Announcing the new and improved Racquet Optimizer

USRSA.com: We've improved our Racquet Optimizer on-line racquet modeling tool to allow you to experiment with adding weight at two different locations on the frame. (USRSA membership required to use the on-line tools.)

Full-cover views

It always seemed a shame that after all the time and effort that goes into designing and executing our covers, each has been relegated to a couple of measly square inches on the website. No longer! Now, if you go to the table of contents page of any issue, and click on the small image of the cover, you'll be taken to a full-size image. Also, on the navigation page for the various issues, when you place your cursor over the month-name of the magazine, you'll see the corresponding cover for that issue next to the listing.

'Sitemap' and 'urllist' files added

We've added sitemap files (listings of all the URLs, in XML format) and urllist files to both USRSA.com and racquetsportsindustry.com. These files are recommend to help search engines -- primarily Google and Yahoo! -- better crawl the site, so that when you search for information that appears on either site, you will more easily find it. Ironically, MSN Search, which seems not to pay any attention to sitemap or urllist files, has by far the best index of our site.

Announcing the Babolat Star 5

Babolat has very kindly given us permission to make available the sales brochure for its upcoming Babolat Star 5 stringing machine. This brochure, which is available to USRSA members only, is a downloadable file in Microsoft PowerPoint format. The Star 5 is scheduled for release in early 2006, with a projected U.S. list price of $3,000. Also available at additional charge are badminton adaptors and the famous Babolat stringer tool kit, each of which is shown in this brochure. (Update: For those without PowerPoint, we have also created a somewhat clunky HTML version.)

RSI navigation fixed

RSI.com: In our haste to get racquetsportsindustry.com up and available, we forgot to check to see if our pages displayed properly in all the major browsers (AOL, Camino, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, and Safari). It looked fine in Safari (of course) and IE/Mac, and our HTML and CSS code all validated just fine, so we thought we were home free. For some reason, though, AOL, Camino, Firefox, and Netscape failed to render the top navigation menu properly. Regretfully, the fix meant replacing the pure CSS top banner with a table, but at least it works.

We're up and running!

RSI.com: Our brand-new site is visible to the world for the very first time today. There are bound to be a few rough edges as we settle in, but just about all the material from RSi magazine from its premiere issue in February 2004 through the latest issue of August 2005 is available now. Keep checking back, as every month we'll make available the latest issue.

