Luxilon on Tour

I am often asked, with so many players using Luxilon, why don’t I feature more of them in this blog.

Apart from my need to sleep occasionally, the answer is that the right to use a player’s name and image in its promotional material (and this blog is associated with Luxilon’s web site) is dependent on a company’s rights under sponsorship or promotional agreements with the player.

Luxilon is one of the few companies - and maybe the only company - in professional tennis that does not pay top players who use its products. It does provide free product to a number of players - but the majority of top players do, in fact, purchase Luxilon strings.

In an industry in which millions are paid to players to use manufacturers’ products, the fact that the majority of top players choose to purchase and play with Luxilon strings, in preference to receiving compensation for using other manufacturer’s products, says more about the quality and performance of Luxilon than any ad or marketing hype.

The problem (for me) is that manufacturers who offer lucrative equipment sponsorships to players understandably do not want ‘their’ players to be featured as using a competitor’s products - and specifically forbid this in their contracts with players.

The result is that I can not feature players who have contracts with competing manufacturers - even if they do use Luxilon strings. Which means that, as all of the top players have significant sponsorship agreements with competing manufacturers, I have less and less players to talk about as the draw progresses..!

What I can tell you, however, (as long as I don’t mention who) is that 6 of the 8 men’s quaterfinalists and 5 of the 8 women’s quarterfinalists at the 2009 Australian Open used Luxilon strings.

I wish I could bring you more pictures and stories of all of them but there is one image that I want to share with you that, for me, in spite of all the legalities, money and commercialism that controls the game, sums up the real spirit of professional tennis.

It’s a picture taken by my talented partner, Manuela, at the conclusion of the men’s final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in as thrilling a display of phenomenal talent as I have ever seen on a tennis court. And if, as a result, I get into trouble by talking about a ‘competitor’s player’, then that’s just too bad…

There was nothing to choose between the ability of these two great players who matched each other stroke-for-stroke throughout the match and with each giving everything they had to lift their game to a level that would give them a slight edge on their opponent. I have never heard so many exclamations of “Are you kidding me?” from commentators. But, at the end of it all, there had to be a winner and Roger, who was aiming to win a record 14th Grand Slam event title, finally succumbed to the awesome power that Rafa was able to add to his incredible talent. The score was 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2.

At the trophy presentation, Roger was overcome with the emotion of the moment. Rafa’s first thought, rather than brandishing his trophy in his moment of triumph, was to take the time to console his opponent.

© Manuela Davies - doubleXposure.com

Rafa uses Babolat string. He has done so since he was no higher than his racquet and, no matter what the surface, temperature or mood, uses the same tension in every racquet (there’s a lesson there for most of us…!)

Roger uses Luxilon Alu Power Rough crosses and  Wilson Natural Gut mains.

But whatever differences there may be between these two great players - for me, the greatest players ever to play the game - and whatever the final result - the fact that they bring out the best in each other makes me extremely grateful to have the opportunity of seeing them play together in the same arena.

The sport is the better for the spirit of sportsmanlike competition that these two champions bring to the game.

Our next featured event will be the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami starting March 25.