Tennisnerd - Where we bond over tennis

Christmas Special with stringing legend Richard Parnell & HEAD manager Dennis Fabian

For this episode, Dennis came up with the idea to do a conversation with his friend and stringing legend Richard Parnell about all things strings, racquets and pro players. Just three tennis nerds shooting the breeze. Check out the some of the random topics below. Thanks for listening and Merry Christmas!

Low string tensions
The importance of sound in a tennis racquet
How to use the ERT 300 string tension tool
The importance of stringing "straight"
How to improve the level of stringing worldwide
Do strings gain or lose tension after stringing? :)
Can players get too obsessed about gear?
Why does Kei Nishikori sometimes stencil his own racquets?
Is customization only for pros? 
How can tennis shop owners improve their services?
Should you use different racquets for doubles and singles?
A discussion about longer racquets
Stretching your racquet!?

 

A conversation with Dennis Fabian, Global Business Manager HEAD strings and accessories

The new HEAD string Lynx Touch is about to be launched in a month and ahead of that I sat down (on Zoom) with the man behind it, Dennis Fabian, to talk about the product and lots more. We get into topics like:

• When to re-string?
• How color can change the tackiness of an overgrip
• Why you need to restring hybrids with multi/gut/poly
• Do strings go dead?
• The most important gear for tennis players

And lots more! 

Thanks to Dennis for taking part! 

 

Interview with Furi Sport Founder Erick Mathelier

I had the chance to Zoom call Erick Mathelier, founder of the new tennis brand Furi Sport, currently offering two racquet models, some new strings as well as apparel.

Read more about Furi racquets on Tennisnerd.net

Check out the official website: Furi Sport

This podcast is also in visual form on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s2gd7M9OvJ0

Thanks for listening!

Want to support Tennisnerd and get more content: patreon.com/tennisnerd

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Henrik Wallensten, Racquet Reviewer, Davis Cup Stringer, Tennisnerd collaborator

This time I had the fortune to sit down and talk to my buddy Henrik "Hank" Wallensten. Henrik is a long-time racquet reviewer (The Swedish Tennis Magazine) and has contributed generously to Tennisnerd. He joined the Swedish Davis Cup team for their most recent tie as their official stringer and has a wealth of knowledge of tennis gear. Henrik is also a high-level player who has competed on the ITF Seniors Tour and trains with his local team in the top Swedish division.

In this podcast, we talk about his affection for the new Babolat Pure Aero, how he kept dismissing a call from Robin Soderling, his infidelity issues with tennis racquets and why stringing as low as 45-47 lbs is the way to go. I hope you like the podcast. If you do, please consider supporting Tennisnerd. You can buy something from one of my affiliates, purchase a racquet consultation or join my Patreon page.

 

Second time with Nathan Martin of Tennisfitness.com

Nathan Martin joins the podcast for the second time to talk about what Djokovic does to stay on top, how the quarantine during the Australian Open affected many of the players and what club players can learn and implement from the pros to strengthen their tennis and avoid injuries.

Please check out Nathan's online fitness programs: https://www.memberstennisfitness.com/tennis-nerd

If you buy a program, a small commission goes to Tennisnerd.

Tim Puttock, Senior Director, Prince

I had the good fortune to do a podcast with Tim Puttock, the Senior R&D Director from Prince. We talk about his passion for building racquets (etc).

Tim Puttock has been with Prince for 15 years and has seen, hit and designed many tennis racquets! He has held various roles with the company during its turbulent recent history and is now the Senior Director for the Prince brand (his employer is Authentic Brands Group). In the podcast, he talks about his desire to innovate in an industry that's not always best known for exploring new technologies.

Two examples of Tim and Prince pushing the envelope is the new Prince Ripstick racquets, which look and play quite differently from what's out there. He is also behind the interesting Prince Synergy 98 with the unusual 18x18 string pattern, a low flex, but high swing weight.

If you're interested in buying these racquets, please consider doing so from our affiliate Tennis Warehouse. Any purchase will send a small commission to Tennisnerd.

