Stiff racket + natural gut VS Soft racket + poly: Which one is more arm-friendly?

[mongting]

I had TE when I played with Babolat PD with ALU power rough.

Now, I am playing with Prince Exo3 Tour 100 18x20 with 4G/Syn Gut hybrid and my TE is gone.

The problem is that I lost my crisp serve when playing with Prince. Flat serve never goes in.

Today, I played with my friend's Wilson Juice 100 with Natural gut. I got my serve back and plenty of power.

I am really tempted with buying Juice 100. But the concern is the stiffness(72).

I am afraid that I would get TE again with Juice.

If I string natural gut at low tension, will I be okay?

[kazamzaa]

Yes. With a full set of natural gut you are safe no matter what. Even at above mid tension. That's my personal experience. I have problems with poly, especially old poly (past 10 hours of hitting) even with flexy racquets.
Stiff racquet 68RA and gut at 58 lbs doesn't bother my TE at all. The best things for stopping TE is:
1. Rest
2. Natural gut
3. TheraBand flexbar every day (tyler twist exercises)
4. Racquet that doesn't twist much with off-center hits.
5. HL balance.

Just go for the Wilson Juice you liked so much and follow my 1-3 tips.

[mikeler]

The Exo3 Tour is a very unique racket. It took me a few months to really dial in my serve with it.

[Ramon]

I think the strings have more to do with TE. I have a friend who got TE using an EXO Tour 100. He was using full poly and let it stay for too long. He still uses poly now but changes it every few weeks.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Ramon

I think the strings have more to do with TE. I have a friend who got TE using an EXO Tour 100. He was using full poly and let it stay for too long. He still uses poly now but changes it every few weeks.

I've also heard a story about someone getting TE from the Exo Tour with full poly leaving it in too long. When I first got GE, I started by changing strings first and then my racket second. Each one seemed to reduce discomfort equally. So certainly both are important.

[Rabbit]

Originally Posted by Ramon

I think the strings have more to do with TE. I have a friend who got TE using an EXO Tour 100. He was using full poly and let it stay for too long. He still uses poly now but changes it every few weeks.

I agree with this. I developed a pretty bad case of TE mostly due to stringing my frames with ProBlend at 65. I couldn't keep PSG in them.

[kazamzaa]

I just got my PK ki5 315 from twe today. Interesting to try it for the very first time tomorrow. The majority of people on this forum who tried it liked it a lot. Lot of members still playing with it. It is a pretty stiff AND arm friendly racquet. There seems to be real research and tech behind it. Not just the usual marketing BS.
Something for the OP to really look in to. For all of us that like stiffer frames but have arm issues.http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/ProK...RCPK-KIQ5.html

[lstewart]

Strings and racket stiffness are both issues with elbow problems. I think there is some mid point with string and racket flex in which your elbow will handle it. I've found i don't play well with low tension, or all multi or gut, so I use a hybrid poly / synthetic or gut string combo. With this I need a somewhat flexible frame. If I take a stiff frame, and then string it where my arm will handle it, I can't keep play my normal game. But I can take a more flexible frame, and play well with the hybrid string not strung loose. Just depends on each person, and may take some experimenting.

[hmd]

Natural Gut adds much higher comfort factor.

I played with Wilson pro open (66 RA) with full guts 60lbs and the racquet is clearly more comfortable than a MG Radical (57 RA) with multi at 55lbs.