Article written by Dave

When it comes to tennis string, it’s largely a matter of preference. There are hundreds of different kinds of string on the market, each one with its own unique qualities and distinctions. However, choosing the right type of string for your tennis racquet, and your particular playing style, is vital. The wrong kind can make that expensive racquet a big fat dud, no matter how much skill you have.

Before I go into individual brands and my favorite strings, let me tell you a little bit about the different types. Let’s start with natural gut string. Many players love using natural gut string. It has a good feel and good power. Natural gut string maintains a high performance level; however, it becomes vulnerable to moisture as it wears. Polyester string (and also polyester hybrid strings) are extremely durable and offer awesome power. The main drawback is how hard they can be on your arm so if you’re not a strong player (or not yet) you may want to watch out. Polyester string is often used for the mains if you’re stringing a hybrid racquet.

When it comes to synthetic string you can either get it with a solid core or with a multifilament construction. Synthetic string with a solid core is a great choice. It’s cheaper than other strings so if you tend to go through string quickly, consider this option. It offers a tremendous range of power, control and playability. Then, there is synthetic string with multifilament construction, when it comes to the greatest performance for the cost this string is a true champion. This type of synthetic string is meant to replicate natural gut—it’s just cheaper. It has a natural vibration dampening. This can prevent injury and minimize both wrist and arm fatigue.

Now, here are some of my personal favorite tennis strings.
• Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power string. It’s a polyester string which is widely used by Pro’s. It’s the official tennis racquet string of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. It offers a fantastic combo of power and control.
• Gamma Live Wire XP. This is a multifilament synthetic string which offers the playability of a natural gut string. It has a firm feel, is durable and reduces tension loss. Gamma strings use the Gamma Irradiation process. This process increases resiliency and elasticity.
• Babolat RPM Blast. Another polyester string. This bestselling Babolat string is used by Rafael Nadal. It’s perfect for big hitters and offers a knockout punch as well as unbeatable spin. It’s a fast string.

Let me stress that tennis string comes down to preference. It’s about the type of player you are and what you need from a string. However, it is important to play with a good string. The string on a tennis racquet is the only thing that comes in contact with the tennis ball. If you’re already serious—or just getting serious—about your tennis game then don’t overlook this vital component.

Video by Emmanuel Pampuri

Like Federer’s shoe, Rafael Nadal signature shoe, the Nike Air Max Courtballistec 4.3 gets two new colorways for Holiday 2012:

Best of January 2012:

The Australian Open: 2 fantastic weeks of tennis.

Esther Vergeer‘s winning streak continues: she notched her 444th consecutive win, defeating Aniek Van Koot 6-0, 6-0 to capture the Women’s Wheelchair singles title.

Victoria Azarenka claims her first Grand Slam title and becomes the new WTA number 1.

Novak Djokovic has now won 4 or the last 5 Grand Slams.

Andy Murray hires tennis legend Ivan Lendl as his new coach, wins his first title of the year in Brisbane, and reaches the Australian Open semifinals. And there’s even more: he seemed to have fun on court!

Bernard Tomic: winner in Kooyong, semifinalist in Brisbane, he reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. He’s perhaps the real after all…

Lleyton Hewitt‘s incredible run, and Nadal’s nice words about the Australian veteran.

I always liked him, his spirit of competition. Today he is an example to follow for a lot people. He deserves all the respect of the people who love this sport and respect and admiration of everyone

January tournament winners: Kaia Kanepi (Brisbane), Andy Murray (Brisbane), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Doha), Milos Raonic (Chennai), Zheng Jie (Auckland), David Ferrer (Auckland), Victoria Azarenka (Sydney), Jarkko Nieminen (Sydney), Mona Barthel (Hobart)

2 blogs to follow: The Grand Slam Gal and I have a tennis addiction

Worst of January 2012:

Margaret Court‘s well-known homophobia has reached new heights. Read more about it here: A disappointing irony behind Court’s comments. I mean, they really should rename the Margaret Court Arena into Evonne Goolagong Arena, it would sound so much better, no?

Caroline Wozniacki. No need to add more. At least, she’s not the number one anymore, a really good news for the WTA.

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If you visit the official Australian Open 2012 website, you will soon realise that a concerted effort is being made to engage tennis fans via digital channels. Its social media hub – ‘Fan Centre’ even provides a ‘social leaderboard’, highlighting which players are being ‘liked’ ‘Tweeted’ about the most throughout the event. Official sponsors have recognized the opportunities presented to them through digital channels – none more so than automotive sponsor Kia.

Kia celebrates its tenth year as the major sponsor of the Australian Open, having aligned its brand with the event event back in 2002. In that time, it has provided transport to the players, officials, VIP’s and the media to and from Melbourne Park, whilst gaining exposure by featuring prominently on perimeter advertising around the courts throughout the two-week event.

Its activation around the 2012 Australian Open has featured ambassador Rafael Nadal (signed in 2006) in its global brand campaign ‘I Like It’, driving consumers online to its various, market specific Facebook pages where visitors can engage further with the brand. Its Kia Australia Facebook page contains the ‘Tennis Ball Hunt’ tab and invites fans to play an online game or download the official app, encouraging both iPhone and Android phone owners to capture tennis ball logos featured on KIA TV ads, car dealerships and outdoor posters to stand a chance of winning daily prizes, and the ultimate prize of a Kia Ria Si car.

Again via Facebook, the brand has asked the question ‘what does Nadal like?’ and featured a trailer video outlining how fans could submit their guesses in order to win tickets to the 2012 Australian Open. The competition provides a clear example of the way by which Kia is relating its wider brand communications to sport – with Nadal a key figurehead in its tennis-specific activity.

Further digital activity includes its ‘Open Drive’ video series which has has shown players providing their answers to a number of intrusive and light hearted questions whilst en-route to Melbourne Park via its YouTube channel. The campaign bares striking similarities to Peugeot’s activity around the French Open in 2011 (series of idents on Eurosport), and is clever way for official car sponsors of sporting events in general to humanize sports stars and provide genuine, engaging content to consumers both on and offline.

Additional digital activity from sponsors has seen official TV, camera and air conditioning sponsor Panasonic launch ‘Cool Moments’ via its Facebook page. The brand is using its sponsorship of the event to promote its CS/CU-E18MKR air conditioner, given the excessively hot conditions in Australia during the summer.
Official outfitter Lacoste has picked up from where it left off at December’s ATP World Tour Finals enabling fans of its Facebook page (reviewed in Insight Sports blog) to create their own virtual tennis ball, whilst racquet manufacturer Wilson is enabling fans to gain behind the scenes access to the lives of the players during this year’s first major event through video uploads to its YouTube channel.

It is clear that digital activity has been a key part of sponsors’ strategies at this year’s Australian Open – with platforms such as Facebook and YouTube being heavily utilized. It will be interesting to see whether a sponsor at one of the forthcoming Grand Slams this year turns to new social platforms – the likes of Instagram and Tumblr, for example provide creative and unique photographic opportunities to sponsors.

Enjoy the rest of the tournament!

By Andreas Plastiras

Ultimate durability, maximum support and superior flexibility come together in the Air Max Courtballistec, the shoe of choice for Rafael Nadal. Mesh combined with the innovative DragOn 2X means this is an ideal shoe for aggressive players looking for long-lasting increased durability. Lunar and Max Air cushioning systems deliver comfort that lasts through every match.

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