Werner Fischer (b November 7, 1939) was a German academic, professor and engineer. Between 1980 and 2005 he was the president of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HAK). In the 60s he started playing tennis but was struggling. He had an ingenious idea to increase spin but kept it to his teamates initially. But they started to win, they went from bottom to top of the German League! It was 1971 and he had accidentally reinvented tennis!
Professional stringer Peter Lehrner recalls “This double-sided spaghetti covering was also curious. There was a German, his name was Werner Fischer, who developed a method in which two strings were always pulled through for the main strings and only a few cross strings were used. He made it flexible with rubber rings and that meant that the main strings on the cross string worked enormously and slipped, giving the ball an insane twist. That was also one of the reasons that (Guillermo note) Vilas lost after 53 victories on clay against (note Ilie) Nastase because he played with this upholstery. That was only a topspin of three or four meters behind the baseline and a trajectory without end. In the end, it led to the association banning this and starting to regulate the string network”
Of course there is another name in this story:Michael Fishbach. Michael Fishbach was a moderately successful US player, when he suddenly gained notoriety during the 1977 U.S. Open by using a homemade version of the spaghetti racket, which allowed him to upset players like Billy Martin and Stan Smith. This ingenious stringing method by Werner Fischer was just too good, it made tennis too easy and so they had to ban it. Fishbach basically gave up but after retiring from tennis, Fishbach pursued a wonderful successful career in conservation. So this story is as much about Fishback as it is about Fischer. Think of this as the Fischer-Fishback story!
Fishbach Early Life
Michael Fishbach, a native of the quaint town of Great Neck, New York, grew up in a place steeped in literary history. F. Scott Fitzgerald had lived there, drawing inspiration for the fictional West Egg in his classic novel, “The Great Gatsby.” This backdrop of creativity and ambition perhaps foreshadowed Fishbach’s own unconventional path in the world of tennis. After honing his skills at the University of California, Irvine, Fishbach entered the professional tennis circuit, quickly earning a reputation as a free spirit with a penchant for unique approaches to the game. During a European tour, Fishbach witnessed the remarkable success of 40-year-old Barry Phillips-Moore, an Australian veteran past his prime, wielding a peculiar double-strung racket. This racket, the brainchild of German horticulturist and tennis enthusiast Werner Fischer, was unlike anything Fishbach had seen. It captivated him instantly with its unorthodox design, resembling a craft project more than a sports implement. The spaghetti racket, as it was known, was notorious for its ability to produce unpredictable spins that left opponents bewildered.
The Quest for the Spaghetti Racket
Fishbach’s curiosity about the spaghetti racket grew, but Phillips-Moore guarded his secret closely, akin to a spy on a covert mission. However, fate intervened in an unexpected way. While browsing a camera store in Gstaad, Switzerland, Fishbach stumbled upon a racket strikingly similar to Phillips-Moore’s secret weapon. Although the store owner refused to sell the racket, he allowed Fishbach to examine it closely, providing him with crucial insights into its complex stringing pattern. Returning to New York, Fishbach shared his discovery with his older brother, Peter, who had a background in tennis and later became a Senior Vice President at Advanta. Together, the Fishbach brothers embarked on the laborious task of crafting their own spaghetti racket. The process was intricate and time-consuming, requiring about 30 hours and an array of materials, including nylon strings, plastic tubing, and adhesive tape. The result was a homemade version of Fischer’s revolutionary racket.
Making Waves at the U.S. Open
Armed with his unique racket, Fishbach entered the U.S. Open qualifiers. Despite being ranked 200th in the world, he triumphed in three matches to secure a spot in the main draw. His performance was nothing short of sensational. Fishbach dispatched Billy Martin with a 6-1, 7-5 victory and then faced Stan Smith, a former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion. In a stunning display, Fishbach defeated Smith 6-0, 6-2, using the spaghetti racket’s unpredictable spins to his advantage. Although his journey ended in the third round against John Feaver, Fishbach’s victories secured his place in tennis lore.
The unusual racket did not go unnoticed. The little-known American Mike Fishbach came upon the spaghetti racket while travelling on the European circuit, first noticing Phillips-Moore playing with the racket in Belgium. Fishbach was intrigued, but Phillips-Moore allegedly refused to let anyone examine his equipment. In July just four weeks after the Belgian Open, while playing a tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland, Fishbach noticed a racket resembling Phillips-Moore’s while browsing a camera store. Fishbach attempted to purchase the racket but the shop owner refused to part with it. Fishbach was confident, however, that he could assemble one himself and returned home to New York to create his own spaghetti racket.
Vilas and Nastase
At the beginning of a French autumn clay-court tour, one of the most famous players to become victim of the spaghetti racquet was tennis prodigy Ille Nastase, who was unexpectedly defeated by Frenchman Georges Goven – who was using the magic tool. The Romanian heavily protested.
“That’s the first time I’ve played against someone using one of those things,” complained Nastase. “It’s also the last. In future I shall refuse to play. I was running the whole time against Goven. Perhaps I’m not in my best form at the moment, but all the same….”
Less than two weeks later, Nastase changed his mind. If he could not beat players who used the spaghetti racquet, he would join them. On Sunday, October 2, he was in the Aix-en-Provence final facing Vilas – undefeated on clay in 1977. In his hands, Nastase held none other than a spaghetti-strung racquet. Ironically, after many players had voiced their complaints along with his, the spaghetti racquet had just been officially banned by tennis authorities. But the ban would not be in effect until the following Monday.
This time it was Ilie Nastase who would use a spaghetti racquet to beat Guillermo Vilas in the final in Aix-en-Provence, putting an end to the Argentine’s 53-match winning streak on clay. Vilas, down two sets to love, walked off the court to protest the use of the racquet – which he claimed gave an unfair advantage to Nastase. Following a few weeks of controversy, and apparently with everyone upset the spaghetti racquet was banned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) but the ban would take take effect only after the end of the tournament.
What Happened in the End?
Fishbach’s use of the spaghetti racket coincided with a growing controversy that eventually led to its ban by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in 1978. Fishbach himself transitioned from tennis to a successful career in conservation, focusing on whale preservation.
And what of Werner Fischer? Fischer’s business suffered greatly due to the ban. “If the ban had come one year later, I would have become a millionaire, but instead, I was financially ruined,” he lamented. Gunter Harz, Fischer’s business partner, attempted to market a modified version, but legal challenges ensued, ultimately losing a lawsuit against the US Tennis Association in 1981.Though its time in professional tennis was brief, the spaghetti racket forced the ITF to redefine equipment standards. Today, these rackets are rare collectibles, valued for their unique place in tennis history. But could Spaghetti stringing ever make a come back?
Spaghetti strings in the modern game?
The modern game of tennis is all about power, in comparison to the traditional serve and volley. So, it actually would not help Pros who are already established. but it would certainly help beginners who are struggling to get the ball in the court. We have tried a few modern variants of the Spaghetti string, with unusual weave patterns and they do generate much more spin, with hardly any sacrifice. But how long will it be until someone finds the next big invention that radically changes tennis? It could be just around the corner!