Behind the scenes of the world’s most elite tennis tournaments there’s a team of people rapidly working on keeping equipment well strung.
Stringers have historically worked around the clock to ensure racquets are strung to the perfect tension.
For Shane Mikic, stringing a racquet is second nature.
“It’s about having a really good technique and doing the same thing, racquet after racquet,” he said.
“Stringing a racquet is just muscle memory.”
Shane Mikic strings for tournaments including the US Open. (Supplied: Shane Mikic)
Hailing from Townsville in north Queensland, Mr Mikic is a part of the Wilson stringing team and has strung racquets for three decades, working his first Grand Slam in 2010.
He has since flown across the world to string for the likes of Rafael Nadal and Venus Williams, and handles racquets at majors events including the US Open, Roland Garros and Laver Cup.
For professional players having a tennis racquet strung is critical to their performance on court.
Teams of stringers work on racquets at tournaments such as the Australian Open. (Supplied: Tennis Australia)
Mr Mikic said some tennis players preferred lower tension in their strings, while others wanted a firmer string bed.
“In tennis, if the strings are wrong, forget it. The ball’s not going in the court,” Mr Mikic said.
“Players have to have the exact string and stiffness that they’re used to playing with.”
Stringer shortage
Tennis Australia said 7,797 racquets were strung at the 2025 Australian Open, with the highest number on a single day at 616.
In 2025 the Australian Open also broke attendance records, attracting 116,528 people in its opening week, up from 89,894 people in 2024.
Well over 7,000 racquets are strung at the Australian Open, according to Tennis Australia. (Supplied: Tennis Australia)
Racquet sports equipment manager Lyndon Krause said while tournaments thrived, there was an aging demographic of tennis stringers and the industry was grappling with a shortage.
He said Tennis Australia had about 50 stringers currently on roster that met tournament requirements.
“We’ve got more tournaments now than we’ve ever had,” he said.
“I’d say the average age for a stringer is mid-50s and above.
“The need for stringers is above and beyond anything else.”
Tennis Australia will next year relaunch a program dedicated to the training of stringers and to provide a pathway into the tournament scene.
“The learning curve is very steep, so what we’re looking for is people who are passionate about the sport of tennis,” Dr Krause said.
‘Flat out’
Mr Mikic said elite-level games were fast-paced and high-stress environments for stringing teams.
“Stringing teams at a tournament are flat out,” he said.
“You can start the day with maybe 15 racquets in your box that need to be strung by 11 o’clock, then during that time you’ll have players dropping in at the last minute.”
Shane Mikic said stringing at tournaments was a high-stress environment. (Supplied: Shane Mikic)
He said being a good stringer relied on technical knowledge.
“It’s about player preference, but it’s also the type of ball they hit as well,” he said.
“Generally players who hit with a lot of topspin can get away with having a looser string bed.
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“Players who hit very flat, say someone like Bernard Tomic, generally has to string a little bit tighter to get the control that he needs.”
Dr Krause said Tennis Australia was trying to challenge traditional stringing room environments in its bid to ramp up numbers of stringers.
“There’s been an expectation for stringers to start an hour before play and end an hour after play,” he said.
“Previously the stringers used to be accustomed to doing 20-hour days.”
He said Tennis Australia were working to redefine those stereotypes, including roping-in stringers on a shift-based model and on shared machines.
“We’re now looking into how do we increase the efficiency of the room, provide more opportunities, leverage the existing talent we’ve got out there now,” he said.
The 2026 Australian Open begins in Melbourne on January 12.