Strings for different levels

[MikeHitsHard93]

Asking some of our more "educated and experienced" TT members here...

If you could pretty much label each type of string or string combination to NTRP levels, how would you organize them?

For example: Synthetics: 1.0-3.5

[downdaline]

I think you need to be more specific about what you mean.

How can you assign an NTRP rating to a string? It's a dead thing.

I think what you mean is what is NTRP rating of a player to fully utilize the properties of a specific string.

Example: A 5.5 player would most likely be able to take advantage of a stiff string like Luxilon, much more than say, a 2.5, thus the string is rated at 5.5? Is that what you mean?

[MikeHitsHard93]

Originally Posted by downdaline

I think you need to be more specific about what you mean.

How can you assign an NTRP rating to a string? It's a dead thing.

I think what you mean is what is NTRP rating of a player to fully utilize the properties of a specific string.

Example: A 5.5 player would most likely be able to take advantage of a stiff string like Luxilon, much more than say, a 2.5, thus the string is rated at 5.5? Is that what you mean?

This is precisely what I mean. Sorry

[downdaline]

No prob.

I personally think synthetics go across all NTRP ratings - there're just too many brands / types to generalize.

I would however feel that Luxilon Alu Power should be rated as minimum 4.0 - 4.5, as you need to have a significant amount of racquet head speed to fully take advantage of the stiff bed.

[illab]

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=184942

[coachrick]

I've never liked talking 'levels' when considering rackets or strings. It's all about playing style. You might have a crusher who pounds the ball a ton but is too inconsistent to get past 3.5. I'd much rather fit his hitting style instead of his 'level'.

It's an interesting concept, but a bit like trying to fit shoes to a certain NTRP level. "Sorry, those shoes are TOO good for you! Come back when you're a solid 4.5 and we'll consider selling them to you."

[slowfox]

Natural gut for everyone..!!

[TimothyO]

Originally Posted by slowfox

Natural gut for everyone..!!

My 10 year old noob-rec-player-son has full gut in his frame. Unlike a multi It plays perfectly well until it breaks. It provides outstanding control too.

The up front acquisition cost is higher but when you factor in the more frequent restringing costs of a multi in labor and materials natural gut actually costs less for non-string breakers over time. We had his frame strung when we bought it this past spring and, while showing wear, it still works fine. After that much time under the hot Atlanta sun a multi would be on its second or third restring to maintain controllable playability.

I Don't believe strings correspond to level, even full poly. If you have a super powerful racquet and want to mitigate that power to avoid launching balls poly would make sense. In fact, purely from a functional perspective, poly might make MORE sense for a noob in that case since noobs have a hard time controlling their power.

Even a small child can whack a ball over the fence using a crappy modern frame. Power is not a problem with modern frames...control is the challenge, especially for noobs.

[TennisCJC]

Here's the way I would frame it:

Syn gut: NTRP range is 0-7. Good string for beginners and intermediate players. 0-3.0 should stick with syn gut until there games advance to the point where they can benefit from more expensive strings. Jim Courier and other world class players have used syn gut on the pro tours.

Multis: NTRP range 3.5-7. Good string for intermediate players thru world class and has been used on pro tours (Bryan Brothers in the past, Tipsaravic now, plus others)

Natural Gut: NTRP range 3.5-7. Best non-poly string and most expensive. Need at least intermediate level skills to take advantage of the strings attributes. Extremely popular on pro tours and best string for comfort and health issues. Even lower level players with tennis elbow should consider natural gut for comfort advantage.

Poly/Co-poly: NTRP range 4.0-7. Best in hybrid combos with syn gut, natural gut, or multifiliements for 4.0-4.5 levels but some hard hitters may like a full bed at these levels. Best for those that use moderate to high levels of spin with full swings. An old school continental type player or eastern FH flat hitter may not benefit as much from using poly even in a hybrid. At 5.0 to 7.0, hybrids and full poly are very common, and poly or poly hybirds are used extensively on the pro tours.

As others have indicated, there is a lot of overlap across levels with some pros using inexpensive syn gut.