Fall weather has already arrived across much of the nation (including here at Holabird Sports in Maryland) and that means winter weather is right around the corner. For those of us not lucky enough to live in climates that are warm year-round, autumn's dropping temperatures and shorter days seriously cut into our tennis-playing time. In fact, some people might be getting ready to hang up their gear until spring rolls back around!
With that in mind, here's my semi-official list of tips to help you "winterize" your tennis gear (and game) so you can keep everything in tip-top condition while Old Man Winter visits…
Bring your racquets in for the winter. Heat is really damaging to your frames and your strings, but extreme cold really isn't great for them either. The garage is a convenient place to store sports gear, but most garages are unheated, so consider bringing your racquets inside the heated space of your home. In a similar vein…
Bring your filled ball hopper indoors. If you keep a basket of tennis balls in the trunk of your car (for serving, teaching, etc.) and plan to use them indoors during the winter, bring them inside along with your racquets. Remember, conventional pressurized tennis balls are filled with air and get their bounce from the pressure and the rubber shell beneath the felt. Cold weather makes things contract (yay, physics!) including the air inside your tennis balls, so any tennis balls that've been out in the cold are going to feel pretty dead when you take them indoors to practice your serve.
Consider restringing with a softer string and lower tension. Tennis balls may feel "heavier" during cooler weather and strings tend to be less resilient. If you're going to be playing during the winter, consider restringing your racquet at a lower tension and/or with a softer string. Going with a looser tension or a softer string can help ease any possible discomfort and can add some pop to your game. On the other hand, if you're not going to be playing…
Make sure you cut all the strings in any of your racquets that have a broken string. This is a good practice to get into any time you break a string, as it relieves uneven tension on your frame, but it's an especially good idea to make sure it's taken care of before you put your frames into hibernation for the winter.
How to Winterize Your Tennis Gear
