Mantis Custom 98 - The Power of Customization September 14, 2016 18:43

Talking about "custom" in the world of tennis brings us into a technical, professional, but also sometimes esoteric, mysterious, and distant realm, linked by definition to the rackets of pros—those impossible, difficult, and unattainable, hard-to-find and very expensive, and often completely unplayable!

In reality, from experience, what often distinguishes the rackets of players who frequent ITF and ATP tournaments from those of "mere mortals" (with the due distinction of pro-room rackets reserved only for the top 20) are the details, the attention to particularity, and above all a fundamental element: customization based on needs, tastes, and "desires," which, starting from commercially available or previously available models, allow the equipment used by the athlete to be transformed, made unique, personal, and tailor-made.

What often characterizes both the average and high-level tennis player, in most cases, is the scarce or complete lack of knowledge about their equipment and its characteristics—that is, what specifications make any racket "THE" suitable racket that perfectly fits their physical, morphological, technical, and performance characteristics.

Let's think of cyclists and how every athlete, even a simple amateur "granfondo" enthusiast, knows the measurements of their seat tube, saddle height, top tube length, crank arm length, stem length, and handlebar width, and sometimes more. Let's make a quick comparison with the average technical knowledge of a tennis player in a "situational" sport where the equipment can influence physical, technical, and mental components to a variable extent, estimable within a range of 5-10-15%.

As true tennis players, not improvised or Sunday players, we must become aware of the equipment that allows us to play at our best, and this simply means knowing the values that interest us in terms of weight, balance, swingweight, length, and stiffness, and trying, or even better, creating a racket that reflects these characteristics.

The MANTIS CUSTOM project is based precisely on this premise: that of forging equipment with all the characteristics of a pro-stock, tailored to the player's peculiarities and specifications; with the possibility of intervening in a unique, personalized, and completely particular way in terms of weight, balance, swingweight, and length of the equipment by playing on the basis of a frame built with very high-quality high-modulus graphite and endowed with truly unique pliability.

On this technical basis, following the specifications provided by the customer, it is possible to "calibrate" the weight, balance, swingweight, polarization, length, grip size, and its finish in order to obtain a power or control racket, a medium-light, "tweener" or heavy racket thanks to the manual "tuning" action that allows to obtain with a precision of 0.2g of weight, 1mm of balance and 1kgcm of SWW "your own" unique and unrepeatable equipment.

It is fundamental to emphasize that starting from an absolutely neutral base like that of the basic frame, it is possible to operate to obtain very different frames, which tend to favor power rather than control, or spin generation or stability at the net, as well as other characteristics that can be modulated according to the desired custom build. Rackets can be built with variable lengths from 68.5cm upwards with an upper limit of 70cm, coupled with weights that can range from 295g to 330g and more for an unstrung frame. The swingweight can be expertly dosed according to the weight, length, and balance.

The Mantis Italia Custom Project and HMA Sport staff will be at your disposal to help you choose and personalize your racket and to assist you in creating YOUR weapon of choice.

After manual preparation, each racket is checked and finished with a personalized adhesive tag bearing the "customer's" name and the racket's specifications, a truly unique piece conceived, handmade, and finished around the player, because after all, a racket cannot turn a hack into a champion, but a good racket can allow the player to express themselves to their full potential, because ultimately, it's always good to know and experience firsthand the "power of custom"!

mantis italia & pro-t-one.it in collaboration with HMA Sport

For more information, visit the product page Mantis Custom 98.