Stringing at major tourneys

[Austinthecity]

Sorry if this has been asked/answered before - I did a search and didn't find what I was looking for.

Is stringing at the major tourneys free? Don't get me wrong, I know that Fed or Nadal probably don't pay out of pocket for anything tennis related... but let's say Joe Qualifier gets past the first round of Wimbledon and wants fresh strings for his next match. He takes his reels down to the stringing room and they string the rackets up for him.

Is this put on a tab? Is it covered by Wimbledon? Are tips given/expected?

What about other smaller ATP tourneys?

Thanks in advance.

[Jonny S&V]

They have to pay, but I don't think the prices are sky-high...

[cnr1guy]

I'm sure Fed pays a fair amount for the services he get's from P1 (or a fair amount to us anyway).

[Lindsay]

Labor was $25 at the 2009 US Open. I believe the Australian was a little higher because of the exchange rate. $25-30 is pretty common at that level of a tournament.

[anhuynh16]

Originally Posted by Lindsay

Labor was $25 at the 2009 US Open. I believe the Australian was a little higher because of the exchange rate. $25-30 is pretty common at that level of a tournament.

Wow- thts kinda expensive !!!! It's $15 for labor at my place and it's 1 hr wait

[Devilito]

Originally Posted by anhuynh16

Wow- thts kinda expensive !!!! It's $15 for labor at my place and it's 1 hr wait

have you considered the cost a stringer incurs flying themselves and their equipment out to a tournament, paying to have a place to set up then providing instant high quality service? I mean, how can you even compare that to some random shop in your town

[Dave M]

^ I suspect they don't always have time to shop around the local area looking for the cheapest price and would you want to get any shop assistant to string your frames if your income depended on it?

[uk_skippy]

Everybody pays who has a restring at a tournament.

A player will drop of their rqts with the string, and will pay the set fee. Sometimes payment is taken by way of cash or credit card, or sometimes out of the prize money. No-one is exempt. That includes people like Nadal or Joe Qualifier. Tabs as such can be run and the player charged in full at the end.
Reels can be left as collateral.

Current cost at Wimbledon is £20 which is about €22 or US$30. At the French Open it was €25. Other smaller tournaments will be cheaper.

While this may appear expensive, the stringers at the top tournaments will be amongst the best around, and this is what a player will pay for - excellent stringing, quality service and efficient management.

Also, should a player already with say P1 or RPNY need an on-court restring, they will also pay the going fee.

Hope this helps

Regards

Paul

[Donny0627]

Originally Posted by anhuynh16

Wow- thts kinda expensive !!!! It's $15 for labor at my place and it's 1 hr wait

you kinda just compared some random pro shops work to the work done by professional stringers...

[jmverdugo]

Originally Posted by Donny0627

you kinda just compared some random pro shops work to the work done by professional stringers...

Some of these professional stringers also work in random pro shops.

[Jonny S&V]

Originally Posted by anhuynh16

Wow- thts kinda expensive !!!! It's $15 for labor at my place and it's 1 hr wait

It's $20 labor for a racquet strung in one of the complexes I frequent throughout the year, and I can guarantee you it isn't professionally done... $25-$30 is a very fair price for the type of job they are doing, in the time they are doing it.

[Lindsay]

Originally Posted by uk_skippy

Everybody pays who has a restring at a tournament.

A player will drop of their rqts with the string, and will pay the set fee. Sometimes payment is taken by way of cash or credit card, or sometimes out of the prize money. No-one is exempt. That includes people like Nadal or Joe Qualifier. Tabs as such can be run and the player charged in full at the end.
Reels can be left as collateral.

Current cost at Wimbledon is £20 which is about €22 or US$30. At the French Open it was €25. Other smaller tournaments will be cheaper.

While this may appear expensive, the stringers at the top tournaments will be amongst the best around, and this is what a player will pay for - excellent stringing, quality service and efficient management.

Also, should a player already with say P1 or RPNY need an on-court restring, they will also pay the going fee.

Hope this helps

Regards

Paul

Totally agree. To expand, you also must consider the convenience of the on-site stringers. At the USOpen, the stringing room was 10 feet from where the players reserve practice courts. A player walks downstairs from the dining room, gets a court, drops off frames. The stringer knows when the player's on court next, and ensures the frames will be strung by the same stringer each time on the same machine. The stringer keeps all the player's string, so when a player needs an on-court rush, he doesn't have to sort through his bag. The stringers used at the Slams are at the top of their professions. You will find some great stringers at a local shop, but the list of professional stringers is truly international.

