Agassi's Rubber-Band Dampener...

[Aanidaani]

Hey everyone. I was wondering about the method that Agassi uses to tie a rubber band around the two main strings in his racket, to act as a dampener. Can anyone post a link to where I can find out more about this, or suggest a method? Thanks.

[hamilton]

the rubber band is actually a brilliant idea because you can regulate the degree of dampening for desired feel. i don't know what 'the maestro' does but here's my method:

-flatten the rubber band and loop behind the 2 center mains.
-tie around in a single knot while keeping the band square to the strings.
-adjust to your desired tension.
-use a 1/4" band so it stays snug and in place.

b.

[Jaypro]

I have never used a rubber band before, but the first person i saw use one was my former coach when i was in the juniors. His went far beyond Agassi's 2 mains though. his went alllllllll the way over. i thought it was a bit odd, but then again so was he! He had that damn thing wrapped around every string in the throat 3 times!

[mikejsb876]

roddick has rubber bands too they had a good shot of his racket... i dont know how he did it ... looked complex with weaves everywhere

[Jaypro]

I dont know, I personally am a big fan of the gel worms

[Jay Cee]

Hi Aanidaani,

Here is the best link to answer your question.

If you want to see the full article with the pictures visit the web site of TENNISWIZARD.COM (an interesting site with lots of infos) :

http://www.tenniswizard.com/dynamic/home/learn

if you click above you will go straight to the section LEARN - click on "Pros and Rookies" and then look for the question "The Rubber Band Knot" by André Agassi and Andy Roddick.

For info, for those who don't want to visit the sire, here is a simple copy of the text of this article, it might just encourage you to take a look at the full article and to discover a site that should be visited regularly.

Quote :

Tie Rubber Band Knot
by Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick

Hello Tennis Wizard Fans,

Here is the article most requested this month. . .

Sorry we did not have it published sooner, but we have had a computer problem. . .HAHA.

We hope you enjoy this enlightening article, with pictures as so many of you have wanted to know how :

Andy Roddick
and
Andre Agassi

both tie that rubberband around their strings to reduce vibration.
It is not a gimmick, it really works the best.

We got it from them, so we must give them credit for this written article.
Without those two players. . .where would we be???

Picture 1:
Here we insert the rubber band into the two bottom stings in the middle.

Picture 2:
In our second illustration, we are showing the racquet and rubber band position, after the initial "insertion".

As you can see, we turn the rubber band here as if we are going to tie it, but do not tie it here. After the twist, stick it back through the strings to the other side of the racket as shown in the next photo.

Picture 3:
This is the hard part. Sticking the rubber band throught the strings without losing it or tying it.
We will show you this even better in the next photo.

Picture 4:
See, now we almost have it finished. But still, since this is the hardest step , we dedicated three photos to it, we hope it is enough.

Picture 5:
Now we turn over the racket and grab the two sides of the rubber band to get ready to make the final tie.

Picture 6:
Careful here not to tie too tight, as you can break the rubberband on the sharp string. Make a single loop tie. Once, not twice. Twice will deaden the strings too much.

Picture 7:
You are now looking at the finished product.
Viola ! ! !
You've tied it.

This Knot will tighten your string pattern by about 4-5 pounds in string tension equivilence, so adjust how tight you string your racquet, if you intend to use this dampening method.
Your arm will thank you !!!

This is exactly how Andre Agassi ties his rubber band, Andy Roddick's rubber band on his racquet is tied with two more knots, even though it isn't necessary. . .he says its better to know it will not come off (safe rather than flustered, looking for it) SMART.

Your ARM will thank you !

©2001 TENNISWIZARD.COM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Unquote

Hope you found that interesting, thanks to the Wizard.

[mikejsb876]

that link isnt working :-/

[Jay Cee]

Hey Mike,
Works OK for me, I just tried it again, no problem.
Maybe you need to update you computer, they don't run on rubber bands anymore. (just kidding . . .)

[mikejsb876]

hah yea it worked...lmao

[Jay Cee]

Hey Mike,
Did you check out this site, there are lots of things to look at, a bit curious but it is sure worth the time of a visit. What do you think of the article on the Rubber Band ?
Glad to see that your computer is up and going.
Bye,

[M0rgan77]

Is it just me or did the instructions make little or no sense.

[Jaypro]

not just you, dont worry

[M0rgan77]

Does anybody know of any other instructions?

[abiriax]

a tension increace of 4 or 5 lbs for a rubber band? sounds like baloney!

[M0rgan77]

I think all it would do is tighten the string pattern if you tied it around more than two mains. Maybe thats what they mean.