Is it bad location?
I just bought a stringing machine (two months ago), I am still learning how to string. knots are always difficult for me.
yesterday, I tried to make the last cross knot and pulled a little hard then broke the string:evil:
I did not want to restring so I will test it whether restring or use it until break the string.
I remember being new to stringing, and knots can definitely be a pain. Some things to remember are that you don't have to tie knots that hard for them to hold (especially true of gut where you can weaken the string by over-pulling), and the awl is your best friend with tough grommets.
I'm sure he will stick with the racquet that's clearly an extension of his hand, but....can you imagine the penetrating shots and the reduced shank factor if he switched to a 95 head? After a short transition, he'd be the best again.
I agree. Wilson could easily manufacture a 95-inch racquet with the same weight and balance as the 90-inch, and I think it would help Federer quite a bit with the shanks.
Im sure the average recreational/club player could cope perfectly well using a pro's exact racquet specs - authenticity sells so i don't understand why they don't give the consumer the real deal - I should be able to walk into my local shop and come out with the latest 'Isner' or 'Query' model - If companies just sold stock frames that pros like the industry would be better - I see this happening in the future -
I think themitchman summarized it well. Racquet companies don't want people sticking with the same racquet for 10 years like the pros do. Roddick said in an interview after losing a tournament that he's played with the same racquet for 13 years. Racquet companies can't rely on the average recreational player breaking frames regularly enough that have to repurchase them, so they need new marketing gimmicks.
Either my sarcasm meter is off, or you are very much misinformed. Why on earth would you want to play with someone else's racquet? The whole point of it being YOUR racquet is that it is customised/bought to fit your needs. You want it at a certain weight with a certain balance, not "whatever Isner has". And the reason they're using those racquets is because those are the ones that they are used to. The companies paint the racquets to make it look like the new ones they're promoting, and some players might feel these newer racquets give them something extra, so they might switch, but others might feel more comfortable with the older frame, so they stick with it. At the end of the day, just pick the racquet that you think suits your game best. And it's not like the newer racquets are false advertising; a junior is going to start off with a brand new APDCGT now, and then once they make their way up the rankings they're more than likely going to stay with that racquet and get it PJ'd to look like the next APDCGT turbo boost GOATracquet.
EDIT: also, it's not like those racquets weren't available at some point. They're just older models, not some PE that the public can't use.
I like your comment on the edit, but some racquets (Federer's, for instance) are literally custom-made to the point that you couldn't take a stock model and make it the same. I believe his specifically has a tighter grommet pattern around the middle.
I also think you're overrating how much the
average players care about their racquets. People like us who are on forums discussing these types of things have far more interest in customizing our frames than the average player. I think tennis players are divided into three categories: people who think the racquet doesn't matter and stick with the same thing until they literally
have to switch; people who buy every new racquet on the market thinking that it's "the one;" and people like us who work hard to find a racquet that works well for them then tweak string configurations, tensions, and the frame weight to make the racquet perfect.
Clearly, to racquet companies, that middle group that will buy anything that looks pretty and advertises improvement is the primary consumer category.