Tennis Gear – Tennis Racquet Strings

Gear, Learning Guide — By admin

Many racquets come pre-strung, and for a beginner, any of those kinds are fine and functional. However, if you’re becoming more serious about the game and are ready to jump into the world of tennis strings, you might not even know where to begin.

The first place would definitely be your racquet. Hopefully you’ve managed to find your one true love (in racquet form), because what good are the strings without an awesome racquet? So, assuming that special-someone-racquet is already in your duffel bag, it’s time to get it some strings.

Sure, there may be only two general types to pick from, but each type has different pros and cons that might make or break your game out on the courts. It all depends on what is right for you.

Natural Gut

I personally don’t want to know how anyone came up with the idea of using cow intestines as tennis racquet strings, but I’m glad they did. Gut strings offer a lot of benefits if you are willing to pay the extra cost for them. Gut strings offer better playability, feel, and control when compared to synthetic, but are indeed more expensive, and don’t have as much durability as synthetic does, so as your game gets better, your wallet might get a little lighter. Also, gut strings are more breakable, although they hold tension better. However, they offer great playability and are easy on your arms. If you don’t typically break strings, gut might be the right choice for you.

Synthetic Gut

If you’d prefer to keep the weight of your wallet the way it is, you might want to consider going for synthetic strings, which are lower in cost than gut strings. High end synthetic strings are crafted by manufacturers with the objective of offering the benefits of gut strings, while adding durability. While it seems like synthetic strings have lots of pros – after all, where could you go wrong with a cheaper, more durable form of string with the same properties – some players disagree, saying that synthetic doesn’t offer nearly enough playability, feel, or control as gut string. Some other advice to consider is that there are definitely grades of synthetic strings, nylon strings being the lowest. Most racquets that come pre-strung are generally strung with nylon, which while fine for a beginner, may not be ideal for the avid player due to their tendency to break easily.

The Bionic Racquet – Hybrid Stringing

If you are one of those avid players, then you’ve probably heard of the process of “hybrid” stringing. Hybrid stringing involves using two types of strings on one racquet, which usually consist of a natural gut and a synthetic. The idea behind this process is to capture the best of both worlds. Stringing the crosses (side to side) with a gut string offers more playability while stringing the mains (head end to racquet handle) with a synthetic takes advantage of the durability and spin potential synthetic has to offer. Some people prefer the opposite set-up. You must experiment to see what works for you. Many pros play with a hybrid set-up, so this is not something just dreamed up by the string manufacturers!

String Tension

One of the tricky parts when stringing is getting the right tension for your racquet – something which again, boils down to personal preference. Thankfully, to make things a bit easier, your lovely racquet will come with a recommended tension range which you can use as a guideline to finding a tension that’s right for you. My additional tip for you would be to start with the racquet strung in the middle of that recommended range and then make adjustments if you feel that racquet is playing too loose or too tight. I call this the Goldi-Locks method – you have to test a few before you find the one that’s just right.

Don’t get Strung Out

Even though there are endless combinations of string and racquet pairings available, what matters most is what you feel most comfortable playing with. A lot of trial and error is going to come into play during your play out on the courts, but part of the fun of any sport is getting to know your gear, and how to make it work to your advantage. You might want to consistently experiment with different combinations, or perhaps you’ll find a combination that works well for you and just stick with it; either way is fine. I’d be willing to bet that even some very advanced players couldn’t tell you what the ultimate and universally perfect string-and-racquet combo is – because they’re probably still looking for it too.

Need a racquet first? Learn more about tennis racquets