And the price paid by top pros for a private stringing service also has incredible benefits when compared to getting your frames strung by a local shop. P1 works with the larger portion of the ATP Top 10 and you rarely if ever see those players have any equipment issues. Top players have a guarantee that at all the top tournaments, they have the same guys performing the same work on the same machines, albeit at a steep fee. The price paid is well worth it if your livelihood depends on the ball coming off your strings. After all, you don't see Nascar drivers having their oil changed at Gary's Tire Shop, just as you don't see Andy Murray dropping off frames to be strung at Sports Authority.

For $25 a frame, I think the quality of the service provided is well worth the price. And considering the winner of the US Open will win almost 2 million in prize money, a $1500-$2000 stringing bill is just a drop in the bucket.

[drakulie]

At the Delray ATP players were charged $25.00 per racquet for a restring.

can't rememeber how much was charged for customizing or upkeep of their racquets.

Also, in regards to the discussion related to "shop stringers" vs "slam stringers". For the most part, they are basically one in the same in that many stringers who string at ATP/WTA events also string at a local shop.

[gavna]

Originally Posted by jmverdugo

Some of these professional stringers also work in random pro shops.

Exactly - At the larger of the two Tennis shops in the Houston area they have quite a few guys who string at the pro level and regularly string for a few of the pros who live in Houston who drop by every so often.

[anhuynh16]

Originally Posted by gavna

Exactly - At the larger of the two Tennis shops in the Houston area they have quite a few guys who string at the pro level and regularly string for a few of the pros who live in Houston who drop by every so often.

is one of them TE? i live in houston and tht where i get mine strung

[gavna]

Originally Posted by anhuynh16

is one of them TE? i live in houston and tht where i get mine strung

Well we only have 2 retail tennis shops in Houston TE and SE up on 1960 (3 if you really want to count the one in Vietnam/China/Koreatown). The guys at SE are good and have strung for some regional NCAA teams and at a few pro events a few years ago. TE has a few more guys that have strung at major events and travel to some ATP 500 and 1000 events every year.

[ihearit1st]

Originally Posted by gavna

Well we only have 2 retail tennis shops in Houston TE and SE up on 1960 (3 if you really want to count the one in Vietnam/China/Koreatown). The guys at SE are good and have strung for some regional NCAA teams and at a few pro events a few years ago. TE has a few more guys that have strung at major events and travel to some ATP 500 and 1000 events every year.

Who are TE travels to big tournaments?

[stringertom]

I string (7 years running) at a Futures event run by a very professional tourney director. He hired me the first year and made my operation "turnkey" with one provision..."Don't expect to come back next year if I hear a lot of problems from the players." I charge what I want, keep 100% and he has no headaches whatsoever. Being a Futures event, my rate is lower than Challenger or ATP/WTA sites. Doesn't change the service...I charge what the market will bear. As a consequence, I've found I get a few more frames at the tail end of the tourney from guys still in or recent losers headed to the next event("he's good and affordable...don't know about the next site and stringer").

Bottom line...the last thing a player at ATP/WTA level is concerned about is the price of a service that is integral to their highest possible level of performance.

[Tennishacker]

Originally Posted by stringertom

I string (7 years running) at a Futures event run by a very professional tourney director. He hired me the first year and made my operation "turnkey" with one provision..."Don't expect to come back next year if I hear a lot of problems from the players." I charge what I want, keep 100% and he has no headaches whatsoever. Being a Futures event, my rate is lower than Challenger or ATP/WTA sites. Doesn't change the service...I charge what the market will bear. As a consequence, I've found I get a few more frames at the tail end of the tourney from guys still in or recent losers headed to the next event("he's good and affordable...don't know about the next site and stringer").

Bottom line...the last thing a player at ATP/WTA level is concerned about is the price of a service that is integral to their highest possible level of performance.

What do you charge at futures?

[tennis_balla]

Not sure what the stringers themselves will make at Grand Slam events as I do not believe they get to keep the full price of labour.
Case in point, I know a guy here in Prague who strung at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, and previous years etc etc. and other tourneys as well. Great guy. He told me he makes more (depending on business) staying put and working at his shop, which he owns. So racket sales, string sales etc must be good.
He charges 150kc (Czech crowns) for next day service, thats $9USD per racket.