Looser strings more power is a myth...

C

ccambil@gmail.com

Banned
If you string looser, will you get more power?

Most people will say yes. Looser strings will result in more power.

What is missing however is the most important aspect: If i reduce string tension from 60 lbs to 40 lbs (33% looser), will i get 33% more power?

If my ball speed right now for example is 100mph (@60lbs), will i get 133mph if i reduce string tension to 40 lbs.

If i only get an incremental increase of 1mph (from 100 to 101 mph) by reducing string tension from 60 lbs to 40 lbs, is that additional 1mph considered more power?

Does anybody know how much power you gain by loosening string tension?
 
In general what you get is more of trampoline effect which means it's easier to generate power. As far as percentages go I have no idea what the ratio is but I do know that it is exponentially declining with forward racquet head speed. It's a slopinng curve not a linear percentage. Meaning at lower speeds the the mph perctange difference is greater than at higher racquet head speeds. I know that you will not get 33% more mph.
 
ccambil@gmail.com said:
If you string looser, will you get more power?

Most people will say yes. Looser strings will result in more power.

What is missing however is the most important aspect: If i reduce string tension from 60 lbs to 40 lbs (33% looser), will i get 33% more power?

If my ball speed right now for example is 100mph (@60lbs), will i get 133mph if i reduce string tension to 40 lbs.

If i only get an incremental increase of 1mph (from 100 to 101 mph) by reducing string tension from 60 lbs to 40 lbs, is that additional 1mph considered more power?

Does anybody know how much power you gain by loosening string tension?
Click to expand...

No one ever said the ratio to string tension and power was linear. You clearly don't have a very good understanding of physics.

Lower tension = Higher power. This is not a myth.
 
I believe you will get more power with looser strings. Sort of like jumping on a trampoline vs. the sidewalk. How much more I have no idea and I doubt anyone knows for sure. Who really cares?

But with more power you get less spin and therefore less control so the ball will start flying on you.

I would advise you not to go for power or control but what feels best to you. When you find that tension you like you will play better. Or you will like it because you play better. I forget which way it is.

Irvin
 
there was a study done ( i dont remember where ) that stated a 1-2 mph speed increase on groundstrokes when tension is dropped 25%
 
YOu get MORE power but there is no way to tell how much. No formula to calculate such relation. but You definitely get more power. Problem i found is that the ball will fly longer since more trampoline effect. So what good is more power if you are hitting balls LONG ???
 
u get a tad bit more power but it's hardly noticeable, though the accuracy would be. i think in a study they went from 70lbs to 40lbs and there like ~30% more dwell time meaning that there is more of a chance for misdirection.

and power and tension is not linear like others have said...why would it be? also there are too many variables.
 
autumn_leaf said:
u get a tad bit more power but it's hardly noticeable, though the accuracy would be.
Click to expand...

You're saying that, if you drop tension from 60lbs to 40lbs the amount of extra power you'll get is hardly noticeable?

Hell, if you can't notice a big difference when making a 10lbs tension drop (even 5lbs should be very significant) you must be using the wrong end of the racquet.
 
A major factor here is that lower stringbed stiffness usually produces a ball with a slightly higher trajectory than a stiffer stringbed. This typically translates to a higher ball and therefore more depth.
 
What I don't think anyone has considered is the fact that a tighter stringbed will return to its initial position faster (meaning possibly the ball will come off faster) than a looser stringbed if the swing speed is high enough to bend the tighter stringbed.

Did that make any sense and does anyone know if it would have an effect?
 
Danstevens said:
What I don't think anyone has considered is the fact that a tighter stringbed will return to its initial position faster (meaning possibly the ball will come off faster) than a looser stringbed if the swing speed is high enough to bend the tighter stringbed.

Did that make any sense and does anyone know if it would have an effect?
Click to expand...

No. Greater ball deformation will sap power. If the ball is deformed less, it will bounce faster. That's why golf clubs have all gone to thin faces over the past several years. Trampoline effect = less ball deformation = more power.

