Best tennis store in new york

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wilson98

New User
hi
i wanna buy some tennis stuff. i wanna know wich is the best tennis store in new york. thanks for your opinions.
 
wilson98 said:
hi
i wanna buy some tennis stuff. i wanna know wich is the best tennis store in new york. thanks for your opinions.
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Depends on what you want. I always shopped at Para gon Sporting Goods on Broadway and 18th St, they have a fairly good selection of racquets and accessories as well as tons of other sports stuff. I was never a huge fan of the store itself, just went there because of the stuff they had. I don't believe there's a dedicated tennis equipment store in NYC (although it's been years since I was there, I could be out of touch.)

**** would probably be the other store that comes to mind....they seem to be mostly about customization, but a photo on their website's gallery shows tons of accessories such as grips, strings, tennis balls, etc.
 
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Para gon should be fine, then. They're just a couple of blocks north of Union Square subway station, if you're taking the subway.
 
For Nike clothes, just go to Niketown at 6 E. 57th Street, between 5th and Madison Ave. You can try the latest polos on, and be sure to get the right size.
For strings, just get em from TW, like most of us do.
 
TW would certainly have a higher selection of strings than Para gon (or any other brick-mortar store in NYC, I'd wager).
 
For that specific string, call Para gon, call ****, and see if they have it--it's a rather "off the beaten track" string.
 
Easy one . . . go to Mason's Tennis at 56 E. 53rd (between Madison and Park). Mark Mason is a NY tennis icon and a very interesting guy. Good selection of stuff and a very knowledgable staff.
 
I hear Mason's is good. But I really like para gon a lot. Not so much a specialty store, but they do have a good tennis section. Central Park West has a tennis store within their compound.
 
I used to go to Mason's a lot, bought a lot of stuff from him, but it seemed to me that his store has always been geared to selling stuff to tourists. It was always full of them. Mark is a nice guy, but also a businessman, and I get that vibe from his store. For years, I used Jay Schweid, who now only works for pros. His machines were always totally calibrated and he could duplicate every detail of a racquet, rebuild grips, etc., which I used to obsess about. Now, I go to Grand Central Racquets. Woody, the owner, and Mark have a lot of experience and their advice has proven sound. Look, for clothes, it really doesn't matter where you go, but for strings, you need to establish a relationship with a store and people in the store. *******'s staff is always changing, so you'll never really establish a relationship over the long run there.
Sorry to ramble on a bit, but I've have a lot of experience in NY.
 
Last time I spoke to stringers at TW, they weren't using a digital machine, which doesn't cut it for me. Again, it's not about price for strings, it's about people who know your game, know strings, have real playing experience. Usually a $180 racquet at TW might cost $200 in NY. But if you live in NY, you can demo as many racquets as you want and deduct those fees from the final price.
 
quest01 said:
Is there a big difference in price between TW and tennis stores in NYC when it comes to racquets, strings, and accessories?
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hell yeah!

first of all you'll always pay full MSRP + TAX even when the same racquets are discounted on TW.

strings at pa ra gon are starting at $35 as they include stringing even if you chose to string yourself - same price.

Same with outfits - they rarely discount and if they do about 1 month after online retailers like TW.

That's just the deal when you have to support a Brick and Mortar store in one of the priciest cities.

Certain things like Balls, grips etc I get at those stores as shipping across the country is outweighed by the minimal extra cost, time saving and reduced carbon footprint...
 
Grand Slam Tennis in Commack. Very helpful and awesome, and the shop owner is the nicest guy you'll ever meet. They got everything.
 
Note to the OP: that Commack store just mentioned may be great (I'm personally unfamiliar with it), but just be aware that Commack is about an hour outside NYC, if you wind up planning to go there.
 
If you want to buy cheap accessories and strings buy online.

If you have no choice and you need it right away Par agon is the cheapest in NYC and their prices are close to what you would pay online for racquets. Accessories and strings they carry are only the popular stuff so don't go there looking for TOA or Kirschbaum strings or so.

If you want to buy clothing NY has 2 nike stores and 1 adidas store but don't expect cheap prices. Nike stores are sitting on the most expensive retail space ever central park and 5th ave Adidas is on Houston street. Also they will not lower their prices since it's a tourist trap and they have to protect there retail partners.

