Mason's Tennis — Local services in New York

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I shopped at this store several weeks ago as I was referred by another source. I was both excited and nervous about learning tennis at the time. To start, I am 42 years old and I gained a ridiculous amount of weight during the onset of COVID-19 which made me question whether I would even be fit enough to start. In addition, I am a person of color in pursuit of a dream to excel in a game that was historically not very accessible. These factors made me initially question whether it was even worth the journey. Prior to visiting this store, I was somewhat intimidated by all of these predisposing factors. It was my genuine passion for learning a sport that is both physically and intellectually demanding that forced me to take the first step. I am both a physician and musician who is very familiar with learning at later stages (e.g. music: flute, violin, and piano). I have learned over the past decade that it is entirely possible to be great at something foreign if one has a semblance of mental agility, genuine interest, and fortitude. If I could fin in success in a musical space, why not tennis?

Let's admit it. The 2021 US Open was amazing and greatly exemplified the possibilities of the sport. Who wouldn't want to learn after watching? In all fairness, I always had a deep desire, but I had much self-doubt in the past which always prevents me from moving forward. "Well, nothing is going to happen if I don't take a first step," I thought to myself. So I did just that.

My plan was to first arm myself with quality gear. Initially, I had only cursory knowledge about racquets as well as the other paraphernalia that I would need to proceed. I had no concept of weight balance, string selection, or the other essential components in my search for my perfect beginner racquet. I felt quite embarrassed to even seek assistance but I knew that these necessary evils must be overcome.

Of the many great things that I could mention about Mason's, the first thing that I notice was that the store was extremely clean and I was met with a smile from entry. My guard was automatically let down. From the entry, EVERYONE was extremely welcoming, encouraging, and knowledgable. I really gained a sense that they wanted me to start my journey with excellent quality items that would suit ME well. I felt neither rushed nor pressured to purchase. I was allowed the time and space to embrace the amazement that began to fill my psyche.

Several minutes after perusing items, I was handed off to the equipment specialist who was an EXTREMELY knowledgable and helpful young man (insert smile) who took a quick break from his tennis stringing to assist me in finding the perfect racquet. I could very quickly tell that he enjoyed the sport, the culture, and encouraging others to embark on a lifetime journey of learning tennis. He volunteered to string my racquet which saved me time as I would not have to make the long trek back to the shop the following day. Of note, there is no guarantee that this can be done for everyone as it does become busy quickly, but his ability to do so just added greater value to my experience. Needless to say, I purchased an amazing Babolat Pure Drive 2021 in which I am enamored.

The icing on the cake for me was when he recommended a book titled "Late to the Ball" by Marzorati after hearing about my late start (I'm currently 42). I finished the book within several days. The text left me even more enthusiastic and encouraged about starting as a latecomer to the craft. Now I find myself immersed in searching for great tennis reads in my spare time. His insight was invaluable and it exemplified the extent of his engagement in our...

Outrageously overpriced, at least for racket strings which is what I went there for. Not just normal NY pricey, but literally 10 times higher than normal retail cost. They tried to sell me a set of synthetic gut for $35 when it retails for about $3.50. Also they charged $48 for a set of luxillon which normally retails for about $18. I asked if they were forgetting the decimal, or if they rang up natural gut by mistake, or double charging for labor, because it can't possibly be that expensive. They told me their prices "are competitive" and everywhere is like this, even when I showed them the exact same strings with a $3.50 price tag on them. They try to justify it by pricing in the labor, but it's still just a ripoff with extra steps, no matter how you do the math. It's not just expensive, it's straight up robbery. Don't shop here.

EDIT IN RESPONSE TO OWNER RESPONSE BELOW: The owner's response admits in writing that this shop double charges for labor. They tried to charge me $48 for luxillon and $35 for synthetic gut which would include two labor charges according to the response below. That is double dipping. They are also inconsistent with pricing because first the response says $25 for labor, and then it says $28 for labor ($48 with stringing - $20 without). They were rude to me and rolled their eyes in contempt when I asked them to explain prices and justify $35 for a $3.50 string. Consumers should shop literally...

Mason's Tennis Mart is a family- owned one-stop shop for all of your tennis needs.

Tennis is a sport which requires quite a bit of fine tuning (racket shape/weight/strings/grip/shoes/etc) and one can not solely rely on internet reviews. Mason's Tennis Mart provides something the internet can not: a knowledgable staff and a tailored buying experience. I walked in and met with Tony, the technical specialist, who was a pleasure to interact with. Not only is he very knowledgable but he truly put MY best interest as his top priority. As a Federer fan I obviously wanted to buy the latest Federer racquet. After chatting with Tony, he assessed that the racquet would not be the best fit for me, and recommended I demo it first before purchasing (again, putting my interest ahead of the shop's, he could have simply sold it to me and called it a day). I demo'ed it, and lo and behold, Tony was right. I wasn't technical enough to play with the racquet and that's when I realized the importance of purchasing tennis equipment in person rather than buying online. If I had just followed online reviews, I would own a racquet which I can't play right now. Instead, I have a perfect fit of a racquet and a place I can go to for all my future tennis needs.

I am delighted with my experience at Mason's Tennis...