For a true tennis nerd, it's always fascinating to talk to a guy who actually designs racquets and I hope you find this Tennisnerd podcast interesting to listen to. If you have any feedback or ideas for guests I should talk to, don't hesitate to comment below!

Jack Oswald, Pro Player and Founder of Cancha Bags

Jack Oswald from the UK plays tennis on the ITF Tour and has struggled to find a tennis bag he likes. This is how he came up with the Cancha bags. The development process took a couple of years and was more challenging than he could have imagined, but he is proud of how it came out. The Cancha tennis bag looks a bit like a guitar case and offers a modular approach where you add side bags for accessories, wet clothes, and so on.

We don't only talk about Cancha Bags, but also about the tough life as a lower-ranked pro and how we can get more fans interested in watching high-quality tennis pro tennis that's not Grand Slam or ATP/WTA level.

Andreas Bergen, Global Product Manager, Luxilon

I had the good fortune to chat with Andreas Bergen, Global Product Manager of Luxilon Strings. We talk about strings, tensions, and a whole lot more.

Andreas test strings and develop products for Luxilon strings. He has a broad role and in 2019 he had 120 tennis-related travel days. Luxilon is one of the legends in the string industry and still the most popular brand on the ATP and WTA Tours. Ever since they introduced the Big Banger Original in 1997, they've been spearheading the string industry.

Read more on Tennisnerd.net

Andrew from Prospect Customization

I talk to Andrew from Prospect Customization about swing weights, pro player specs, what racquets different players should use, issues with gear on the college level and much more. This is definitely an episode for true tennis nerds! :)

 

 

Heysil Racquets Co-Founder Jeffrey Yeh

A while back I was approached by Jeffrey Yeh, one of the founders of Heysil Racquets. He wanted to send me some racquets for review.

But due to COVID, it took quite a while to get the parcel from Australia, where Heysil is based, to Malta, where I am. A couple of weeks ago the Heysil racquets arrived and I have been play-testing them ever since. Heysil is a young company, a few years old and run by Jeffrey Yeh and David Willis. I got the opportunity to talk Jeffrey Yeh about Heysil, their products, and their plans for the future.

Read more: https://tennisnerd.net/gear/racquets/introducing-heysil-racquets/23122

US Open Update - Looking for exciting new players to watch

Who is your favorite player to watch and have you found any new ones to be excited about during the US Open?

My Tennis Story

I published a video vlog that I think works well also in podcast form. I just wanted to give you a status update and tell you a bit about my tennis story. Keen to hear yours.

Q&A with Instagram Followers of @tennisnerdinsta - Gear, Kyrgios, Tennis Elbow, And More

I asked my Instagram followers to send me questions for a Q&A podcast. And voila! Here are my answers.

I was asked about:

• Rafa's and Roger's retirements
• What to do about tennis elbow
• What do I think about Kyrgios US Open statement
• What are some good budget strings?
• Will I ever settle on a racquet?

...and more!

Filippo Gioiello, Founder of Mental Tennis

Filippo Gioiello is a mental tennis trainer and founder of Mental Tennis. He has created a process to strengthen your mental and strategical approach to tennis. The idea is to make you enjoy competitive tennis more and create a strong mental foundation to play better, increase your love for the game, and win more matches. I have worked with him for a few months and I have really learned a lot from it.

If you want to find out more, check out his website at: https://www.mental-tennis.net/

Ricardo Dahcor, Founder of Dahcor Tennis

In this episode of the Tennisnerd podcast, I talk to Ricardo Dahcor, founder of Dahcor tennis. Ricardo is intent on changing the world of tennis through custom gear, technology, and innovation.

Ricardo is a serial entrepreneur, who's now moving into the tennis industry. He's creating custom rackets, bags, shoes, you name it. He also has his own tennis academy with a lot of tennis courts, smart courts, and so on. And he's really adamant at changing the tennis industry in his own way. He has big plans, big dreams, and he seems able to execute them one-by-one. If you want to read my review of the Dahcor Tennisnerd racquet that he created for me, click here.

Check out the Dahcor website here.