Backhanded Compliment
Legend
yes it is arm friendly... the Pacific racquet and strings are all comfy. Still using this setup but thinking of something different for indoor winter.
Tried Full Poly/Low Tension
- Thread starter michael_1265
- Start date
yes it is arm friendly... the Pacific racquet and strings are all comfy. Still using this setup but thinking of something different for indoor winter.
I tried poly at 40 on my 18x20 racquet. I got desperate with so many long shots. I will keep trying but I don't think this is for me.
On groundstrokes, my racquet head has to be now more parallel to the ground which give less margin for error and I hit the frame very often. I lost my confidence.
any recommendations?
On groundstrokes, my racquet head has to be now more parallel to the ground which give less margin for error and I hit the frame very often. I lost my confidence.
any recommendations?
I put a full bed of poly (Gosen Polylon 17) in my Pure Control 95, 18x20, at 30 lbs. (I strung one at 40 as well, but haven't tried it yet.) I had been using Polylon in the mains at 63 and synth gut (Gosen) at 63. I'm about a 4.0 player, working on a modern forehand. The feeling is odd. I get WAY more action on the ball. I was hitting with a bit of topspin and could crank on it- I mean, I'm 5'11", 190 lbs, not a small guy, and I was cranking on it. When hitting flat, the racquet was definitely a bit powerful. I went straight from 63 to 30 cold turkey. Wasn't nearly as bad as you'd think; actually, wasn't bad at all; actually, it was good. Just weird.
My actually only gripe is that the poly crosses are a ***** to string with the small head 18x20. So I'm going to try a blend just to make it easier to string.
My actually only gripe is that the poly crosses are a ***** to string with the small head 18x20. So I'm going to try a blend just to make it easier to string.
I have found it fine too, but very different. I still feel unconfident because I can easily send the ball way long. There is more spin, yes. On slices, I still can't get them well, they lob too much, so I have forgotten about dropshots for now. Serves have improved, maybe because I needed the additional power from looser strings. When returning hard serves, I have to be very careful, on volleys too.
I would love to keep reading about everyone's experience on this.
Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk
Like I said, I'm at 30 lbs and am taking a good swing at the ball with a good amount of either topspin or slice. And I'm really working on the modern forehand, so very short back stroke followed by a lot of whip and a lot of follow through. I think that's really the trick- to use the silly string at the silly tensions, you have to hit the ball like that. The flip side is that it *allows* you to hit the ball like that...
prjacobs
Hall of Fame
So - please talk me through this 
. I feel pretty locked in with my 2013 APD with Cyclone 17 @53 lbs, but I've really wanted to try low tension for a while. Will I still be able to swing out and keep the ball from hitting the back wall? What tension would everyone suggest? And is the premise that when you drop the tension a lot, you actually gain more control than say, just dropping it to 50lbs.?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
. I feel pretty locked in with my 2013 APD with Cyclone 17 @53 lbs, but I've really wanted to try low tension for a while. Will I still be able to swing out and keep the ball from hitting the back wall? What tension would everyone suggest? And is the premise that when you drop the tension a lot, you actually gain more control than say, just dropping it to 50lbs.?Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
So here's what I think is going on. With standard ish string, with standard ish tension, we understand that a little looser is a little more power, a little tighter is a little more control. At 30 ish pounds, we are WAY out of the normal tension, and with poly, way away from normal string. The rules are different down that low with that type of string.
Don't be afraid. Descend with conviction.
Don't be afraid. Descend with conviction.
I recommend you to try it. It feels different and it is easy to send the ball out, but you will just have to change your strokes a bit in order to adapt to the new feel and time your strokes too. Be patient. The first hours I was screaming mad at how hard it was to keep the ball in but I am liking it now because it's much easier to return the ball and add spin to it, despite being my racquet 18x20. It feels more comfortable. I still need more time to determine if this can be used as a tennis elbow strategy.
Regarding tension maintenance, I strung my racquet at 40 lbs 17 g prince XR and according to the racquettune app it always indicated around 30 lbs. I don't know how calibrated it is but at least it has shown the same reading over and over. I strung it on saturday and have played around 6 hours in these days' time from saturday to today.
Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk
So I've got about 4 hours on the strings at 30 lbs. I tried the stick I laced at 40 lbs. I think that if I'd hit that one first, I would have really liked it. It felt more like a normal string job... But I went back to the 30 pounder. There's something about it. As Osmar mentions, it's easier to return the ball with depth. The spin potential is ridiculous (and I'm hitting an eastern forehand.) I have found my directional control to be way better as well. OH! And I'm at 5,000' of elevation. At sea level this would be sick.
