View Full Version : Like Finding Bin Laden in a Cave?

Petra Martinnen
01-06-2005, 10:53 AM
For years many have tried to find elusive Osama in Afghan caves but cannot! Tennis Warehouse in California USA has the same diffcult hunt seeking (do they?) a regular 3.0 to 4.0 gal racket playtester? Are there caves in California by the Pacific that candidates hide inside? Is TW a tennis Taliban with women just not taken seriously? Gals come and go here for a cup of coffee never heard from again even with our WTA the most popular gal sport compared to guy sports. The 2005 season begins and I bet they never find a gal tester again this year who sticks. It is pretty sad actually! Now the oldie sticks are all near 80 in scores and the site completely dominated by the needs of the 4.5 to 5+ guys. So maybe that new USA Intelligence Agency can be used to locate a gal tester in sunny California with more sucess than it can with Osama?

01-06-2005, 12:07 PM
Pretty extreme metaphor there, if you want more 3 - 4 woman testers then ask for it?

Please don't take offense, but I think upper level players are better able to gauge differences with racquets, because they have more experience playing with different racquets and players.

Further, please don't take more offense, but what different perspective can a woman have other than the looks of the racquet? For consistency purposes, girls should be coming to the same performace conclusions as men.

01-06-2005, 12:27 PM
When it comes to tennis racquets, I believe the opinions of accomplished players matter far more to most people (including me) than those of less accomplished players. But it is possibly true that on the average, female preferences could be different from those of males. So indeed, TW should have more female play testers, but hopefully, they will be accomplished and experienced female players.

01-06-2005, 12:34 PM
What happened to Wendy?

01-06-2005, 01:02 PM
Equal rights baby! Now only if my date would pay for the bloody dinner.

01-06-2005, 02:05 PM
i think im about between a 3.5-4.0 and i would do comparitive racquet reviews, but i dunno who to ask or if my parents will even allow. lol. i can however tell racquets apart.

a PS 6.0 95 is ALOT different than a surge. lol.

TW Staff
01-06-2005, 02:36 PM
Petra, I don't think they're hiding in caves but we have had some challenges filling in our playtest team with 3.5-4.5 females. We're still trying! Wendy became a new mommy so she's taking a few months off. We anticipate her return in Spring. Thanks, Don/Tennis Warehouse

01-06-2005, 03:03 PM
I dont think it would be of any benefit to have a 3.0 to 4.0 woman testing the racquets. What I do think would be of greater benefit would be a woman in the 5.0 to 5.5 range, preferably a coach. As you're likely to have only one woman on the panel it'd be better if she could speak over a range of levels.

I disagree completely with the suggestion that a woman won't have a different take on a racquet than a man. I would think it stands to reason they will have a different 'feel' for each. Have a look at the pro tour and you'll see the women using a different range of racquets even though they have access to the same ones as the men. There are a different range of needs and would be born out through testing.

Also, I don't think it would hurt guys of a lower level to see what a higher level woman was using. Mightn't totally sway their decisions but could give them a good perspective. A realistic lower level male would do himself no harm in aspiring to the game of a many female professionals. They're never going to have the power or physical gifts of the male pros or even the top male club players so why not look at the women's side of the game where, in a lot of cases, that power and physicality isnt so prevalent? Part of that means looking at what racquets work for the women.

However, Petra if we're being honest it is men who make up the overwhelming bulk of all racquet buyers. So, from a sales point of view, it makes more sense for them to have greater representation.

01-06-2005, 03:24 PM
According to a poll I did a while back, the average user of these boards is about a 4.0. Problem with having reviewers who are all above 5.0 is that by definition, they have good mechanics, get ready on time, and are seldom too far from the sweet spot. So yes, they can tell us a lot about the potential of a stick, but less about how it'll work in the hands of the typical user. Unless TW wants to create some additional categories, like "feel on mishits," "forgiveness," or "power off the back foot," there's plenty for a 3.5 to 4.0 reviewer to do here.

And anyone who thinks that women have the same needs in a racquet as men should go look to skis, made from the same materials often by the same companies we buy racquets from. Women's skis, made for beginner to advanced intermediates, are a little lighter and softer, to allow for women's lighter body weights, have lower swingweights (yep, skis have swingweights too) and a different center of mass to allow for women's different center of gravity. Bindings should be mounted differently, too. Time's over when men should or could tell women what they want, guys...

01-06-2005, 06:38 PM
TW should ask a few "up and coming" lower ranking (futures) tennis professionals to playtest and write the reviews in exchange for TW sponsorship.

01-06-2005, 08:09 PM

Please send our congrats to Wendy on the new child. While I am a 4.5-5.0 guy, I still value the opinions that she had on the racquets because they told me things that Granville's comments didn't.

BTW, how representative of the purchasing population at TW is the makeup of this message board? I've always wondered if we're the bulk of your business or just a very insane minority.


01-06-2005, 08:40 PM
garland, insane is just the state of our mind

01-07-2005, 03:22 AM
Bin Laden is having a good life in White House. You will never find him !!!

01-07-2005, 03:48 AM
So Wendy the resident 3.5 tester is not a 3.0-4.0 female?

01-07-2005, 07:36 AM
Personally, if it were possible, I'd like to see reviews of only 4.5-5.5 men and 5.0 or above women. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I've played at a 5.0 level for a long time. Sometimes, if I'm not moving quite as well (I'm 41 now), my game can be closer to a 4.5.

The good players maximize a "players" frame the best. A 4.0 or 3.5 player is not going to give me good information on a RDX mid for example. For one, a player in that category hasn't been able to consistently hit different spins, often lacks power and has a shorter and more compact swing (not always but usually). A 3.5 female player has little or no ability to give me any accuarate feedback on a Prince Diablo, or a Volkl Tour 10--a 5.0 or very good 4.5 female does.

I'm not being chauvinstic, but most women simply are not as strong physically as men and can't take advantage of a player's frame, unless they are the advanced 4.5 or higher player.

As far as "feel" and "touch", 4.0 and below players simply don't have much. That's not a putdown, just where they are at now. A 3.5 female or a 4.0 male can't accurately tell me what kind of softness a frame has. The technique and swing speed are usually just not good enough No offense to anyone--I'm a "3.0" swimmer and suck at some other sports.

TW Staff
01-07-2005, 09:12 AM
Actually, Wendy does rate herself as a 3.0 player. I believe she's closer to 3.5-4.0 though... Don/Tennis Warehouse