The USRSA Adds the Newest Product and Specs to Its Database of More

STRING SELECTOR GUIDE

EQUIPMENT Fine Tune Your String what is new when it comes to new strings. String selection for your customers should be an evolving process, Inventory since their needs are constantly changing. They are improving as a player, or The USRSA adds the newest product perhaps their needs change due to an injury, or the fact that they’re getting and specs to its database of more than older. Either way, their equipment needs must be constantly evaluated to 1,000 currently available strings. provide them with the best set-up. If your string inventory is ample and By Bob Patterson diverse, you still need to give new intro- Chart Compiled by David Bone ductions a good look to see if something new ﬁ lls a gap or meets a need. Perhaps a new o ering comes along that can replace an old standard simply because it is better priced, or is o ered by a vendor that you have a better discount structure with. With the USRSA tools available to members, it is easy to make comparisons and evaluations to keep As we approach 12 months of dealing new and what old standards are still your inventory as relevant as possible with COVID-19 and its e ects on our relevant. The USRSA String Selector for the market today. businesses, it is no surprise that this Tool, available to USRSA members at The lab test numbers for each string year’s chart of new strings added to the RacquetTech.com, makes it easy to in our String Selector will give you and USRSA database is much shorter than sort and compare all the strings avail- your customer a good indication of last year. able today, so you can provide the best what a new string may have to o er and Like everyone else, manufactur- possible information to your custom- will help to eliminate having several ers have cut back and slowed down ers. Not only is the String Selector strings in your inventory that may be various operations dealing with the Tool easy to use, but it also provides too similar to each other. Whether you limitations and restrictions that work- pertinent information with specs that carry 100 di erent strings or just 10, ing in a worldwide pandemic brings. In have been measured in the USRSA lab, you want to be sure that your string spite of it all, we do have several new so it’s a true “apples to apples” com- inventory has variety, so you can meet introductions as companies continue parison of strings. the needs of a variety of players and to innovate and evolve with new It’s easy to stick with tried-and-true playing styles. materials, additives and construction inventory, especially with strings. And The chart on page 28 lists 52 strings processes to meet the needs of today’s there’s a lot of merit in that philoso- that are either new to the market or new players and the modern game. phy, especially since you probably to the USRSA database. The complete With more than 1,000 strings invested a lot of time and energy in database of more than 1,000 strings currently on the market, it is often a helping your customer ﬁ nd the perfect is available to USRSA members at

daunting task to keep up with what is string set-up. But don’t miss out on RacquetTech.com. SHUTTERSTOCK

26 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY March 2021 SWITCH ON

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Dunlop_1326_CX_Launch_PrintAd_8.25x10.75in_US.indd 1 11/11/2020 09:15 String selection for your customers should be an evolving process, since their needs are constantly changing.

2021 STRING SELECTOR — NEWEST STRINGS IN THE USRSA DATABASE

Brand String Sport String Name/Gauge Material Nominal Diameter (mm) Stiffness (lbs.) Tension Loss (lbs.)

Alpha Tennis Gut 2000 16 (New) Nylon 1.33 232 12.40 Alpha Tennis Gut 2000 17 (New) Nylon 1.28 212 11.40 Alpha Tennis Gut 2000 18 (New) Nylon 1.20 193 11.86 Ashaway Squash PowerFusion 17 — 1.20 173 10.34 Babolat Tennis RPM Power 16 Polyester 1.30 296 12.82 Clarke Distributing Tennis Explosion 16 Nylon 1.30 214 11.77 Clarke Distributing Tennis Tour Micro 16 Nylon 1.30 204 14.26 Diadem Tennis Solstice Black 15L Polyester 1.35 280 22.84 Diadem Tennis Solstice Black 16 Polyester 1.30 277 22.53 Diadem Tennis Solstice Black 16L Polyester 1.25 262 21.10 Diadem Tennis Solstice Black 17 Polyester 1.20 253 20.99 Diadem Tennis Solstice Black 18 Polyester 1.15 242 20.57 Dunlop Squash Iconic Power 18 Nylon 1.10 197 14.44 Dunlop Squash Iconic X Life 17 Nylon 1.22 188 13.63 Dunlop Tennis Explosive Bite 16 Polyester 1.32 280 15.77 Dunlop Tennis Explosive Bite 17 Polyester 1.27 287 13.93 Dunlop Tennis Explosive Speed 16 Polyester 1.30 351 12.88 Dunlop Tennis Explosive Speed 17 Polyester 1.25 321 12.08 Dunlop Tennis Explosive Tour 16 Polyester 1.30 303 22.05 Dunlop Tennis Explosive Tour 17 Polyester 1.25 294 21.68 Head Tennis Hawk Touch 17 Polyester 1.25 287 14.97 Isospeed Tennis Cream 16L Polyester 1.28 243 17.53 Laserfibre Tennis Laser Extreme 16 Hybrid 1.30 233 17.37 Laserfibre Tennis Laser Rev 16 Co-Polyester 1.28 309 16.01 Laserfibre Tennis Laser Smooth 17 Co-Polyester 1.23 282 15.55 Laserfibre Tennis Native Tour 16 Co-Polyester 1.30 314 21.52 Solinco Tennis Confidential 16 Polyester 1.30 301 14.38 Solinco Tennis Confidential 16L Polyester 1.25 285 14.95 Solinco Tennis Confidential 17 Polyester 1.20 268 15.33 Solinco Tennis Confidential 18 Polyester 1.15 253 16.12 Solinco Tennis Hyper G 16 Polyester 1.30 309 14.33 Solinco Tennis Hyper G 16L Polyester 1.25 290 15.56 Solinco Tennis Hyper G 17 Polyester 1.20 266 14.71 Solinco Tennis Hyper G 18 Polyester 1.15 252 17.00 Solinco Tennis Hyper G 19 Polyester 1.10 246 17.93 Solinco Tennis Hyper G 20 Polyester 1.05 228 20.42 Solinco Tennis Hyper G Soft 16 Polyester 1.30 294 16.08 Solinco Tennis Hyper G Soft 16L Polyester 1.25 272 14.59 Solinco Tennis Hyper G Soft 17 Polyester 1.20 254 16.61 Solinco Tennis Hyper G Soft 18 Polyester 1.15 236 18.08 Tecnifibre Squash 305 17 Nylon & Polyurethane 1.25 179 13.50 Tecnifibre Squash DYNAMIX VP 17 Nylon & Polyurethane 1.20 172 13.54 Tecnifibre Squash DYNAMIX VP 18 Nylon & Polyurethane 1.15 164 16.12 Tecnifibre Squash X One Biphase 17 (Squash) Nylon & Polyurethane 1.24 186 11.69 Tecnifibre Tennis RPX 15L Multifilament Poly-Fusion 1.35 236 13.94 Tecnifibre Tennis RPX 16 Multifilament Poly-Fusion 1.30 230 13.93 Tecnifibre Tennis Triax 15L Multifilament Poly-Fusion 1.38 233 15.50 Tecnifibre Tennis Triax 16 Multifilament Poly-Fusion 1.33 222 14.27 Tecnifibre Tennis Triax 17 Multifilament Poly-Fusion 1.28 214 13.92 Yonex Tennis PolyTour Rev 120 17 Polyester 1.20 253 18.70 Yonex Tennis PolyTour Rev 125 16L Polyester 1.25 271 17.33 Yonex Tennis PolyTour Rev 130 16 Polyester 1.30 279 17.11

28 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY March 2021