Ashaway MultiKill® 17 Cruises Through US Open Racquetball Stringing Competition
October 29, 2019
Ashaway, RI – While the main competition for this year’s US Open Racquetball Championships played out in the fabulous “made-for-TV” portable racquetball court at the Target Center’s LIFE TIME facility in downtown Minneapolis, more action was underway at the Lawler Sports booth where racket technician Ian Titus was hard at work stringing rackets and tallying statistics.
And while 732 players from 13 countries fought out some 1,273 matches before Kane Waselenchuk and Paola Longoria were crowned Champions, hardworking Ian strung over 200 frames. Of these, some 60% were strings made by Ashaway Racket Strings, Ian reported. Of the Ashaway strings, the clear leader was Ashaway’s newest MultiKill® 17 — noted for its soft nylon feel and polyurethane-based durability — which comprised 40% of those strung. Ashaway’s Zyex-based PowerKill® 17 and UltraKill® 17 — both notable for their power and tension holding abilities — followed with 25% each. Longtime Ashaway staple, nylon-based SuperKill® strings accounted for a 10% share.
The clearest observable trend in stringing to emerge from this year’s US Open Racquetball Championships was higher tensions. According to Ian’s analysis, most string tensions ranged well into the mid-30s, with the lowest racket strung at 28 lbs. and the highest at 40 lbs.
“We believe these higher tensions are an effort by players to gain greater ball control,” said Ian “the String King” Titus, owner of Lawler Sports. “There are two reasons for this: first, all manufacturers are producing more powerful rackets these days; second, today’s elongated racket head designs require longer strings. These combine to produce a very stretchy, very bouncy string bed, and stringing tighter will enhance control.”
Ashaway Racket Strings are made by Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co., the only U.S. manufacturer of string for squash, tennis, racquetball, and badminton. Operated by the Crandall family since 1824, Ashaway has been making racquet strings since 1949, and is responsible for several important technical innovations. Ashaway has been the Official String of USA Racquetball for more than fifteen years. Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co. also makes braided products for medical and industrial applications. For more information visit www.ashawayusa.com. Also, follow Steve Crandall on Instagram at ashawayusastring.