Low, low tensions. 30lbs feels great. 20lbs pretty good, too

[jrod]

Originally Posted by pingu

I think Chris mentioned in his blog that string was fine

"...Another fact that surprised me was I did not have to adjust the strings at all. As usual for me with a poly, the strings returned to an aligned state after every shot..."

You are indeed correct....I should give up on the speed reading...missing way too much.

[nickarnold2000]

Originally Posted by Xenakis

A worthy experiment thanks Chris. What about the longevity of a full bed of poly at these much lower tensions?

My experience is that the lower the poly tension - the longer the longevity of the poly. But I've never tried 30lbs before!

[PrinceMoron]

Saw the string specs and tensions for players at the Australian Open the other day on the web. Just googled it. Seem to remember Serena Williams was really high. The lowest guys were Davydenko followed closely by Federer - 21/19.5 if I remember.

I played the other day with an old aluminium frame strung in co poly at 40. It was artificial grass, heavy balls shooting through low. The other team thought I was a ringer that had been brought in especially for the match. Pretty unique playing conditions but low tensions worked a treat

[goran_ace]

Originally Posted by PrinceMoron

Seem to remember Serena Williams was really high. The lowest guys were Davydenko followed closely by Federer - 21/19.5 if I remember.

Keep in mind that Serena (and Venus) plays full gut while just about everyone else uses full poly or poly hybrid.

[PrinceMoron]

Originally Posted by goran_ace

Keep in mind that Serena (and Venus) plays full gut while just about everyone else uses full poly or poly hybrid.

Hear you can get an instant gut restring just by sticking it down the throat of a line judge.

[ryushen21]

Hmm...this intrigues me. I've been thinking of dropping my tension a little. But I'll take baby steps first. Myabe down the 55lb area.

[UnforcedError]

Very interesting thread, thanks for sharing the experience. I've been stringing my rackets with full poly at 50, I will try 40 in my next racket. I think I will string it up tonight so I can try it tomorrow.

[TW Staff]

Haven't had the chance to test how long the strings will last as I'm only on day three today. I don't think I'll have to worry about tension loss, though!

With the 20lbs set up, I didn't feel as I was getting any advantage over the 30lbs set up and there was some adjustment needed on serve. I was living on 2nd serves at 20lbs as I was finding it hard to get my first serve out of the net.

30lbs already feels very soft and even though 20lbs felt softer, I wasn't getting the same bite on slice. Topspin hops really well at both tensions. Flatter strokes have some effortless depth to them which is more controllable at 30lbs compared to 20lbs.

Interestingly, the trampoline affect I was expecting simply wasn't there. At 30lbs, the ball goes into the stringbed, I could feel extreme pocketing, but then the ball just comes out as I would expect from a poly and didn't head into orbit at all.

I was hitting with Gran yesterday and he told me it was like I was playing stealth tennis as he couldn't hear the difference between me cracking the ball, or taking pace off. I managed to flat foot him several times with slice backhand drop shots when he thought I was going to slice deep.

My level of precision was spot on at 30lbs and pretty decent for me at 20lbs -- more so with topspin at 20lbs over slice. With both tensions the amount of feel I had was very high so touch shots, lobs, drop volleys etc were all working really well for me.

Today is a 10lbs day. Yes, I could probably string it up in my lap and just hand pull the string, but I'll do it on the stringer. I will blog this afternoon on how it goes.

Cheers,
Chris

[SplitStepper]

Glad to see the low tensions are catching on. I have a difficult time getting some students to drop but the ones that fully trust me have had great results. I can't imagine ever going back above 37lb.

[Power Player]

wow..37lbs! I string at 62..haha. One day I may try it in my spare m-fil for fun and see what happens. I used to string at 50#s and while it was nice for a while, I got sick of using insane topspin to hit hard winners that would stay in.

[SplitStepper]

Originally Posted by Power Player

wow..37lbs! I string at 62..haha. One day I may try it in my spare m-fil for fun and see what happens. I used to string at 50#s and while it was nice for a while, I got sick of using insane topspin to hit hard winners that would stay in.

