I've been on a long experimenting road trying to find a string/racquet combo that provides easy spin, good control, good durability, and good comfort for my sensitive elbow. This has proven to be harder than I imagined. I currently am playing with a Prince 03 Speedport Black racquet because I tried one a friend had with Prince Tour XP string in it and the combo had good control, spin and comfort, though being a poly, probably not as much durability as I'd like. Still, 3 out of 4 ain't bad. His racquet was strung in the high 40's but he hits flat and doesn't break strings and the strings had been in there for a while, so for all I know the tension may have been down in the 30's. One thing I noted in particular was the amount of ball pocketing that set-up had, which felt great. It was like a catapult for the ball, but with good spin and control. And despite his stringbed being full poly, my arm didn't hurt after playing with it several times.
So after I acquired my racquet, I started experimenting with mulitiple hybrids and other softer strings than poly, just assuming that it was probably the racquet that provided that great pocketing feel and comfort, not the string set-up, and I figured it would be better for my arm by default to use a softer string set-up than full poly. Well, I was wrong. I have now strung and tried a whole procession of set-ups: Gut/Poly, Gut/ZX Pro, Poly/SynGut, Multi/Poly, Gut/Multi, ZX Pro/Poly, ZX Pro/SynGut, ZX Pro/Multi, and full Multi. Most strung in the 50's because this racquet is fairly powerful. My elbow didn't feel totally comfortable afterwards with any of these set-ups, though some were more comfy than others. Also, none of these tests provided the combo of spin, control, comfort and pocketing that that old full bed of Tour XP poly did in my friend's racquet.
So this week I finally got around to trying to copy what he had in his racquet. A full bed of Prince Tour XP 16, and I strung it up at 37 x 33. And BOOM, all the things I had liked about that string in his racquet, I was now feeling in my racquet (same as his) with the same string. Low powered string that allowed me to really swing out, yet somehow felt "lively" on impact, extremely noticeable ball pocketing, above average spin, excellent control, and the confidence to go for some shots I've been hesitant to with some of those other tests because they were too powerful and I had a lot of balls sail long. Today when I played my match, there were several times I hit a deep, arching groundstroke that looked for all the world to both me and my opponent like it was going to sail long and then at the last minute it dove down and landed inside the baseline. My opponent was flummoxed and it really put a smile on my face. And the best thing is that my elbow didn't hurt during the match and so far hasn't hurt after. My arm was a little *tired* after the match, but I think it's maybe because the set-up was lower powered and I was swinging out a little harder both to get more power and because the set-up had more control and allowed me to go for some shots. I think I could actually probably lower the tension a few lbs. more for slightly more power and still have good control.
Durability is the question. I don't have experience with this particular poly and how long it plays until going "dead". I know that Gut mains will last and play well longer in a Gut/poly hybrid than just straight poly. I tried a Gut/Poly hybrid with Tonic 15L Longevity and Tour XP 16 in this racquet at 58 x 43, and it had good spin, but control was only "fair", and it definitely didn't have as good of ball pocketing or comfort as full Tour XP at 37 x 33. I strung the Tour XP so low at 43 in the hybrid set-up because I just wasn't sure if my arm could take more than that. As it turned out, though, the full poly set-up at 37x33 was more comfy on my elbow than the Gut/Poly at 58x43.
I have plans to try a full bed of Tonic Ball Feel Gut in this racquet (with string savers to increase durability), but I am skeptical that I am going to be happy with the spin production in that set-up, and I hit a good amount of topspin in my game. I'd like to try a Gut/poly hybrid again with Tonic and Tour XP, but at a tension that is more likely to give me good pocketing and yet still good control. Is that even possible? If Tonic/Tour XP at 58x43 only gave me "fair" control, won't my power be even greater and control even less if I drop the tension of the Tonic mains quite a bit to be closer to the Tour XP crosses at 43?
So after I acquired my racquet, I started experimenting with mulitiple hybrids and other softer strings than poly, just assuming that it was probably the racquet that provided that great pocketing feel and comfort, not the string set-up, and I figured it would be better for my arm by default to use a softer string set-up than full poly. Well, I was wrong. I have now strung and tried a whole procession of set-ups: Gut/Poly, Gut/ZX Pro, Poly/SynGut, Multi/Poly, Gut/Multi, ZX Pro/Poly, ZX Pro/SynGut, ZX Pro/Multi, and full Multi. Most strung in the 50's because this racquet is fairly powerful. My elbow didn't feel totally comfortable afterwards with any of these set-ups, though some were more comfy than others. Also, none of these tests provided the combo of spin, control, comfort and pocketing that that old full bed of Tour XP poly did in my friend's racquet.
So this week I finally got around to trying to copy what he had in his racquet. A full bed of Prince Tour XP 16, and I strung it up at 37 x 33. And BOOM, all the things I had liked about that string in his racquet, I was now feeling in my racquet (same as his) with the same string. Low powered string that allowed me to really swing out, yet somehow felt "lively" on impact, extremely noticeable ball pocketing, above average spin, excellent control, and the confidence to go for some shots I've been hesitant to with some of those other tests because they were too powerful and I had a lot of balls sail long. Today when I played my match, there were several times I hit a deep, arching groundstroke that looked for all the world to both me and my opponent like it was going to sail long and then at the last minute it dove down and landed inside the baseline. My opponent was flummoxed and it really put a smile on my face. And the best thing is that my elbow didn't hurt during the match and so far hasn't hurt after. My arm was a little *tired* after the match, but I think it's maybe because the set-up was lower powered and I was swinging out a little harder both to get more power and because the set-up had more control and allowed me to go for some shots. I think I could actually probably lower the tension a few lbs. more for slightly more power and still have good control.
Durability is the question. I don't have experience with this particular poly and how long it plays until going "dead". I know that Gut mains will last and play well longer in a Gut/poly hybrid than just straight poly. I tried a Gut/Poly hybrid with Tonic 15L Longevity and Tour XP 16 in this racquet at 58 x 43, and it had good spin, but control was only "fair", and it definitely didn't have as good of ball pocketing or comfort as full Tour XP at 37 x 33. I strung the Tour XP so low at 43 in the hybrid set-up because I just wasn't sure if my arm could take more than that. As it turned out, though, the full poly set-up at 37x33 was more comfy on my elbow than the Gut/Poly at 58x43.
I have plans to try a full bed of Tonic Ball Feel Gut in this racquet (with string savers to increase durability), but I am skeptical that I am going to be happy with the spin production in that set-up, and I hit a good amount of topspin in my game. I'd like to try a Gut/poly hybrid again with Tonic and Tour XP, but at a tension that is more likely to give me good pocketing and yet still good control. Is that even possible? If Tonic/Tour XP at 58x43 only gave me "fair" control, won't my power be even greater and control even less if I drop the tension of the Tonic mains quite a bit to be closer to the Tour XP crosses at 43?