Mason's accessories prices are seriously inflated I went there and was going to buy some wilson smiley face dampners sucker costed $7 for a pack. Par agon wanted $3
 
nothing is cheap in nyc. You have to be rich to live in manhattan, it's crazy. All the electronics stores are tourist traps, huge scams. Chinatown has some fairly cheap stuff but its all fake.
 
prjacobs said:
Last time I spoke to stringers at TW, they weren't using a digital machine, which doesn't cut it for me. Again, it's not about price for strings, it's about people who know your game, know strings, have real playing experience. Usually a $180 racquet at TW might cost $200 in NY. But if you live in NY, you can demo as many racquets as you want and deduct those fees from the final price.
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On the contrary, I think the folks at TW know a ton about tennis and do a great job. Realize, of course, that the value proposition at a high touch store is purportedly different--the truth is that the TW folks are extremely helpful. As far as the digital machine comment is concerned, in my opinion, that is totally irrelevant--the person doing the stringing makes the difference, not the machine--a good stringer on any quality machine (digital or not) will do a better job than a bad stringer on the finest machine manufactured. And I say this not at a TW stringing customer (I am not actually--I string my own frames), I say it as a person who has strung racquets for over 30 years and been a member of the USRSA for almost that long.

Clearly, what is the "best" tennis store is purely subjective. For NY, when I visit there (quite often on business) I stop by Mark's store occasionally because they are quality folks. For most of my tennis needs (string, grips, racquets, etc.), it is always TW.
 
wilson98 said:
ok and wich is the best online store wich sends the stuff free to new york????
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Even if there were a better store than TW to tell you (there isn't), no one here would :) Remember, this message board is a TW message board, and the rules clearly (and understandably) state that no one should promote competitors. We're skirting the rules here closely just by discussing local alternatives in New York :) So, just be happy with the responses you've got....
 
MAX PLY said:
Easy one . . . go to Mason's Tennis at 56 E. 53rd (between Madison and Park). Mark Mason is a NY tennis icon and a very interesting guy. Good selection of stuff and a very knowledgable staff.
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They were really friendly and knowledgable in there when I went in on the way to MOMA. I was just looking around, didn't really intend to buy anything, and even though the staff were busy, ended up chatting for ages. Really knew their racquets, would recommend:)
 
MAX PLY said:
On the contrary, I think the folks at TW know a ton about tennis and do a great job. Realize, of course, that the value proposition at a high touch store is purportedly different--the truth is that the TW folks are extremely helpful. As far as the digital machine comment is concerned, in my opinion, that is totally irrelevant--the person doing the stringing makes the difference, not the machine--a good stringer on any quality machine (digital or not) will do a better job than a bad stringer on the finest machine manufactured. And I say this not at a TW stringing customer (I am not actually--I string my own frames), I say it as a person who has strung racquets for over 30 years and been a member of the USRSA for almost that long.

Clearly, what is the "best" tennis store is purely subjective. For NY, when I visit there (quite often on business) I stop by Mark's store occasionally because they are quality folks. For most of my tennis needs (string, grips, racquets, etc.), it is always TW.
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Your point is taken. I guess I like to have an in person relationship with the person who strings for me. I imagine that at a store like tennis warehouse, where by the way, I've bought quite a few racquets over the years, they have many people stringing for them. I also agree with you that it doesn't matter what machine is used, if you have a relationship with the stringer. Then you can talk about what works and what doesn't, and adjust from there. I guess like with anything, you deal with certain people and establish a relationship. I don't mind paying a little more at a smaller store, because I feel a sense of loyalty to the owners. I feel like that help me and I can do my small part to help them, as part of the tennis community.
Thanks for your comments.
 
If I wasn't stringing myself I would def want to establish a relationship with a particular stringer, and would avoid a place like pa ra gon
 
Well just keep in mind that everything in NYC is overpriced. The premium you pay goes to the hard working lower class that gets paid $8/hr. Tennis warehouse might provide better deals just because they carry overstock, and probably liquidate their inventory sooner and more frequently than say Mason's. I personally wouldn't buy a racquet here because everything seems to carry the price of that product from a few months to what it's at, at TW. Finding a decent court with good surfacing and not crowded is a different story...

quest01 said:
Is there a big difference in price between TW and tennis stores in NYC when it comes to racquets, strings, and accessories?
Click to expand...
 
I know Grand Central Stringers (Woody) used to have a small store on 43rd between Madison and Vanderbilt. Don't know if its still there but they used to cram a pretty big selection into a small store.
 
TW has a bigger selection at better prices than any bricks and mortar store in NYC, but if you have to go local:

1. Grand Central Racquet - 44th between Madison and Vanderbilt
Woody and Mark are very knowledgeable.
Racquets & strings, demo racquets. Will order if not have in stock.

2. NYC Racquet Sports - 157A West 35th St (betw B'Way and 7th Av)
Owned by Woody
Racquets, shoes, strings, clothing, demo racquets

3. Mason's Tennis Mart - 56 E 53rd St
Racquets, strings and clothing

4. ********* & Tennis - E 54th St between Lex and 3rd Av
Racquets, shoes and clothing

5. ******* Sports - 18th & B'Way
Biggest selection of racquets and clothing, advice not great
 
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