Stringing

My work station

Stringing History

I first started stringing journey at the age of 13 when my dad bought me a stringing machine. I still remember we learned how to do it together. I think my dad was reading the instruction manual. Back then we had no Internet. It took us 4 hours and we still didn't finish it. Dad said to leave it overnight to continue the next day. I was afraid of my racket breaking so I took it off of my machine. Wrong move! We had to start all over the next day. Since then, I have strung thousands of rackets. I love the art of stringing a racket. Many tennis players don't realize the importance of strings and tension. In my opinion, the strings and tension could factor into the play as much as the racket itself! A good rule of thumb...restring your racket every year as many times as you regularly play per week. For example, if you play 3 times a week, string your racket three times a year even if it doesn't break.

Stringology

Many tennis players don't realize the importance of strings and tension. In my opinion, the strings and tension could factor into the play as much as the racket itself! A good rule of thumb...restring your racket every year as many times as you regularly play per week. For example, if you play 3 times a week, string your racket three times a year even if it doesn't break. Strings lose tension which can make the ball fly farther than you can control.

Strings also lose its playability. It starts to get "dead" after a lot of hits and the string doesn't have snapback or pocketing which helps propel the ball off the strings. The strings lose its trampoline effect. Think of a changing your strings like you change your tires on a car. The tires could be bald but still roll and you can drive with them. The downside is that it has no traction and does not perform like it did when it was new. You can still hit with old or dead strings, but the ball won't come off the racket hot and you won't have the feel like you do with new strings.

The biggest fear of using old strings is the chance of getting an arm injury while playing with it. When the ball hits the strings, the strings should be pushed back because the string is elastic. Over time, the string loses its elasticity which in turn decreases the snapback that happens when the ball hits the strings. When there is no snapback, your arm absorbs the vibration rather than the string which may increase the changes of tennis elbow or wrist problems.

Stringing Services

I offer 24 hour turnaround stringing services. I carry mainly Solinco strings and Yonex strings but have other brands such as Luxilon, Gamma, Head and many others. I have polyester, multifiliment, synthetic and nylon string. If you have your own string, I can string it and charge you only for labor ($20 per racket). Along with my stringing services, I offer my expert advice on what you should try to stay injury-free as well as maximize your game by selecting the proper string and tension for your playing style.

When should I restring my racket?

This is the most common question I get when talking about equipment. There are several reasons for restringing you racket. One is that the strings lost its luster or it is dead. The string bed took too many hits and slowly lost its snapback. There is nothing like a freshly strung tennis racket. The ball comes off the racket effortlessly. There is tons of feel and the feeling is crisp.

Another reason to restring a racket is because it lost a lot of tension and your shots are going much farther than you are used to. Humidity and usage causes the string to stretch which is turn creates more of a trampoline effect. If the trampoline effect has too much power than you can control then you have a problem.

If you are having an arm problem then it may be a sign that you should experiment with a softer and/or looser string. Sometimes the string is too stiff for a player and after playing a lot their arm can't handle the stress from ball after ball. Polyesters tend to be stiff so I recommend not stringing the racket too tight with a poly string.

I recommend trying new strings from time to time. Strings have revolutionized our sport in the recent years. There are always new strings coming out. Companies are getting better and better about making strings. You can read about strings all you want but there is nothing like trying it for yourself. Experiment with new strings and different tensions. I used to string my tennis rackets at 75 pounds when I was 16 years old. Now I string my rackets at 43 pounds. I never thought I would drop my tension that low! That is a 32 pound difference. Some strings work better at looser or tighter tensions. The main thing to remember is that it is all about player preference. How one person likes or dislikes a string/tension may be different than another person. You just need to try it.

My string of choice strung at 45 lbs in my Yonex Ezone 98.

Strings, Strings, Strings

  • Yonex Poly Tour Pro

  • Yonex Poly Tour Strike

  • Yonex Rexis

  • Yonex Dynawire

  • Yonex Poly Tour Drive

  • Yonex Super 850

  • Yonex Fire

  • Yonex Poly tour Spin

  • Solinco Tour Bite

  • Solinco Hyper G

  • Babobat Natural Gut

  • Prince Synthetic Gut

  • Luxilon Alu Power

  • Luxilon Big Banger Original

  • Technifibre NGR2

  • Many, many more


This is an informative video about when to replace your strings. Enjoy!