What you get by stiffening the string bed with higher tension is more ball deformation, and therefore less power and more spin.
 
AndrewD said:
You're saying that, if you drop tension from 60lbs to 40lbs the amount of extra power you'll get is hardly noticeable?

Hell, if you can't notice a big difference when making a 10lbs tension drop (even 5lbs should be very significant) you must be using the wrong end of the racquet.
Click to expand...

Very well said.
 
There was a USRSA study a few years ago which stated that lower tensions didn't produce more power as much as increased depth of shot. That is, I think, why players with lower swing speeds should lower their tension: it's easier to drive the ball the length of the court.
 
AndrewD said:
You're saying that, if you drop tension from 60lbs to 40lbs the amount of extra power you'll get is hardly noticeable?

Hell, if you can't notice a big difference when making a 10lbs tension drop (even 5lbs should be very significant) you must be using the wrong end of the racquet.
Click to expand...

well is that a difference in pure power or is that also a difference in control. my statement was that given everything else being equal you get an increase in power but not much, probably 2-5 mph. but dropping the tension to something you're not used to will definitely affect your control because of the increased dwell time.

i definitely notice a difference in when i drop tension from 55-50lbs but i would say a drop in control was the biggest change, not power. ball went long more, but i wouldn't say it went faster by much.
 
bigmatt said:
There was a USRSA study a few years ago which stated that lower tensions didn't produce more power as much as increased depth of shot. That is, I think, why players with lower swing speeds should lower their tension: it's easier to drive the ball the length of the court.
Click to expand...

That sounds to me like saying "a bigger engine didn't give me more horsepower, it just make my car go faster."
 
Nanshiki said:
That sounds to me like saying "a bigger engine didn't give me more horsepower, it just make my car go faster."
Click to expand...

edit: that's pretty much my thought.

though it could have affected the trajectory of the ball causing it to pop up more and land deeper onto the court.
 
Last edited:
ccambil@gmail.com said:
If you string looser, will you get more power?

Most people will say yes. Looser strings will result in more power.

What is missing however is the most important aspect: If i reduce string tension from 60 lbs to 40 lbs (33% looser), will i get 33% more power?

If my ball speed right now for example is 100mph (@60lbs), will i get 133mph if i reduce string tension to 40 lbs.

If i only get an incremental increase of 1mph (from 100 to 101 mph) by reducing string tension from 60 lbs to 40 lbs, is that additional 1mph considered more power?

Does anybody know how much power you gain by loosening string tension?
Click to expand...

Makes a lot of sense to me. I think I will try this. "I wish I had an answer to that because I'm tired of answering that question." - Yogi Berra

Irvin
 
bigmatt said:
There was a USRSA study a few years ago which stated that lower tensions didn't produce more power as much as increased depth of shot. That is, I think, why players with lower swing speeds should lower their tension: it's easier to drive the ball the length of the court.
Click to expand...

Exactly...the increase in power by lowering tension is really quite small assuming people equate power w. ballspeed....lower tensions increase the launch angle of the shot making it easier to get depth on the shot <or hit the ball long lacking spin for control>. It is very possible to hit the ball with a lot of ballspeed <power> only to have it land short in the court and vice versa..lots of people seem to confuse depth of shot with power.
 
Lower tention does not equal more mph!
You can generate more power easier maybe you will have a heavier ball depending on your swing and stroke
 
Winners or Errors said:
No. Greater ball deformation will sap power. If the ball is deformed less, it will bounce faster. That's why golf clubs have all gone to thin faces over the past several years. Trampoline effect = less ball deformation = more power.

What you get by stiffening the string bed with higher tension is more ball deformation, and therefore less power and more spin.
Click to expand...

That's a good point. The physics of tennis racket string tensions are not the same as badminton (unsurprisingly).
 
Nanshiki said:
That sounds to me like saying "a bigger engine didn't give me more horsepower, it just make my car go faster."
Click to expand...

