Modern Equipment and Arm Health

[ajchabria]

One thing nobody has mentioned is people changing their strokes on account of the new racquet or strings.

They get a new Babolat strung with poly and say "now I'm going to be able to hit topspin like the pros," and start flailing at the ball like a madman with suspect technique and then blaming the equipment for their arm pain.

J

Oh yeah, it canNOT possibly be the jerky strokes and weird racquet and arm angles
... or weak forearms and flicky wrists. Never, lol!

[J011yroger]

One thing nobody has mentioned is people changing their strokes on account of the new racquet or strings.

They get a new Babolat strung with poly and say "now I'm going to be able to hit topspin like the pros," and start flailing at the ball like a madman with suspect technique and then blaming the equipment for their arm pain.

J

[nytennisaddict]

I’m thankful for, and impressed by the good points above.

Frequency of restringing will vary from player to player, as does the “optimal” string set-up. This is evident across club teams, college teams, and the tour.

The disreputable stringing or teaching professional mentioned above, scaring players into fresh re-stringings, sounds like an extreme example. In my experience, those “professionals” exist, but they do not sustain much success in this industry, especially among educated players.

Hopefully, it is evident that one of the points of the article is to educate players, and encourage players (and coaches) to find string combinations that do not aggravate the arm, or the wallet...while offering excellent performance.

the final point in your article regarding every person is unique, rings true to me and most,... problem is that finding the right string combo is costly in time and money, especially if you don't have a stringer. for example, let's say i have my 70y+ dad... let's say someone gives him kevlar... knowing him, he won't switch it until he's got his money's worth... which will be in a few years. they idea of switch strings (at $50/job) every month would not go over well with him unless somethign drives him to change (string breaks, someone knowledgeable convinces him, he gets hurt and someone points to the string, etc...)...

when i was going through my own personal path of seeking that "one true string", it wasn't a big deal, because i break strings weekly ... so at most i'd suffer with a crappy string for a week or two, and a year later, i had gone through dozens of strings at varying tensions. most folks don't have that time & patience to do that.

[stotty]

I think the only way to get used to heavy racquets is to just dive in and play with them. If one gets comfortable with these sub 12 oz racquets, when do you decide to make a significant switch to a more flexible 12.5 oz racquet or so. That is a significant change. Even Nadal, who has supposedly tinkered with his racquets weight through the years has only added a few grams here and there. But almost all racquets out there on the market are too light and too stiff. And I do think it is way more about the racquet than the strings.

I think racket weight has a lot to do with the physical strength of a player. I am comfortable with 300gms; no lighter no heavier. My doubles partner is built like a truck and likes his racket to be 340gms. God knows what weight Klacr likes...probably 400gms or something!

I heard Rafa used a light racket with a small grip?

My old wooden rackets were close the 15 ounces in weight. I am not sure what that is in grams but I still have my wooden rackets and they feel a lot heavier than my 300gm Babolat.

[ajchabria]

I’m thankful for, and impressed by the good points above.

Frequency of restringing will vary from player to player, as does the “optimal” string set-up. This is evident across club teams, college teams, and the tour.

The disreputable stringing or teaching professional mentioned above, scaring players into fresh re-stringings, sounds like an extreme example. In my experience, those “professionals” exist, but they do not sustain much success in this industry, especially among educated players.

Hopefully, it is evident that one of the points of the article is to educate players, and encourage players (and coaches) to find string combinations that do not aggravate the arm, or the wallet...while offering excellent performance.

[stroke]

I think the only way to get used to heavy racquets is to just dive in and play with them. If one gets comfortable with these sub 12 oz racquets, when do you decide to make a significant switch to a more flexible 12.5 oz racquet or so. That is a significant change. Even Nadal, who has supposedly tinkered with his racquets weight through the years has only added a few grams here and there. But almost all racquets out there on the market are too light and too stiff. And I do think it is way more about the racquet than the strings.

[nytennisaddict]

I humbly submit that he is understating the number of people who had tennis elbow and assorted arm issues in the 70s-90s.

I agree that far too many players in the recreational ranks are using poly, and have had great success switching many members of my country club to multis and synthetics.

I believe most RSIs are caused by dubious technique, but also most players will not make the effort to correct their habits.

I hate the trend of telling people they need lighter racquets. The number of 3.0 ladies who tell me a racquet is too heavy for them is mind boggling. Oh yeah an 11oz frame is going to make you late returning your opponent's 38mph frying pan grip serve.

