I see a lot of players post that they got elbow/wrist/arm injuries and are debating whether to change their racquet - go lighter/heavier/more flexible etc. If they mention their string is poly, they get a litany of people saying they should not use poly. They rarely mention if they cut out their poly before it goes dead while I think playing with dead poly is a major cause for injuries. So, I wanted to post this Public Service Announcement (PSA) and am intentionally posting it in the racquet section as if you follow it, you won’t need to change your racquet.
PSA - Cut out your poly before it goes dead. Very few players are high level enough to break their poly before it goes dead and this includes 95% of rec players because stiff old-school poly goes dead in 5-10 hours and softer polys go dead in 10-25 hours (shorter duration the harder/heavier you hit or if you play only singles). If you play with dead poly, it WILL injure you and control will be erratic in addition to feel being ‘crappy’ so that it also compromises your performance - this is not the way to save money as medical/PT bills cost a lot.
How to know if your poly is dead? If you feel any tightness (even before pain) in your wrist/arm/elbow, the poly is dead. Cut it out before you develop any soreness/pain. If you play with the same string and tension, make sure you make a note of how many playing hours you played with it and cut it out in advance of that for future stringjobs. You should also be seeing erratic control and a worsening in feel, but this may be harder to spot if you are low-level or don’t play often - surest sign of dead poly is your body talking to you and telling you it feels tight or sore. This rule still applies in a hybrid stringjob as poly goes dead in hybrids also and you should cut it out if your wrist/arm feels tight even before you develop pain. If you get any pain, please ‘for the love of God’ cut out your strings and don’t try to coax a few more hours out of your stringjob. If you strung your poly many months ago and didn’t play with it much, be extra wary as poly can go dead quicker just from being under tension (strung in a racquet) for a long time - so you might feel tightness in your wrist/arm quicker and need to cut out an old stringjob sooner than normal. Don’t keep your backup racquet strung with poly in your bag without playing with it for many weeks and months as you are wasting the stringjob.
Other causes of injury:
- Playing poly at high tension. Most polys (especially newer soft polys) play well at tensions in the low-mid-high forties (lbs) of tension and there is no reason to go higher. Most players below college level who play with higher tensions do so because they were used to stringing in the fifties with soft strings and think dropping 4-6 lbs is enough with poly. If you try lower tensions, you will see that comfort goes up a lot, control doesn't go down too much and you can play many hours longer with a poly stringjob before you feel discomfort. Be bold and try 40-44 lbs before you knock it or go back to higher tensions.
- Racquets weighing below 10 ozs and above 12 ozs unstrung (as printed on the racquet) should be avoided as you have to be very small/weak or very big/strong to need racquets outside the weight range of 10-12 ozs to play well.
- Racquets with RA stiffness above 70 unstrung or VF above 155Hz might be good to avoid if you have a history of injury. But if you string poly properly (low tension, cut it out before it goes dead), you might be fine anyway.
Some other points to reduce the risk of injury.
- If you don’t hit too many winners on serves/groundstrokes and play (bunt) at a low level, you probably could play with soft strings and avoid poly as you have to hit hard to get the effects of increased spin/control. Please don’t play with poly because you don’t break it for a long time or because it doesn’t move when you play with it unlike soft strings - you should cut it out before you feel tightness/pain and then it doesn’t last long either. Play with poly only if you like the extra control and spin.
- Try thin gauges of poly also as they have more comfort and power compared to thick gauges. Only high level players who break poly before it goes dead need to think about playing with 15g poly.
- Change your tennis balls often and understand that if you play with low pressure balls for multiple matches or practices, this can contribute to injury. Serve practice with very old balls is bad for the shoulder.
- If you are currently injured, rest long enough to not feel ANY pain before you start playing again. When you restart, you might not need to change your racquet or strings except possibly the gauge and tension as long as you follow the PSA.
- Lastly, change your shoes often too if you are feeling knee/foot/calf pain or Achilles tightness that you did not feel when the shoes were new. These days, shoe soles last a long time and don’t wear out before the shoe support wears out. Also if you tighten your shoe laces too much to make old shoes that have loosened up ‘fit’ better, you run the risk of plantar fascitis injury. If your lower body is talking to you in the form of pain, listen to it and replace your shoes. If you get leg/knee pain just after you switched to a new shoe model, change back to a shoe model you are used to and see if the pain goes away. Some shoe designs (especially heel drop, arch support) might not be suitable for your feet. Also in some shoe models, you might need to size up half a size and wear thick socks to have a good fit.
Enjoy pain-free tennis by following the PSA. Then you can ignore the ’witch doctors’ who don’t follow the PSA and tell you to avoid heavy racquets, medium-stiff racquets, poly strings etc. that you like to play with. I‘ve played everyday for almost fifteen years with Babolat racquets/poly hybrids on hard courts in my forties/fifties (when I’m not traveling) without repetitive/overuse injuries by following my equipment guidelines although it took me a few years to figure out that some shoe models/old shoes can cause injury.
This message is not sponsored by your local orthopedic surgeon or physical therapist, but should be sponsored by your local stringer who hopefully strings for you more often.
