Category Archives: Pre-stretch
What About Me?
A lifetime dedicated to racquet technology and innovation
For more than five decades, I have been immersed in the world of tennis racquet and string design, manufacturing, and performance optimization. As the owner of Racquet Quest, LLC, I’ve combined deep technical expertise with hands-on innovation to set new benchmarks in racquet customization, diagnostics, and stringing.
My journey has been defined by a relentless pursuit of precision and performance—whether with professionals, college, junior tournament players, in the lab, or in front of an audience, sharing knowledge with peers.
Advanced diagnostic technology
At Racquet Quest, technology and science drive results. I’ve integrated some of the most advanced diagnostic equipment available, alongside proprietary systems I’ve developed, to provide unmatched insights into racquet and string performance:
- True Tension Stringing Machines – pioneering distortion-free stringing
- Babolat Racket Station & Wilson Baiardo Stringing Machines – industry-leading accuracy
- Babolat RDC (Racquet Diagnostic Center) – comprehensive racquet analysis
- Questron proprietary string testing equipment – measuring ultimate tensile strength, stress/strain, knot strength, and more
- Three-string comparative graphing tools – side-by-side performance visualization
- Flex, In-Plane, and String Bed Stiffness devices – quantifying structural dynamics
- Custom portable SBS device – portable precision testing
By combining these tools, I’ve been able to capture and refine the delicate balance between tension, elasticity, and structural integrity, pushing racquet performance beyond traditional standards.
Innovation in design and customization
Innovation has always been central to my work. Some of the highlights include:
- Development of the Perfect Pallet grip system with a custom three-piece anti-vibration design
- Expertise in Special MakeUp (SMU/Pro Stock) racquets for elite players
- Custom racquet extensions and modifications tailored to individual needs
- Proprietary software solutions for collecting and analyzing racquet and string performance data
These advancements have helped players—from juniors to professionals—experience greater consistency, comfort, and control on court.
Experience on the global stage
- My expertise extends well beyond the workshop:
- 50 years in racquet and string design and manufacturing
- Professional event stringing services for several years at major tournaments
- Seminar presenter for 12+ years, sharing expertise with players, coaches, and technicians
- Delivered the acclaimed session “Understanding String” at the 1994 Super Show in Atlanta, hosted by the United States Racquet Stringers Association
This combination of hands-on service and educational leadership has helped shape best practices across the racquet service community.
Media and knowledge sharing
I believe that expertise should be shared widely. To that end, I’ve created multiple platforms to bring racquet knowledge to players and enthusiasts worldwide:
- RacquetQuest.tennis – a hub for insights and resources on racquet technology
- Racquet Quest Podcast, Podcastini, and Podcast Midi – covering everything from string science to on-court trends
Through these channels, I aim to make the science of racquets accessible to every level of the game.
⸻
Tennis continues to evolve, and so does racquet technology. At Racquet Quest, I remain committed to research, testing, and innovation that give players an edge while deepening their understanding of how equipment shapes performance.
Whether stringing for professionals, customizing for serious competitors, or educating the next generation of racquet technicians, the mission remains the same: deliver precision, performance, and passion through technology.
NG Strings – Part Two: Natural Gut Knot Strength
Any string that goes into a tennis racquet is, at some point, going to be tied off using a knot. Creating a string knot is normally not an issue, however, some strings are more sensitive to this process than others.
This plot will show the relative difference between gauges, and other properties. We can see that NG17 gauge did not quite make it to the stress/strain ceiling of 50 pounds. That is why there is only a single line while the other two (2) go through the cycle before the knot fails.
This is a tough test for natural gut due to the coefficient of friction (COF) being pretty high meaning the overlapping strings are like sawing at each other as the knot is being pulled tight. The knot strengths in the 60 pound range are suitable and will not, typically, be a problem. Be very careful with values less than that, however.
Natural Gut Knot Strength
And, while we are talking about knots, we need to consider the best practices for tying off other strings on natural gut. The best practice is don’t! Find a grommet that can be suitable for tying off another material type on itself…not the natural gut. Obviously if the entire string bed is natural gut it is a good idea to find a suitable tie off on a cross string.
There are other considerations when typing off on natural gut and we will have look at these in a future post.
The power potential of the NG Strings has beed added to the String Power Potential page and can be seen here.
Just type in NG Strings in the search field if you don’t feel like scrolling!
NG Strings
Several months ago we tested some small samples of NG natural gut string. The results were not exciting so the data was not published.
Recently we tested some new versions of NG Strings, the PROV5+, and have some results to post.
First, the packaging is top notch.
Second, the two (2) 12m lengths per set is perfect, in our opinion, since all racquets should be strung using two (2) pieces of string, no one piece or ATW. There may be a manufacturing component to the 2 piece decision, also.
The “squiggles” we see in the two (2) NG Strings may be the tiny changes in the bonding agent(s) that occurs under load. We have seen this in some early Luxilon gut. We refer to it as a “break-in period”. Pre-stretching the entire piece length will reduce the break-in period.
Third, the gauge is much more consistent than previous samples.
This initial post will include stress/strain and ultimate tensile strength plots compared to Babolat VS Touch 17, our most used natural gut.
The first plot is UTS:
Natural Gut UTS
This visual tells the story but if you want the numbers they are at the failure end of each string. The stress/strain cycle shows the relative “softness” of each string. The higher the deflection the softer the string, so NG16 is the stiffest of the three and NG 17 is the softest.
We will be adding Knot Strength so check back soon the see how each string reacts to knots!
We will do several other tests before the string goes into a racquet for player feedback.
In summary this version shows tremendous improvement over the first version we tested… give it a try.
More Linearity
Every string we use and even string we do not use goes through our Questron testing cycle. We have discussed this before, and a video on this site shows the Questron in action. We have updated the Questron significantly since the video was made…and it isn’t quiet.
We want to discuss “linearity” and how it can help when choosing a string setup.
We used these strings recently, and they were not chosen for any reason other than availability.
The first graph shows highly linear strings. The straighter the line from “0” to “fail,” the more linear and consistent the string is throughout its life.
So, what does linearity do for me?
- Maintains tension
- Minimizes energy loss
- Maintains playability
- Maintains consistency
- Maximizes control
- Maintains predictability
- Provides confidence throughout your match
This property is essential to us. That is why we offer an alternative to non-linear strings.
If you would like this information for your favorite string, please let us know, and we will try to provide it for you nd all other readers!
Racquet Quest, LLC
