilament) string in the crosses will improve the feel even further. I believe that will give most players as good a feel as all natural gut. ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

When I string my demo racquets, I use what I feel is the best string for the typical player that will use the racquet. My regular customers usually buy a racquet with that same string, or something similar they may currently use. ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

Take the QUIZ here. ...[continue reading]

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

NOTES FROM THE NASDAQ-100 OPEN

I thought some of our readers would be interested in the "nuts and bolts" of stringing at a professional tournament. The following are a few of the things that I find unusual compared to stringing for my customers at home: ...[continue reading]