New Star 3, Star 4, and RDC videos

We've taken the 52-minute Babolat video that covers the Star 3, Star 4, and Racquet Diagnostic Center (RDC) and split it up into targeted sections. USRSA members will find these videos on the Machines page (in the members-only section), and on the Calibration page (ditto).

Updated: Racquet Mass Mover calculator

We've updated the Racquet Mass Mover calculator to include First Moment, both for the starting specs and for the racquet with all changes to mass and mass distribution.

We also reformatted the calculator in the hopes of making it easier to use and understand. Check it out!

Crawford Lindsey on strings

We've added a link to the audio of a telephone interview Crawford Lindsey did for the New York Times back in August 2004. Here, Crawford discusses strings and stringbed stiffness.

Here the audio here.

(USRSA members only — membership and site registration required.)

2007 U.S. Open players log additions

Thanks to the Wilson Stringing team, we've added 10 players from the 2007 U.S. Open to the Pro Equipment Log listing. This is in the members-only section, so you must be a USRSA member to view it and the other thousands of pro log listings.

Special stringing instructions for the HEAD CrossBow and Airflow CB racquets

It never fails. No sooner did we publish a blanket statement by HEAD that the crosses on every HEAD performance racquet must be strung from the top down, than we receive word that the new HEAD CrossBow and Airflow CB racquets require a hybrid stringing technique. This technique includes special mounting instructions and a special order of installing the strings to prevent frame distortion, and it keeps the Crossbow from popping out of place.

USRSA members will find a link to the special instructions here.

Pacific Life Open pro equipment log now available

The pro equipment log for the 2008 Pacific Life Open is now available on-line to USRSA members in the Reference section. As with other years, the bulk of the information comes from David Mindell, Casey Maus, and the crew at Star Stringing in Cathedral City. However, this year, we were fortunate to get pro equipment info from off-site stringers Ron Yu (Priority One) and Billy Knight, making this one of the most comprehensive pro logs ever, with information on 307 players, coaches, and even a couple of hitting partners. Thanks to everyone who made this listing possible.

You'll note that because the pro log search results are now sortable, we changed the players' names to "lastname, firstname" so that sorting on the player column makes more sense.

New format for 'Ask the Experts' and 'Tips and Techniques'

Although it always has been possible to search for relevant items in either "Ask the Experts" or "Tips and Techniques," let's face it ... the process was a bit clunky. Whether you used the search form or used your browser to go through the list of all available items, it could have been easier.

Now, it is. With a little help from WordPress, all available "Ask the Experts" and "Tips and Techniques" items that appeared in Stringer's Assistant or RacquetTECH magazines are now readily available. The search function now works better, and there are multiple ways to get to the information. Once the conversion is complete, you'll even be able to see every "Tips and Techniques" post by any given submitter.

This conversion worked so well that we're starting to transfer other back-issue items into this system. Eventually, the goal is to have just about all of the content from back issues of Stringer's Assistant and RacquetTECH magazines available through this new interface.

New sortable columns in pro log tables

Not only are is our new pro player equipment listing searchable, it's also sortable. After you perform a search of our huge database of pro racquets, strings, and tensions, you can click on the column headers to change the sort based on the data in that column. Click once to sort it one way, click again to sort it the other way.

We'll be making other similar tables sortable, too. We've already converted the playtest results table over, so give that one a try next time you're in that area.