New racquet information

USRSA.com: The Digest On-line, Morphinator, and the Racquet Selector now have stringing instructions and specs (respectively) for the following new racquets: Avery M3 (72 Holes) (tennis), Avery M3 Control (tennis), Avery M3 Power (tennis), Babolat Aeropro Control + (tennis), Babolat Aeropro Drive + (tennis), Bancroft ACE Advantage (tennis), Bancroft ACE Tour (tennis), Bancroft ACE Tour + (tennis), Fischer M Pro No. One 105 (tennis), Fischer M Pro No. One 98 (tennis), Fischer Pro No. One Impact FT (tennis), Fischer Pro Tour (tennis), Head Flexpoint 10 (tennis), Head Flexpoint 6 MP (tennis), Head Flexpoint 6 OS (tennis), Head Flexpoint Instinct (tennis), Head Flexpoint Radical MP (tennis), Head Flexpoint Radical OS (tennis), Head Flexpoint Radical Tour MP (tennis), Head FXP Radical Team (Flexpoint) (tennis), Head Liquidmetal Universe (tennis), Prince Air Vanquish Midplus (tennis), Prince Air Vanquish Oversize (tennis), Prince O3 Blue (tennis), Prince O3 Pink OS (tennis), Prince Shark DB Midplus (tennis), Prince Shark DB Oversize (tennis), Prince Shark MP LB (tennis), Prince Synergy Premier 110 (tennis), Prince Triple Threat Response MP 26" (tennis), Pro Kennex Ki 30 (Kinetic Ionic 30) (tennis), Pro Kennex Ki 5 (Kinetic Ionic 5) (tennis), Vantage Custom Built (68 Holes) (tennis), Vantage Custom Built (70 Holes) (tennis), Vantage Custom Built (76 Holes) (tennis), Vantage VT001 (tennis), Vantage VT002 (tennis), Vantage VT003 (tennis), Volkl DNX V1 MP (tennis), Volkl DNX V1 OS (tennis), Wilson n4 Midplus (101) (tennis), Wilson n4 Oversize (111) (tennis), Wilson n6 (110) (tennis), Wilson W2 Black Whisper (tennis), Wilson W2 Blue Shadow (tennis), Wilson W2 Spicy Ruby (tennis), Wilson W4 Cobalt Storm (tennis), Wilson W4 Red Fury (tennis), Wilson W4 Savage Lime (tennis), Wilson W4 Savage Sapphire (tennis), Wilson W6 Blue Steel (tennis), Wilson W6 Wild Crimson (tennis), Yonex NSRQ 5 (tennis), Yonex NSRQ 7 (100) (tennis), Yonex NSRQ 7 (110) (tennis), Yonex NSRQ 8 (tennis), E-Force Bedlam Super-Mains 150 (racquetball), E-Force Bedlam Super-Mains 170 (racquetball), E-Force Bedlam Super-Mains 175 (racquetball), E-Force Super 30 DC 160 (racquetball), E-Force Super 30 DC 170 (racquetball), E-Force Super 30 DC 175 (racquetball), E-Force Super 30 DC 190 (racquetball), Ektelon O3 Red (racquetball), Ektelon O3 Silver (racquetball), Ektelon Power Fan Outlaw (racquetball), Ektelon Power Ring Excel (racquetball), Ektelon Power Ring Tour Lite (racquetball), Head Liquidmetal IGS 165 (racquetball), Head Liquidmetal IGS 175 (racquetball), Head Liquidmetal IGS 185 (racquetball), Head Ti.Blast (racquetball), Head Ti.Defender (racquetball), Head Ti.Demon (racquetball), Head Ti.Laser (racquetball), Head Ti.Photon (racquetball), Head Ti.Sonic (racquetball), Pro Kennex Core 1 Platinum 165 (racquetball), Pro Kennex Core 1 Platinum 175 (racquetball), Wilson Fury (racquetball), Wilson n170 (racquetball), Wilson n180 (racquetball), Wilson n190 (racquetball), Wilson nPro (racquetball), Wilson nTour (racquetball), Wilson Ripper (racquetball), Wilson Rush (racquetball), Wilson Scorch (racquetball), Wilson Tazer (racquetball), Wilson Ti. Smash (racquetball), Wilson Xpress (racquetball), Ashaway Destiny 490 (squash), Ashaway Hornet 495 (squash), Ashaway Liberty 495 (squash), Ashaway Rad 475 (squash), Black Knight 4670 Storm (squash), Black Knight 6118 Graph-Force (squash), Black Knight C2C Heat (60 Holes) (squash), Harrow M-140 (squash), Harrow Stealth (squash), Harrow Stealth The Prep (squash), Harrow Super Winner R Squared (squash), Harrow Super Winner True Blue (squash), Harrow The Prep (squash), Harrow Vapor (squash), Head i.X140G Pro (squash), Head i.x160 (squash), Head Liquidmetal 150 (squash), Head Liquidmetal 160 (squash), Head Ti.140G (squash), Head Ti.160G (squash), Head Ti.Fire (squash), Head Ti.Heat (squash), Head Ti.Speed (squash), Prince M+ Pro (squash), Prince O3 All Court (squash), Prince O3 Silver (squash), Pro Kennex C 160 Tour (squash), Pro Kennex P 120 Ki Sling (squash), Pro Kennex P 140 Ki Sling (squash), Wilson H170 (squash), Wilson Hammer n120 (squash), Wilson Hammer n145 (squash), Wilson Jr. Boast (squash), Wilson n120 (squash), Wilson n130 (squash), Wilson n140 (squash), Wilson n145 (squash), Wilson nRage (6 Holes in Throat) (squash), Wilson nTour (squash), Wilson PS Fantom (squash), Wilson Ti. Power (squash), Wilson Triad n130 (squash), Wilson Triad n140 (squash), Prince M+ XL (badminton), Prince Spectrum (badminton), Prince Strike (badminton), Wilson Hope (badminton), Wilson Matchpoint (badminton), Wilson n1 (badminton), Wilson n1 (badminton), Wilson n3 (badminton), Wilson n5 (badminton), Wilson Ti. Comp (badminton), Wilson Ti. Power (badminton), Wilson Ti. Smash (badminton), Wilson V4 (badminton), Wilson V8 (badminton), Yonex Isometric 23 VF (badminton), Yonex Isometric 25 VF (badminton), Yonex Isometric 30 VF (badminton), Yonex Isometric 65 LT (badminton), Yonex Isometric 75 MF Light (badminton), Yonex Muscle Power 100 (badminton), Yonex Muscle Power 23 Power (badminton), Yonex Muscle Power 25 Power (badminton), Yonex Muscle Power 28 Control (badminton), Yonex Muscle Power 30 (badminton), Yonex Muscle Power 44 (badminton), Yonex Muscle Power 66 (badminton)

