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Podcasts and InterviewTennis Racquets

The Legend of the HEAD Ti.S6

by TN
written by TN

Henrik Wallensten is in testing mode and has been trying the new Wilson Shift, the Babolat Pure Drive 98 and…drumroll…the HEAD Ti.S6.

The legend of the HEAD Ti.S6

You have probably seen a HEAD Ti.S6 somewhere where you play tennis. It's become an icon in veteran tennis. Why? Because with its insanely user-friendly specs, you get a light racquet with lots of power that is still relatively comfortable (especially when strung with a synthetic gut strung). So why have Henrik bought a HEAD Ti.S6 to try? Well, you have to listen to the podcast to find that out. We also talk about the Babolat Pure Drive 98, the Wilson Shift and why modern racquets are so dampened and muted compared to 10-20 years ago.

Specifications

The specifications come from Tennis Warehouse, where the racquet is for sold at the budget-friendly price of 99 USD. It actually has an aggregated review rating of 4.7 starts out of move from 9 reviews and is listed as a “top seller”.

Head Size: 115 in / 741.93 cm
Length: 27.75in / 70.49cm
Strung Weight:8.9oz / 252g
Balance: 14.9in / 37.85cm / 8 pts HH
Swingweight: 318
Stiffness: 75
Beam Width: 27mm-28mm
Composition: Graphite / Titanium Composite
Power Level: High
Stroke Style: Compact-Medium
Swing Speed: Slow-Moderate
Racquet Colors: Silver & Blue
Grip Type: Head Cusion Grip
String Pattern:

16 Mains / 19 Crosses
Mains skip: 8T,7H,9H
One Piece
No Shared Holes
String Tension: 57-66 pounds

How does it play?

Henrik first tried it with the pre-strung synthetic gut string. And he loved the ease of use and power that the Ti.S6 provided. He quickly understood why this is such a hit among beginners and veterans. You will do well to shorten your swing a bit when you hit with this rocket launcher of a racquet. But if you do you are rewarded with decent control, maneuverability (this racquet is ultra-light at 240g unstrung!) and massive power.

It's not going to be feasible to use this racquet against advanced players due to the lack of control, but Henrik wants to see what happens if you string it with a polyester setup and add some weight to the handle. He will report back with a review.

Let me know if you have tried the legendary HEAD Ti.S6 and what you think of it. You can purchase it at Tennis Warehouse or Tennis Only.

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NewsPodcasts and Interview

What’s up, Rafa?

by TN
written by TN

The tennis tours have started with the United Cup, Adelaide, and Auckland. One question needs to be tackled on the podcast: what's up, Rafa?

What's up, Rafa?

Rafael Nadal is one of the favorites for the Australian Open 2023 title, but his start at the United Cup was slightly ominous. Two losses out of two matches and some obvious issues on the serve. Dennis Timar and I speculate about abdominal issues and more on the latest Tennisnerd podcast, which you can listen to below.

Can Rafa overcome his issues and win Grand Slam title 23? With Rafa Nadal, nothing is impossible to steal Adidas' slogan. But he, for sure, hasn't started in the best possible way.

Djokovic, on the other hand, looks fresh and hungry. He loves playing down under, and being allowed back into the country must feel great. At the time of writing, he is in the quarter-finals against Dennis Shapovalov in Adelaide 1.

Stuck in the starting blocks

Rafa is not alone in starting with a loss. Felix Auger-Aliassime was dumped out of the first round in Adelaide, which is somewhat surprising after his massive 2022 season. The same goes for Holger Rune. But you can't read too much into first-round losses in the year's first tournament.

Dennis actually thought Rune was an outsider for the Australian Open title, but in the end we will both probably chicken out with a Djokovic prediction. But we will get into our predictions next week on the podcast. I am really thankful that the interest around the podcast is growing and I would be happy if you subscribed on your podcasting platform of choice. There will be some interesting guests in the future and the more likes and listeners, the better the guests.

If you want to support Tennisnerd and the work we do, please join Patreon where you get loads of free content every week.

