Tales from the stringing room: Strange requests, racing against the clock and more

When players win a big title like the BNP Paribas Open, it’s customary for them to thank a litany of supporters. It usually starts with their coaches and family, and moves on to trainers, agents, fans, sponsors, ball kids, and perhaps even a higher power. Yet someone who was much more valuable than even divine intervention will often go unrecognized. Tournament stringers are a little like chair umpires—they’re only noticed when something goes wrong.

With so many on-court variables out of their control, players need the peace of mind that their equipment is not one of them. The California desert wind can cause a wayward forehand, but their racquets and strings can’t be the source of any turmoil. Which is why players put their faith in the steady hands at the Indian Wells stringers room. Players know a racquet is only as good as its string job, and these stringers are some of the best in the world.

The stringing room at Indian Wells is outfitted and run by Head. Mitch Case has been a part of the stringing team since 2021. He’s also a PTR certified coach, GRSA Certified Tour Stringer and has been a TENNIS.com racquet tester for the past decade. It’s fair to say he and his colleagues in the stringing room know equipment. We asked him for a peek behind the curtain at a high-profile tour event.

Q. You’ve been stringing at IW for several years now. Describe what the stringing room at a big-time tour event is like.

CASE: Honestly, it’s not very glamorous. The space is entirely dedicated to the work at hand. We have room for 11 primary stringers and machines, a center area where racquets are prepped to be strung and stenciled after being strung, a front desk area for players, coaches or entourage to drop and pick-up racquets, and a back room area with an extra machine, drinks, snacks, and basic supplies. In addition to the 11 stringers, we have two team members that work the center area, and two front desk/back-up stringers, plus two to three managers from Head that help and work from the room. Like many of the necessary tournament services, we’re located in a temporary trailer just outside the stadium's player area—(at Indian Wells) we’re the closest to the stadium to make it quick and easy for players to drop off or pick up racquets.

Of the stringers/front desk, eight of the team members have Grand Slam experience, while the remaining five have Master’s 1000 experience. It’s a very strong team.

In terms of atmosphere, it’s not at all what most people think: Stringer interaction with the pro players is typically pretty minimal. Most of the interactions happen with front desk staff and a member of the player’s team, (for example a) coach, hitting partner, parents, etc. Occasionally, players and coaches will say hi, or joke around with the room—especially if they recognize team members from other tournaments—but most of the time it’s a very quick, “Hello. Can I have them for tomorrow, 10 a.m.? Thanks, see you later.”

Q. What’s your typical day like stringing at IW in terms of hours and volume of racquets?

CASE: The early days of the tournament are always the hardest. We see the greatest volume of racquets from Sunday through Thursday of the first week (Qualifying through 1st Round). We are taking in more than 300 racquets per day in that time frame, so between 30-40 racquets per stringer depending on the schedule. As the tournament progresses, and the number of players and matches decreases, we will see fewer and fewer racquets.

Typically, we’ll get to the room between 7-7:30 a.m.—occasionally earlier, if a stringer has a huge stack of “string in the morning” racquets (some players request that their racquets be strung the morning of their match or practice), and at least two to three stringers will stay until the last match of the day is completed in case an “on-court” (when a player needs a racquet strung during their match) is needed.

Q. Do you get assigned a group of specific players, or is it more of an on-call shift type of setup?

CASE: Yes, the front desk assigns players to a specific stringer. This ensures consistency on a couple of levels: stringer technique and the machine used. While all of the stringers are experts in the field, slight differences in technique have the potential to produce minor variations in feel or performance to the most sensitive players. The process of assigning players to a stringer also keeps the racquets on the same machine, in case there is any variance in how the machines are performing relative to each other.

There are two situations in which a player will have a different stringer or machine:

1. If the player sends an on-court, but their stringer is in the middle of another racquet, or is otherwise unavailable.
2. If their stringer has gone home, in which case, the player will be assigned to a new stringer.

Q. What’s the craziest or most stressful day you’ve had—this year or any other—whether it be the amount of frames strung or speed of delivery?

