The daydreams of my best retirement life center around a highly customized RV tailored for tennis tournament travel. If that ever materializes, I would genuinely like to find a way to bring a racquet stringing machine along for the ride. A few weeks ago, at the HTA/RBC Wealth Management Houston Open, I ran across a mobile stringing service in the parking lot that gave me some ideas for a workable rig. This chance encounter brought me great joy.
While the owner was busy stringing a racquet for another player at the tournament, he did take the time to discuss his setup. His stringing machine is currently mounted on rails that slide in and out of the back of an SUV. When he doesn’t need the machine, everything can be removed from the back of his vehicle. I was also told that what I was seeing was a temporary solution. His future plans include a van with a more permanent stringing machine mount. I am very interested in seeing the final configuration.
Long-time readers of my site know that I string my own racquets. Part of the driver for that is because I am… uhm… let’s call it detail-oriented. I want all of my racquets to be strung on the same day, using the same stringing machine, and done by the same person. It is a ridiculous demand that most pro shops can’t guarantee. Additionally, it is also difficult for me to find a window of time when I can part with all three of my racquets long enough to get it done.
(I know this is not normal. Then again, neither is writing a daily tennis blog.)
For my readers who play in the Houston area, this looks to be a convenient way to get your racquets restrung, At the time of this writing, the website behind the QR code on his sign isn’t responding, but it resolves to arsmobileservices.com. The phone number for ARS Mobile Services is (832) 512-6570.
Well,
If you lived in West LA, you’d get what you want, since that’s how I string things.
All at once, same session, same time of day, by me, on my one machine.
I string as a curb-side service, so no pesky business hours getting in the way (next best thing to mobile, I’d say).
As a fellow wonk, I, too, wouldn’t want anyone else stringing my rackets … but me.
Interesting!
We have a guy in Sarasota / Longboat Key in Florida who has a regular itinerary of clubs he visits but he doesn’t do house calls!
What a great idea!