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Below is the Tennisnerd Newsletter for March 24, 2025.
Tennisnerd Newsletter, March 24, 2025
Fellow tennis nerds,
I hope all is well.
I’m writing this on Monday morning and looking forward to a sunny week after lots of rain here in Spain.
I also signed up to play a tournament, which I most likely will regret when the matches get underway. Are you playing tournaments? How are you doing in them?
Miami Open in shambles?
Have you been watching the Miami Open? It has been a strange tournament so far. Alcaraz lost in his first match to Goffin. Indian Wells champion Jack Draper got beaten by Mensik. Rublev lost to Bergs and the list of upsets goes on.
Medvedev lost too, but this is not as surprising anymore. He seems to have lost his way a bit and struggle to win matches that two years ago looked relatively easy. He did complain about the balls and although he is the most vocal about it, I don’t think he is alone.
If we talk about players with new racquets, Tsitsipas and Bublik, they are both out of the event with somewhat lacklustre performances. On the WTA, Svitolina is still in the mix with her new Axis 98, but Madison Keys lost to Alexandra Eala, who is having a breakthrough tournament. Andreeva, who won IW, lost to Anisimova, so this Miami Open seems close to impossible to predict.
Overall, the event seems to be running so-so. This is what was posted by tennis podcaster and entrepreneur Craig Shapiro on Threads:
“Wow this tournament is in shambles. Players bitching about the balls, posting about it being a parking lot, posting footage of traffic. IMG putting their players on show courts over better matches. They screwed up the Fonseca assignments so bad it was pandemonium. PTPA lawsuit. Players tanking.”
Let’s hope it is not as bad as it sounds! If you visited the Miami Open, let me know what you think about it.
You can get a good summary of what is going on in tennis from our collaborator Bren Gray every week at This Week in Tennis
Power or Spin?
Yesterday, I posted a video with my friend Robert, who used to play Futures and now coaches performance players for SALK in Stockholm. He tested loads of racquets in the video and decided to make the switch.
Now that many pro players are looking for more depth and spin from their racquets, it is timely to talk about power vs spin racquets. You don’t have to be a spin-focused player to use a spin racquet. Think of the different categories as what you want more of in your game. If you want free depth and power, a power racquet like Babolat Pure Drive, Wilson Ultra or Yonex Ezone can be a good move. If you want a higher trajectory over the net and to accentuate spin potential, consider getting a spin racquet like the HEAD Extreme, Diadem Axis or Dunlop SX.
You can read my musings and watch the video here.
If you want to purchase any of the above racquets, we appreciate if you do so using our Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe (TNERD10 for 10% off) or Tennis Only affiliate links.
On the testing block
I have recently tested several new Toroline strings like O-Toro Tour and O-Toro Spin. The Tour version is firmer and a good competitor to strings like Tour Bite and 4G. The O-Toro Spin string is a softer spin string, competing with the new Mach-10 and Tru Pro Pure Rush. I prefer O-Toro Spin and really liked it in the new HEAD Radical MP.
Read about new Toroline strings
Grapplesnake Aspera Triplum is another string I have tested alongside our contributor, Simon. It is an extremely spin-oriented string that cuts the felt of the ball into little pieces with its four-sided, rough surface. If you want to maximize spin, it could be worth checking out, but it was a little extreme for my liking. Kudos to Grapplesnake for trying new things and pushing the envelope.
Read about Grapplesnake Aspera Triplum
I have also tested the upcoming Restring Vivo string. This one has a lot of properties I like. Good ball bite, not too soft, not too firm and it comes in a nice turqoise color. It will be out in a week from now.
Read our Restring Vivo Review
Pro players with new gear
Thanks to you who send me new pro player gear updates on Instagram. This week, Bianca Andreescu was spotted with an Ezone instead of her usual HEAD Speed or HEAD Extreme (she recently switched, but not sure what is underneath the cosmetic).
Danielle Collins played with a new racquet, just painted white. It did have the Tecnifibre eyelet grommet holes for easy knots, so I assume it is some kind of Tfight. If you have more info, don’t hesitate to reach out.
There were also rumours about Rublev testing new strings (I don’t know which ones and he lost in his first match in Miami) and Djokovic trying a more powerful setup (no idea what that would be either, but it seems logical that Andy “Ezone” Murray would get some ideas into his head about getting more pop from his racquet setup).
Did you spot anything else?
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Members get an exclusive video every week (on YouTube and Patreon) and on Patreon you can also ask questions in the chat and talk to other tennis nerds.
This week it was a mixed bag, but Sean and Nikki helped me test some racquets, I talked about my newfound love for the Nordicdots Model 100 and much more.
Check out our Patreon: https://bit.ly/TNpatreon
That’s it for this week of the Tennisnerd newsletter. Thanks for reading. If this is too long or completely uninteresting, I’m keen to hear. Constructive feedback on what content you like and dislike is always welcome. If you want me to talk more or less about the happenings of the pro tour, I’m keen to know.
Have a great week and don’t forget to play some tennis!
PS. We are planning a Tennisnerd trip to Tuscany in October including wine tasting, tennis coaching from an ex-pro, racquet talk and consultation and much more in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Let me know if you are interested, as there are limited spots. It should be a tennis trip to remember for a lifetime. Ds.
Regards / Jonas
