String coming back from wrist injury?

davced1

davced1

Hall of Fame
I have not played for some time because of wrist pain but the comeback is getting closer I feel.

I thought probably I should start easy with some wrist friendly string setup. I have played with RPM blast at roughly 25 kilos. Probably not the most wrist friendly string and tension.

I usually play with Aero pro drive or Head extreme but also have some other racquets. Head prestige, wilson pro staff 6.0 and 6.1. Prince POG 93.

String advice for any of the racquets are welcome as long as they are gentle on the wrist starting out again.
 
F

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
Multifiber or even a full bed of natural gut would be the easy options in terms of getting a lot of extra inherent softness in your string layout. Even though your APD is on the stiffer side, a soft string will make a substantial difference in your quest for arm-friendliness.

I'm not a huge fan of multi's, but some offer a combo of softness, acceptable performance, half-decent service life, and a price tag that isn't all too steep. I keep a reel of 16 ga. Prince Premier Control on hand because it checks all those boxes for me and Head Velocity has been catching a lot of positive feedback here, too.

You should also get significantly more softness over RPM Blast if you try a full bed of synthetic gut at moderate tension. Some are a bit too firm for my taste - these include Prince SG w/Duraflex and Gosen OG Sheep Micro, both in 16 ga. I've been enjoying OGSM 17 tensioned in the low 50's in my Volkl C10's and that's been rather good for me in those frames. My arm can't tolerate polys, but I can slug every day with full beds of syn. gut without any issues.

Prince Original SG, Volkl Classic SG, and Kirschbaum SG (if you can find it) are all moderately soft, but they don't turn to mush for me like many multis seem to do after a couple of outings. Syn. gut isn't considered to be all that exotic, but it's still an ideal string for a lot of players, including some sluggers who need a string bed that's less harsh than a poly.

I've been stringing and coaching for over 15 years now. The combo of RPM Blast in a stiff frame like a Babolat Pure Drive or APD has led so many players down the path to arm troubles that it has literally become a cliche. That string is overpriced garbage. If you successfully return to the courts using softer string setups, try your best to stick with them. If you can't resist the allure of the poly, I'd say try using a hybrid with a rather light gauge poly main (1.20mm or thinner) paired with a softer cross of either syn. gut or multi at moderate tension.
 
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Heck

Heck

Rookie
I found my cure for tennis elbow with soft strings and arm friendly rackets. Now I string for myself and friends and see how people were hurt with the likes of RPM blast and Babolat.
Now with that said I just changed rackets from a Yonex DR 98 to the new Pure Aero Team. I can deal with that racket with a full bed of Multi Tecnifibre NG217 $$$ I also used
about 3 reels of Gosen OG Sheep. Duraflex prince is stiffer than those 2 so I would stay away from that for now.

Now for the wrist. During the lockdown, I hurt my wrist lifting a storefront gate. Then it hurt playing even with my soft setups. I wanted to keep playing so I got the Clash
and strung at 40#. I also was taping my wrist to limit the full range of motion. Doing that let me play and heal.

I have a YouTube channel where you can see me take big cuts at the ball with a full bed of multi. Yeah I can get 10% so more spin with poly but the damage to the body is not
worth it.

I also put 3 inch of silicon in the handle of the pure aero team to help with vibration.
 
esgee48

esgee48

Legend
You can still use the APD. Just install a soft 16 Ga multi at mid tension as a first trial. By soft multi, I mean regular NXT, NRG2, X1. Stay away from multi that have poly coatings. I know several guys that use combos like I mentioned due to arm injuries. They play with no pain tho they complain about the $$. My regular reply is "It does not cost you an arm or a leg. Stop WHINING!"
 
Heck

Heck

Rookie
fuzz nation said:
Curious about this. Any idea whether you altered the balance of the racquet much with that addition?
Click to expand...
I am pretty sure I changed the balance but the search for comfort is more important. Now I just got a 2nd racket with the same set up. I have not yet put anything in the handle.
Next time I play I will see if I can feel a difference. Maybe even weigh and rig up a balance test. Good idea for a video.
 
kevonian

kevonian

Rookie
Based on cost from highest to cheapest
  1. Natural gut if you have the cash
  2. A soft Multi e.g NXT NRG
  3. Any Synthetic gut
    • My favorite is Gosen OG Sheep
    • I play with Pro's Pro syn gut because a reel is $22

I found Syn gut to last longer than a multi but not as long as natural gut
 
D

Deleted member 765152

Guest
Ditch Babolat rackets and switch to Prince Phantom, Head Microgel Radical, Wilson Clash or Volkl rackets.

Full bed gut is the best, then multi, then syn gut.
VS Gut/poly is great if your arm can handle it.
Stay away from Alu Power, 4G, RPM, Tour Bite, etc.
 
S

Steve Huff

Legend
Soft strings (gut or multi), open string pattern, oversize racket, then soft racket. That's the order of importance I would put on what you play with. If you try soft strings and it still hurts, use soft strings in an open pattern racket. If it still hurts, use soft strings in and open pattern, oversized racket. Lastly, add the soft, low RA, to the mix also. One exception I'd make is to try a vibration-reducing racket like a Pro Kennex 5 series. These rackets have saved my elbow, and I tried several.
 
V

VSK

Rookie
Triax is a hybrid string of poly and multi. It is expensive 20$ a set. If you like Pros pro string, black force 1.19 at 48 to 52lb, plays well and soft on the arms
 
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