J

agreed. i always tell beginners to go heavier, so they can learn to swing the racquet and let the racquet do the work (vs. lighter where their tendency is to manipulate the racquet incorrectly, to make up for late/poor timing)

also would guess that arm issues are more due to bad technique (stiff string only exacerbates the issue). i've develop arm issues after a long hiatus from tennis (so now my timing&technique are slightly off), or even if i'm hitting with folks that hit harder than i'm used to (effecting my timing&technique as well).

regarding whether to use poly or not, my barometer has been how often it takes them to break strings. if they break strings once a year (or ever), they probably aren't hitting hard enough or with enough spin to benefit from poly. if you're breaking synthetic and multis in 1h (implies you're likely: (a) hitting the ball consistently in the same spot (b) swinging fast (c) hitting alot of spin causing crosses to saw through the mains (d) hitting a high volume of balls per hour - all implying you might also have good technique if you can consistently hit a high volume of balls an hour) probably should give polly a whirl.

[stotty]

Personally I think the stiff light rackets are the number one cause. I gave myself a case of tendonitis in my shoulder playing a whole tournament season with one. Even now when I hit with a stiff racket I feel a twinge. AJ can speak for himself but no way is recommending restringing for the sake of the money. That's not him.

I think we all totally get that. The author comes across a very decent fellow. There is a general culture - which is what I am referring to - of blaming strings for injuries which is tough to prove in any concrete way. Why would a given string damage one player's arm but not ten other players who all use the same string?

Apologies to the author if I came across the wrong way. I was just stating a strong opinion. I respect ajchabria article and opinion 100%.

[John Yandell]

Personally I think the stiff light rackets are the number one cause. I gave myself a case of tendonitis in my shoulder playing a whole tournament season with one. Even now when I hit with a stiff racket I feel a twinge. AJ can speak for himself but no way is recommending restringing for the sake of the money. That's not him.

[stotty]

I think J011yroger is right. Players look for reasons/excuses and coaches give it to them and make a bit of cash in the process. That old chestnut has been going on for years. A coach near me makes a fortune scaring regular club players into restringing their rackets every two months...or risk injury. People buy into his theory hook, line and sinker. Really, it's wonder the guy can sleep at night.

Most cases of tennis elbow arise out of poor technique, particularly with the grip on the single handed backhand. There was reasonable evidence in the 80's and 90's with players who used kevlar hybrids that these strings played a role - over a long period of use - in causing jarring pains in the elbow and shoulder. Many good players developed this kind of problem after a few years of using kevlar. I would call that strong evidence. None of those same players have that trouble with poly. They simply love it.

It has to be technique oriented otherwise every player who used poly strings would get tennis elbow, and this is simply not the case.

Rackets and strings are incredibly good and easy to use these days and I simply cannot subscribe to the idea there were less injuries back then than they are today.

[ajchabria]

I humbly submit that he is understating the number of people who had tennis elbow and assorted arm issues in the 70s-90s.

I agree that far too many players in the recreational ranks are using poly, and have had great success switching many members of my country club to multis and synthetics.

I believe most RSIs are caused by dubious technique, but also most players will not make the effort to correct their habits.

I hate the trend of telling people they need lighter racquets. The number of 3.0 ladies who tell me a racquet is too heavy for them is mind boggling. Oh yeah an 11oz frame is going to make you late returning your opponent's 38mph frying pan grip serve.

J

Jo11y,
Yes, and yes. Sound summation, thanks!

As I recall (and I played in the seventies), poor technique led to more medial and lateral epicondylitis than did wooden frames and gut strings.
These days, we see just as much dubious technique, and more incorrect equipment.

Thanks for being a part of the solution, Jo11y!

[stroke]

I humbly submit that he is understating the number of people who had tennis elbow and assorted arm issues in the 70s-90s.

I agree that far too many players in the recreational ranks are using poly, and have had great success switching many members of my country club to multis and synthetics.

I believe most RSIs are caused by dubious technique, but also most players will not make the effort to correct their habits.

I hate the trend of telling people they need lighter racquets. The number of 3.0 ladies who tell me a racquet is too heavy for them is mind boggling. Oh yeah an 11oz frame is going to make you late returning your opponent's 38mph frying pan grip serve.

J

truth

[J011yroger]

I humbly submit that he is understating the number of people who had tennis elbow and assorted arm issues in the 70s-90s.

I agree that far too many players in the recreational ranks are using poly, and have had great success switching many members of my country club to multis and synthetics.

I believe most RSIs are caused by dubious technique, but also most players will not make the effort to correct their habits.

I hate the trend of telling people they need lighter racquets. The number of 3.0 ladies who tell me a racquet is too heavy for them is mind boggling. Oh yeah an 11oz frame is going to make you late returning your opponent's 38mph frying pan grip serve.

J

[klacr]

Worst thing for kids is that damn Poly. So many kids complaining about arm, elbow and shoulder pain and strung with a full poly. Very good advice in this article. Your body and tennis game will thank you.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[John Yandell]

Let's discuss A.J. Chabria's latest article, "Modern Equipment and Arm Health"