Coach and Racket Technician

“The knowledge of one complements the other.”

In the world of racket Technician and specifically in the field of stringing, there is a balance that must be found and maintained, between the best grid choice and trend for each racket and its user and the correct placement of this combination on the racket. If the balance between the two is lost, the result will definitely not be good. Suppose we have a racket with a string pattern of 16x19, head size 100 sq in and we want to string it at 24kg, the result that the racket will have, depends on the technique of the stringer and the stringing machine he uses. Concerning the correct choice of strings and tension now, the racket technician must find answers to some very important questions that will make a difference, such as why are we changing the strings right now? what did we like or what did we not like in the previous one? How many hours do we play per week? what kind of game (single, double, in training groups) and at what intensity? what is our level of competition? what is our technical training? what exactly are we looking for in our new strings? Are we suffering from an injury? These are just a few questions from which the racket technician is trying to draw information, to choose the right strings at the right tension at the right moment, through a huge range of options offered by the market, to ultimately really help the athlete. But here comes a big question, who can give the most correct answers to these questions, the player or the coach. For this reason and taking into account that the player is asked to answer the questions that the racket technician will ask him in their personal communication, we have good reasons to consider some of the answers not completely correct.

This is where the coach's knowledge comes in to give the racket technician more comprehensive information about the player's  exact level of play, training technique (poor technique can lead to injuries if combined with the wrong racket, strings and tention can make things destructive) and his level of play in general. So we all imagine how important the cooperation of a coach, athlete and racket technician is to get the desired result. Another part now in which the knowledge of the technician must complement the coach, is the correct choice of racket. It is true that over
the years companies have made rackets more "user friendly" so that even not very advanced athletes can use more rackets, this does not mean of course that everyone can play with all rackets not because they will not be able to use them, but because they will not reap all the features they are made to offer.
Finally, the coach as the first person whose players will be consulted for. the selection of their racket or at least this should be done and knowing the profile of the player better than anyone else, taking the extra knowledge of the racket technician about the technologies, and In general, the characteristics of each racket can choose the appropriate racket for each player.

Spyros Pletsis is an accredited Professional Stringer ΡacketΤechnician.
from ERSA (European Racquet Stringers Association)and ETC’s Expert of Racquet Stringing Service.