I remember some years ago that pro tennis players had a small device that put ‘little plastic bits’ between the strings so they wouldn’t snap as easily. The players did the after most points, but now watching The Wimbledon I don’t see anybody doing this, but they could have stopped years ago without me noticing of course.
Please note that the plastic bits explanation was given by the commenatry team and we all now how full of it they can be;).
They are still used. I think they have more to do with damping vibration than preventing string breakage, but you’re right, they don’t seem to be in use at Wimbledon much. I’m sure I saw plenty of people using them at the French Open, though.
I’ve just had a look through some photos on the Wimbledon website and not many players seem to have them. Victoria Azarenka has. So does Dinara Safina.
The University of Birmingham (UK, not AL) says they suck, FWIW.
At first I thought the OP was talking about dampers (interesting final link, btw), but I think he actually means string savers, aka string holders. I think it’s seen less often now because each player carries at least 5 rackets, so if a string breaks they simply replace the racket immediately (well, after the end of the point - the Murray-Wawrinka match on Monday had an entertaining point in which Murray’s racket broke on his first stroke, but he kept the ball in play for several more strokes before Wawrinka was able to finish off).
The linked article makes the interesting point that some pros may still use them if they think a string is about to break but wish to preserve the same racket for the remainder of a particular game. Given the high tensions now used, how the can tell a particular string may break is beyond me, but there you go.
They are definitely still in use and are intended to dampen the vibration caused by impact with the ball. I use one because it helps reduce the impact on my wrist and elbow. Many of the newer designs fit snuggly against the frame of the racket - and so would be much less obvious, which may explain why you don’t see them as much.
Fot what it’s worth I wasn’t talking about the dampers you put in your rackets and are clearly visible, the ones that look like a small rubber donut or a ‘snake’ which you then wedge between two (actually 4) strings so it damps the vibration of those particular strings. (I always used the snake that damps 5 or 6 strings when I used to play btw)
I was refering to the string saver (thanks for the link Dead Cat) the explanations in the article make a lot of sense .
And here I thought the equipment used in tennis was always spelled racquet. Learn something new every day.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: raquets.
It’s an older form of the word, taken from the French. Spelling has been modernised to English norms.
As the link points out, those little plastic do-hickeys are not used to dampen the strings, but to prevent strings from rubbing against each other when you hit with a lot of spin. I’ve used them in the past, but they are not easy to find. And, despite the link saying they’re easy to use, I’ve always had a hard time inserting them between strings, even with the stringer.
BTW, actual dampeners are required by USTA rules to be below the strings, so if you use one, you have to be sure that it is below the first string and not between the first two.
Except for in racquetball, right? Right? ::worried
Don’t sweat the small stuff. It can be spelled either way.
