Having chatted with a few players, coaches and fellow stringers over the last few months, there seems to be a growing trend… Racket sales are declining and restringing is increasing. Speaking with head ERSA Squash Stringer, Nick Down, following the ERSA symposium in April, this subject was brought up and discussed at length. There will be a few theories as to why, but I'd suggest the main reason is probably down to education. The ERSA is working hard to equip their stringers

With the year nearly over, I thought it would be a good opportunity to provide a fairly detailed insight into this year’s squash stringing for the String Doctor... So here you go! By New Year’s Eve, I think I will have restrung north of 700 rackets in total this year. I’ve already strung around 450 squash rackets and nearly 200 tennis, badminton and racketball rackets. With 3 weeks and a tournament at Edgbaston Priory to come in December, there’s no let up! The data I’ve used

This week, I have been mostly - to coin a phrase from ‘The Fast Show’ - stringing rackets for some of the County Juniors I coach and for competition winners from, events I’ve helped to sponsor or donate prizes to. Even though there have been a couple of freebies (I’m good like that), the care and attention to detail I apply doesn’t diminish. I love stringing - it’s a passion, more than a chore. As already mentioned in previous blogs, I’m a sucker for presentation and general

Racket and string choice, as with all sporting equipment, is highly subjective. Whilst there are certain rackets on the market which are far more popular than others, string choice is often a lot more personal. Many players will have a favourite string/tension which they stay with for years, often panicking when they take the leap of faith to purchase a new style of racket, worrying if their tried and tested string/tension will stack up on the new frame! What suits one person

On 2nd July, after stringing for a few years, I finally had the opportunity to formalise my experience by sitting practical and written exams with the aim of becoming an ERSA Master Professional Stringer. Following a number of conversations, meetings at tournaments and a course with my stringing mentor, Nick Down, universally accepted as THE man for stringing squash rackets, I am happy to say that I passed - apparently, I’m the first person in the world to have gained the new

Whilst stringing a few rackets over the Bank Holiday weekend, I decided that it may be useful to compile a list of rackets that I've restrung. So, I compiled a list from the last 500 squash restrings that I've done. The below is based purely on my experience. Others may have a different view. I thought it would be useful to gauge where loyalties rest within the squash community that I string for. It was really interesting to note that whilst there have been a few issues with