"That is the entire purpose of our lives, to help these top players win tournaments. It’s as much of a job security thing as it is personal pride."
As a racket stringer, Nate Ferguson is responsible for ensuring the equipment in the hands of some of the most successful tennis players in the sport’s history is finely tuned every single time they step on the court. From his days as the personal stringer for Pete Sampras to founding his company Priority One - which works with Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and John Isner, among others - Nate’s clients have seen plenty of success. He calls that job security. In this episode, Nate shares how he lands clients, the odd hours that are involved to keep players well stocked with fresh rackets, what it takes to set up a stringing operation at tennis tournaments all over the world and what the right equipment can mean in the hands of rec players.
Below are Show Notes for the conversation with Nate Ferguson:
Nate Ferguson
Priority 1 Tennis
ATP Masters 1000s (Masters Series)
Rakuten Open in Tokyo
Noventi Open in Halle
1990 Sampras wins US Open, Sports Illustrated
1990 Sampras wins US Open, Highlight
No. 1 Sampras Has Nothing to Lose, NY Times (Nov. 20, 1997)
Tennis Strings Explained, Tennis Warehouse
Ron Yu, CBS
Aorangi Park (Wimbledon Practice Courts), Inside Tennis
Baghdatis breaks racquets at Australian Open, highlight
BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells
Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati
SET PIECES
BNP Paribas Open Cancelled, Desert Sun (2020)
Lone Survivor, by Patrick Robinson and Marcus Luttrell
A Civil Action by Jonathan Harrowers
A Civil Action Movie with John Travolta
House to House by John Bruning and David Bellavia