This week’s podcast features Henrik Wallensten, a racquet reviewer, Davis Cup stringer and Tennisnerd collaborator who hits a heavy ball.
Henrik is a true tennis nerd who tests lots of gear for the Swedish tennis magazine and Tennisnerd. His home club is Tabergsdalen TKÂ where he trains with the top team, which is competing in the highest division of Swedish team tennis, “Elitserien”. In this podcast, Henrik shares one of his best tennis memories, when he had the honor to be the official stringer for the Swedish Davis Cup team during their deciding tie against Chile last year.
He has also played on the Seniors ITF Tour and about 15 years ago he did his best to become a pro player, but realized he started a little too late to catch up to the competition.
Serial racquet switcher
Henrik is, like me, a serial racquet switcher. He rarely stays with a racquet for longer than a few months and then the racquet testing bug bites and he moves on to a new set of frames. I think many of us can relate, because testing gear is just so much fun, right?
Currently, he is using the latest version of the Babolat Pure Aero, which is the same as the banana version, but with Rafa’s new Mallorca-inspired paint that has captivated the eyes of many racquet enthusiasts lately. We talk about Henrik’s go-to-strings and why he likes to string a racquet around 45-47 lbs with a full bed of medium-firm poly.
“Hank” also has some advice around how to tackle tennis elbow and we discuss what racquet he misses in the marketplace right now. This is something for Babolat to listen to for sure! :)
Listen to the podcast with Henrik Wallensten
Some time stamps from the conversation in case you don’t want to listen to the whole thing:
0:00 – 1:15 INTRO
1:16 – 2:47 Covid in Sweden, Henrik’s Tennis Team
2:48 – 8:36 Henrik’s racquet of choice
8:37 – 9:59 Arm problems from tennis
10:00-13:00 The beautiful new Pure Aero
13:01 – 17:16 Favorite surfaces and clay courts in Sweden
17:17 – 21:55 Playing on the ITF Seniors Tour
21:56 – 27:59 The Padel Craze in Sweden (Padeldemic)
28:00 – 37:12 Stringing for the Swedish Davis Cup Team
37:13 – 40:23 Favorite string setups
40:24 – 42:38 The Wilson Blade 98
42:39 – 46:45Â Henrik’s cure for tennis elbow
46:46 – 53:49 Things we would like to see from the racquet industry
53:50 – 56:08 Upcoming Racquet Reviews
56:09 – 59:00 Racquet Customization
The podcast is also available on Spotify, iTunes and a few other pod platforms.
I hope you like it and thanks a lot for listening.
If you like the content I create and would like to support Tennisnerd, please consider buying something from one of our affiliates below. You can also purchase a racquet consultation or join my Patreon page.
Tennisnerd affiliates
- Tennis Warehouse
- Tennis Warehouse Europe
- Tennis Only
- 14-day trial for TopCourt
- Improves.co online coaching
- Top Level Tennis – use TENNISNERD10 and get 10% off Gold
- Your Super Superfoods
- Angell racquets
- Tennis fitness courses
2 comments
That was a good podcast. Comforting to hear that I am not the only one gravitating towards 100 inch racquets as my speed decreases along with age and less perfect knees. Concerning paddle tennis, it does seem like a tricky question. Personally I think it does eat up tennis a bit as most new courts built are paddle courts. I tried to like paddel but to me it does not compare. I always liked sports that demand more to get started (tennis & windsurfing). Maybe a coincidence, but the pleasure once you reach a certain level from such sports is just incredible.
On a different note, the other day I watched a 60 year old gentleman play on the court next to me. He plays competitive senior tennis and his strokes very definitely very powerful. I asked him what racquet he uses and I was really surprised that he uses a 285 gram racquet…….
I always thought that light racquets where for juniors or beginners. This gentleman really had some amazing shots. Got me thinking though that perhaps I should try a few lighter frames to see how it feels.
Looking at specs for frames such as Pure Aero team and other similar frames, Swingweight is around 310 or even less. On paper it sounds like there is low power….
Thoughts?