That's NOT what it's like: a "bigger engine" in tennis terms wold be a larger head size (which would provide more power all else being equal) or a heavier frame (which would also give more oomph, all else the same).
 
A lower tension will provide more power because it will cause the ball to compress less on impact. The compression and expansion of air absorbs more force and just causes displacement of air particles within the tennis ball. This will make the ball 'go', but it's nowhere near as efficient as a ball which does not compress on looser strings and all its kinetic energy is stored as potential, or elastic, energy in the strings.
 
You can probably test all this. Have 10 identical rackets fixed planar with the ground each with a different tension in strings.

Decrement tensions from 70 to 40 in steps of 3, so you have 70lb, 67lb, 64lb, etc...

For each racket drop a tennis ball from a fixed height onto the sweet spot and measure the maximum height after the bounce.

If lower tension means more power then the ball should reach a higher after bouncing off the sweet spot due to higher velocity coming off the racket.
 
Looser strings give more velocity.

When the ball flies towards a racquet strung at 60 lbs and 40 lbs the trampoline effect will be the same as long as the masses are the same. The 60lb string will bend less but will release more energy when unbent. The 40lb string will bend more but release less energy when unbent. It cancels out and they are equal.

However

The strings will not effect the momentum of the returning ball, but the deformation of the ball will. Greater deformation saps the energy responsible for accelerating the ball back. Strings with lower string tensions will deform the ball less.

Also

A lower string tension will pocket the ball more than a higher string tension. This would create a greater impulse or change in momentum. As a result of the ball staying on the string bed, it will be accelerated much longer than a stiffer string bed. This will increase the momentum of the ball in velocity. The longer pocketing also results in a greater angle of departure from the racquet. If you hit the ball at the same contact position with a 60lb string bed and a 40lb string bed. The 60lb string bed would release the ball much sooner than the 40lb. Since most of us swing from low to high, the 40lb string bed releases the ball at a higher location than the 60lb. This results in the greater depth we experience.
 
bigmatt said:
There was a USRSA study a few years ago which stated that lower tensions didn't produce more power as much as increased depth of shot. That is, I think, why players with lower swing speeds should lower their tension: it's easier to drive the ball the length of the court.
Click to expand...

If you're hitting the ball a greater distance with the same swing speed and spin... wouldn't that equate to more power from the string bed?
 
bigmatt said:
There was a USRSA study a few years ago which stated that lower tensions didn't produce more power as much as increased depth of shot. That is, I think, why players with lower swing speeds should lower their tension: it's easier to drive the ball the length of the court.
Click to expand...

That study is flawed because they fixed the racquet at the head instead of the handle. This way they took the bending of the racquet out of the equation. With a stiffer stringbed the racquet will bend more losing power. Their study only accounted for the ball deformation, that's why they got minor differences in speed. Any tennis player who tried the same string at 50lbs and 60 lbs will tell you that there is a significant power difference.
 
ccambil@gmail.com said:
If you string looser, will you get more power?

Most people will say yes. Looser strings will result in more power.

What is missing however is the most important aspect: If i reduce string tension from 60 lbs to 40 lbs (33% looser), will i get 33% more power?

If my ball speed right now for example is 100mph (@60lbs), will i get 133mph if i reduce string tension to 40 lbs.

If i only get an incremental increase of 1mph (from 100 to 101 mph) by reducing string tension from 60 lbs to 40 lbs, is that additional 1mph considered more power?

Does anybody know how much power you gain by loosening string tension?
Click to expand...

in a matter of truth you dont actuly gain any power
all that will change with a loser stringbed is that you will get more drastic trajectory in the ball flight as the ball goes into the strings instead of the other way round
 
It's all about something called 'Rebound Power'. Each specific racquet has a certain rebound power. This plus your racquet head speed equates how fast the ball comes off your frame.

Looser strings amplify your racquets rebound power.

When the ball hits a hard string bed because it doesn't give a good portion of the energy is lost to vibration into the frame so only a small portion of the kinetic energy is transferred back into the ball.

