7 Reasons to “Stencil” or Logo Your Racquet Strings?

Ever thought about why your racquet comes with a “stenciled” logo on the strings.  Wilson has a big red”W”, Prince has a big black “P”, Yonnex has a big “YY”, Dunlop has a “D” inside a circle with a pointed arrow and etc.

This “branding” is applied with a particular kind of ink that can vary in color – usually red or black.  It is applied using a small bottle of ink or paint in a plastic container about 3-4 inches long and about an inch in diameter.

The tube has a felt-like material at the end of the tube.  When the bottle or tube is tilted downward toward the racquet string the ink will flow to the end of the tube that allows it to flow from the tube to the surface of the strings.

When the tilted tube with the felt-like material at the end is rubbed against the strings of the racquet, ink will be transferred to the strings (although I once had a customer who insisted that I “weave” the logo letter into the strings). The tube has a screw on cap that will protect the ink from running out or drying from the air.

The ink is applied by tracing a “stencil” or precut design so the ink will have a chosen shape on the strings.  Once allowed to dry it is semi-permanent until struck repeatedly with a ball or other object and begins to show signs of wear.

Here are 7 reasons to “stencil” or logo a racquet:

1. “Branded” - obviously, the racquet company wants people who are watching you play to be able to recognize that your racquet is their particular brand from 3 courts away.  The more you see their brand the more you will think of their brand when you go to buy your next racquet.
2. “Get paid to play” - the more famous you are the more likely the companies are to actually “pay” you to put their logo on your racquet strings. Now when you are playing on TV, the audience can recognize the brand of racquet you are using.
3. “Just like the pros” - Once you win the match and receive the trophy and millions of dollars, the audience will want to rush out and buy the same racquet for themselves and their family so they can play just like you.
4. “Have a target”- having the logo on the strings can allow you to have a target for the ball to contact while playing – as opposed to always hitting the frame.  The strings are 100 square inches of available hitting space as opposed the ½ inch wide frame.  It is pretty amazing how often we can hit the frame vs the strings.
5. “Wear pattern” - as you play the ink begins to come off the strings as the ball is constantly hit in the middle of your strings – or not.  But it creates a wear pattern that is proof positive exactly where you have been contacting the ball on your strings in practice and match play.
6. “When to string” – while not totally accurate the disappearing logo can be an indicator of when it is time to restring your racquet.  Or at least when to get you logo re-touched up by the local pro shop and have everyone think you have a new racquet or string job.
7. “Can’t touch this” - create your own special logo with your initial or design so no one can steal your racquet.  If they do, you will be able to recognize it is yours from 6 courts away.  Warning, this could lead to a confrontation and embarrassment so be sure there is a big audience around to watch the event.  Hopefully the culprit has not chosen to use the same design as you as this could be embarrassing for you as well – just kidding.

7 reasons to “stencil” or logo your racquet is just a simple thought about an everyday thing that happens in the tennis world.  Do you have other ideas why you would logo a racquet?

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arrow, audience, big black, diameter, dunlop, match, paint, plastic container, prince, racquet strings, screw, shape, signs, trophy, yonnex, yy

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Tennis Tips

Posted by Ken DeHart on March 23, 2009 in Tennis Tips. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.