Technical Tennis Dispels Time-Honored Myths

Have you ever wondered how much difference your equipment makes to your tennis game? Tennis physicist Rod Cross and technology expert (and RSI publisher and editor-in-chief) Crawford Lindsey answer all your questions and explode time-honored "truisms" in their new book, Technical Tennis: Racquets, Strings, Balls, Courts, Spin, and Bounce. The 152-page paperback is a reader-friendly follow-up to their widely acclaimed The Physics and Technology of Tennis, which they co-authored with Dr. Howard Brody (who wrote the foreword to the new book). The four chapters cover Racquets, Strings, Balls and Bounce, and Spin and Trajectory, and answer equipment- and performance-related questions that have perennially plagued hackers and experts alike, allowing players to turn practice into a focused application of principles affecting the impact, bounce, and flight of the ball. Technical Tennis is available from Racquet Tech Publishing for $12.95. To order visit Technical Tennis on the web, or call 760-536-1177.

RSI wins Apex award

Racquet Sports Industry magazine has won a 2005 Apex Award for Publication Excellence for the second year in a row. See the full story here.

String gauges added to sortable Playtest Report Summary

USRSA.com: Because many of the strings we playtest come in different gauges, we've added a "Gauge" column to the sortable playtest summary, which should help reduce confusion.

New racquet information

USRSA.com: The Digest On-line, Morphinator, and the Racquet Selector now have stringing instructions and specs (respectively) for the following new racquets: Dunlop I-Zone 5 (tennis), Dunlop M Fil 200 (tennis), Dunlop M Fil 300 (tennis), Dunlop M Fil 300 Jr. (tennis), Dunlop M Fil 500 (tennis), Dunlop M Fil 700 (tennis), Dunlop Maxply McEnroe (70 Holes) (tennis), Dunlop Maxply McEnroe Jr. (70 Holes) (tennis), Fischer Pro Tour Extreme FT (tennis), Fischer Twin Tec 1250 FTi (tennis), Head Liquidmetal 1 110 (tennis), Head Liquidmetal 1 MP (tennis), Head Liquidmetal Heat (tennis), Head Radical 21 (tennis), Head Radical 23 (tennis), Head Radical 25 (tennis), Head Ti.Eclipse (tennis), Head Ti.Evolution (tennis), Head Ti.Flash (tennis), Head Ti.Smash (tennis), Head Ti.Tornado (tennis), Prince AirDB Midplus (tennis), Prince AirDB Oversize (tennis), Prince Diablo XP MP (tennis), Prince Diablo XP OS (tennis), Prince O3 Red MP (tennis), Prince O3 Silver OS (tennis), Prince O3 Tour 100 (tennis), Tecnifibre T Feel 275 XL (tennis), Tecnifibre T Feel 290 XL (tennis), Tecnifibre T Feel 305 (tennis), Tecnifibre T Feel 305 XL (tennis), Tecnifibre T Fight 315 (tennis), Tecnifibre T Fight 325 (tennis), Volkl Boris Becker 1 (tennis), Volkl Boris Becker 10 (tennis), Volkl Boris Becker 3 (tennis), Volkl Boris Becker 5 (tennis), Volkl Boris Becker 7 (tennis), Volkl Boris Becker Power (tennis), Volkl Catapult 4 Gen II (tennis), Volkl Catapult 8 V-Engine (tennis), Volkl Tour 10 MP Gen II (tennis), Volkl Tour 6 Gen II (tennis), Wilson H Cyclone (tennis), Wilson H Rival 112 (tennis), Wilson H Rival 96 (tennis), Wilson n1 Force (tennis), Wilson nPro 98 (tennis), Wilson nPro Surge (tennis), Wilson nPro Surge X (tennis), Wilson nPS 95 (tennis), Wilson nSix One Team 95 (68 holes) (tennis), Wilson nSix One Team 95 (76 holes) (tennis), Wilson nTour 105 (tennis), Wilson nTour 95 (tennis), Wilson nVision (tennis), and the Wilson Pro Staff Blitz (tennis).

New book and a new calculator

USRSA.com: We're proud to offer our latest book, The Winner's Mind, by Allen Fox, and we've added a Twist Weight Estimator to our on-line tools.