Now when you have a looser string bed the strings give more therefore as ball hits the strings, the kinetic energy is transferred into the strings, the strings bend and store up potential energy which then transferred back into the ball when the strings straighten. Now still a lot of energy is still lost into the frame and converted into sound but your will still get a better percentage of kinetic energy preserved.
 
Here's a simply analogy.

You have a paper boomerang you want to ping at jimmy's head sitting in the desk in front of you. What will allow you to ping it faster at jimmy.

Elastic? => Looser string bed

Kite string = > Hard string bed
 
i subscribe to the idea that a looser string bed changes the trajectory from which the ball leaves the racquet....sending it deeper into the court and therefore creating the illusion of power
 
Do you guys think that tension has anything to do with serving? Eg: looser strings more serves go long
 
DavaiMarat said:
Here's a simply analogy.

You have a paper boomerang you want to ping at jimmy's head sitting in the desk in front of you. What will allow you to ping it faster at jimmy.

Elastic? => Looser string bed

Kite string = > Hard string bed
Click to expand...

Ya.......

We're talking about the tension that you pull the material at, not the type of material.

But the only good point you're making is that the property of the material in question (namely it's elastic property) is what's really important not the tension.

Kite string is not elastic so it's not a good test. Either is concrete.

Elastic materials have a lower and upper limit that they can be stretched at in order to retain your elastic properties.

In fact consider the trampoline.... If it's pulled too loosely from all sides, then you will not get propelled upward, you will just get put into the ground when you try to jump on it.

So stop using all these silly examples of things that have nothing to do with tennis strings or tennis.

Some materials may react better (their elastic properties) if you stretch them less initially but it's negligible.

I think some of you just cant figure out that sending the ball off at a higher trajectory at the same speed can result in a deeper shot. And some people cant even figure out that a further shot doesn't mean a faster shot.....

You're hitting the ball on an arc, not a straight line, think about pushers who love to lob......, it still goes deep but it's not fast.

Most people say a string is "too powerful" just because they are hitting it out, it's not like they have a radar gun there with them or not.
 
Sending the ball off at a higher trajectory would mean that the ball stayed on the strings longer. If the ball stayed on the string longer then there is a greater impulse. Looser strings will give greater velocity.
 
BreakPoint said:
Actually, you should say "further", not "faster".
Click to expand...

I'm saying that you shouldn't use a subjective, non-technical term like "deep" when discussing a physics issue.

The issue with a bigger engine SHOULD be about increased horsepower and torque, not "going faster."
 
I have actually had some experiences where the tighter the string is, the more power it produces on serve. Groundstrokes lose power, but the serve just keeps getting bigger.
 
Nanshiki said:
I'm saying that you shouldn't use a subjective, non-technical term like "deep" when discussing a physics issue.

The issue with a bigger engine SHOULD be about increased horsepower and torque, not "going faster."
Click to expand...

huh? deep infers distance/length. so how is this not physics related?
 
bad_call said:
huh? deep infers distance/length. so how is this not physics related?
Click to expand...

Deep refers to tennis strategy / tennis terminology: hitting the ball further, or deeper into the court. It has nothing to do at all with racquet power or physics. And it lacks any and all context to someone who doesn't know how long a tennis court is.

To suggest that stringing your racquet looser makes the ball go deep is fallacious: it makes the ball go faster, which is to say the racquet becomes more powerful. It does NOT change whether the ball goes deep or not, period (at least not in this theoretical case).

Considering a racing example: a bigger engine does not equal a faster trap speed, or lower trap time, it equals faster acceleration.

On the other hand, faster acceleration can equal a faster trap speed or lower trap time when properly utilized. You can't skip the faster acceleration and still get better speeds/times. There's a logical order, and you can't skip a step. Engine > Acceleration/Horsepower/Torque > Performance.

But to say that a lower string tension makes the ball go deeper is skipping a logical step entirely, and isn't really an accurate description of what happens at all. String tension / head size (etc) > power / speed > depth.

