How to keep strings playing well for longer

formula16 · Mar 16, 2011

My k95 16x18 was strung with xcel main and hurricane cross at 57 pound.
It felt amazing for a week. All my shots were controlled, powerful and lots of spin. I felt completely in control. Then the performance started dropping off quite rapidly. The ball had less spin. The string bed was unpredictable. Sometimes i would launch balls to the fence sometimes the stringbed would feel quite dead. Even if i hit the sweetspot, i still wasnt in full control.

i'm pretty sure it wasnt my technique because then figuring maybe i should try natural gut instead of xcel because it may last longer, i got a new string job. I got natural gut main and hurricane cross at 57 pounds again. It felt great for about a week ( but that week i played more tennis). Then it happened again. Perfomance dropped rapidly. Same stuff happened

Is it poor choice or strings, tension or maybe racquet?

Any help will be appreciated!

Boricua · Mar 16, 2011

formula16 said:
My k95 16x18 was strung with xcel main and hurricane cross at 57 pound.
It felt amazing for a week. All my shots were controlled, powerful and lots of spin. I felt completely in control. Then the performance started dropping off quite rapidly. The ball had less spin. The string bed was unpredictable. Sometimes i would launch balls to the fence sometimes the stringbed would feel quite dead. Even if i hit the sweetspot, i still wasnt in full control.

i'm pretty sure it wasnt my technique because then figuring maybe i should try natural gut instead of xcel because it may last longer, i got a new string job. I got natural gut main and hurricane cross at 57 pounds again. It felt great for about a week ( but that week i played more tennis). Then it happened again. Perfomance dropped rapidly. Same stuff happened

Is it poor choice or strings, tension or maybe racquet?

Any help will be appreciated!

These setups with thin strings font last long. I am also experimenting. I will try Tonic 15 gauge as cross and see how it goes.

Soem people use string savers but I dont know how they work or if they make some difference.

Also, full poly at low tension could be more durable, but less feel.

formula16 · Mar 17, 2011

can anyone suggest some setups that play well for a long period of time?

Hominator · Mar 17, 2011

The one is constant in your setups is the poly cross. I've experienced that kind of performance drop off from a full bed of poly, so I'm guessing that the same kind of thing would eventually happen to your hybrid.

I'm seriously thinking about going full gut to avoid this type of performance drop-off - it's too costly and inconvenient to get my racquets re-strung every couple of weeks (until I get my own stringer, that is).

Good luck!

franks · Mar 18, 2011

formula16 said:
My k95 16x18 was strung with xcel main and hurricane cross at 57 pound.
It felt amazing for a week. All my shots were controlled, powerful and lots of spin. I felt completely in control. Then the performance started dropping off quite rapidly. The ball had less spin. The string bed was unpredictable. Sometimes i would launch balls to the fence sometimes the stringbed would feel quite dead. Even if i hit the sweetspot, i still wasnt in full control.

i'm pretty sure it wasnt my technique because then figuring maybe i should try natural gut instead of xcel because it may last longer, i got a new string job. I got natural gut main and hurricane cross at 57 pounds again. It felt great for about a week ( but that week i played more tennis). Then it happened again. Perfomance dropped rapidly. Same stuff happened

Is it poor choice or strings, tension or maybe racquet?

Any help will be appreciated!

Do you string the natural gut mains and the poly crosses at the same tension?

jim e · Mar 18, 2011

formula16 said:
can anyone suggest some setups that play well for a long period of time?

Since you ask:
All nat. gut with no hybrid, will play well until it breaks.

ricardo · Mar 18, 2011

Just replace the crosses when they go dead or break

formula16 said:
My k95 16x18 was strung with xcel main and hurricane cross at 57 pound.
It felt amazing for a week. All my shots were controlled, powerful and lots of spin. I felt completely in control. Then the performance started dropping off quite rapidly. The ball had less spin. The string bed was unpredictable. Sometimes i would launch balls to the fence sometimes the stringbed would feel quite dead. Even if i hit the sweetspot, i still wasnt in full control.

i'm pretty sure it wasnt my technique because then figuring maybe i should try natural gut instead of xcel because it may last longer, i got a new string job. I got natural gut main and hurricane cross at 57 pounds again. It felt great for about a week ( but that week i played more tennis). Then it happened again. Perfomance dropped rapidly. Same stuff happened

Is it poor choice or strings, tension or maybe racquet?

Any help will be appreciated!

I have been using the same Babolat Tonic ball feel (16g) for 4 months now. But i have replaced the crosses (wilson sensation) 3x because they broke due to fraying. I string low (50 lbs main/46 lbs crosses) and i use string savers.

i did not notice any playability degradation because NG maintains its playability until it breaks. In addition, NG has the best tension maintenance. 90% of the tension loss occurs in the first week of use. Thereafer, tension loss is very negligible.

parasailing · Mar 18, 2011

String savers on gut will make it last much longer. It does add about 1 to 2 lbs of tension on the stringbed so take that into consideration when using them on natural gut. Natural gut is the only type of string that has maintains it tension after that initial drop off if you don't break it or have string savers that cut down on fraying.

Multis and polys just don't last very long, probably lucky to get 10 to 15 hours of play from them before they lose tension or feel boardy.

formula16 · Mar 18, 2011

i rely heavily on topspin. Will full natural gut be good for my topspin game?

kiteboard · Mar 18, 2011

If you string with a 17g gut, and hit for spin.

formula16 · Mar 18, 2011

franks said:
Do you string the natural gut mains and the poly crosses at the same tension?

no
i strung nat gut at 57 pound and poly at 54 pound

formula16 · Mar 18, 2011

what tension should i try for a full bed of gut?

franks · Mar 19, 2011

formula16 said:
no
i strung nat gut at 57 pound and poly at 54 pound

Try dropping the tension by 5lbs, polys at lower tensions retain their elasticity a bit longer, at least it works for me. Also try stringing the stiffer poly 4lbs looser than natural gut. My setup for my yonex RDiS 100 MP......Mains: Babolat VS Touch 16 @ 52lbs and Crosses: Weisscannon Scorpion 122 @ 48ls. It plays great for a long time, this setup works for me really well.
Hope this helps

SirGounder · Mar 19, 2011

It's really just a nature of the polys. They don't maintain what little elasticity they have to begin with, especially at higher tensions.

Lambsscroll · Mar 20, 2011

formula16 said:
My k95 16x18 was strung with xcel main and hurricane cross at 57 pound.
It felt amazing for a week. All my shots were controlled, powerful and lots of spin. I felt completely in control. Then the performance started dropping off quite rapidly. The ball had less spin. The string bed was unpredictable. Sometimes i would launch balls to the fence sometimes the stringbed would feel quite dead. Even if i hit the sweetspot, i still wasnt in full control.

i'm pretty sure it wasnt my technique because then figuring maybe i should try natural gut instead of xcel because it may last longer, i got a new string job. I got natural gut main and hurricane cross at 57 pounds again. It felt great for about a week ( but that week i played more tennis). Then it happened again. Perfomance dropped rapidly. Same stuff happened

Is it poor choice or strings, tension or maybe racquet?

Any help will be appreciated!

From what you said the gut did help. I think the poly got too loose though. I would use gut again but increase the poly tension by 1 pound.

How to keep strings playing well for longer

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