I used to string at 70. My big thing these days is keeping healthy. If I can't hit, I can't pay my bills. Taking a month off for tennis elbow is not an option. Sometimes I resent that I have to go this low because I'm sure certain shots suffer. Just another reason to love tennis, there are so many right answers.

[Standupnfall]

How would a Soft Poly such as Black Magic or PolyStar Energy at 40-50lbs compare to a Super Soft Multi like Maxim Touch at 55-58lbs in terms of arm-friendliness.
Or even a cheap first gen Poly at 40-50.

I did like Polystar at 50 and wondering how arm friendly this is compared to a much softer string at a standard mid tension like 55lbs.

Thanks

[JT_2eighty]

Originally Posted by SplitStepper

Glad to see the low tensions are catching on. I have a difficult time getting some students to drop but the ones that fully trust me have had great results. I can't imagine ever going back above 37lb.

I read one of your posts a while back that you've had success with matchpower at 35lb. I still have a set of that which i've been holding onto for when i do try this ultra low poly tension. Maybe this weekend... but i'm still having too much fun with this low kevlar/gut setup. I'll just have to compare the two! Ever since i've dropped below 50 i haven't looked back.

[JT_2eighty]

Originally Posted by Standupnfall

How would a Soft Poly such as Black Magic or PolyStar Energy at 40-50lbs compare to a Super Soft Multi like Maxim Touch at 55-58lbs in terms of arm-friendliness.
Or even a cheap first gen Poly at 40-50.

I did like Polystar at 50 and wondering how arm friendly this is compared to a much softer string at a standard mid tension like 55lbs.

Thanks

Great question I wish I knew the answer to. Looks like I know what I'll be trying out the next few weeks! My only trial was BAM at 43lbs, compared to VS gut at 57lbs. The gut was still better for my arm, but once we get down into the 30s, this could change. I do know that kevlar/gut at 40-45 is quite comfy.

Thanks for the blog Chris, keep it up, good luck with 10lbs, heh.

[Dot]

Really excited to hear this having some arm issues and getting old! but want to stay with a players frame (trying out blx 95 18X20) Wondering how low people have gone with multi's?? playing nxt or prince rip control will try low forties next string job (currently 52) May even be able to use a poly at low a tension

[Standupnfall]

Originally Posted by Dot

Really excited to hear this having some arm issues and getting old! but want to stay with a players frame (trying out blx 95 18X20) Wondering how low people have gone with multi's?? playing nxt or prince rip control will try low forties next string job (currently 52) May even be able to use a poly at low a tension

I dont know if Id like anything other than a smooth poly that low.
Part of the charm is how easily the string slides back into place after each hit and I dont think that would happen with a gummy feeling Multi.

[Hankenstein]

Chris, I dont know if this is to much to ask for, but it would be really nice if you guys could record some of the action with your nice playtest camera!!

I think this will be pretty big here on the forum within a couple of weeks. Revolutionary things like this would well deserve a movie-shot

[rudester]

Originally Posted by Standupnfall

How would a Soft Poly such as Black Magic or PolyStar Energy at 40-50lbs compare to a Super Soft Multi like Maxim Touch at 55-58lbs in terms of arm-friendliness.
Or even a cheap first gen Poly at 40-50.

I did like Polystar at 50 and wondering how arm friendly this is compared to a much softer string at a standard mid tension like 55lbs.

Thanks

I use multis at about 58-60 pounds, I also use Polystar energy at about 52 pounds and find it just as comfortable, in fact it is so comfortable i am thinking of stringing it with more tension because it is powerful as well. I have had shoulder issues which do not reappear when i use polystar energy, softest poly i know of.

[Lambsscroll]

I tried 30 pounds with Ashaway kevlar 16g on the mains and a synthetic 16g string on the cross. Its totally playable at this tension. I think a poly string is the way to go though for less string movement.

I am using only 2 mains and 2 crosses strung at 9lbs.