String tension for copoly: What do you use?

[gzhpcu]

Reading this article again (https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...ngs_and_spins/), got me to thinking about the optimal string tension (Babolat RPM Blast) for my new Babolat pure aero rackets. I had them strung at 24 kilos (53 pounds). The tension drops pretty fast. After playing it the first time it dropped 9% in tension.

Then I read that Volandri uses about 19 lbs for clay!
Just wondering what other players here use for tension.

[klacr]

Tension really depends on the player. When using poly they say to string not on looser end. Federer is at around 45lbs. Wawrinka strings his around 60-61lbs. I use Luxilon big banger rough and string it at 61lbs. For most that can be tough and create some shoulder/elbow issues but for me it feels just fine.

I think if you go look back on some of the forum posts from Geoff Williams he will have some references and nuggets of wisdom on string tension. He's the expert on that stuff.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I think it depends on the type of poly string. I use Isospeed Black Fire but it needs to be strung at 55 to 60 lbs to play well. I tried a Lexicon string once where the recommended tension on the packet was 45lbs. I strung it at 45lbs but it felt too tight believe it or not. So I think it must depend on the properties of the string.

The thinner the poly string, the better it plays in my view. I am not a string breaker so I always opt for thin and it usually lasts a good while.

I used Kevlar 10 years or so back. But Kevlar had so little stretch in it that it felt exactly the same whether it was strung at 50 or 60lbs.

Natural gut is still my favourite but it's expensive and fiddly to string with. But I just love the elasticity and 'bounce' of natural gut.

Stotty

[don_budge]

Natural gut is still my favourite but it's expensive and fiddly to string with. But I just love the elasticity and 'bounce' of natural gut.

Stotty

I remember getting a new Jack Kramer Pro Staff frame (wooden), new VS gut that was sprayed with gut spray (the smell). Along with a can of new balls at a dollar fifty a can. Total cost maybe 46 dollars. It felt like Christmas...especially those new balls. To hear that seal let the air in and then the aroma of those new balls. It smelled like victory.

[stotty]

I remember getting a new Jack Kramer Pro Staff frame (wooden), new VS gut that was sprayed with gut spray (the smell). Along with a can of new balls at a dollar fifty a can. Total cost maybe 46 dollars. It felt like Christmas...especially those new balls. To hear that seal let the air in and then the aroma of those new balls. It smelled like victory.

Having used the Jack Kramer Pro Staff myself I can tell you my experience was identical. The sharpness of freshly stung gut in a wooden racket brought things to life. Do you remember that kind of "slippy zing" sound as the ball ran across the strings. And, yes, new balls to boot...heaven.

Stotty

[don_budge]

Progress...and life

The sharpness of freshly stung gut in a wooden racket brought things to life. Do you remember that kind of "slippy zing" sound as the ball ran across the strings. And, yes, new balls to boot...heaven.

Stotty

A new gut string job in a new wooden racquet. Think about the components. Wood (live from the forest), the gut (sheep intestines)...life woven into the fabric of the game. That racquet felt like it was alive. Translated into the ball being moved around the court between two players going forwards and backwards as well as side to side. It was a different game...completely. It has been reengineered...beyond recognition. Oh well...that's "progress".

[tennis_chiro]

I remember getting a new Jack Kramer Pro Staff frame (wooden), new VS gut that was sprayed with gut spray (the smell). Along with a can of new balls at a dollar fifty a can. Total cost maybe 46 dollars. It felt like Christmas...especially those new balls. To hear that seal let the air in and then the aroma of those new balls. It smelled like victory.

I know you pay more for balls and rackets in Europe, but that $1.50 in 1976 would be $6.36 in today's dollars according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We only pay about $3 per can of 3 or less than half of what we paid in 1976. And that $46 would be about $195 in 2016 dollars. And the $1.25 an hour I worked for making tacos until 2 in the morning so I could play junior tournaments in the daytime the summer I graduated from high school would be $9.31/hour today, more than they are actually paying people to work in the same jobs today. We paid about $16 to $20 for a good gut string job in the late 60's and that would be about what it costs today and maybe even a little more than what we would pay today. But we made the string jobs last and even repaired broken strings. I don't know how the kids can afford to play when they go through a racket almost every hour they are on my court. It seems like they need two or three string jobs a week. I would never have been able to afford to play, even stringing my own rackets.

But there definitely was something special about a new frame with a fresh string job. When was the last time you saw a player jumping on his strings between points, ala Nastase, trying to loosen them up just a little bit?

don

[klacr]

Natural gut always the way to go when you got money to burn or getting it for free. It offers the best in comfort, control, spin, power. Doesn't last long. Babolat VS Gut is the Rolls Royce of string in my opinion.

Back to poly, certain manufacturers prefer you string it a bit looser than a normal syn gut or natural gut job. There are many variables to consider when considering string. Style of play, heavy spin, indoors or outdoors, type of racquet used etc etc.

Phil, although I'm an certified MRT for USRSA I have no issues leaving up to the real gear heads. You may want to reach out to Matt Previdi who has some articles on the site. He may be able to give you a specific idea of what you may need.
https://www.tennisplayer.net/members...ster_for_club/

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Then I read that Volandri uses about 19 lbs for clay!

Apparently Beppe Merlo used natural gut strung a 30lbs. His stringbed must have been like a trampoline.

Stotty

[gzhpcu]

Kyle, thanks, but I prefer hearing from players I know. Reading articles is OK, but I prefer actual experience to theories, which is why I posed the question among the players here. Of course there is quite a drop in tension during the first couple of hours of play and then after acouple of weeks, it remains more or less stable. Since I am not a Roger Federer who can afford to use about 7 rackets per match, but restring just a couple of times a year, I was just interested. For players like me, the initial string tension is less interesting then the more or less constant tension achieved after a while. That is the one I will be playing most with.

Am using the app RaquetTune to track the change of tension as time goes by.

[klacr]

Try Solinco. The strings seem to hold their tension a bit longer than the average poly and I know many high level players that have made the switch from babolat rpm and luxilon to solinco. Their tour bite string is very popular.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Try Solinco. The strings seem to hold their tension a bit longer than the average poly and I know many high level players that have made the switch from babolat rpm and luxilon to solinco. Their tour bite string is very popular.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

In my experience poly strings don't so much lose tension but start to develop a wiry feel. All the poly strings I have tried tend to be quite similar in the way they play. I guess this is because strictly speaking they are a single monofilament. Isospeed Black Fire does tend to have more elasticity than most I have tried, but then it is a co-poly string so has other other materials somehow added to the mix.

Back in the days of nylons strings, strings had finer, nylon outer wraps wrapped around a monofilament centre core which was used to alter the playability. Some had one wrap, some had two wraps. The angle of the wraps also played a part...as well as many other factors. I discovered all this years ago when I ran a small business (for ten years) importing tennis strings and stringing machines. I ran this business together with my wife.

Stotty

[gzhpcu]

Right, but for those who play with copoly strings and don't restring often, what tension are you playing with once the strings have settled? Anybody using RacquetTune to keep track?

[stotty]

Right, but for those who play with copoly strings and don't restring often, what tension are you playing with once the strings have settled? Anybody using RacquetTune to keep track?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzeYokFgGLc

Interesting. A sophisticated device yet with a very crude way of inputting the information. Does it work?

Stotty

[gzhpcu]

It works very well in tracking tension loss. It might be a bit off measuring the exact tension. A day after having my rackets strung at 24 kilos, the app gave 19.7 kilos (The strings will lose tension the first day even without playing with them).. After a couple of days, I played with it and the normal tension loss after stringing + the loss after one hour's play resulted in 17.3 kilos.