Tennis Strings information
All you ever wanted to know about tennis
strings but were afraid to ask

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Not sure what strings to play with?
Playing at the wrong tension?
Playing with the wrong gauge?
Paying too much for your strings?

The question is, "which string is best for me, my playing style and my racquet" Although string companies will claim to have the best strings available, (marketing scheme) you must do as they do, playtest a multitude of strings and decide for yourself. So the the answer to the question is no, there's not one best string, it's the one that feels, lasts and plays the best for YOU!

WHAT'S THE BEST TENSION:

It all depends on the player's taste and preference, but keep in mind that for playability and overall performance, higher generally will not feel as good as lower tension. Going beyond the recommended string tension may be very macho and tough, but the strings are not going to be responsive and they will feel very stiff. The higher tension, the lower the feel, the higher the tension, the less durable the string job will be.

HOW DO I FIND OUT THE BEST STRING FOR ME

Two ways:

1) You can read, observe, listen, obey and follow the pack
     If you like to watch Siskel & Ebert before you decide on a movie, you will more than likely
     choose the strings that a friend, magazine, teaching pro recommends or just go use what your
     favorite touring pro uses, "if Steffi or Jim uses it, then it's the one for me".

2)  Choice 1 is very good, most people use it, but if you truly want to know the string that's best
    for YOU, experiment. It will be fun and you will learn a lot about your game.

  WHICH COMPANY MAKES THE BEST STRING

There are only a handful of factories in the world who produce strings, many of the well known companies, such as Gamma, Wilson, Prince etc. share the same factory. Most of their strings are the same, but under different names and cosmetics, very few are patented and in the case of strings, just because a company holds exclusive right to a string name and design it does not mean that it is better, it simply means that the string is manufactured only from that particular company. You will still need to playtest it yourself.

WHAT'S BETTER NATURAL GUT OR THE TOP OF THE LINE SYNTHETIC

There used to be a time when the answer was plainly obvious, natural gut was supreme, but in the last few years, technology has brought synthetics closer to the feel of natural gut, but still not quite there yet. If you are not a touring pro, and or a millionaire, "leave them cats alone". Can natural gut increase a 5.0 player to an ATP tour level player, No, of course not. Recreational players, i.e., anyone who does not make a living playing tennis and has to buy their strings, should stay away from natural gut.

WHAT'S THE BEST TENSION

This again will vary from player to player, racquet and string. You will also need to experiment to find the best tension that you feel comfortable with. Most important, try to stay within your racquet's recommended tension. The manufacturer who designed the frame does not throw these numbers out randomly. The recommended tensions are according to both frame design and consequent play and impact test. If you go outside of the suggested range, do so with caution, know exactly why and make sure that you are getting quantifiable benefits, otherwise stay within the range.

HOW LONG SHOULD STRINGS LAST

Let's leave natural gut out of this and concentrate on synthetics, I would be disappointed if I did not get at least 6 sets or two matches, (whichever is longer) out of a set strings, that's any string other than natural gut. I hit a very solid ball, with a lot of spin. primarily play on clay and until recently at a very high tension, all these factors have an adverse effect on the life of the strings, but still, anything less than 6 sets is not good.

WHAT IF MY STRINGS RARELY BREAK

That's the other side of the equation, just because they do not break does not mean they are OK. Strings after a certain period of time lose their resiliency. You need to restring your racquet on a regular basis. There are two popular formulas to figure out when to restring your racquet, the first one is easy, no less than twice a year, the second one is based on how often you play a week, exp. if you play 3 times a week, restring three times a year.

SHOULD I USE STRING SAVERS

If you use natural gut, the answer is more than likely yes, but with synthetics, they are not really necessary. If you are not getting at least 6 sets per string job, you should look at other options before going to string savers.

DO STRING SAVERS EFFECT THE FEEL OF THE RACQUET

Yes, they can make the racquet feel tighter and stiffer.

WHAT OTHER WAYS CAN I PROLONG THE LIFE OF MY STRINGS

Easy on the weights dude, meaning lower your tension and also move up to a thicker gauge.

DOES LOWER STRING TENSION REALLY PROVIDE MORE POWER

Yes, BUT! There's a limit to how low you can go, it's ok to go down just don't go into the abyss. The lower you go the more string movement and trampeline effect which will neutralize your power.

DOES HIGHER STRING TENSION REALLY PROVIDE MORE CONTROL

Yes, BUT! There's a limit to how high you can go, it's ok to go high just as long as you don't reach the point of no return. Experienced and higher level players will or may benefit from the higher tension via more control, but less skilled players will probably hurt their arms wrist and their strokes with high string tension.

WHICH GIVES MORE SPIN, HIGHER TENSIONS OR LOWER TENSIONS:

It depends on the player, Bjorn Borg strung his wooden racquets close to 80 pounds, he certainly hit with plenty of spin. Other clay court specialist who generate spin, have been known to string their racquets in the 50's (lb). In this area, the player's technique will have more of an impact on the amount of spin generated.

WHAT KIND OF STRINGS PROVIDE MORE POWER

Strings that are more elastic. i.e. gut and some multifilament synthetics. It's debatable as to whether thinner strings provide more power, tests have shown that they actually do not, but I still say that they do, even if it's in my head. Since they are thinner and livelier, they must provide more power. The jury is still out on this one. When it comes to power, racquet type and racquet head speed dictate most of the power issues.

HOW DO I GET MORE SPIN

Assuming that you are swinging from low to high and not using a flat stroke, (meaning that you are now currently getting some spin, because if your technique is not right, there ain't no string on this planet that will provide you with spin) do the following:

1) Use thinner strings

2) Use less strings, Yup, you read me right! (but that's illegal)
   or buy another racquet with open string pattern.