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Podcasts and Interview

The Kanye West of Tennis

by TN
written by TN

During a podcast, you sometimes say something that sounds like a good headline. That was the case with “the Kanye West of Tennis”.

The Kanye West of Tennis

I hope you check out the Tennisnerd podcast and subscribe if you find it entertaining. You can listen to the episode and other episodes below. Once a week, Dennis Timar joins me to discuss certain topics. Usually centered around the main news in the tennis world. Then we go on some distant tangents, as you do in conversation. Kanye West is one of the top talents for staying in the news (for good and bad!). In the tennis world, this guy is undoubtedly Nick Kyrgios. They might not have other likenesses, but that one rings true.

The theme of this week's podcast is not Kanye West but rather the money side of tennis. What it takes to take a brand to the next level, sponsorships, the odd off-season exhibition tour, and much more.

Dennis' budding padel career

Mr. Timar has played tennis since he was four years old but has recently gotten into padel. Most tennis players are not too enthusiastic about this growing sport in Europe since they usually replace tennis courts with padel courts as it is easier to monetize a hyped-up sport where you can squeeze in three padel courts (12 players) in the footprint of a tennis court. From a business point of view, it makes a lot of sense, but the old tennis heart can bleed when you see courts disappear.

You have a similar trend in the U.S., but it seems even stronger. That trend is represented by pickleball (click to find some TN content about this sport).

Most people reading or creating content for TN are hardcore tennis nerds. However, I think it's better if we try to co-exist and help people move in between the sports depending on their needs. I think it's better to work together than to verbally excrement on other sports. At least in theory.

So Dennis has written a post about his adventures in padel (he is not leaving tennis). That should be up tomorrow.

Have you tried pickleball or padel? Are you interested in these sports or not at all? Keen to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Ps. Sorry for the confusion with Taylor Fritz on the cover. He is not the Kanye West of tennis, but he did win the Diryah Cup Ds.

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AnalysisPodcasts and InterviewTennis Racquets

Podcast with Fabrice Sbarro

by TN
written by TN

Fabrice Sbarro is one of the world's leading performance analysts. He works with some of the best players on the ATP and WTA tours.

Podcast with Fabrice Sbarro

Fabrice Sbarro is a true tennis nerd. He was one of the first coaches to employ data and statistics in his work, and today he is one of the leaders in this growing field. He helps professional tennis players develop strategies and tactics as a performance analyst. Often it is developing a game plan before a match based on the opponent's data, but it can also be about developing a player based on their stats and analytics.

Besides working with top players, Fabrice runs the website Tennis Profiler, which provides game analysis of all the top 100 ATP/WTA but also ATP legends players. He is also a part of the EDGE player agency and the author of ” Tennis quel joueur êtes-vous ? “, a book about game style optimization (only in French).

One of my favorite parts of our conversation is hearing about the hours of hard work he put into reaching the level he has in his field of passion. “Passion is not enough. You need to be obsessed.”

Listen to the podcast with Fabrice

Fabrice is a very engaging and passionate talker, and I had great fun discussing tennis with him on the podcast. His openness is refreshing, and his points of view are interesting. I hope you will enjoy listening to our conversation.

You can listen to the Tennisnerd podcast on iTunes, Spotify and other podcasting platforms. You can also listen to it in the embedded player from Podbean below.

Do you have any ideas for guests you would like to hear from in future podcast? Contact us here or comment below.

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Podcasts and InterviewTennis Humor

Why is there a toilet in the tree?

by TN
written by TN

Why is there a toilet in the tree? Listen to my almost two-hour conversation with coach Evan Gaudreau. You will find the answer.

A personal conversation with Coach Evan Gaudreau

Coach Evan has been on the Tennisnerd podcast several times, discussing some of his interesting thoughts around patterns of play and box training. Click here if you want to read some of his analysis pieces.  But we had never had a personal chat before, so it was overdue. In this conversation, we don't only talk about winner ball, box training, and patterns of play. We get into childhood PTSD, wishes for the future, frustrating players to watch, what tennis needs to do to stay relevant, diet for people nearing 50, and much more.

