• Uli Kuehnel, when will the amateur and leisure tennis player be able to use the worldwide, brandnew system “IPDS by Xception“ for the first time?
• Do you not consider your plans to be rather daring in a time when tennis is on the decline both in terms of TV quotas and memberships in tennis clubs?
• How do you explain this reverse effect?
• Your stringing system IPDS by Xception is now also available for non-professional players. How can they tell the difference to usual stringing?
• What other advantages apart from an increased playpower does IPDS by Xception offer?
• Could you string just about any type of tennis racket with IPDS by Xception?
• How can a non-professional player tell when it is time to have the racket restrung?
• As compared to a professional player, how often does a non-professional tennis player have to restring his racket?
• Do you have any advice regarding the racket care?
• Has your thirst for new developments now been quenched with the introduction of IPDS at last?

Uli Kuehnel, when will the amateur and leisure tennis player be able to use the worldwide, brandnew system “IPDS by Xception“ for the first time?

Kuehnel: The world premiere took place in 2000 in Munich. Having to permanent shops one in Munich one at Tegernsee, we will offer special home delivery service until we are able to provide a network covering whole Germany. In the middle and long run we will establish our service station throughout Europe und filnally worldwide.

Do you not consider your plans to be rather daring in a time when tennis is on the decline both in terms of TV quotas and memberships in tennis clubs?

Kuehnel: It is quite correct that as far as memberships are concerned, we have seen regressive numbers until about two years ago. Then there was a period of stagnation which now seems to be followed by a slight upward tendency. In the course of our pilot project we happened to notice that out of our 200 clients, 60 had stopped playing tennis five to six years ago and now were about to return to the tennis court.Top


How do you explain this reverse effect?

Kuehnel: What we are now facing can best be described as a reorientation back towards the traditional sports, like football / soccer and tennis. Trend sport markets like aerobics, inline skating or mountainbiking collapse just as quickly as they once emerged and can no longer grow. Many people, when practising leisure sports, now turn their backs on mere trend sports as they find they actually prefer to spend their leisure time enjoying the sense of community found in e.g. a tennis club. This trend is completely independent from the situation in professional top notch sports, which means that even in case there is should not be any top five tennis player in Germany in the next ten years, there will not be any further decline in leisure sports. We have left the slump behind us.


Your stringing system IPDS by Xception is now also available for non-professional players. How can they tell the difference to usual stringing?

Kuehnel: It really is a difference like night and day. After an IPDS by Xception-stringing, the player will say he thinks he is holding a different racket in his hands. I have no intention to exaggerate when I claim that the introduction of IPDS will revolutionize the tennis market and put an end to traditional stringing just as colour TV put an end to the era of black-and white television by totally taking it over.

What other advantages apart from an increased playpower does IPDS by Xception offer?

Kuehnel: According to Davis Cup physiotherapist Waldemar Kliesing there is no doubt that there is an enourmous decline in shoulder and elbow injuries. I go as far as to claim that there is no such thing as a tennis elbow anymore once you use IPDS In cooperation with orthopedists, we have even helped to cure tennis arm injuries, after their inflammatory phase, with IPDS in the past. With our personal advisory service, the tennis player is no longer left on his own, but can rely one hundred per cent on the 15 years of professional tennis experience we can offer.

Could you string just about any type of tennis racket with IPDS by Xception?

Kuehnel: Yes. The stringing is the racket’s core, regardless of size, material and other racket parameters. IPDS means racket management for the individual.

How can a non-professional player tell when it is time to have the racket restrung?

Kuehnel: You can tell from the muffled sound when the ball hits the string bed, from the ball’s uncontrolled flight line and, naturally, when the string is fraying.

As compared to a professional player, how often does a non-professional tennis player have to restring his racket?

Kuehnel: The professional player needs an average of one Racket per set, which means 250 - 400 stringings per year. A non-professional player shuld have his racket restrung between two and four times a year, depending on his match frequency. Allow me the additional remark that an IPDS stringing lasts about twice as long as a traditional string. We offer advanced strings with an improved elasticity, which dramatically improves the strings longevity.

Do you have any advice regarding the racket care?

Kuehnel: Immediately after the match, the racket should be wrapped in its thermo cover and stored at room temperature. Exreme heat or cold, as e.g. during the summer or winter in the boot / trunk of a car shorten the string’s longevity.

Has your thirst for new developments now been quenched with the introduction of IPDS at last?

Kuehnel: Not really, no. The next step will be the improvement of the racket frame, as far as flexibility and body stiffness are concerned. We are comming out right now with a customized racket. Only - by world of xception.