CASE: I think my most stressful tournament day was in 2022. I had 14 racquets due at various times one morning, and I barely made one of the deadlines by the skin of my teeth (with the help of my teammate, Will Devine, who helped straighten some of my sticks so I could keep stringing).

My most stressful racquet was for a player that asked for the highest tension the machine could achieve. We set the tension at the max, with the max pre-stretch setting, which pulls even tighter to remove some of the creep from the string. The machine would pull to about 95 lbs on each string (Luxilon 4G); I kept waiting for either the string or the racquet to break.

Another situation that comes to mind was an on-court for one of my players last year. When the racquet came into the room, the player was down 0-4 in the third, so the race was on to get it back to the court. While stringing, my roommate, Nico Ionesco, kept feeding me match scores to keep me motivated. He’d say things like, “She just broke… She needs that racquet!” and “She’s down 15-30, better hurry!” As I was finishing up the stick, a security guard burst Nico’s bubble and told me the match was already over; he had been giving me fake scores the entire time, as the player had quickly lost 1-6 in the third. All that stress instantly turned to laughter.

For the most part, the majority of the stress is cumulative. It’s multiple days in a row of late nights and early mornings with poor sleep, jetlag, long hours of meticulous work, sore body parts, take-out or stadium food for almost every meal, losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings time, and being away from home. It’s definitely a marathon that requires a lot of mental strength at times. It’s helpful to enjoy the people you’re working with, and to have some fun whenever you can find it!

Q. What trends have you noticed on the tours in terms of string choices and tensions?

CASE: Tensions are all over the place. As mentioned, we had a player ask for the highest the machine could achieve, and another stringing at 22 lbs. This year, the lowest tension I strung was 19.5 kg (43 lbs), while the highest was 27 kg (59 lbs). I’m sure other stringers had a wider range.

In terms of string choices, most players are using full poly setups. However we are seeing an increase in both gut/poly and poly/poly combinations. A number of players are using either a different string, or string gauge, on the crosses.

Q. What’s the most unusual string setup you’ve strung up?

CASE: Full Luxilon ALU Power at 10 kg (22 lbs), four knots—I bet a number of the gear heads out there can guess the player. The entire stringbed moves when weaving crosses, which is pretty weird.

The other is the racquet I mentioned earlier: Full Luxilon 4G at the highest possible tension, two knots (one piece of string, ATW pattern).

Q. What’s the pick-me-up of choice in the stringers room: coffee or energy drinks?

CASE: The snacks and drinks go quickly in the stringing room. Our team leader, Julian Li, always stocks the room with a bunch of goodies like chips, cookies, trail mix, nuts, etc.—quick hits of carbs and/or protein to carry us through the day.

We go through a lot of coffee, soda, Gatorade, and water, but I think the most notable beverage is Mike Stephens’ energy drink of choice: Goat Fuel.

We eat most of our meals on site, from the tournament vendors. The Reuben sandwich from Sherman’s Deli has been a favorite of the room for the last couple of years. My personal favorite meal is the Coachella Forever Salad from Chef Tanya’s Kitchen.

Q: You live and work in Connecticut. You’ve got a young family. Yet you’re willing and eager to travel across the country for a few weeks to string at a pro event. What’s the attraction?

CASE: I find a couple of things appealing. For one, Indian Wells is the "Fifth Slam"—it’s a great venue and the energy is super positive. It’s a cool thing to be a part of.

Professionally, to be asked to string at one of the world’s most important tournaments is a pretty big honor. That’s a tough thing to turn down.

Speaking of a professional honor, it’s the only opportunity I have to work with this particular group of people—from the managers at Head, to the front desk staff, center staff, and stringers. Being able to collaborate with this group of minds is unique. We have the chance to explore ideas regarding equipment and player trends, stringing technique and best practices, and to brainstorm with a global leader in sports equipment. I’ve learned so much from it, and have had so much fun with my teammates over the years.

Ultimately, it’s the combination of the previous three factors, plus the challenge. I joke with my players back home that it’s my extreme sport of choice: Some people run marathons… I string at Indian Wells.