Tennisnerd - Where we bond over tennis

Max Bauer is the Senior Global Product Manager for HEAD Tennis Racquets. He sat down with me to talk about the intense release schedule of 2026, of the new HEAD Booms and how AI helped in the design process, and we also get into the new HEAD Squared, which is a completely new racquet outside the other franchises. We also get into how difficult it is to get pro players to switch to a new racquet and much more.

Nikola Aracic from the popular YouTube channel, Intuitive Tennis, is back on the channel to talk racquets, tennis news, predictions and the Australian Open. Nikola is always insightful and opinionated and makes for a good listen! I hope you like it.

Davis Cup stringer and gear expert, Henrik Wallensten, is back to talk about gear. We summarize the year a bit, talk about the new Yonex VCOREs and his latest switch ot the Speed. He also gives his opinions about the new Adidas Barricade 14.

Switching to a new racquet comes with its own set of mental and technical hurdles. My friend and excellent tennis player, Daniel Rutkowski, and I discuss the process of going from a more classical control racquet to a more modern, powerful racquet. You can also find our conversation in video format on our YouTube channel. If you like to see more discussions like this, please comment below.

Rubin Statham’s story reads like a classic tennis hustle: a decade-plus on the road representing New Zealand in the Davis Cup, grinding out Challengers, then channeling all that lived pain (and string bills!) into a product players actually need. He retired in December and is now full-time at the helm of Pro Stringer - portable, pro-grade stringing machines you’ve likely seen popping up in player lounges and, yes, even on trains.