Ordering from Tennis Warehouse

I was getting a little fed up with not being able to find the correct grip size for my tennis racquets. My grip size is 4 1/8 i have very small hands but if i were left handed i would be able to easily use a 4 1/4 grip size without any problems as the fingers on my right hand is shorter than those on my left. I also decided that rather than being forced to sticking to just Head racquets (Head racquets racquets generally have rounder smaller grips) i decided to order my racquets directly from Tennis Warehouse USA. Sure they might cost me more due to the currency conversion rates as well as shipping via Fed Ex but to get the racquet and grip size that i want is all that actually really mattered and therefore i was willing to pay a premium price for it.


The racquet i choose to import directly from the Tennis Warehouse USA was the Yonex RDS 001 Mid Plus (click here a Review on the Yonex RDS 001 Mid Plus). I had purchased a 4 1/4 grip size model only two weeks earlier from Gala Sports in Queensway (Gala Sports Racket & Strings @ Queensway Shopping Centre, #01-33. Tel: 64761227) to try it out. I really like the feel and the power the Yonex RDS 001 Mid Plus gave me but the 4 1/4 grip size was causing me too much problems and on many occasions it was slipping out of my hands while hitting a drive as the grip was too large for me. I then decided to sell my one week old Yonex RDS 001 MP away as i couldn't use it effectively and thought of trying to source out for a smaller 4 1/8 grip size. I tried most of the stores in Singapore as well as direct to Sunrise Pte Ltd. Yonex's exclusive distributor here in Singapore and some parts of South East Asia. I did not get an immediate response from them and when their contact finally got back to me after a few days later, i had already made a purchase for the Yonex RDS 001 MP on Tennis warehouse already. I however didn't think that they would be able to get a 4 1/8 grip size as the guy didn't even mention its availability and i think getting it would be highly unlikely.

Ironically, Singapore being an Asian country does not have smaller grip size while the US being more Caucasian based cater to such small grip sizes. I find this really surprising and annoying at times. In Singapore the most popular grip sizes are 4 1/4 and 4 3/8 that's about it. You will still find sizes like 4 1/8, 4 1/2 and 4 5/8 but these are extremely rare and only come in selected models. Out of these 3 grip sizes, 4 1/8 seems to be the most rarest of the lot. Many stores only have stock for some selected models NOT all. So one particular model might only come in a smaller 4 1/8 grip size. The other thing i noticed is that 4 1/8 grip sizes seemed to be available for tweener racquets and not player models. Lighter and more power based head heavy tweeners more applicable for girls and ladies seem to have the 4 1/8 grip sizes covered but they are still rare. Forget about even ordering a head light "players" racquet with a 4 1/8 grip size. They either just don't simply exist, or just not available here in Singapore. Rumours were rife about many of the smaller griped sized racquets being imported directly to Japan where there is a larger demand creating a shortage of smaller grip sized racquets in other Asian countries but there is no way of varying this.

I was fortunate enough to find a pair of Yonex RDS 001 Mid Plus for sale and were in stock on Tennis Warehouse USA. I quickly decided to make an order I was only thinking of just purchasing one racquet, but i realized that i will only be having to pay an extra US$2 if i bought two racquets instead of one. Since i have also sold both of my previous Yonex RDS 001 MP as well as my two Head Flexpoint Instinct i was ready to make an investment a pair of Yonex racquets that come in my grip size.

Ordering through Tennis Warehouse was fairly easy. I just choose the quantity of the items, grip size as well as the particular stings i wanted as well as stringing tension. The prices of the string vary from brand to brand. I saw the cheapest was something like US$5.00 and the most expensive could go up to US$40. Since i was not familiar with most of the strings in their selection, i choose to have both my racquets unstrung. I would rather choose to string them in Singapore with the sting i wanted as well as i wasn't familiar with the strings that they were providing. I was also surprised (not that i wanted it) that unlike in Singapore, you are not given "Free Strings" by default. Or that the "Free strings" were of a certain value and if you wanted something better, you'll just have to top up accordingly. In the case of Tennis Warehouse, strings are not provided for free. It's something additional. Lastly they asked your shipping preference whether by Regular Standard Fed Ex Shipping (3-5 business days) for US$37 to Singapore or Fed Ex Priority Shipping for US$39 (3 business days). I thought well only US$2 more, might as well go for the Priority Shipping.

After i filled up my mailing address and credit card details i got a message confirming my order and saying that they will be processing it. A day later i got an email saying that my credit card was different that that provided on file. The problem here was that when i was filling up my details, the fields does not allow me to put in my full address. I had to call the credit card company to verify my exact address again as suggested in the email to me and then get back to them with the addition in the address. I found this a hassle as i am not sending this package to somewhere totally different. It's the exact same address minus some extra words. It is good to be strict on verification, but sometimes being too strict is simply ridiculous and is causing the buyer inconvenience. So i had to wait a full day to get this done and verified. After this the person over at Tennis Warehouse said they will be processing my order again. After a day or so, i have yet to get a confirmation from them that my shipment was sent out already. I sent them another email to reconfirm i get an email to my astonishment telling me that:

1) I have to fill up and sign an authorization for and fax or scan it to them

AUTHORIZATION FORM:

Bank Name:
Bank Address:
Bank Telephone Number:
I, (purchaser's name), authorize Tennis Warehouse to charge my credit card,
(name of credit card), in the amount of $xxx.xx for the purchase of
merchandise on Order # xxxxxxxx.


