at what level do strings start to matter?

buttman

New User
When I see people talk about different strings and racquets I often wonder if I am missing something. I do feel like there is a difference but it's hard for me to tell what is "better". esp considering I'm not super consistent day to day anyway lol. I typically use full synthetic gut since it's the cheapest - and i dont hit with a lot of spin so sometimes it takes me a long time to break them so the strings are pretty old and loose. Sometimes I have a racquet w/ dead full poly on it and I just play with it for months lol. Sometimes I don't feel like stringing my racquet so I go to the thrift store and get a cheap old racquet for 5 bucks. I'm currently using a pro kennex composite dominator from 1980 and i dont know how old the synthetic gut strings on them even are lol. It seems like when I play a set the results are pretty consistent regardless of what racquet or string I'm using (i play w/ same ppl usually). How much of a difference do strings/racquet actually make?? For reference i'm 4.0.

another question - is it really objectively bad for your arm to play with old poly vs new poly strings? it's just so convenient to play w/ the same poly strings for an extended period of time lol
 
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Think it depends on your opponents more than your own level. I'm not particular about strings myself, and I enjoy a tight bed of syn gut, but against sufficiently hard hitting players or people who hit with heavy spin, the strings just move around too much. Nice username, btw. Man of culture.
 

Rosstour

G.O.A.T.
When I see people talk about different strings and racquets I often wonder if I am missing something. I do feel like there is a difference but it's hard for me to tell what is "better". esp considering I'm not super consistent day to day anyway lol. I typically use full synthetic gut since it's the cheapest - and i dont hit with a lot of spin so sometimes it takes me a long time to break them so the strings are pretty old and loose. Sometimes I have a racquet w/ dead full poly on it and I just play with it for months lol. Sometimes I don't feel like stringing my racquet so I go to the thrift store and get a cheap old racquet for 5 bucks. I'm currently using a pro kennex composite dominator from 1980 and i dont know how old the synthetic gut strings on them even are lol. It seems like when I play a set the results are pretty consistent regardless of what racquet or string I'm using (i play w/ same ppl usually). How much of a difference do strings/racquet actually make?? For reference i'm 4.0.

another question - is it really objectively bad for your arm to play with old poly vs new poly strings? it's just so convenient to play w/ the same poly strings for an extended period of time lol

You're missing a few things actually
 

dr. godmode

Hall of Fame
Dear buttman, there's no level at which they start to matter. I have several hitting partners (5.0+) who kick my butt, man its crazy how they don't care about using dead old strings. I've even heard a few of them say they prefer dead old strings to fresh ones. They have no problem using the cheapest, deadest poly's. They have no problem letting their racquet sit for 6 months or more without using it, even though all the tension is gone. One guy I played with would show up with his Blade 93 in a plastic grocery bag, having not played for 6 months, the top cross was replaced with a piece of scrap string because he ran out of string while stringing the racquet like 3 years ago and he still beat me.
 

jimmy8

G.O.A.T.
It starts to matter at ntrp 7.0 because hsieh su Wei uses strings until they break which is more than a year for her. And she just uses a racket her brother handed down to her.

Wait, what I just wrote means it never matters.

I bought a used stringing machine and restring every 2 weeks or 8-10 hours of play whichever comes first. I buy strings for cheap from all over the place, sometimes overseas. Strings matter for your health - tension loss, elasticity loss, notching. Please take care of your health. It's cheaper to replace strings than to have surgery. If you lose the ability to use an arm, the price of that is priceless.
 

davced1

Hall of Fame
It starts to matter at ntrp 7.0 because hsieh su Wei uses strings until they break which is more than a year for her. And she just uses a racket her brother handed down to her.

Wait, what I just wrote means it never matters.

I bought a used stringing machine and restring every 2 weeks or 8-10 hours of play whichever comes first. I buy strings for cheap from all over the place, sometimes overseas. Strings matter for your health - tension loss, elasticity loss, notching. Please take care of your health. It's cheaper to replace strings than to have surgery. If you lose the ability to use an arm, the price of that is priceless.
I've been honestly thinking to just play on with two racquets I have strung with Prince tournament nylon until it breaks to save money. I'm about level 4.
 

just out

New User
When I see people talk about different strings and racquets I often wonder if I am missing something. I do feel like there is a difference but it's hard for me to tell what is "better". esp considering I'm not super consistent day to day anyway lol. I typically use full synthetic gut since it's the cheapest - and i dont hit with a lot of spin so sometimes it takes me a long time to break them so the strings are pretty old and loose. Sometimes I have a racquet w/ dead full poly on it and I just play with it for months lol. Sometimes I don't feel like stringing my racquet so I go to the thrift store and get a cheap old racquet for 5 bucks. I'm currently using a pro kennex composite dominator from 1980 and i dont know how old the synthetic gut strings on them even are lol. It seems like when I play a set the results are pretty consistent regardless of what racquet or string I'm using (i play w/ same ppl usually). How much of a difference do strings/racquet actually make?? For reference i'm 4.0.

another question - is it really objectively bad for your arm to play with old poly vs new poly strings? it's just so convenient to play w/ the same poly strings for an extended period of time lol
If you're going to play with old strings syn. gut or multi will be softer for your arm, even when old. I have been around many high level players over the years who could pick up almost any decent quality frame and play at nearly their top level, even if strung with "old" cheap syn. gut or years ago even cheaper nylon.
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
It starts to matter at ntrp 7.0 because hsieh su Wei uses strings until they break which is more than a year for her. And she just uses a racket her brother handed down to her.

Wait, what I just wrote means it never matters.