Far from all, it is about tennis, but we try to relate as much of the podcast as possible to the sport we both love. Evan has a straightforward and honest way of talking. He is not afraid to pull punches or say what is on his mind. I like that. It is refreshing. Although I'm sure it can rub some people the wrong way, I encourage you to listen to this episode with an open mind. We are just two guys talking about tennis and life. Hopefully, it's not too boring to listen to.

Any feedback you have about this episode or the Tennisnerd podcast, in general, is appreciated. Besides the weekly talk to my friend Dennis Timar about the state of tennis, I aim to interview and talk to players from in and around tennis all over the world. If you have any ideas for exciting guests, let me know in the comments.

Listen to the podcast

You can listen to the podcast on the embedded player or your favorite platform, like Spotify or iTunes.

Again, I hope you like the chat and subscribe to the upcoming episodes. It means a lot. Thanks!

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NewsPodcasts and Interview

Ben Shelton’s Shoes

by TN
written by TN

Ben Shelton's shoes deserved a brief segment at the end of this episode of the Tennisnerd podcast. Before that we delve into  ATP Finals, Next Gen Finals and new racquets.

Ben Shelton's Shoes

Why did we mention Ben Shelton's shoes and what are they? Well, they are the New Balance 996 V.45 and the reason we got into them is that they are quite fugly in my humble opinion. But they are sure to leave an impression. Kind of like Shelton's game, which has led him to capture two Challenger titles in a row.

And talking about challengers, the tennis tours on both the men's and the women's sides are stronger than ever. The top 100 is incredibly difficult to get into. Dennis Timar and I predict an exciting 2023 for tennis!

Upcoming racquets

We also mention some upcoming racquets. The Babolat Pure Aero Rafa update, the new Yonex VCORE, HEAD Radicals, and Gravity racquets. There is much to look forward to on the equipment front early next year. Oh, and we can't forget the new Wilson Shift!

And besides racquets, we also have the new Vapor Pro update to be excited about.

The most open ATP Finals ever?

Has it ever been more difficult to predict a winner for the ATP finals? Probably not! Djokovic is perhaps the strongest favorite still, but the field does feel wide open in many aspects.

What should we read into Rafa crashing out? Not much, considering the lack of match practice he had before the event.

Nadal will keep on fighting and I'm sure he will be back strong for the Australian Open 2023.

Novak is back

Regarding the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic can play in the first grand slam of the year. Big news for Novak fans, but it is obviously good for tennis to have one of the best players of all time compete in the most important events. Is he the favorite to win it? I would say so.

Listen to the podcast

You can listen to the podcast on Spotify, iTunes and your favorite podcasting platform. Or why not listen to the embedded player right here?

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PickleballPodcasts and Interview

Is pickleball killing tennis?

by TN
written by TN

It's a question that has popped up from time to time during pickleball's insane rise in the US. But is pickleball killing tennis?

Is pickleball killing tennis?

Regarding pickleball killing tennis, we need to focus on the US because, in Europe, padel is doing something similar. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport of all time and a fun and easy way to get into racquet sports. The relatively flat learning curve makes it easy to pick up and play, and the smaller court doesn't put as many physical demands on the player as, for example, tennis. Is easier always better? No, of course not. But the mature reaction to other racquet sports growing is to see it as beneficial for tennis in the long run as there will probably be a lot of overlap and players moving in between the sports.

If you're into pickleball and want to choose a paddle, check out our pickleball paddle reviews. And if you want to improve your pickleball skills, check out TopCourt.

Tennis courts disappear

It's natural to be worried or frustrated as a tennis player or coach because tennis courts are being repainted or rebuilt into pickleball courts across the United States. It's, of course, sad when tennis courts disappear. We have seen a similar trend in Europe with tennis courts being removed to fit two to three padel courts. It's understandable for the clubs to do it because the demand for padel is high, and you can squeeze in more courts and people and get more money within the same square meters.

Is this a trend or will it keep going? Will people that flood to pickleball and padel stay in the sport? Tennis has been around for a long time and is one of the five biggest sports in the world, so are we silly to be worried about its future?