3) Use ruff and textured strings
     They usually have spin in their names like Prince topspin, Cayman Spintex etc. They grab the
     ball, but as to how much spin you will get, you won't know until you try.

CAN SOME STRINGS GIVE ME TENNIS ELBOW

Yes! Hard, stiff strings can hurt the elbow, especially at high tensions

CAN SOME STRINGS HURT MY WRIST

Yes! Same as above

HOW DO I SAVE ON STRINGING

There are a few ways to save on the cost of stringing:

1) Use thicker strings within the range of the manufacturers recommended tension
     (Less breakage)

2) Use thinner strings no higher than the mid-point of the manufacturers recommended tension
     (Less breakage)

3) Use thin kevlar hybrid strings at a couple pounds lower than what you normally play at

4) Buy your strings direct and find a stringer who will only charge you for the labor, usually
    around $5 or so.

5) Buy a stringing machine
    You can get a decent drop weight machine at around $200. Depending on how often you
     break strings, you will get your money back in no time, and then the savings really begin.

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOU HAD A BAD STRING JOB

1) The pattern does not look good
     strings look crooked,  not aligned, abnormal spaces between strings

2) Frame damage
    dents, scratches and bruises that were not there before stringing, head of racquet looks weird

3) Grommet out of place
     Grommets are not properly in the holes

4) Cracked grommets
     They get brittle and break after certain amount of use and restringing. A good string job should
     include the replacement of bad grommets.

5) Bad weave
     The crosses and the mains are not properly weaved, look for spots that are not under-over,
     under-over, but instead over-over or under-under

6) Knot comes loose
    The strings should be properly tied, at least twice and hard, with a little extra but not beyond
    the width of the frame.

7) String pops at an awkward and abnormal place
    Strings will normally wear at the sweet spot at the mains, if mains are broken near the side, top
    or throat, something is wrong.

8) String pops very quickly, less than a set
    The stringer may have created friction burn while pulling in the cross strings. grommets may
    have sliced into the string, awl may have accidentally gouge the string, or you may have gotten
    pre-strung strings.   

WHAT KIND OF STRINGING MACHINE IS MORE ACCURATE

There are three kinds of stringing machines, the drop weight, electronic and crank. The drop weight and electronic machines provide a continuous pull, they string about 10% tighter than a crank machine, but as for accuracy, all the machines are pretty much the same.

WHAT'S WORSE FOR STRINGS, LEAVING THEM IN THE TRUNK OF MY CAR DURING SUMMER OR DURING WINTER

By far during summer, heat robs strings of resiliency and reduces them to a dead stage.

DOES COLD WEATHER EFFECT NYLON STRINGS

Yes, they make them feel stiffer.

DO VIBRATION DAMPENERS WORK ON THE STRINGS OR ON THE RACQUET

They work on the strings by minimizing their vibration and lowering the noise that the ball makes at impact.

WHY DO MAIN STRINGS BREAK MORE OFTEN THAN CROSS STRINGS

The exact same area on the mains are moving back and forth over the cross strings, after a while the friction of the movement on the same area burns through the string and breaks it.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER WAYS THAT I CAN SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS OF BREAKING STRINGS

Yes you can do so somewhat, by not contributing or adding friction to your strings, here's how: Have you ever noticed tennis players on TV, local club, park or perhaps even yourself, fidgiting and adjusting their strings in between points? Well, when you do that, you are applying artificial friction to the strings. When the ball makes contact with the strings, the mains move side to side, if one string is not straight, next time you make contact with the ball, it will most likely straighten itself out. By constantly manually adjusting the strings, you are applying more friction which will make the strings break quicker. I recommend that you leave those strings alone, if you must play with them, pluck the fuzz out instead.

WHY CAN'T I REPLACE JUST THE BROKEN STRING(S) INSTEAD OF DOING THE WHOLE RACQUET

That used to be possible in years passed, but modern racquets are build in away that to replace the broken strings, you have to untension most of the nearby strings, which take about the same time (if not more) as a whole string job. Also, if that was possible, the new strings will be lively and the old strings will be dead.

ARE THINNER STRINGS MORE PLAYABLE THAN THICKER STRINGS

Yes, thinner strings are more elastic and resilient, but to better compare playability, the strings must be made of the same material and construction.

I STRING MY 16 GAUGE AT 60 POUNDS, SHOULD I STRING A 17 GAUGE A COUPLE OF POUNDS LOWER TO GET THE SAME TENSION SINCE IT IS THINNER

No, not really, although the 17 gauge string will sound higher, tests have shown that there is very little if any difference at all. 60 pounds at 16 gauge is basically 60 pounds at 17 gauge.

I 'VE NOTICED THAT MY RACQUET PLAYS BETTER A FEW DAYS AFTER I STRING IT, IS THIS MY IMAGINATION

No, it's not, it generally takes a day or so for strings to settle.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GUT AND NYLON

There's synthetic gut and there's natural gut, synthetic is anything that is 100% man-made, and natural in this case is anything that is man-made but from natural ingredients :). Natural gut strings are made from the intestines of various animals. When it comes down to the barebones of things, most synthetic gut strings are some kind of woven nylon.

DO I RECOMMEND A PARTICULAR STRING OR A STRING MANUFACTURER

No, not really, strings are like cars, one person will swear by Fords, while another guy will view Ford cars as "Found On Road Dead". As mentioned earlier, there are only a handful of string factories in The world. Most companies share the same manufacturers, just different cosmetics.