New Racquet Syndrome
by Joseph Delgado
There's a strange condition after a racquet is restrung called NRS or New Racquet Syndrome. It has nothing to do with the racquet but more the player using it. Suddenly the player's hitting is off, there's additional shock, stiffness, loss of power, and a host of other negative symptoms. Over the course of this article, I'll do my best to identify the syndrome, that affects so many, and what can be done.
A lot of my customers wait until the strings break before restringing. That's like taking your car for service only after it breaks down on the side of the road. Where NRS comes in, people expect the racquet to behave the same when it has new strings. Almost akin to driving a car with four near flat tires and then getting new ones at the shop. The car and the racquet won't feel the same.
Racquets lose tension even if they don't do anything. It's like a slow drip from a facuet 24 hours a day seven days a week. Suddenly people do the odd thing and actually use the racquet on the court. That first hit costs you about 10% of your tension. Each consecutive hit costs you a little until the strings are either a sloppy mess or break.
There are a couple of treatments but I'm afraid there's no cure for NRS. It just gets better with time as you get accustomed to the racquet again and the strings break in. Below are a couple of things to help you manage NRS and your equipment:
- Get your racquet restrung the number of times you play per week per year. So if you play three times a week you can expect to have your racquet redone every four months or so. Restringing, before the strings break, will help keep the tension pretty consistent and reduce NRS.
- Have a spare racquet done at the same tension, string, etc. So you can alternate racquets when you play. That will help keep the tension about the same on each racquet and if you happen to break the strings on one. You have a backup that's ready to go without the NRS shock. Great idea for a tournament player. Professionals, especially in Tennis, carry a bunch of racquets. They don't want the slightest NRS to affect their chances of winning.
- Inspect your strings periodically or use a Racquet String Tension Gauge like Stringmeter. The gauge can give you a good reference tension of your racquet when it is strung and as you use it. Then you can see how long it takes to lose a signifficant amount of tension that affects your game.
Anyway I hope I've shed some light on NRS. I'm often on the court with people I string for. The first couple of hits with a new racquet they look at me incredulously. Now I just tell them you're affected by NRS, but don't worry it will go away.
Thanks,
--Joe Delgado
Joe Delgado has been stringing racquetball racquets for the past seven years (2003) and plays Racquetball in New Jersey. He's also the President of Enchanted Quill Press, LLC. He plays racquetball using one of two Head Meanstreaks strung at 42 lbs. with Ashaway Superkill XL (17g) string.
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Copyright 2010, 2009 by Enchanted Quill Press LLC. Updated on 06/24/10. Ashaway, USRSA and Racquet Manufacturer Logos are copyrights and trademarks of their respective companies.
