DAVID PALMERS TOP TIPS

4 Times British Open Champion David Palmer provides his Top Tips to improve your squash exclusively for Black Knight Rackets and Ashaway Strings, we will be publishing a new tip each month.

David's 1st Tip .....

1. Keep your racket up and ready
It is vital that your racket is in back and ready in position inbetween points, during the rally and while you move to the ball. So many players run to the ball and then rush to get their racket into position just before they play the stroke, this is much more likely to produce a poor quality shot.
If your racket is back, ready and set before you even move to the ball, a clean accurate shot is much more likely.

More tips to follow ...

2. T-Position = Pole Position
A common mistake is standing too far back, it can take a little courage to force yourself forward, but the further forward you can get, the more often you can volley. It is as simple as this, the person who stands on the T the most during a match, wins the match. So be brave, get forward and volley.

More tips to follow ...

3. To control the ball, 1st control your body.
Having your body positioned in a comfortable, strong and well balanced position before you hit the ball will have a superb effect on the quality of your squash. While you are warming up, practice getting yourself set and balanced before each shot, when you are balanced don't forget tip 1 (keep your racket up and ready).

4. Look after your key equipment
Your racket, it is an extension of your arm:
Racket Grip, it is the contact point between you and your racket, it should be comfortable and not slip. Changing your grip every 2 weeks is good practice. You can do everything right with your shot, but if you have an old grip and the racket moves in your hand as you hit the ball, it's uncomfortable and may cause a miss hit.
Racket Strings, it is the contact point between your racket and the ball, they must be in top condition, use a qualified stringer and a quality string (such as Ashaway's Powernick 18) a good stringer will ensure a consistent tension across all the strings and maximise the life of the strings. A good practice is to have your restrung as many times a season as you play a week, if the strings go slack, don't wait for them to break - get it to your stringer. You wouldn't wait for your car tyre to burst!
Your footwear, is the contact point between you and the floor you are trying to cover as efficiently as possible. If you are slipping and sliding around with blisters, it seems obvious, but essentially, it makes it a lot harder than it neds to be. Ensure your shoes are comfortable and the grip is not worn.

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DAVID PALMER WINS 4th BRITISH OPEN TITLE!

Congratulations to David Palmer, British Open Champion!! This is Davids 4th British Open Title!

David Came through an epic and gripping final to win in 5 sets to win 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-10 (3-2) in 111 minutes.
Ending with an amazing fully stretched cross court shot of the very tip of his frame.

In the interview after the match David said:

“I was playing good squash in the first two games, and in the middle of the third game, I relaxed a bit.

“The challenge for me is to keep the speed around the court, not the fitness, I still consider myself as one of the fittest players on the circuit one of the fittest guys on the circuit.

David thanked his Coach Shawn, his physio Pat, His wife Mel and daughter Kayla for their support. David also added that he was

"so glad also to have a new racquet made by Black Knight, a Montreal based company that is at the moment covering the North American
market. They were looking for opening to the European and UK market, and what a great start in the relationship in winning the British Open!!!!

"I have five racquets in my bag, they are all different, all prototypes, actually I chose them because they let me design my own racquets.
I’ve been playing for with the gold one for the past three weeks, and at 9/9 in the 5th, it finally broke, so I picked up the black one, because that’s the one that was the closest to the gold one, and that’s that one I did that shot off the frame with!

David is pictured here shortly after his victory at the Black Knight / Ashaway Stand in the arena.

BLACK KNIGHT / ASHAWAY SIGN DAVID PALMER

The squash manufacturing team of Ashaway and Black Knight is very pleased to announce the signing of squash legend, David Palmer, to a long-term sponsorship agreement. David is currently ranked 4th in the PSA World rankings and is a three-time British Open and two-time World Open Champion.

David has been sponsored by Ashaway Racket Strings for more than five years and has played with Ashaway’s PowerNick 18 since this popular red string was first introduced to the Ashaway squash string line. On the other hand, David’s sponsorship with Ashaway’s Canadian Distributor and world-renowned squash racket manufacturer, Black Knight, is completely new, as he was previously sponsored by another racket manufacturer for his entire career.

David, his wife and young daughter will move to the United States from Belgium in February. From his Boston, Massachusetts base at the famous University Club, David will be playing in all of the major North American (USA and Canada) and World tour events. In addition to playing with Ashaway strings and Black Knight frames at these PSA events, David will be promoting Ashaway and Black Knight at squash camps, clinics, and exhibitions worldwide every year.
As part of David’s agreement with Black Knight, a high-end range of David Palmer signature rackets will be developed by Black Knight and made available to the worldwide squash market in September 2008. All of the new Palmer rackets will be sold strung with Ashaway’s PowerNick 18 and all of the existing Black Knight squash frames will continue to be strung at the factory with Ashaway strings.