We discuss this topic (and a lot more) in our latest podcast episode, which you can check out on Spotify, iTunes and other podcasting platforms. You can also listen to it in the embedded player below. You can find other podcast episodes here or here.

Do you play pickleball or padel? What do you think about these racquets sports growth across the US and Europe?

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Podcasts and InterviewPredictions

Paris Masters Predictions

by TN
written by TN

In my latest podcast episode together with Dennis Timar we go through our Paris Masters predictions, the WTA finals and more.

As always on the podcast, we not only do Paris Masters predictions but also get into some racquet stuff. We try to keep it interesting and centered around our passion for the sport.

You can listen to the episode below or on your favorite podcast app/player or the embedded Podbean player below. Please subscribe to the podcast. It helps a lot, thanks. You can find other podcast episodes here or here.

Paris Masters Predictions

With three tournament wins in a row, it's difficult to bet against Felix Auger-Aliassime. On the other hand, the event sees the return of Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Anytime one or more of the GOATs enter an event, it's a lot trickier for the rest of the field. Still, Nadal is not the happiest on a fast-paced indoor court. But, as we discussed on the podcast, he wouldn't enter the event if he didn't feel like he had a chance of winning. His sight is clearly set at the ATP Finals in Turin, the only major event he has not yet won.

Daniil Medvedev should obviously be mentioned as one of the favorites. He won in Vienna and loves the conditions. You always expect Medvedev and Djokovic to do well at this time of the season. The question is if young guns like Alcaraz, Rune and Auger-Aliassime (all endorsing /using Babolat Pure Aero VS, by the way) can hit through the wall that these tennis/chess players provide.

It creates a fascinating scenario with a super strong field full of hungry players. The Paris Masters has had a history of upsets and surprising results, but this year it's challenging to pick a player outside the ones I've mentioned.

Who do you think will win the Paris Masters?

If you're a betting man or woman, check out our partners BetUS (US) or Betsson (Europe). But never bet more than you can afford to lose.

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Podcasts and InterviewTennis Racquets

Tennisnerd on the Functional Tennis Podcast

by TN
written by TN

I was invited to the Functional Tennis Podcast to discuss the racquet of the year and other things about tennis racquets.

If you don't know Functional Tennis, it is a brand run by tennis enthusiast Fabio Molle with a massive Instagram following of more than half a million followers. He curates tennis content from around the world but also has interesting training-focused products like the Match Journal, the Tennis Pointer, and now the bestselling Saber.

It's always fun to talk tennis to fellow nerds and passionate individuals, and I really enjoyed the chat with Fabio.

You can listen to it below.

Or via this link, where you can choose your favorite podcasting platform.

Check out Functional Tennis and their Racket of the Year on Instagram.

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Podcasts and InterviewStringing machinesStrings

Stringing for the Big 4

by TN
written by TN

In this podcast episode, I'm joined by the Laver Cup 2022 stringing team, where we talk about stringing for the big 4 and much more.

Stringing for the big 4 – The Laver Cup stringing team

It's the first time I've done a podcast with six people. So big thanks to Edwin, Mauro, Huw, Richard, Dennis, and Martin for joining the Tennisnerd podcast. It's always interesting to hear from the best stringers in the world and I hope it inspires more players to take up stringing.

In this episode, we talk about stringing for the big 4 at the 2022 Laver Cup and some of the following:

  • What is the difference between a drop weight and an electronic stringing machine in terms of quality?
  • What happened to Matteo Berrettini's racquets at the Laver Cup?
  • Why stringers deserve more respect from organizations and players.
  • Some tips and tricks on dealing with string breakage.
  • How long it takes to adjust between different machines.

And much more, of course.

The stringers

The Laver Cup 2022 stringing team:

Richard Parnell
Huw Phillips
Martin Mann
Edwin Gruijs
Mauro Pinaffo

Want to start stringing?
Check out the Global Racquet Stringers Association for courses, info and more.

Thanks again to Dennis Fabian for setting this up. If you want to know more about Dennis and his work on HEAD products, check out my latest podcast with him.

Are you interested in buying a stringing machine? Check out the selection of stringing machines at our friends at Tennis Warehouse.

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