Word: pro
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...apparently, you can hear it coming. The ball crosses the net hissing and spitting like some enraged tropical insect. Its most lethal element is its topspin, which can dip the ball crosscourt in short angles so extreme that "the game has gone from linear to parabolic," as ex-pro turned coach Scott McCain recently put it. "It's like ping-pong out there...
Today, natural gut strings - the strands of sterilized cow entrails once used by most professionals - have all but disappeared from pro tennis. At this year's French Open beginning May 24, 65% of men and 45% of women will use a Luxilon string, and almost all those who don't will use an imitation. This despite the fact that the family-owned company based in Antwerp refuses to pay top players to use its products and requires most to buy the string - almost unheard of in the freebie-filled world of professional tennis...
...even as strings offer greater potential for spin, players need technique to fulfill that potential. As Miller says, "the most important factor in the generation of spin is racket speed." Research by Cross at the University of Sydney has shown that pro tennis players have much less feel for strings than they think, and tend to overestimate their importance. A study published last year found that 90% of professionals could not feel a 6 lb. (2.7 kg) difference in the tension of strings in two different frames - even though most professionals insist on exacting string specifications for their matches...
...federal ban - since lifted by President Obama - on funding international family-planning groups that provide abortions. Writing to uphold a lower-court decision that threw out the case, Sotomayor said, "The Supreme Court has made clear that the government is free to favor the antiabortion position over the pro-choice position, and can do so with public funds." But that case didn't require Sotomayor to comment on the fundamental premise of Roe v. Wade - that the Constitution provides a right to abortion. Nothing has come to light so far in her rulings from the bench that give any clue...
...North Korea policy with its relations around the world, including its bilateral relationships with Washington, Tokyo and Seoul - has been more willing to accommodate those nations' concerns. But the other, probably more powerful influence in Beijing is the international department of the Chinese Communist Party, which tends to be pro- Pyongyang. Those two factions often struggle to influence the decisions of the senior leadership in Beijing - whose "red lines" when it comes to Pyongyang seem to be a "constantly moving target," as John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under Bush, puts...