The journal Volume 2026

Every examination we've published.

Newest first. Browse by topic from the navigation, or by category from the footer. Older pieces stay reachable forever — we don't archive away from URLs.

Page 19 of 33

181
Tennis Shoes ·4 min · June 2026

Nike Air Zoom Vapor X: A Product Review for Players Who Slide and Stop Hard

There is a version of this shoe that lives in forum threads and pro-shop chatter: the Nike Air Zoom Vapor X is a fast, flimsy speed slipper — great for a teenager who weighs nothing and replaces shoes…

182
Serve Speed ·4 min · June 2026

Tennis Serve Speed: The Fastest Serves in ATP History, and What the Numbers Don't Tell You

The number you have seen is 163.7 mph. Sam Groth, an Australian qualifier, hit it at a Challenger event in Busan, South Korea, in May 2012.

183
Gear ·6 min · June 2026

Lightweight Tennis Shoes: What Weight and Ventilation Actually Cost You

A shoe that weighs 40 grams less per foot does not, on its own, make you faster. It changes how much energy each stride costs, how hot your foot runs in a third set, and how soon the outsole gives…

184
Racquets ·5 min · June 2026

Tennis Racquet Specifications and the Spin-vs-Control Trade-Off: Where the Common Advice Holds and Where It Breaks

The advice you hear in every pro shop runs like this: beginners need power, advanced players want control, and spin is something you buy with an open string pattern.

185
Dampeners ·11 min · June 2026

Pressurized vs Pressureless: Do Vibration Dampeners (and Your Strings) Care Which Ball You Hit?

You buy a fresh can, crack the seal, and the hiss is part of the ritual. Then a teammate hands you a bucket of pressureless balls that have been rolling around the trunk since spring, and they feel…

186
Gear ·10 min · June 2026

How Polyester Tennis Strings Earned Their Reputation: The Manufacturing Story Behind the Premium Upgrade

A premium co-polyester string spool will tell you, somewhere on the packaging or the brand's site, that you are buying "tension stability" or "30% longer playability" or a "molecular structure…

187
Strings ·5 min · June 2026

Pre-Strung Racquets and Polyester Tennis Strings: What's Actually in the Hoop

We cut the factory string out of a brand-new performance racquet — a 305g, 16x19 player's frame sold "pre-strung and ready to play" — and ran the bed through a Beers ERT 300 before we touched it.

188
Tennis History ·4 min · June 2026

1968 and the Word "Open": A Tennis History of Why That Distinction Still Runs Every Record Book

When a commentator says a player holds an "Open Era record," they are quietly excluding roughly the first ninety years of competitive tennis history. The phrase is not decoration.

189
Strings ·10 min · June 2026

Multifilament Tennis Strings vs. Poly vs. Synthetic Gut: How We Tested Three String Types for the Intermediate Player

Multifilament tennis strings get recommended to intermediate players more than any other type, usually with three words attached: power, comfort, feel.

190
Grand Slams ·5 min · June 2026

The Biggest Tennis Stadiums Are Built Around One Number: 23,771

Arthur Ashe Stadium seats 23,771 people. That is the number stamped on the US Open, repeated in broadcast graphics, and cited every time someone calls it the largest of the world's tennis stadiums.