Returning my attention briefly back to the singles sticks, I am becoming obsessed with the idea that singles sticks should be something that should be routinely carried in the serious singles player’s bag. This prompts my engineering brain to immediately start to consider basic improvements on the design for that to become a reality.
First, if this is standard equipment to be carried in a bag, then the 42″ length is going to be a problem. Racquets typically ring in at 27” long, and bags are typically only slightly longer than that. One solution to that constraint is to extend the length of the bag to 45” or so, but that would be a little unwieldy. Therefore there should be a singles stick that telescopes and locks into the proper height.
USTA Comment 1.2: Where should singles sticks be placed? The center of the singles sticks should be placed 3 feet outside the outer edge of the singles lines and should be diagonally opposite each other.
USTA Friend at Court, 2019
Probably anyone who is carrying a singles stick in their bag is also going to have a tape measure, but it also occurs to me that the singles stick could contain markings to help measure the proper placement so the stick could then be rotated up from that position into correct placement. (Hey I just invented the yardstick!) As a bonus the 36″ mark could also be used to measure the proper height of the center of the net.
All that discussion, and I discover that Har Tru already has a variant of the singles sticks I just described on the retail market. The good news is that it saved me a lot of time researching whether any of my “innovations” are patentable.
While we’re at it, the singles stick is supposed to be the same height as the net post, so it could also be used to measure compliance (or lack thereof) in that area as well. I will stop short of recommending that anyone carry a cordless angle grinder in their bag to rectify that situation. That would be crazy.
I am somewhat relieved to discover that I have limits.
