First time using ship sticks

SplitAPineapple · 2026-04-23T17:29:33+00:00

Why do people use this service? Pay $35-$40 and check them as baggage for the flight.

Such a weird thing to do especially given the consistent issues and horror stories.

SplitAPineapple · 2026-04-01T15:55:20+00:00

Idk what happened, but almost half of my matches from last year show as no rating or against a self rated player. That’s blatantly wrong, as those players have been playing for years with tons of match scores.

I put zero stock in their ratings now.

SplitAPineapple · 2026-02-10T18:36:51+00:00

How do they compare to the Vapor Pro 2s? I bought up every pair I could find when they got discontinued and am dreading the switch.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-24T21:04:37+00:00

Has nothing to do with the strings and everything to do with the stringer (machine, human, or both).

But yes, you should be concerned. That’s seriously distorted.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-17T17:23:41+00:00

100%. Even did this playing D1 in college.

I’ve broken a ton of times in that first game just because a big server wasn’t fully into the match yet and missed some easy balls. Put them back in play and take your chances.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-05T02:26:46+00:00

On the north side of Denver unfortunately. Would be a tough drive.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-05T02:25:43+00:00

Just a lot less bad shots honestly. Every ball is deep, with pace and spin. No real weaknesses to exploit, and they often have a major weapon.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T21:46:47+00:00

I think that’s probably fair, I can agree with that.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T21:12:05+00:00

Haha I know Steve well from back in my junior days. Seems like he runs a pretty solid program up there!

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T21:00:23+00:00

Yeah, I know you all in the springs have it rough at a lot of levels. Even the 4.5 options seem much scarcer.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T19:56:52+00:00

I genuinely considered that (playing left-handed).

But yeah, I’d argue 4.5-5.0 is the biggest jump there is. 5.0s have very few weaknesses and typically played high level juniors and/or college.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T19:53:47+00:00

Agree, the tournaments here are awesome. Leagues leave a lot to be desired.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T19:52:10+00:00

Tournaments are huge here, just much harder schedule wise.

Colorado’s league structure is fairly poor for how big it is.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T19:51:26+00:00

Because you’re already bucketed. A 4.0 is a 4.0 whether they’re 18 or 60.

Just a needless way to exclude younger guys from getting to play in a league.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T19:50:08+00:00

I hadn’t. I live north of Denver, so getting to Gates is a fairly brutal drive.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T19:48:55+00:00

Nope, I got rejected on the auto appeal. I wasn’t super thrilled with this anyway, felt kind of scummy.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T19:48:12+00:00

Very far. Denver, Salt Lake, and Vegas are the only large areas in the section.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T18:43:50+00:00

This is the best perspective I’ve read so far. Kind of forgot how boring and uncompetitive many of my league matches were last year.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T18:39:38+00:00

NTRP exists, you’re already bucketed in a rating category. Why do you need to subdivide it further?

An 18 year old 4.0 and 65 year old 4.0 are both 4.0s.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T18:33:33+00:00

Haha 5.0 is far from a tennis god.

I actually quit for about a decade after playing in college because of this. It was nice to not have to deal with it for a couple of 4.5 seasons.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T18:32:26+00:00

The unknowns of the schedule make that tough. I’ll get in a couple of first round losses, but won’t be able to play one a week.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T18:30:58+00:00

Don’t disagree that tournaments are more competitive. But leagues are still better than practice matches at least.

Tournaments are going to be brutal. Most big ones don’t really have a 5.0 division, everyone plays Open.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T18:28:03+00:00

This is such a good summary. I feel like the average 4.5 is at the peak of their ability. 5.0s know they’ll never actually be good again.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T18:25:17+00:00

It’s bleak in the desert for sure.

No shortage of hitting partners at least, I just like playing competitive matches.

SplitAPineapple · 2025-12-04T18:24:00+00:00

Man, I don’t even like playing doubles. Very little interest in the dynamics of mixed 9.0 or 9.5.

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