Customyze It, a new service offered by racquetmaker Prince, allows players to design their own racquet face using the the O3 Speedport Black as the base. After picking a frame -- the O3 Speedport Black; the lighter Team version; or the Longbody, for those who need some help with wingspan -- you can choose between two stringing systems that allow for either more control or more power. And you get to choose between seven colors for the grip and the string inserts on the racquet face (there's four of them). Take heed, though: the base color is still black, so there are certain combos you might want to stay away from.
When you're done choosing, print out your creation and take it to your nearest Prince dealer.
BUY: O3 Speedport Black, $199.99. Visit Princetennis.com to start customizing.
YOUR SHOES:
The pros get their fair share of coddling from their sponsors, not excluding molding their shoes to fit perfectly on their feet. At adidas, their mi adidas program (pronounced as "my adidas") allows customers access to the same treatment that Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic receive from the sports giant. To start, your feet's length and width are measure down to a tenth of a millimeter right there at the store, allowing you to have different sized shoes for left and right. (Don't worry, even though you step on what looks like a scale, they're not taking note of your weight.) adidas offers the Barricade IV (and for women, the ClimaCool Divine), from which each customer picks the shoe's cosmetic design: various parts of the sole, the upper, the eyelets, and the tongue all have different colors, while a country flag can be embroidered on the tongue and up to 10 characters printed on the outer side sole of each shoe.
And if you're getting fitted for a sport that involves more pure running, a dynamic scan analyzes your running pattern, creating a sole specific to your heel strike and pressure points.
YOUR SHOES:
The pros get their fair share of coddling from their sponsors, not excluding molding their shoes to fit perfectly on their feet. At adidas, their mi adidas program (pronounced as "my adidas") allows customers access to the same treatment that Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic receive from the sports giant. To start, your feet's length and width are measure down to a tenth of a millimeter right there at the store, allowing you to have different sized shoes for left and right. (Don't worry, even though you step on what looks like a scale, they're not taking note of your weight.) adidas offers the Barricade IV (and for women, the ClimaCool Divine), from which each customer picks the shoe's cosmetic design: various parts of the sole, the upper, the eyelets, and the tongue all have different colors, while a country flag can be embroidered on the tongue and up to 10 characters printed on the outer side sole of each shoe.
And if you're getting fitted for a sport that involves more pure running, a dynamic scan analyzes your running pattern, creating a sole specific to your heel strike and pressure points.
BUY: mi adidas available at adidas performance stores in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago; for shoes for running, volleyball, soccer, basketball, and tennis. The fitting and color-choosing takes between 20-30 minutes, and the shoes ship in about four weeks. Visit adidas.com/com/miadidas for more info.
YOUR TEE:
A short-hitting session doesn't need complicated moisture-wicking, body-mapped polos, so take note of the Sportswear iD tee the next time you're on the court. It comes in a variety of colors, graphics, and application treatments. The fitted tee even has an option for printing a name and number on the back, jersey-style.
A short-hitting session doesn't need complicated moisture-wicking, body-mapped polos, so take note of the Sportswear iD tee the next time you're on the court. It comes in a variety of colors, graphics, and application treatments. The fitted tee even has an option for printing a name and number on the back, jersey-style.
BUY: Nike Sportswear iD tee, $45, shipped in about four weeks. Visit nikeid.nike.com
