Prince Tennis Official
Rookie
Hey there Talk Tennis fans!
It's been quite a while since Prince has been present here on the message boards and we're excited to finally be back. Now we know there's probably going to be a lot of questions about the brand....and rightfully so....it's been a bit of a rollercoaster the past few years to say the least. But what I can say here today with absolute certainty is that we are still here, we are still in love with this game, and we are certainly still obsessed with making the best tennis products that we possibly can. And that's where everyone here is hopefully going to help play a part.
We're probably not going to be able to answer all of the questions that come our way, but I promise that we will do our level best and we will commit to being as transparent as possible. We're here for the good, the bad and the ugly...as long as we keep things civil
Before we jump into this adventure, let us take a few moments to share some background on the two of us who are going to be managing this conversation over the coming weeks and months.
Tyler:
My journey with Prince began in 2005 right after I graduated college (University of Illinois), so next year will mark 15 years for me with the brand. I can say that I've done just about every different kind of job over my many years, but my absolute passion is for products development. I started as a tech rep, traveling the world putting on clinics from California to Dubai. Shortly thereafter I took over the US Junior program where I managed over 250 junior players from all over the country. After that I was given my first opportunity to work in product development where I helped to launch my very first product the Prince 5000 stringing machine. From there I moved on to manage the string and accessories business where I helped launch one of my favorite products of all time...Prince Recoil strings. From there I moved into the racquet business and eventually worked my way up to becoming the global director of product development and R&D for the brand. Now, in my latest role with the brand I'm overseeing all aspects of our global business and working with over 40 different partners around the world to try and bring new and exciting Prince products back to the market.
As a product developer I'm a bit of an equipment chameleon as I rarely play the same racquet 2 times in a row, but if I was pressed to pick my current favorite set it would be the Beast 98 with Prince Vortex 16 @ 48lbs.
Tim:
Like Tyler, I have been with the Prince brand through the ups and downs over the last few years. I started with Prince in 2006 working out of the R&D center in Italy as a Junior Engineer at an exciting time following the introduction of the O3 range. The first racquet that I was involved in developing was the Speed Port Black. After spending 4 years with the team in Italy, I made my way to China to work directly with the production teams to refine all of the production processes in an effort to improve the efficiency and quality of the complex processes at a time of economic challenges. Following the restructuring of the Prince business in 2011, I spent a brief period as the Product manager for Asia before starting my current role as Director of R&D. The first task in this new role was to develop a new line and technology which resulted in the introduction of the first generation of TeXtreme racquets in 2014. In this role I am responsible for the line development of all hard goods products, 3D CAD, layup development and product performance and quality. My favorite project I’ve worked on over recent years is the development of the Phantom line, which challenged us to develop a modern version of a thin beam players racquet. It’s something which Prince had been well known for and something that is unique in the current landscape of the tennis racquet market.
While we are a small team, we are passionate about developing the best product we can that has a real reason for being to help players enjoy the game of tennis more. I’m excited about the projects that we are currently working on and hope that you’ll enjoy trying them as much as I’ve enjoyed developing them.
Looking forward to the discussion everyone! Happy New Year!
The Prince Team
It's been quite a while since Prince has been present here on the message boards and we're excited to finally be back. Now we know there's probably going to be a lot of questions about the brand....and rightfully so....it's been a bit of a rollercoaster the past few years to say the least. But what I can say here today with absolute certainty is that we are still here, we are still in love with this game, and we are certainly still obsessed with making the best tennis products that we possibly can. And that's where everyone here is hopefully going to help play a part.
We're probably not going to be able to answer all of the questions that come our way, but I promise that we will do our level best and we will commit to being as transparent as possible. We're here for the good, the bad and the ugly...as long as we keep things civil
Before we jump into this adventure, let us take a few moments to share some background on the two of us who are going to be managing this conversation over the coming weeks and months.
Tyler:
My journey with Prince began in 2005 right after I graduated college (University of Illinois), so next year will mark 15 years for me with the brand. I can say that I've done just about every different kind of job over my many years, but my absolute passion is for products development. I started as a tech rep, traveling the world putting on clinics from California to Dubai. Shortly thereafter I took over the US Junior program where I managed over 250 junior players from all over the country. After that I was given my first opportunity to work in product development where I helped to launch my very first product the Prince 5000 stringing machine. From there I moved on to manage the string and accessories business where I helped launch one of my favorite products of all time...Prince Recoil strings. From there I moved into the racquet business and eventually worked my way up to becoming the global director of product development and R&D for the brand. Now, in my latest role with the brand I'm overseeing all aspects of our global business and working with over 40 different partners around the world to try and bring new and exciting Prince products back to the market.
As a product developer I'm a bit of an equipment chameleon as I rarely play the same racquet 2 times in a row, but if I was pressed to pick my current favorite set it would be the Beast 98 with Prince Vortex 16 @ 48lbs.
Tim:
Like Tyler, I have been with the Prince brand through the ups and downs over the last few years. I started with Prince in 2006 working out of the R&D center in Italy as a Junior Engineer at an exciting time following the introduction of the O3 range. The first racquet that I was involved in developing was the Speed Port Black. After spending 4 years with the team in Italy, I made my way to China to work directly with the production teams to refine all of the production processes in an effort to improve the efficiency and quality of the complex processes at a time of economic challenges. Following the restructuring of the Prince business in 2011, I spent a brief period as the Product manager for Asia before starting my current role as Director of R&D. The first task in this new role was to develop a new line and technology which resulted in the introduction of the first generation of TeXtreme racquets in 2014. In this role I am responsible for the line development of all hard goods products, 3D CAD, layup development and product performance and quality. My favorite project I’ve worked on over recent years is the development of the Phantom line, which challenged us to develop a modern version of a thin beam players racquet. It’s something which Prince had been well known for and something that is unique in the current landscape of the tennis racquet market.
While we are a small team, we are passionate about developing the best product we can that has a real reason for being to help players enjoy the game of tennis more. I’m excited about the projects that we are currently working on and hope that you’ll enjoy trying them as much as I’ve enjoyed developing them.
Looking forward to the discussion everyone! Happy New Year!
The Prince Team
