Build Your Racquet Like a Skateboard

A note from Joshua

I grew up on a stone road in Ohio, so skateboarding wasn’t really in the cards. There was a brief period in my early thirties when I thought I needed a longboard for my morning commute through the Chicago Loop and for walking the dog. That was about the extent of my skate career.

Recently, a coach restrung my racquet with bright green Hyper-G. While we talked through the setup, she compared a racquet to a skateboard: start with the deck, choose the parts, then keep making little adjustments until it feels like yours. I started seeing my racquet as a setup I can keep working on.

01 · The deck

Unstrung Customs

Start with a frame you already love, then make it unmistakably yours. Unstrung Customs can repaint your racquet around your design or source a new one, with tuning available after the paintwork. It’s the closest tennis gets to choosing a deck graphic and building a setup around it. This is a considered custom project, but it makes the idea behind this edition immediately clear.

02 · The ride

Solinco Hyper-G

These are the green strings now in my racquet. I’m still getting to know them, which is half the point of this edition. String choice and tension give you something to discuss with a good stringer, try on court, and adjust next time. The color makes this experiment impossible to forget.

03 · The grip tape

High Strung Croc Crush Overgrip

This is where the setup meets your hand and where you can change its look in minutes. High Strung makes patterned overgrips that give a familiar frame a little more personality. I’d try the Forest/Moss Croc Crush with my green Hyper-G, then see how it feels on court.

04 · The finishing touch

Brain Dead Logo Head Dampener

A little character in the string bed. Choose a dampener because you like its look and the sound or feel of hitting with it. This one makes the racquet look as though it has developed opinions.

05 · The uniform

Paterson League Court Crop Tee

Paterson League brings tennis and skate culture into the same wardrobe. The Court Crop Tee is the piece that takes this edition’s setup idea off the racquet and onto the person carrying it. Your forehand remains your responsibility.

For the dedicated tinkerer

Tungsten tape can adjust a racquet’s weight and balance. That’s a conversation for someone who knows what they want to change, ideally with a stringer or racquet technician.