Inversely, higher tension / smaller head-size > less power /speed > more control.
 
In the book Technical Tennis, the scientists discuss how lower tensions do not really give you more power (the difference is almost negligible). What lower tensions do is to change the deflection angle off of the stringbed which then changes the trajectory of the ball to make it go in a higher arc over the net resulting in a ball that lands deeper in the court for the same swing speed. Because the ball goes further with the same swing, people mistakenly think that they have gained more power, which they have not (by any significantly measurable amount).

This is exactly what I have personally experienced empirically out on the courts. When I lower my tension, I do not gain any extra power but the ball goes further and travels in a higher arc, and I lose control (partly because more of my balls go long). I have never noticed any increased speed of the ball with lower tensions, just more distance.
 
What you're describing is physically impossible.

But assuming it was true, you COULD say it changes the launch angle. But you can not say "it makes the ball go deep." The racquet doesn't make the ball go deep: the player does.

For what it's worth, we're usually only talking about range of 20 pounds or so... which is only about a 20% change in either direction of mid tension. So obviously any "speed" changes are going to be pretty hard to notice. And it will change your technique, so you won't be able to tell any real difference in overall velocity (partially do the loss of control I would imagine). You'd have to do a scientific test to get real numbers.
 
BreakPoint said:
In the book Technical Tennis, the scientists discuss how lower tensions do not really give you more power (the difference is almost negligible). What lower tensions do is to change the deflection angle off of the stringbed which then changes the trajectory of the ball to make it go in a higher arc over the net resulting in a ball that lands deeper in the court for the same swing speed. Because the ball goes further with the same swing, people mistakenly think that they have gained more power, which they have not (by any significantly measurable amount).

This is exactly what I have personally experienced empirically out on the courts. When I lower my tension, I do not gain any extra power but the ball goes further and travels in a higher arc, and I lose control (partly because more of my balls go long). I have never noticed any increased speed of the ball with lower tensions, just more distance.
Click to expand...

this is what i experience as well...(typeface in bold). goes along with adjusting tension to increase/decrease depth of shot (without changing strokes).
 
Nanshiki said:
What you're describing is physically impossible.

But assuming it was true, you COULD say it changes the launch angle. But you can not say "it makes the ball go deep." The racquet doesn't make the ball go deep: the player does.

For what it's worth, we're usually only talking about range of 20 pounds or so... which is only about a 20% change in either direction of mid tension. So obviously any "speed" changes are going to be pretty hard to notice. And it will change your technique, so you won't be able to tell any real difference in overall velocity (partially do the loss of control I would imagine). You'd have to do a scientific test to get real numbers.
Click to expand...
The scientists who wrote the book Technical Tennis did conduct many scientific tests to get real numbers and that was their conclusion.

With the same stroke, lower tensions will allow the stringbed to deflect more which results in the ball coming off of the stringbed at a higher angle. This higher angle of deflection makes the ball go over the net in a higher trajectory which results in the ball landing deeper in the court. So the ball doesn't really travel any faster, it just goes higher over the net and lands further in the court.
 
Empirical laboratory experiments don't always translate to the real world and a lot of this is just semantics. For all intents and purposes, lower tension does provide more power or at least perceived power on court. I hate when people get all nit picky and try to act like scientists on these boards. Just take two identical racquets strung with natural gut with one at 40 lbs. and the other at 70 lbs. and tell me you don't notice a difference. At the same swing speed and effort, I guarantee the ball will come off the racquet strung at 40 lbs. much faster.
 
So what you guys are saying here is that if I am hitting loopers and want to flatten my shot out a little, I can either (a) change my technique/grip, or (b) tighten up my strings? This is loco!
 
I always wondered about this. When I string for people i always say that tighter = more control, which is technically true. its obvious that lower tensions don't create more pace, but i never would've thought about the trampoline effect creating a more extreme angle, hence producing deeper shots.
So yeah, tighter strings would flatten out your shot in that they would have lower net clearance with the same swing.
 
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