Author: Racquet Network

Racquet Network staff are certified experts. Many are also certified coaches. Racquet Network Experts undergo extensive training and product knowledge testing in order to ensure that we have the most knowledgeable staff in the racquet sports industry.
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Indoor Pickleball Shoes

Racquet Network carries Calgary’s largest selection of indoor pickleball shoes. In fact, we have the largest selection of court shoes of all kinds. Come in for a fitting with our experts and leave with the perfect fit for your feet. We are open 7 days a week. Monday to Friday 11:00am to 8:00pm. Saturday and Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm.

Shoe Selector For a full list of shoes in this category, please check out our ONLINE SHOE SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, width and price.

Indoor Pickleball Shoes

Shoe Selector For a full list of shoes in this category, please check out our ONLINE SHOE SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, width and price.
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Racquet Stringing Options

Racquet Network offers Calgary customers several options for racquet stringing services. Frequent re-stringers who want custom stringing can save the most money by pre-ordering online and submitting reviews for discounts. In most cases, online 1-week-or-less orders are completed within 24 hours and come with all of the extras offered by custom racquet stringing.

EXAMPLE: The table below shows the cost for restringing a squash racquet with Supernick XL. This is an average priced string. Other strings may cost more or less, depending on what you pick.

ORDER TYPE COST TURNAROUND
PRE-ORDERED ONLINE
(WITH DISCOUNT FOR PREVIOUS REVIEW)		 $25.56 1 WEEK (OR LESS)
(USUALLY NEXT DAY)
PRE-ORDERED ONLINE
(NO DISCOUNT FOR PREVIOUS REVIEW)		 $28.40 1 WEEK (OR LESS)
(USUALLY NEXT DAY)
IN-STORE $30.00 1 WEEK (OR LESS)
(USUALLY NEXT DAY)
ON-THE-SPOT
(MON-FRI 5-8 PM)		 $20.00 SAME DAY
(NOT GUARANTEED)

IN A HURRY?

We do all racquets in the order in which they come in, with one exception. Customers who absolutely have to have their racquets back immediately can pay extra to jump ahead of other people in line. Guaranteed one-day service can be purchased for an additional $10.00. Guaranteed one-hour service can be purchased for an additional $20.00.

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE?

Calgary customers who want to save even more can pre-order from the DISCOUNT RACQUET STRINGING SERVICES section of our website. There are several options there that offer even lower prices for customers who are not in a hurry.

ON-THE-SPOT

Racquet Network’s southwest Calgary store offers on-the-spot racquet stringing while you wait every weekday evening from 5:00-8:00pm. On most nights, all customers get their racquets back in less than an hour. Please note that service is not guaranteed. On exceptionally busy nights, we may not get to all customers.

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Kids White Badminton Shorts

Kids White Badminton ShortsRacquet Network has received a large inventory of white shorts for kids and adults at our new store in southwest Calgary.

These shorts are suitable for badminton, squash, tennis and/or racquetball.

Customers may purchase these items in-store during regular business hours which are currently:

– 11:00am-8:00pm Mon-Fri
– 11:00am-5:00pm Sat/Sun
– Closed on all statutory holidays

Address: 310 2525 Woodview Dr SW

Today’s arrival include more than 100 new pairs of white shorts for boys in sizes extra small, small, medium, and large. In the same shipment we received more than 50 pairs of white shorts for men and all sizes and the same number of white skirts and skorts for women and girls. In general, Racquet Network carries a large inventory of shirts and shorts suitable for all white clubs such as The Glencoe Club and Calgary Winter Club.

Our new 2000 sq foot store features an apparel section that is larger than most pro shops. We also carry a full selection of shoes, racquets string and racquet accessories.

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2G Pickleball Paddles Get a Second Chance

WILSON TOUR PRO PICKLEBALL PADDLE
Wilson Tour Pro is a standard 2G pickleball paddle with a polymer core
It seems hard to believe, but people have been making pickleball paddles since 1964.

The first generation of paddles — now known as 1G pickleball paddles — were carved out of wood in garages in the US Northwest. Paddle manufacturers were few and far between into the early 1980s, so many players who wanted them had to make their own.

The 1970s and 1980s saw the birth of a new generation of pickleball paddles (2G) made up of layers glued together and finished with a plastic edge guard that runs around the entire perimeter of the paddle. By the mid-1990s this format dominated the industry and virtually all pickleball paddles were made this way.

The early 2000s saw the development of 3G paddles which were similar to their 2G forerunners but which lacked the characteristic edge guards that distinguish 2G paddles from other generations. The problem with the earliest 3G paddles was a lack of durability. They were lighter and faster than their clunky 2G ancestors, but their exposed edges made them more susceptible to damage.

A further problem with early 3G paddle designs was that their light-weight and brittle foam cores deteriorated rather quickly. In some cases, brand new pickleball paddles sounded like mariachis just a few weeks out of the package. Fortunately for 3G fans, Wilson Sporting Goods solved those issues with the development of a nomex honeycomb core that stands up much longer than the foam cores in early 3G paddles.

Problems with some 3G paddles in the 2009-2013 period drove many 3G converts back, resulting in a resurgence in popularity for 2G paddles. For 2G paddle manufacturers like Pickle-Ball Inc. this offered a second chance to prepare for the massive changes that were about to take hold of the pickleball manufacturing industry.

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Laces Add Colour to Bland Shoe Options

Female racquet sports players in Canada are often frustrated by the lack of selection available in court shoes. In Canada, it seems, you can have any colour you want — as long as it’s white.

In the United States, where tennis is a major sport with millions of frequent players, shoe buyers are able to bring in lots of shoes in lots of different styles and colours. Here in Canada, however, where tennis is not a major sport and where wholesalers are in jeopardy of getting stuck with unsold inventory at the end of the season, the buyers are more conservative.

In contrast to American buyers, Canadian buyers bring in lots of white, a little black and very little of anything else FOR MEN. In the case of women’s shoes, they offer even fewer options. White or white with a small splash of pink, a hint of baby blue or a touch of coral is often the full extent of colour options for Canadian women.

Truth be told, the same is true for racquet sports apparel. More than 70% of the ladies apparel offered to our buyers by Canadian wholesalers is white, while 20% is black and the remaining 10% — at most — is another colour, usually one colour per season. The guys get more colour options than the women, primarily because male racquet sports players outnumber female players by about 10 to one. But white and black still dominate the men’s apparel category, too.

So Canadians who enjoy a bit of colour in their racquet sports wardrobe have learned to accessorize. Coloured laces, for example, add some colour to all white tennis or pickleball shoes. Add a matching sock increases colour intensity. Wristbands, headbands, hairbands, visors, racquet grips, overgrips, strings and other accessories can also provide accessorizing colour on top of a base coat of white.

“Some tennis players are sensitive to colour options,” says Genevieve Johner at Racquet Network’s southwest Calgary store. “but pickleball players, especially ladies, are obsessed with it. If their shoes don’t match their pickleball paddle, they aren’t interested.”

Fortunately, Racquet Network now carries laces and other colourful accessories that make this possible for pickleball players and everyone else.