Rafa's Racket A.J. Chabria

[ajchabria]

Without exception racquet stringers in my book (life) have always been an eccentric borderline weird lot. GeoffWilliams is a case in point. While I personally liked Geoff and welcomed 99% of his rants and thoughts, in my book he was a real piece of work. The first stringer that I ever met was the coach of the cross town rival high school and he did a couple of things to me that were bordering on criminal. In the world of tennis of course. Petty stuff but vindictive.

I read this article and walked away from it saying to myself "So what?". But this is coming from a guy who merely hands his racquet over to the stringer and says, "string it in the middle of the range with this so and so string". I'm not particular at all with the specifics of the art of stringing. I'm sure it is an art too...in certain circles. But far too often I have seen a player more concerned with his string tension than his footwork or other fundamentals.

I gleaned from a couple of comments a couple of things. One thing is that Nadal pays an occasional visit to the stringing room. He graces them with his presence and he is seen as a "regular guy" because of this. He may well be all that. I don't know him...and I wouldn't walk down to the end of my driveway to meet him. The driveway is 400 meters long by the way.

Another thing is the thinly veiled references to me not being a "Rafael Nadal" worshipper like a lot of the sheeple do in the tennis world. I won't go into any of the particular reasons why I don't have a great deal of respect for this great manufactured "Gladiator" of the media and tennis world. But let it suffice to say that once again...last night, he demonstrated that it is ALL ABOUT HIM and he doesn't give one tiny little hoot or holler about you or I. He doesn't care about all of us collectively anymore than we are contributors to his growing fortune.

As for his racquets I am sure that GeoffWilliams would have had some lovely comments to add to this article and I for one am not happy that he has not been around to voice them. As I said I thought Williams was a character right out of some Howdy Doody cartoon at times but in more lucid moments he was quite interesting. He had this thing about Bill Tilden which may have been the straw that broke the Racquet Stringer's back as he left in a hurry without bothering to pack it in with a farewell word or two. I hope to God it wasn't anything serious but I'm afraid it was serious to him. He was a rowdy sort and his job found him in some precarious circumstances at times.

But racquet stringers more often that not are not heard from. When they are what follows is something usually of interest in one way or another. Not sure about this article though. But I do like that it found me once again where I feel most comfortable. A voice in the wilderness. Nadal walked off the court in the middle of his semi-final match against Juan Martin Del Potro thereby denying him that handshake at the net without excuses or complaints. A simple "nice match and good luck" would have been sufficient.

It was great to see him discard that silly preserve routine once he gave up. He was almost quick serving Del Potro and then he was complaining that Del Potro was not playing to his tempo. He's a real piece of work if you have any sense of discernment at all.

Interesting! I sometimes liken stringers to chefs. Back of the house. Sometimes eccentric. Highly skilled. Remarkably consistent, and insistent. Intense, generally. Mileage may vary.
Joshua Newton is one of the coolest, laid-back ones in the game.

[ajchabria]

Kyle, great story. But while it is clear thare is one player who leads in popularity on this Forum, don't be so sure that Rafa might actually come in second. Obviously, he has his detractors and one in particular, but even those individuals respect his competitive desire and dedication. Give a watch to "Strokes of Genius" and it is hard not to like both Rafa and Roger.

don

Yes, definitely, agreed! Djokovic is clearly the forum fave. lol!
thanks for reading and commenting. Strokes of Genius is a good read, too.

[ajchabria]

Not surprised at all on that Nadal story. He and Moya make a very likeable team.

Moyá has been a great influence on Nadal over the years. I was not always a huge fan of Moyá's game, but did get a chance to meet him toward the end of his playing career. Gracious, generous spirit.

[ajchabria]

Very cool article on Rafa's specs. Love the detail. This article seems like it was made for old tennisplayer.net forum poster and contributor Geoff Williams. Vast majority of players are using customized frames, and older model racquets painted to look like new ones.

A close college buddy of mine was the wilson/luxilon tour string manager for a handful of years. He led the stringing team at a couple Australian Opens, a dozen US Opens and Miami Opens. He knows the all the players by their first name and knows exactly what each player likes in string preferences as well as how they are as people. When asked who the nicest/easiest player to deal with his answer with no hesitation was Rafael Nadal. Always comes in to meet, shake hands and talk with the stringers. He also will use the stringing room to decompress and get away from locker room and media. He will sit on floor and watch TV with them and chat about soccer.
I know Nadal isn't the most popular guy on this forum but tennis aside, how you treat people speaks volumes about your character. It's nice to be important, it's more important to be nice.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Nice, Kyle. I, too, have an old college teammate with a similar experience.... also enjoyed gettng to know Nadal. Nadal seems so particular, so I was surprised to see he is not too finicky with frames.

I am about to customize a bagful for a college player who wants to replicate the Tsonga specs with lead in the head and silicone in the handle.

[ajchabria]

Let's discuss A.J. Chabria's article, "Rafa's Racket"

Thanks John. Fun writing it with you! Josh was wonderful, and.... what a cool experience to be the first American leading the team over in Paris.

[don_budge]

Let's discuss A.J. Chabria's article, "Rafa's Racket"

Without exception racquet stringers in my book (life) have always been an eccentric borderline weird lot. GeoffWilliams is a case in point. While I personally liked Geoff and welcomed 99% of his rants and thoughts, in my book he was a real piece of work. The first stringer that I ever met was the coach of the cross town rival high school and he did a couple of things to me that were bordering on criminal. In the world of tennis of course. Petty stuff but vindictive.

