Meet China’s ‘Mr Stringer’ as he reveals Aryna Sabalenka has a very special request
The stringing team are among the busiest at major tennis tournaments and at the WTA 1000 event in Wuhan, Patrick Cai leads a big team ensuring the best players in the women’s game have all their racket requirements fulfilled.
In fact, it’s not just in Wuhan that Patrick leads the racket stringing operations, as he oversees all the major tournaments on the women’s and men’s tour, including this week’s ATP Masters event in Shanghai.
Patrick has been involved in racket stringing for the last three decades and has seen plenty of changes in racket stringing technology during that time.
He can instantly recall the string tensions of all the game’s greatest players in the women’s and men’s game and as he sat down for an exclusive chat with Tennis365 at the Wuhan Open, he gave us a few secrets on the players competing in the final WTA 1000 tournament of the season.
How many rackets a day will you restring in the opening days of the tournaments?
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We were doing over 100 a day at the start of this Wuhan Open, we did 150 on one of the days. On average, everyone in the team does about 30 rackets a day at the start and by the end of the week, it becomes a lot easier as there are fewer players in the final few days. We have a team of 30 people and they are spread out around China. Last week I was in Shanghai at the start of that tournament and I also did the Billie Jean King Cup.
Are you in touch with stringers from other major tournaments around the world to ensure players get a similar service wherever they go?
Yes, we are friends. We speak sometimes and that is important to understand what is happening with the players and maybe if there is a new idea some of them are following when they string rackets. You can get to learn new techniques by speaking to other stringers and maybe they can also learn something from me.
How did you get into this role?
I started with my shop and then an expert stringer said I looked like I had some talent for this and he offered me a chance to learn from him. I met some of the top players and really enjoyed it. Now I have been doing this for 30 years. I started when I was 25 years old and things have changed over that time. Over the years, tension has been coming down for a lot of players because they have more spin these days.
Does each player have very specific requests when they come into your room?
Every player has their preferences and because the temperatures are very hot for the Wuhan Open this year, they will often ask for a higher tension. When it is hotter, it goes higher. Men have a bit more control and they will have a lower tension in their racket and women often hit the ball a bit flatter and which means going for a higher tension.
Have you had any unusual requests?
Yesterday, there was a player who requested to drop from 15kg at the start of the week and down to 10kg because she felt the rackets were not working for her in the hot conditions. That is a pretty big drop from one match to the next.
Do players have superstitions over who strings their rackets?
Yes! Aryna Sabalenka has a preferred stringer this week. She asks for the same person in our team to string all her rackets. Her coach comes in with the rackets and we have to make sure the same person does it. This is not unusual. She had eight to ten rackets strung for each match. Iga Swiatek had three rackets done today. She does not have any demands.
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