___________________________________
credit cardholder's signature

2) Scan or fax my ID (front & back) to confirm that i am the actual owner of the credit card.

3) Scan or fax my Credit Card (front & back) to confirm that i am the actual owner of the credit card. They did also say that i can blank out the first 8 digits of my credit card leaving the last sequence for security purposes.

So OK, i wasted another day giving them what they wanted, but personally if you asked me all this information can be faked and with Photoshop easily edited so in terms of security its not really that fool proof. After the 3rd day, i finally got confirmation that they were shipping out my order. But i was kind of disappointed that they did not personally tell me all this in the first place. It seems that it's a policy of international customers that they will need to verify all this information and put them on file. They will not ask me the same questions for future purchases i make. All this information could have been conveyed in the first place on the website itself or the initial email without having to go through so much delays and hassle.

NOTE: Please also bare in mind that your might be charged local custom duties or taxes for some countries so please check with your local customs for more details on this. I received a bill from Fed Ex a few weeks later billing me SGD$10 for handling charges and an additional 5% taxes on my overall bill for custom duties.

Once they got all my details finalized they sent me an email saying that my items is finally processed and gave me a Fed Ex tracking number for it so i can track the progress of my shipment via the Fed Ex tracking system. I received my racquets days flat. I was happy with the as it was the exact grip size i wanted and immediately went to string them.

My experience with Tennis Warehouse USA was generally very good except for the glitch processing my order. All this additional requirements for international orders could have been stated up front without the need of so much delays and hassle. If that was communicated right. I would say that they offer a fantastic service. There response time was also pretty good. Besides that i got a racquet with a grip size i wanted as well as good reviews and feedback from their website before i purchase a racquet. I find this something really good as they seem to be the only site having such detailed reviews for most of the major racquets on the market. What i really liked was that my order once processed had a Fed Ex tracking code to it so that i can track the status of my package and estimate its arrival. Overall, I would personally buy stuff from Tennis Warehouse USA again as i know the process for international shipping now and what is required for an international buyer. If you intend to buy something from overseas, i strongly suggest that you contact the people there asking what specific requirements they have and what they need from an international customer in advance to avoid such delays and hassle. I hope that this information i have provided here will be helpful to readers on how to go about ordering items from Tennis Warehouse USA.

Slow Motion Tennis Video Footage

I have scoured the net to find some of the best slow motion tennis footage around. These were the best i could find from youtube.com and some of the worlds top tennis players. These slow motion tennis footage highlights the intensity of these players as well as their shot making abilities at their very best.



Here are some slow motion tennis videos of the worlds best tennis players in action. Many were taken from the 2006 Australian Open. The thing to also note about these videos would be the flexibility of the racquets when the take contact with the tennis balls. You might notice some of the racquets actually "rippling" or have a jello like effect when the players hit the ball with them. I have documented this phenomenon in an earlier article that i have written entitled "Roger Federer using a "Flexpoint".



The main culprit of the much dreaded tennis elbow problems and the vibration and shocked being transferred from the butt of the racquet to the arm, wrist and elbow. See the review i have done on my experiences with tennis elbow, causes for tennis elbow, possible treatments and cure for your tennis elbow problems and stretching exercises with therapy for preventive measures to alleviate pain from tennis elbow.



These are some of the star tennis players featured in the slow motion video footage:

Kim Clijsters
Amelie Mauresmo
Andy Roddick
Mario Ancic
Giles Monfils
Raphael Nadal
Maria Sharapova
Roger Federer
Tommy Haas
Leanders Paes
Justine Henin-Hardenne
Lleyton Hewitt
Marcos Baghdatis
Sebastian Grosjean

I would appreciate if you could send me any links to high resolution slow motion clips of tennis players in action.

Andy Roddick's Unstoppable Serve

There was lots of contention as to whether this Andy Roddick video was real or fake as this footage was used for the Powerade Isotic drink commercial. Roddick has the record for having one of the world's fastest tennis serves.

In 2004, Roddick produced the fastest serves in professional tennis: 246.2 km/h (153.5 mph) during a quarterfinal match with Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan at the Queen's Club grass-court tournament. On August 31 of that year, Roddick had the fastest serve in U.S. Open history: 244 km/h (152 mph) against American Scoville Jenkins. But this footage is clearly authentic, as it showed the entire slow motion footage of how the ball got embedded into the clay court due to the sheer power of the Roddick serve.

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About me

  • I'm Nawin from regentville
  • Residing in Hougang Singapore
  • Racquets: X2 Prince EXO3 Graphite 100 (Main) X3 Wilson K Blade Tour 93 (Backup) Strings: Toalson Ultimate 115 Strung @ 48-50 pounds. Plays: Right Handed (Single Backhand). Shoes: mi Adidas Barricade V Apparel: Lacoste & Adidas Favourite Players: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic

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