The strings of your racquet have great effect on your playing experience and performance, and this is not surprising at all, since they are (ideally) the only part of the racquet that actually comes in contact with the ball.
The choice of strings depends, in my opinion, on three main variables: your budget, your physical condition and your game style.
As a professional tennis coach I am constantly playing with, stringing and braking an important amount of strings, an am constantly updating my knowledge of this market. I've assembled along the years a group of strings that I cherish and always carry with me.
I am not selling strings (you get them at cost), the cost of the stringing service and advice is 10 EUR, which brings us to a total cost of 11-16 EUR per racquet, depends on which strings we'll choose together (optionally plus 5 EUR if you want me to take the racquet from you and return it to you - only in Brussels).
The options are as follows:
Nylon synthetic gut - 11 EUR: The most basic option. Most racquets that come pre-strung from the factory are strung with a nylon gut, which is usually made with a solid inner core, and one or two outer wraps. In general, nylon guts provide a good all-around performance, and are soft on the arm. They are a good choice for a beginning level player who rarely brake a string.
Multifilament synthetic gut - 16 EUR: This gut has become very popular in recent years, and is made by weaving hundreds or thousands of microfibers together. This gut offers better general performance than a nylon gut (especially more power and comfort) and is very soft on the arm. It is recommended for the more advanced player who has arm problems. This gut is soft and will break quite fast under the strokes of an advanced player, but if you tend to have arm problems - it is worth your health.
Hybrid of polyester string and multifilament synthetic gut - 15 EUR: These days, polyester strings are usually made of a combination of polyester and other materials that render the polyester string more playable and less stiff. Polyester strings are much more durable than synthetic guts and, being less elastic and trampoline-like, they offer greater control and spin to advanced players with fast, heavy and full strokes. Although there are some impressively soft polyester strings today, stringing an entire racquet with them gives too stiff a result for most non-professional players. It is thus recommended to combine them with a multifilament synthetic gut, in order to get a result that enjoys both worlds: durability and control from the polyester - comfort and playability from the synthetic multifilament gut.
There are two sub-options here:
1. Polyester string on the main strings and multifilament synthetic gut on the cross strings: for intermediate/advanced base-line players who seek more durability, spin and control, and generally have no arm problems. As the main strings are usually the ones that break first, stringing polyester as main strings increases durability significantly.
2. Multifilament synthetic gut on the main strings and polyester string on the cross strings: for intermediate/advanced serve & volley players who seek a lively feel and extra control.
Hybrid of polyester string and nylon synthetic gut - 12 EUR: The same as the hybrid above, just with a nylon synthetic gut instead of the multifilament, thus a cheaper option.
Some extra points:
⦁ A racquet should be restrung whenever you feel that the strings have lost their viability, which can happen before they actually break. Once a racquet is strung, the strings begin to loose their elasticity and tension, even without playing. If you play regularly, you'll start noticing after about 20 hours of play that the strings don't perform as good as in the beginning. Even if you rarely get to play, it is recommended to restring your racquet at least once a year.
⦁ Stringing tension is an important subject. To a certain extent, lower tension creates a trampoline-like string-bed and thus increases power, while higher tension creates a more tamed string-bed and thus increases control. We will discuss together what range suits you best.
⦁ The string's gauge is mostly important when you choose a string which has more than one gauge available. In general a thinner gauge performs better on all aspect except durability, which is naturally lower on thinner strings. That being said, I never choose a string based on its gauge, since the gauge is just one aspect of a certain string, and some of my favorite strings happen to be not on the thin side.
* After all that’s been said, string choice will always be a matter of taste as well, a taste that can challenge all recommendations. If you know what you like, no one can challenge it. If you know which strings you like, and you have them, I would gladly string your racquet with them.
0475-470-815
stringingbxl@gmail.com
Rue Gustave Biot 45, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium
The choice of strings depends, in my opinion, on three main variables: your budget, your physical condition and your game style.
As a professional tennis coach I am constantly playing with, stringing and braking an important amount of strings, an am constantly updating my knowledge of this market. I've assembled along the years a group of strings that I cherish and always carry with me.
I am not selling strings (you get them at cost), the cost of the stringing service and advice is 10 EUR, which brings us to a total cost of 11-16 EUR per racquet, depends on which strings we'll choose together (optionally plus 5 EUR if you want me to take the racquet from you and return it to you - only in Brussels).
The options are as follows:
Nylon synthetic gut - 11 EUR: The most basic option. Most racquets that come pre-strung from the factory are strung with a nylon gut, which is usually made with a solid inner core, and one or two outer wraps. In general, nylon guts provide a good all-around performance, and are soft on the arm. They are a good choice for a beginning level player who rarely brake a string.
Multifilament synthetic gut - 16 EUR: This gut has become very popular in recent years, and is made by weaving hundreds or thousands of microfibers together. This gut offers better general performance than a nylon gut (especially more power and comfort) and is very soft on the arm. It is recommended for the more advanced player who has arm problems. This gut is soft and will break quite fast under the strokes of an advanced player, but if you tend to have arm problems - it is worth your health.
Hybrid of polyester string and multifilament synthetic gut - 15 EUR: These days, polyester strings are usually made of a combination of polyester and other materials that render the polyester string more playable and less stiff. Polyester strings are much more durable than synthetic guts and, being less elastic and trampoline-like, they offer greater control and spin to advanced players with fast, heavy and full strokes. Although there are some impressively soft polyester strings today, stringing an entire racquet with them gives too stiff a result for most non-professional players. It is thus recommended to combine them with a multifilament synthetic gut, in order to get a result that enjoys both worlds: durability and control from the polyester - comfort and playability from the synthetic multifilament gut.
There are two sub-options here:
1. Polyester string on the main strings and multifilament synthetic gut on the cross strings: for intermediate/advanced base-line players who seek more durability, spin and control, and generally have no arm problems. As the main strings are usually the ones that break first, stringing polyester as main strings increases durability significantly.
2. Multifilament synthetic gut on the main strings and polyester string on the cross strings: for intermediate/advanced serve & volley players who seek a lively feel and extra control.
Hybrid of polyester string and nylon synthetic gut - 12 EUR: The same as the hybrid above, just with a nylon synthetic gut instead of the multifilament, thus a cheaper option.
Some extra points:
⦁ A racquet should be restrung whenever you feel that the strings have lost their viability, which can happen before they actually break. Once a racquet is strung, the strings begin to loose their elasticity and tension, even without playing. If you play regularly, you'll start noticing after about 20 hours of play that the strings don't perform as good as in the beginning. Even if you rarely get to play, it is recommended to restring your racquet at least once a year.
⦁ Stringing tension is an important subject. To a certain extent, lower tension creates a trampoline-like string-bed and thus increases power, while higher tension creates a more tamed string-bed and thus increases control. We will discuss together what range suits you best.
⦁ The string's gauge is mostly important when you choose a string which has more than one gauge available. In general a thinner gauge performs better on all aspect except durability, which is naturally lower on thinner strings. That being said, I never choose a string based on its gauge, since the gauge is just one aspect of a certain string, and some of my favorite strings happen to be not on the thin side.
* After all that’s been said, string choice will always be a matter of taste as well, a taste that can challenge all recommendations. If you know what you like, no one can challenge it. If you know which strings you like, and you have them, I would gladly string your racquet with them.
0475-470-815
stringingbxl@gmail.com
Rue Gustave Biot 45, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium
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