Transition from multi @62 lbs to poly @53 lbs.

[Unfrozen Caveman]

I've been playing with Prince Premiere Attack in my Babolat Pure Storm GT Plus @62 lbs. Since I broke a racquet today and have ordered another, I will be having it strung with Solinco Tour Bite at 53 lbs. Unfortunately, I won't be able to play with it for over a week. So, while I wait, for those of you have played with multi strung relatively tight and poly strung mildly low, what can I expect on these issues:

1) Power - I know that polys are less powerful than multis. On the other hand, strings at a lower tension are more powerful than strings at a higher tension and 9 lbs. is quite a bit of difference. So, I have an factor deceasing power (string type) and a factor increasing power (tension). What do you anticipate the net power to be (more, less, or the same).

2) Spin - Everything I've read indicates that this will be easier to generate with poly.

3) Feel - Everything I've read indicates that I will lose feel. Will this adversely affect my volleys?

4) String tension over time - I can expect to lose more tension over time with poly compared to multi. Will this tension loss happen gradually or within a few hours of playing and then stabilize?

[Jay_The_Nomad]

1) For power, I'm not sure if it is as straightforward as decreasing tension for stiffer strings like polyester. I'm also trying out poly at the moment and so far I've tried blackcode and rpm blast both strung at around 52lbs. What I found is that with lower tension, the string bounces off the string bed at a different angle and the balls are going off at a different trajectory compared to when I used a more powerful string like multis or babolat natural gut tonic and strung it at a higher tension like around 58-60lbs.

So you might find it very different even though you have theoretically compensated for the extra string stiffness.

2) As far as string tension loss goes, My blackcode and rpm blast strings (17g) loses the most tension everytime I hit with it. But it also gradually loses tension while it sits in the bag even if I'm not playing with it.

What I found is that the most drastic tension loss occurs the first time you play with it. But once tension hits the mid to low 40s, the tension loss is not as much (around half a pound).

By the way I've been tracking my tension loss using some device I bought from the local tennis store.

[Hi I'm Ray]

^^ good post.

The trajectory does seem to be different. The lower tension poly may surprise you with the power level, and there is definitely more spin. When I got my polys strung at the shop it seemed to loose tension much faster. I string my own polys now using long, slow pulls and generally the tension stays pretty steady for the life of the poly.

You might also want to give hybrids a try. Once you find a poly you like you can try using a good syn gut cross like Forten Sweet and see how you like it.

[Unfrozen Caveman]

Jay the Nomad: how would you describe the trajectory difference?

[Jay_The_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Unfrozen Caveman

Jay the Nomad: how would you describe the trajectory difference?

I would say for my low tension poly setup, the ball comes off the string bed at a steeper angle so the ball has a tendency to sail long.

The loopyness is not a problem if you're going for the topspin rally ball. But if you want to flatten a ball out, it can be a bit tricky. For me, my flatter balls were either going into the net or sailing long. Just couldn't find the right groove during the initial sessions.