If you're serious about winning get serious about your equipment. There is nothing worse than losing a match because of your equipment. I've seen a player in an ATP qualifying event ask his opponent for the loan of a racket because he had broken strings in all of his own. The bizarre thing was that the guy gave him one. The "racketly challenged" Peter went on to lose. It would have been interesting though what would have happened had he turned the match around. I can just see it now, serving for the match and the guy asks for his racket back. The Ump calls "time" and your history.

Make it a point to leave all your bits and pieces in your bag. Don't lend your stuff out unless they use it in front of you. Sure it's a hard line but it's really annoying if you need something and don't have it because it wasn't returned. Here are examples of what you might have in your kit for;

The Social player The Rookie Professional The McGiver travelling pro.

Social Player Kit

1. Always leave an old set of clothes in a plastic bag in your tennis bag. This includes cap, underwear, socks and a small hand towel.

2. Leave an old pair of shoes in the boot of your car.

3. A set of your favourite string.

4. Nail clippers. (Also handy for cutting out strings)

5. An extra fibro stop (if you use them) or a thick elastic band also works.

6. A couple of over grips. There is nothing worse than playing and not being able to hang on to your racket.

7. Sweatbands are both handy in the heat and they give your wrist a reassuring feel.

8. Telephone list of your fellow players and a pen for writing down tips or successful tactics or even the odd joke you might hear.

9. Sun Cream (non greasy)

10. If you have the luxury of more than one racket you should use the worst one like you would a spare tire. Use your favourite racket and when you break a string use the other as a short-term sub. Most club pro's offer "quick" restring services so your favourite racket should not be out of commission for long especially if you have your spare coil of your favourite string in your bag.

11. Some form of antiinflammatory medication. The older you get the more you'll realise how helpful they can be. It's not the "at the moment aches and pains" you're treating its tomorrows. Note; All injuries should be iced immediately after play.

12. Tennis balls. A rather important piece of equipment!

13. Drink bottle. Easy to forget so leave it in your bag.

Rookie Pro Player Kit

1. In determining how much clothing to take, always look at the worst-case scenario (rain, extra match, long match) and add another set of clothes. That extra set that you leave in your bag in a plastic bag is great insurance.
   Note; Get a BIG bag.

2. Take out two towels minimum. Use one to shower and the other for sweat. If you get stuck you can use your shower towel as well. A good product to use is a swimmers chamois to shower with so as to cut down on bag space.

3. Two pairs of shoes & extra laces.

4. Determining how many rackets to take on court is a personal thing that you get the hang of over time: You can base it on racket strings broken per hour in practice and double it. Usually 2 per hour is safe if they are new strings but it is largely determined by what your playing on.(Clay; more rackets. Grass less rackets) Note; Make sure you have plenty of over grips, strings & fibro stops.

5. Swiss Army Knife. The hardest thing to do with this piece of equipment is not losing it. There are all sorts of these to choose from but the scissors and knife are key for cutting the odd loose thread to skin (callous) shaving to racket maintenance.

6. Medical mini kit. Gauze, Betadine, Athletic tape, Aspirin /Ibuprofen. (In seal tight bags).

7. Electrolyte mixes in powdered form.

8. Power Bars/fruit slice bars.

9. Sunglasses with head hugging arms.

10. Sun cream (non greasy) Note; never use playing hand to apply creams. The residue can make holding on to the racket virtually impossible. If you forget, wash your hands with soap and change your over grip.

11. Drink bottle. Normally tournaments supply water and drinks but always have a bottle for practice sessions in your bag. Through the hot summer you might like to take a cool box on court with your favourite drinks.

McGiver Travel Kit (add to pro list)

1. Small Tube of epoxy resin. Racket grip-butts are usually fastened only by four staples. These staples can wiggle loose and crack the urethane grip rendering the racket useless. You can reset the grip with epoxy.

2. Shoe Goo. This stuff is unreal and has a host of applications from basic shoe repair to bag repair (eg. straps can tear off tennis bags if handled roughly).

3. Old tennis bag strap. You can prolong the use of a shoe that has been damaged by toe dragging by shoe gluing a piece of old tennis bag strap flush with the front of your shoe. Leather grips work also if you can find one.

4. Super glue. You can stick skin together with this stuff avoiding painful splitting especially in cold weather.

5. Extra grommet strips and singles for grommet replacement and repair.

6. A golf glove taped on can help protect blisters and splits. A golf glove can also be a great asset for the teaching pro in really cold weather. Tip; when using the glove take off your over-grip to get correct grip size. Use only as a last resort as feel is compromised.

7. Needle and thread or use your dental floss. For sponsor patches and general clothing repairs. Note; when using the needle for medical purposes such as breaking blood blisters, sterilize it first by heating it with a flame.

8. Earplugs and blinkers (blindfold) can save sleepless nights. The earplugs can save you if you share with a snorer or a noisy fan or air conditioner. The blinkers can help with getting to sleep in a lighted area or up in northern countries like Norway where its light the whole night in the summer months.

9. Mini racket stringer. Don't rely on the tournament stringers at the small tournaments. Stringing machine clamps slipping and inaccurate calibration can cost you matches.
   Note: If you know a player is going to the same tournaments offer to share a machine and the transport of it.

It doesn't matter if you're a social player or a rookie pro watching your budget on the tour, by being conscientious about getting your kit together you will maximise your problem solving capabilities and have peace of mind when you play your matches. It's a good feeling when you see your opponent in stress over equipment and their personal management problems and you know you've done the right thing. There are never any guarantees of winning but at the pro level you have to look for every angle to establish an edge.

Good Luck
The Tennis Coach