Re-stringing a tennis racquet is handy work.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Just ask Stewart Allwright, who says the secret in the craft is not knowing who the racquet belongs to.
“One of the worst things you can do is look at the name on the tag,” he said.
“I have seen some of the best stringers get stuck cause they realise they might have a racquet belonging to Nadal or Federer in their hands.
“When they are on the machine, really every racquet is exactly the same.”
Working at this year’s Launceston International, stringers are known for being the first ones to arrive at the tournament each day and the last ones to leave.
As some of the best up and coming players take to the court this week, Mr Allwright said his team were re-stringing about 80 racquets a day.
“The pressure is certainly on, but we love it,” he said.
Related News:
Assisting Mr Allwright is Jeremy Reeve, who has been a stringer for about four years.
A tennis player himself, Mr Reeve said he got fed up having to send his own racquets off for repair and decided to take matters into his own hands.
“It made sense for me to learn the craft myself and now I just love it,” he said.
“Knowing that if you can get it right for a player, that it might make a real difference to a their game, that is a real thrill.”
Mr Reeve said about 12 metres of string went into the average racquet and it took about 25 minutes to complete the process.