9 months? For someone who plays 86 league matches in a year and probably numerous other matches/drills throughout the year, that seems too infrequent. Don't be hurt, but you should not be offering advice to your friend about re-stringing.
Don't worry, I'm not hurt.
I used to string every 6-8 weeks when I was using things like Spiky Shark, Wilson Sensation, Luxilon. My pro suggested I try the gut hybrid, saying I would not have to string as frequently. There are varied opinions on this, but some people believe you can play a gut hybrid until the gut breaks.
When I first started using the gut hybrid, I would get one or two areas of fraying at about four months. I would continue to use the rackets, partly because I wanted to see what it felt like to break a string and partly because I am cheap.
What I noticed was that I didn't feel much or any difference when I would get the re-strung racket back. So I figured if I couldn't tell the difference between a gut hybrid that was about to break and one that was newly strung, why cut the strings out before the gut broke?
The funny thing is that I hit with more spin now, but I still don't break strings. I re-strung before sectionals in August, and before that in January. My strings had none of those frayed spots. I don't know my strings would be lasting longer (or more accurately, fraying less). I am using Babolat Versus, which is more expensive than the gut I used to use. Maybe that's it?
Anyway, Catfish . . .
I have sent one of my two rackets to be strung with gut. I figure I might as well give this a shot. It will at least answer the question of whether gut is better for me. If my elbow does or doesn't feel better, that will be good information to have. I will have my second racket with hybrid for comparison.
Fun fact: I'm going to play a dubs tournament in Colorado soon. I would imagine the ball will fly on me. Perhaps the gut will give me more top and help me keep the ball on the court?