I also would not be surprised if the tensions are a little bit particular to a given string- so not all polys are going to play the same at the same tension- there will be some tuning. Having said that, the Gosen Polylon 17 is cheap. $42 for a whole reel. I think for a less dense string pattern, 16x19 or so, I'd try 35 lbs.
Seriously, the only downside so far is trying to lace those damned crosses. With the poly it's a pain. I've got to figure out if I can use synth gut for crosses...
I also would not be surprised if the tensions are a little bit particular to a given string- so not all polys are going to play the same at the same tension- there will be some tuning. Having said that, the Gosen Polylon 17 is cheap. $42 for a whole reel. I think for a less dense string pattern, 16x19 or so, I'd try 35 lbs.
Seriously, the only downside so far is trying to lace those damned crosses. With the poly it's a pain. I've got to figure out if I can use synth gut for crosses...
Today, I played against a big server. All I felt confident doing was putting the racquet to tge front without making any stroke. And just with that, the ball went upwards as if I were lobbing. I am thinking about increasing tension to 45 or 50.
Btw, comfort was there all the time.
Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk
Yes Osmar. I had the same experience yesterday trying to practice gently with some new people- it was very difficult to control the ball without hitting it with pace and spin. I had to hit the ball with spin to have the control. I think the low tension is a very effective weapon, but a very specific weapon.
Also, I wonder if the strings didn't loosen up a little, causing the lack of control... After practicing with the new people I hit on the ball machine for an hour and had a different feeling from the racquet- I think the tension had softened up...
Also, I wonder if the strings didn't loosen up a little, causing the lack of control... After practicing with the new people I hit on the ball machine for an hour and had a different feeling from the racquet- I think the tension had softened up...
I'm curious to try some low tension poly. I am curious whether there is actually a 'break point' which inverses what you would expect in regards to power and tension, with very low tensions actually having less power, more dwell time and control.
The reason I suspect something like this could be happening is from an experience I had using a friend's racquet, was a yonex dr 98 from like 2019. It was strung with a multi yonex rexis in the mid 40s (around 44-46). He was expecting it to be a powerhouse cause he had been stringing poly in that range, but he said he hated it and found it to actually be quite hard to produce power with it, despite it being a reasonably powerful frame with a multi strung relatively for multi, quite low.
I'm a more technically proficient player than him and gave it a go and was actually amazed and surprised by how good it was. It seemed to have more control to me than poly strung in the mid 50's (unless they the type that are super stiff with very very low power) and great access to spin; I felt like I could shape my shots more and like the ball left the strings later during the shot, and it was easier to not overhit.
Thus I wonder whether something similar is happening with low tension poly. I theorise something like this. While the strings stretch more, if it is tensioned low enough then the strings will begin snapping back with less acceleration, so perhaps there is a break point where this reduced acceleration of snapback begins reducing the trampoline/rebound force being applied to the ball despite there being a longer dwell time and string elasticity.
Thus perhaps also since the ball leaves slightly later from the strings, there is more time to change racquet head angle during the shot (spin access and ball shaping) and time for the racquet head to be under less acceleration (force = mass x acceleration) when the ball leaves strings, since it is during later part of stroke, which would also reduce power.
The reason I suspect something like this could be happening is from an experience I had using a friend's racquet, was a yonex dr 98 from like 2019. It was strung with a multi yonex rexis in the mid 40s (around 44-46). He was expecting it to be a powerhouse cause he had been stringing poly in that range, but he said he hated it and found it to actually be quite hard to produce power with it, despite it being a reasonably powerful frame with a multi strung relatively for multi, quite low.
I'm a more technically proficient player than him and gave it a go and was actually amazed and surprised by how good it was. It seemed to have more control to me than poly strung in the mid 50's (unless they the type that are super stiff with very very low power) and great access to spin; I felt like I could shape my shots more and like the ball left the strings later during the shot, and it was easier to not overhit.
Thus I wonder whether something similar is happening with low tension poly. I theorise something like this. While the strings stretch more, if it is tensioned low enough then the strings will begin snapping back with less acceleration, so perhaps there is a break point where this reduced acceleration of snapback begins reducing the trampoline/rebound force being applied to the ball despite there being a longer dwell time and string elasticity.
Thus perhaps also since the ball leaves slightly later from the strings, there is more time to change racquet head angle during the shot (spin access and ball shaping) and time for the racquet head to be under less acceleration (force = mass x acceleration) when the ball leaves strings, since it is during later part of stroke, which would also reduce power.