I bought a used stringing machine and restring every 2 weeks or 8-10 hours of play whichever comes first. I buy strings for cheap from all over the place, sometimes overseas. Strings matter for your health - tension loss, elasticity loss, notching. Please take care of your health. It's cheaper to replace strings than to have surgery. If you lose the ability to use an arm, the price of that is priceless.
Can barely air swing a racquet. Tore my rotator cuff for the third time last year after a fall. At least I have/had two arms. Shoulder is in a pickle
 

aaron_h27

Hall of Fame
Dear buttman, there's no level at which they start to matter. I have several hitting partners (5.0+) who kick my butt, man its crazy how they don't care about using dead old strings. I've even heard a few of them say they prefer dead old strings to fresh ones. They have no problem using the cheapest, deadest poly's. They have no problem letting their racquet sit for 6 months or more without using it, even though all the tension is gone. One guy I played with would show up with his Blade 93 in a plastic grocery bag, having not played for 6 months, the top cross was replaced with a piece of scrap string because he ran out of string while stringing the racquet like 3 years ago and he still beat me.
Obviously if there's a huge skill gap like a 5.0 player against a 4.0 or even 4.5 then the equipment is not going to matter lol, but take two players evenly matched and if one person has their equipment tuned for them to where they can maximize their skillset it could make the difference on a few points. Winning and losing a tennis match can just be a few points going in either direction.
 
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I am 51 years old and for me health and no body pain is the most important thing in life beside family, being said that if a racket or strings can help to reduce injuries I would go for it. Iove the game but just won't jeopardize the only arm I have.
Same applies for tennis shoes!
 
I am 51 years old and for me health and no body pain is the most important thing in life beside family, being said that if a racket or strings can help to reduce injuries I would go for it. Iove the game but just won't jeopardize the only arm I have.
Same applies for tennis shoes!
The only playing arm, sounded like I just have one hehe
 

Kevo

Legend
When I see people talk about different strings and racquets I often wonder if I am missing something. I do feel like there is a difference but it's hard for me to tell what is "better". esp considering I'm not super consistent day to day anyway lol.
If you can't tell, then it probably doesn't matter much. The problem with a question like this is there are way too many variables for any answer to be "correct". Firstly and most importantly, there are no two players that are the same. So there is no right answer. The advice I tend to give is don't worry so much about equipment until it becomes an obvious concern. There are so many higher priorities in learning to play tennis well that it really doesn't make a significant difference until you get to a fairly high level. A player who has good fitness, footwork, mentality, and technique will beat just about everyone up to the 4.0 level with almost anything you put in their hand that resembles a racquet.

Having said all that, I think a lot of people are happy enough looking the part that it doesn't really matter if they actually progress or not. They enjoy getting new shoes, strings, and frames every so often to go along with their outdoor social activity and that's enough. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Different people have different priorities. Do what works for you.
 

PRS

Professional
It really depends what you mean by "matters." For a young, healthy beginner or even intermediate, it's probably not going to matter that much. The better you get, the older you get, the more injuries you get or injury-prone you are, it can be very helpful to get in the right ballpark with your equipment. You'll want to make sure you have the right type of string and a racquet that is reasonably close to what you need. Getting it exactly right will make a difference, but not nearly as much as just getting in the right ballpark.
 

buttman

New User
If you can't tell, then it probably doesn't matter much. The problem with a question like this is there are way too many variables for any answer to be "correct". Firstly and most importantly, there are no two players that are the same. So there is no right answer. The advice I tend to give is don't worry so much about equipment until it becomes an obvious concern. There are so many higher priorities in learning to play tennis well that it really doesn't make a significant difference until you get to a fairly high level. A player who has good fitness, footwork, mentality, and technique will beat just about everyone up to the 4.0 level with almost anything you put in their hand that resembles a racquet.

Having said all that, I think a lot of people are happy enough looking the part that it doesn't really matter if they actually progress or not. They enjoy getting new shoes, strings, and frames every so often to go along with their outdoor social activity and that's enough. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Different people have different priorities. Do what works for you.
true - buying stuff is a really fun part of tennis - i actually enjoy buying and trying out new tennis stuff a lot.
 

Tao69

Semi-Pro
I think the strings do make a difference, the degree of difference they make and how much you care for it is very subjective, but experimenting with your equipment can be an interesting part of the sport for some. As others have said though, your health is the most important thing, so if you're going to tinker with your string set up, or your racquet set up in general, don't do it at the cost of injury. If you're looking at improving your game in a clearly objective matter, there's plenty of other things to improve before you get to your racquet set up.
 
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It starts to matter at ntrp 7.0 because hsieh su Wei uses strings until they break which is more than a year for her. And she just uses a racket her brother handed down to her.

Wait, what I just wrote means it never matters.

I bought a used stringing machine and restring every 2 weeks or 8-10 hours of play whichever comes first. I buy strings for cheap from all over the place, sometimes overseas. Strings matter for your health - tension loss, elasticity loss, notching. Please take care of your health. It's cheaper to replace strings than to have surgery. If you lose the ability to use an arm, the price of that is priceless.
Well, Roddick did beat a guy with a frying pan, so there's that.

In the end, it doesn't matter if you just patty cake the ball back to get it in. But if you swing away for lines or hit with spin, it matters.

A lot of people string in the low 40#s, so maybe those with really dead strings are okay below 48#.
 
It matters when you get to the point that the way the ball feels and sounds when it contacts the racquet matters. Tennis is a game of confidence, and when things feel right, you play better. It’s not about level, but about trust. Jim Courier played synthetic gut…
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
It matters when you get to the point that the way the ball feels and sounds when it contacts the racquet matters. Tennis is a game of confidence, and when things feel right, you play better. It’s not about level, but about trust. Jim Courier played synthetic gut…
AA & Pro Blend? 80#
 
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