What’s the difference between the can of balls you get for $1.99 from Costco and a can of Tour quality balls you get get at the Pro Shop?

The rubber used to produce the tennis ball is at the core of the issue. Every brand from Wilson to Dunlop to Prince. has varying grades of balls, ranging from entry level and practice balls to tour balls used in professional tournaments. The entry level balls are composed of a rubber core combined with cardboard filler- these are the balls you can purchase for $1.99/can at the local grocer. The cardboard filler is used as a cost saving measure used in production, but cardboard is a poreous fiber and allows the air to escape from the ball over a very short period of time, usually with only one use. Tour quality balls have a full rubber core, devoid of any fillers, which means that the ball holds the air pressure longer and also gives the ball a more consistent bounce.

Gerald Sarmiento is a USRSA Master Racquet Technician of 18 years and co-owner of the Courtware Pro Shops, which operates pro shops at Nassau Racquet & Tennis Club in Skillman, NJ and Warren Health & Racquet in Warren, NJ.

What are bumper guards? The Bumper guard and their smaller counterpart, the grommet strip, is one of the key technical innovations for prolonging string life and protecting the frame from contacting the ground. Unfortunately, bumper guards and grommet strips don’t last forever and require replacement or repair from time to time.

The plastic piece that protects the head of your racquet from scrapping the ground and damaging the graphite frame beneath it, also protects the strings from making direct contact to the fame’s sharp edges. The more you restring your racquet the more the grommets wear out, especially when you use polyester strings. The stiffness of the poly burns through the grommets and over time makes the edges sharp, causing premature string breakage, particularly when the player hits the ball off-center.

While everyone replaces their strings and grips on a regular basis, most players neglect their bumpers and grommets. So how do I know if my bumpers and grommets need replacing? The most obvious and clear indicator is the visual condition of the racquet head. If the head looks to be exposed, it is time to replace the bumpers. Do your strings break near the frame of the racquet? String breakage due to normal wear typically happens near the center of the racquet. If you are breaking strings at the grommets, then it is probably time to replace your bumpers and/or grommets.

Replacing or repairing a bumper and grommet set is only around $15, and can be done at the time of a restringing. Maintain you guard(s) and enjoy the benefit of a longer and happier life for your racquet and strings.

Gerald Sarmiento is a USRSA Master Racquet Technician of 18 years and co-owner of the Courtware Pro Shops, which operates pro shops at Nassau Racquet & Tennis Club in Skillman, NJ and Warren Health & Racquet in Warren, NJ.

You go out to your local pro shop (or, much to my dismay, online retailer) and buy two racquets of identical make and model, with the same grip and head size and have them strung the exact same way with the same string. You go out and play with both racquets and over time you gravitate to one racquet over the other. Ultimately, you grow to have a close personal relationship with racquet #1, while racquet #2 sit on the sidelines collecting dust.

How is it that we always wind up having a “favorite” racquet?

While all racquets are produced to be identical and go through rigorous quality control during the production process, there are uncontrolled variables in mass production that make each racquet slightly different from the next. In the production of a graphite tennis racquet, graphite fibers are injected into a mold, creating a racquet of a certain weight, shape, flexibility and balance. While the best companies manage this process with absolute control, there are times when this precision process is not 100% accurate. Racquet handles, injected with foam, are also subject to subtle discrepancies, which can alter the weight and balance of the final product, and the finishing processes, such as wrapping the handle or the paint job can be slightly different from one racquet to the next.

In the tennis, as in life, perfection is rarely achieved.

So how do the pros manage to play “perfectly” with 8-12 seemingly different racquets?

The answer lies in the diagnostics and customization process. While each racquet may have slight degrees of difference, those differences can be detected and assessed through the use of professional diagnostic machine. This machine is used to evaluate each racquet’s weight, balance and swing weight. Once each racquet is diagnosed, it is up to the master racquet technician to customize the lesser playing racquet to play like the preferred racquet. Perfection achieved!

There is a reason why you prefer one racquet over another — both racquets are not the same. Meaning the balance or weight of the racquet is slightly different from another. How does this happen? When racquets are being mass produced, sometimes the grips are not wrapped exactly the same way, or the foam pallet received just a tad bit more foam. Certain things during production can cause a slight difference in the way a racquet can play.

How can you fight against this issue? Make sure the shop you get the racquets from has a diagnostic machine that can evaluate the racquets weight, balance and swing weight to insure a perfect match. Now if you already have the racquets, bring it to Courtware Pro Shop and we can evaluate the racquets with our Prince precision tuning center.

To play at the highest level, we have to make sure your equipment preforms at the highest level as well.  There nothing worse than having to play an important match with a racquet you have no confidence in.

Gerald Sarmiento is a USRSA Master Racquet Technician of 18 years and co-owner of the Courtware Pro Shops, which operates pro shops at Nassau Racquet & Tennis Club in Skillman, NJ and Warren Health & Racquet in Warren, NJ.

What? There are counterfeit tennis racquets now? 

Unfortunately, counterfeiting is a plague to which the tennis industry is not immune. Generally speaking, the impostors are manufactured in China and sold via the internet, on random online retail sites that look as legitimate as Tennis Warehouse (or even Courtware Pro Shop!). To the untrained eye, a counterfeit racquet may look like the real deal, which is why they pass so easily over the internet, where the subtle cosmetic differences are virtually non-discernible. 

But as with anything counterfeit, the similarities between the “fake-o” and the “real deal” end with the image on the computer screen. Everything else about the racquet- from the balance, weight, flexibility and feel, to the integrity of the technology, design and the brand has been compromised.

So how can you, the educated tennis consumer, ensure that you are purchasing a legitimate performance racquet? 

1) Only buy your racquets from a manufacturer’s “Authorized Dealer”. Authorized Dealers have a direct relationship with the manufacturer, which ensures that you not only get the real article, but that your racquet is sold with the protection of the manufacturers warranty in place. Most performance racquets are warrantied for manufacturer’s defects for up to one year from the purchase date. If you are unsure whether a dealer is authorized, most manufacturers have websites that have a store locator or list of authorized dealers.

2) Check the price.  All Authorized Dealers are held to a “minimum advertised pricing” or MAP policy, which dictates the minimum price that any dealer can sell a particular racquet for. Go online and search for the Babolat Pure Drive GT and you will inevitably find the same $179 price point at all the well-known tennis web sites. There are severe penalties for Authorized Dealers who violate manufacturer’s “MAP” policies, so you will rarely find a legitimate retailer who is willing to do so. As a rule of thumb, if you find a Babolat Pure Drive GT for under $179, it is either a fake or is being sold by a dealer who is not authorized to sell Babolat product. 

Gerald Sarmiento is a USRSA Master Racquet Technician and National Certification Tester of over 15 years. He owns and operates two Courtware Pro Shops in New Jersey with his wife, Brooke. Courtware Pro Shops are authorized dealers of Babolat, Dunlop, Head, Prince, Wilson and Yonex racquets.