OUR STORY

YTEX Strings is growing rapidly every day and I want to make sure you know who is behind the products that will help you get to the next level! I aim to share with you my story, who am I and how I started working with YTEX. 


So strap yourself in and let's begin! 

A couple of years back (well, actually quite a few years...) in Pretoria, South Africa, the beautiful town and place where I grew up is where it all started.


My name is Ivor Savage but most of my friends call me "Savage" :)
I began playing tennis at 9 yrs of age and
like most kids at the time, I played multiple sports like rugby and cricket but I had an obsession from the start with tennis!


I was blessed to play on the courts at Sunnyside & Belgrave Tennis Clubs where tennis was booming every day. With my obsession, I quickly jumped in the South African rankings and climbed as high as #30 in the nation.   

It was an awesome experience!


As time passed, at the age of 25, I received the offer to coach at the Van Der Meer Academy on Hilton Head Island, SC, in the good ole USA!


This was an incredible opportunity so I Immediately Jumped on the plane and after a 19 hrs flight, found myself walking the gigantic airport of Atlanta with only my tennis clothes, and two heavy' Head tennis bags ready to start a new chapter with my tennis career.


Upon landing, I started my coaching career as PTR Professional at the VDM Academy in SC, and spent 3 years as Teaching Pro at the Sea Pines Racquet Club, which is a short 10-min drive and where they hosted the Family Circle Cup in years past.


After 5 years of teaching at these world-class facilities, I jumped on the opportunity to work with two 12 yrs old twin boys in Savannah, Georgia, as their full-time private coach. It was a major switch from coaching "resort tennis" but one of the best decisions I've ever made.  


I was very blessed to work with the twins, James and Madison Daly (shown in picture below), and numerous other top juniors in Savannah which set the path to eventually become a US Citizen and making the USA my home.  


I worked with the boys for 5 long years, and they eventually received a D1 Scholarship to play for Wofford College.    

While coaching the twins, I still had some tennis left in myself and went on to win the 10.0 USTA Mix National Championship in 2011... (see picture below). All thanks to the lads for keeping me in shape :)



But... It wasn't all only about coaching. 


At the time, away from the courts, my company, IHS Enterprises, LLC was launched in the mid-2000's and 'Tourna' was the first brand we obtained the exclusive rights to distribute in South Africa and a few other international countries.  We are also the official distributor for Tourna for all US College and school teams.


As you may be aware, TOURNA is known for the world-famous Tourna Grip and hundreds of tennis accessories and top of the line stringing machines so if you are looking for either, shoot me an email: ivor@ytexstrings.com 

From there up to now, It has been a long journey and I have loved every second of it.


And I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Ivor, but, how and at what point of your career did you start your journey with YTEX?"

So continuing my story, there I was, following my journey as a Pro Tennis Coach until one day in 2012, I was headed to Orlando, FL, for one of the PTR Tennis Conferences and as a tech junky, the Trade Show was a given to attend.


I was also supposed to meet with a Mr. Andres Yidi who at that time was the owner of YTEX, to get some string samples for one of my friends back in Savannah.  As I walked up to the YTEX booth, I was greeted with the biggest and sincerest smiles I have ever seen and yes, it was Andres :)


He lived in Key Biscayne, FL and at the time, he had brought his beautiful family along with him to help run the booth. (see picture below)

So, 2012 is the year YTEX was launched and I jumped on board with Andres to be his sales agent for Georgia.


A couple of years later, I became the VP for YTEX. During this time we grew the company together. It wasn't an easy task as there were already big names in the market, but we managed to get through and succeed.


And Since July 2018, I'm the new (Proudest and Happiest) YTEX owner.

The decision to buy the company was an easy one since I strongly believe in the string line and its high quality which many others and I feel is the best on the market. 


And you can check out the reviews from our customers here. We have over 500 customer reviews with 96%+ giving YTEX strings 5/5 stars. We let our customers speak for us! 


This will show you the love everyone has for our string line, something that makes the team happy to read every time we receive a new product review.


We read them all!


Andres and his family, Claudia Natalia and Andres Jr know how much I praise them for starting such a phenomenal string brand.

YTEX was their "baby" and my team and I are very honored to take YTEX into its teenage years.

I also want to highlight someone very special to me and this is our marketing guru, Sergio...


With his vision and lead, we have grown and jumped way ahead of the competition in many areas, and we keep on growing every month.


Sergio's enthusiasm is contagious and it's such a blessing to have someone part of our family who seeks to improve and excel daily.   

This attitude is what keeps our company growing and with the help of our YTEX'ers (fans, customers but more importantly, Family)...we'll become the leading string brand on the market soon!

People may compare strings here and there, but no other string can compete with the quality YTEX delivers, and it's not all talk.


Our flagship string, the Quadro Twist, was rated #1 for spin by the USRSA (United States Racquet Stringers Association) and #2 overall out of 200 strings they play tested. The only string to perform higher was natural gut. 


And I'm sharing this with you so you are aware of the quality of the product you will use on your racquet is top-notch.


By the way...


We have a Facebook group with Hundreds of YTEX family members where we discuss current and new ideas to bring for all of you.


If you're not part of it already, click here to join now.


And let me tell you, I enjoyed writing all of this and sharing my tennis / YTEX journey with you.


YTEX is very special for me and I will do everything that Is in my power to make sure you have the best experience and results when buying and using our products.


Thanks again for reading our story.


Remember you are now part of it, and we'll grow together, bigger and stronger! 


My sincerest thanks,


Ivor Savage

President

Savannah, GA

ivor@ytexstrings.com