I read this article and walked away from it saying to myself "So what?". But this is coming from a guy who merely hands his racquet over to the stringer and says, "string it in the middle of the range with this so and so string". I'm not particular at all with the specifics of the art of stringing. I'm sure it is an art too...in certain circles. But far too often I have seen a player more concerned with his string tension than his footwork or other fundamentals.

I gleaned from a couple of comments a couple of things. One thing is that Nadal pays an occasional visit to the stringing room. He graces them with his presence and he is seen as a "regular guy" because of this. He may well be all that. I don't know him...and I wouldn't walk down to the end of my driveway to meet him. The driveway is 400 meters long by the way.

Another thing is the thinly veiled references to me not being a "Rafael Nadal" worshipper like a lot of the sheeple do in the tennis world. I won't go into any of the particular reasons why I don't have a great deal of respect for this great manufactured "Gladiator" of the media and tennis world. But let it suffice to say that once again...last night, he demonstrated that it is ALL ABOUT HIM and he doesn't give one tiny little hoot or holler about you or I. He doesn't care about all of us collectively anymore than we are contributors to his growing fortune.

As for his racquets I am sure that GeoffWilliams would have had some lovely comments to add to this article and I for one am not happy that he has not been around to voice them. As I said I thought Williams was a character right out of some Howdy Doody cartoon at times but in more lucid moments he was quite interesting. He had this thing about Bill Tilden which may have been the straw that broke the Racquet Stringer's back as he left in a hurry without bothering to pack it in with a farewell word or two. I hope to God it wasn't anything serious but I'm afraid it was serious to him. He was a rowdy sort and his job found him in some precarious circumstances at times.

But racquet stringers more often that not are not heard from. When they are what follows is something usually of interest in one way or another. Not sure about this article though. But I do like that it found me once again where I feel most comfortable. A voice in the wilderness. Nadal walked off the court in the middle of his semi-final match against Juan Martin Del Potro thereby denying him that handshake at the net without excuses or complaints. A simple "nice match and good luck" would have been sufficient.

It was great to see him discard that silly preserve routine once he gave up. He was almost quick serving Del Potro and then he was complaining that Del Potro was not playing to his tempo. He's a real piece of work if you have any sense of discernment at all.

[gzhpcu]

I prefer Roger’s style of tennis to Rafa’s. But nobody plays like Rafa does. His style is unique. Rafa’s style is too physical for us. We can learn from Federer, but not from Rafa.

Watch a 16 year old Rafe defeat then nr 4 Carlos Moya.

Rafa has developed his own crushing, inimitable style. He has also now added net play to his repertoire.

[tennis_chiro]

Very cool article on Rafa's specs. Love the detail. This article seems like it was made for old tennisplayer.net forum poster and contributor Geoff Williams. Vast majority of players are using customized frames, and older model racquets painted to look like new ones.

A close college buddy of mine was the wilson/luxilon tour string manager for a handful of years. He led the stringing team at a couple Australian Opens, a dozen US Opens and Miami Opens. He knows the all the players by their first name and knows exactly what each player likes in string preferences as well as how they are as people. When asked who the nicest/easiest player to deal with his answer with no hesitation was Rafael Nadal. Always comes in to meet, shake hands and talk with the stringers. He also will use the stringing room to decompress and get away from locker room and media. He will sit on floor and watch TV with them and chat about soccer.
I know Nadal isn't the most popular guy on this forum but tennis aside, how you treat people speaks volumes about your character. It's nice to be important, it's more important to be nice.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Kyle, great story. But while it is clear thare is one player who leads in popularity on this Forum, don't be so sure that Rafa might actually come in second. Obviously, he has his detractors and one in particular, but even those individuals respect his competitive desire and dedication. Give a watch to "Strokes of Genius" and it is hard not to like both Rafa and Roger.

don

[gzhpcu]

Very cool article on Rafa's specs. Love the detail. This article seems like it was made for old tennisplayer.net forum poster and contributor Geoff Williams. Vast majority of players are using customized frames, and older model racquets painted to look like new ones.

A close college buddy of mine was the wilson/luxilon tour string manager for a handful of years. He led the stringing team at a couple Australian Opens, a dozen US Opens and Miami Opens. He knows the all the players by their first name and knows exactly what each player likes in string preferences as well as how they are as people. When asked who the nicest/easiest player to deal with his answer with no hesitation was Rafael Nadal. Always comes in to meet, shake hands and talk with the stringers. He also will use the stringing room to decompress and get away from locker room and media. He will sit on floor and watch TV with them and chat about soccer.
I know Nadal isn't the most popular guy on this forum but tennis aside, how you treat people speaks volumes about your character. It's nice to be important, it's more important to be nice.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I always liked Rafa and his humility. Who cares if he has tics?

[stroke]

Not surprised at all on that Nadal story. He and Moya make a very likeable team.

[klacr]

Very cool article on Rafa's specs. Love the detail. This article seems like it was made for old tennisplayer.net forum poster and contributor Geoff Williams. Vast majority of players are using customized frames, and older model racquets painted to look like new ones.

A close college buddy of mine was the wilson/luxilon tour string manager for a handful of years. He led the stringing team at a couple Australian Opens, a dozen US Opens and Miami Opens. He knows the all the players by their first name and knows exactly what each player likes in string preferences as well as how they are as people. When asked who the nicest/easiest player to deal with his answer with no hesitation was Rafael Nadal. Always comes in to meet, shake hands and talk with the stringers. He also will use the stringing room to decompress and get away from locker room and media. He will sit on floor and watch TV with them and chat about soccer.
I know Nadal isn't the most popular guy on this forum but tennis aside, how you treat people speaks volumes about your character. It's nice to be important, it's more important to be nice.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[johnyandell]

Let's discuss A.J. Chabria's article, "Rafa's Racket"