Presented in partnership with Babolat.
At Wimbledon, every ball is struck by racquets strung by a team in a room most fans will never see.
The Aorangi Pavilion sits inside the grounds, tucked among the practice courts, and for two weeks, it becomes one of the most demanding workshops in sports. Somewhere north of 6,000 racquets pass through there during the Championships — restrung, stenciled, checked, sent back out — by a team from Babolat that works 12- to 15-hour days and treats a single mistake as unacceptable, even knowing perfection across thousands of frames is a mathematical impossibility.
Josh Newton has spent nearly 15 years inside rooms like this one. A Stringing & Machines Specialist at Babolat, he was the first American to lead the stringing team at Roland-Garros, and in 2018 he strung for Rafael Nadal during his 11th title run there — a career highlight he still points to as the most fulfilling moment of his professional life.
In this Q&A, Newton, now on Babolat’s Wimbledon team, talks about what that fortnight actually looks like: the pre-dawn prep, the on-court emergency restrings, the Wimbledon host families, the specific texture of hallowed ground when you're the one keeping a champion’s equipment in working order.
Q: What does a typical day look like for a Babolat stringer during Wimbledon
Newton: The typical day at Wimbledon starts with a walk from the home of our local host families, who are kind enough to house us for the Championships. We normally arrive no later than 7-7:30, and stay until the work is finished. The typical day will last 12-15 hours. We will prep our racquets the night before so that once we arrive, we can start straight away with those due first. There are inevitably last-minute requests, which we do our best to accommodate as well, but priority must be given to those already promised for a certain time.
We will stay busy through at least the start of play, and often well into the early afternoon before we can take a break for lunch. We generally eat in shifts because you must have available stringers for the on-court racquets sent back from a player during their match. The days are long and very intense, but the camaraderie, highly organized support staff, and team spirit get you through the day.
Q: What makes Wimbledon unique from a stringer’s perspective?
Newton: For me, Wimbledon is unique for several reasons. First, it’s Wimbledon! By that, of course, I mean one can’t help but feel the history and tradition in the air while you are there on such hallowed grounds. You quickly notice the attention to every detail on the grounds, and it’s inspiring; it really makes you strive to do your best as everyone else around you is as well.
Secondly, we stringers work in the on-site practice facility called Aorangi Pavilion, so we are among the players all day, including for our meals, which is definitely a treat. Finally, the fact that we stay with local host families instead of at a hotel makes for a wonderfully personal touch to our time at Wimbledon.
Q: How quickly can a racquet be restrung when a player needs it urgently
Newton: I would say 15 minutes, but that is the time to cut out the strings, string, and stencil the frame. The actual stringing can be as fast as 10 minutes. We strive for consistency and quality over everything else. So we don’t concentrate on speed, but rather on the quality of the finished product.
Q: What are some stringing trends you’re seeing with strings this season
Newton: We are seeing more racquets being restrung every year, and the tensions seem to be getting a little lower as well. We will see if that holds true in the heat, though, as the players often go a little tighter when it’s warmer outside.
Q: What’s one thing fans watching Wimbledon on TV would never realize is happening behind the scenes?
Newton: Honestly, most fans have no idea about the sheer scope of what the stringers accomplish during the championships. We have stringers, desk staff, stencilers, and people to run the racquets back and forth to the court for matches in progress. So, being highly organized is key.
We all must be good under pressure while also tired after weeks of very long days. The expectation is zero mistakes, while of course impossible, but that is the expectation for all of the 6,000+ racquets we string over the course of the event. People might find this to be a torture test in a sense, but we all love it and have as much fun as we can while working as hard as we can.
Q: When a Wimbledon champion lifts the trophy, what does it feel like knowing your team played a small but important role in helping them perform at their best?
Newton: Having had the honor of stringing for Rafa Nadal during his 2018 championship run at Roland Garros, I know firsthand how this feels, and it was the most fulfilling moment of my professional career. We do it for the love of the game, and it is not lost on us what our work can mean to the players. We have their dreams in our hands, and while we feel what we do is certainly important, we accept that when we do our job properly, we do not expect to hear any accolades. We are unsung (unstrung?) heroes, working behind the scenes, but being able to contribute to the game at its highest level is truly an honor.
