HighFIVE Josh Newton
Profile by Katie Newell
This HighFIVE profile appears in the 2018 Fall issue of Colorado Tennis newspaper.
Sometimes life unfolds in an expected but incredible way, which is the case for Josh Newton, an ERSA Pro Tour Level 1 certified stringer, USRSA Master Racquet Technician and stringer for the University of Colorado Buffaloes. He is also an Inside Sales Representative for Babolat VS North America.
Growing up playing football, basketball and baseball, it wasn’t until the summer of his freshman year in high school that he picked up his first tennis racquet. He got the bug and never looked back.
That was literally thousands of racquets ago. Josh has been a stringer at some of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world, including the French Open and Cincinnati Masters 1000. He was the personal stringer this past year for Rafael Nadal, and has the opportunity to meet and hang out with other tennis greats such as Federer and Djokovic through his stringing opportunities.
“It was an honor to stay through the finals and end up on the number one machine” he said of realizing he would be Nadal’s stringer this past year.
Stringing professionally since 1999, Josh said tournaments such as the French Open are “intoxicating and addictive,” requiring 14-hour days. The number of racquets the professionals go through is mindboggling — approximately 5,600 for a tournament. He strung 78 racquets just for Nadal during the 3-week event. It’s an amazing opportunity, all expenses paid, for a very small group of craftsmen (16 total for a large tournament) who are passionate not just about tennis, but bringing the tennis elite the tools they need to succeed.
“It’s never boring to me,” Josh said about stringing, “It’s almost a Zen-like experience, you can get lost in your own thoughts, but you do have to have your attention on the task,” explaining that the professionals hit so hard they change racquets just about every time they change balls on the court.
And while he said the machines really haven’t changed that much since the 70s and 80s, the string itself has — from gut to polyester blends now. They have more feel, but lose tension quicker which is why the professionals need constant replacement.
“For a tennis lover like me, it can be a crazy, grueling schedule but I love it and wouldn’t wish for anything different,” he said of the opportunity to string on the world’s biggest stages. “It’s a way to be involved at the highest level.”
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