Breaking strings often, need some help / advice.

[Foo.]

Hey all,

I've been lurking the forums for a while now, and finally decided to post. I've got a cousin who needed some tennis advice and I figured I'd ask here.

He's on the high school tennis team, and he's a 3.0-3.5 player. He hits with a lot of topspin and I'd consider him a defensive baseliner type of play. He occasionally rushes the net, but relies on heavy topspin from the baseline. He hits the ball with a lot of power.

He's on summer vacation right now, so he's been playing a lot of tennis. Every single day for atleast four hours, and as a result, he's snapping his strings like crazy. He used to string at Sports Authority, and started going to a pro shop, where he's been trying various things.

He's been sticking with Luxilion. Luxilon Regular, Alloy, Big Banger and Big Banger Rough, and started at 55 tension and 58, and 60. He said his strings last longer at a higher tension, but his elbow is starting to hurt with higher tensions.

They've been lasting about a week or two at max, and he's complaining that he's broke and can't afford to keep stringing it every week. He's looking for, in this order, durability, feel / control, comfort. He is looking for ANYTHING that will last longer, as long as his arm wont fall after playing...

I don't know much about stringing, but I've suggested hybrids and some type of kevlar based strings, but I figured I'd ask the experts for some advice before passing it onto him.

His racquet is a Dunlop Aerogel 500 Tour.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Foo.

[the wise wizard]

buy a stringer (alpha revo 4000 if your willing, or gamma x-2 if you dont want to spend alot).
buy a reel of topspin cyberflash and just use the shop for labor.
buy some prince pro blend.
these are probably the responses you'll get from pretty much everybody else.

i recomend buying a stringer myself.

[deheinz1]

buy a stringer (alpha revo 4000). I have one and they are great. Cost is about 600 dollars for the stringer. In the long run you will save $$.

There also cheaper ones out there like the Klippermate which cost about 140 but I personally have never used it.

[2ndServe]

luxilon with string savers? IMO kevlar does not last longer than luxilon it frays a lot if you hit extreme topspin

[masterxfob]

it's really rather simple. if you can't afford it, string your own rackets and buy cheaper strings. it seems like he's already getting good mileage out of his strings, so the only other option is to change to a racket with an 18x20 string pattern.

can't believe people complain about breaking strings in a week or two. i don't, but many people break polys in a couple of days, and some faster...

[Foo.]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll pass the info on to him. I have a question though, what are your opinions of some of the cheaper stringing machines listed on the site? Is it best to avoid them, or what?

I guess the reason he's complaining is that this is pretty much his first "real" year of tennis where he's playing a lot. Before, he was pretty much a weekend warrior and only played a couple of times a week, and now that he's amped it up, he's surprised that his strings are breaking so often and not used to it (considering that he never broke strings before).

I guess I'll just tell him that with the number of hours that he's playing, they're bound to break.

I have a feeling he's not going to take the advice though, so I'll ask one last time: Can any of you suggest an extremely durable string, something more durable than Luxilon?

Thanks again.

[sboo]

What gauge of string is he using? An idea would be simply moving him down to a thicker string.

This is something the school I string for uses for their players who don't 'start' instead of luxilon. I usually hybrid it, but for the price it wouldn't be a crime to cut it out if he does not like it.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageACWILSON-WEGR16.html

I haven't heard much about this string but it might be worth buying a set of and seeing which one he likes better.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageACTFUSA-PSR.html