Sweet spot size and the gauge of *crosses*

[penguin]

If you had two matched racquets, each string with the same hybrid with the only difference being one having a much thinner gauge in the crosses where the other has the same gauge in the crosses as the mains, would there be a noticeable difference in sweetspot size?

Or is this another thing that the mains are the dominant influence on.

Asking because I believe it may be the case, but I do not restring enough to try this experiment.

 

[aaron_h27]

Thinner gauge = less weight. Sweetspot size would be smaller. Depends on how sensitive you are to equipment changes to determine if this is noticeable or not. Thinner gauges normally require a higher tension which would make the sweetspot even smaller.

 

[Tennisist]

I did this experiment, and NO - I could not perceive any difference in sweetspot size. The mains were Mayami Tour Hex 1.23. Crosses were numerous — from 1.10 to 1.40.

 

[esgee48]

Tension can also be adjusted to increase or decrease area of sweet spot. Mains and crosses do not have to be the same. Experiment rather than ask cuz player, frames and tension matter as much as just strings. What others may report doesn’t mean much unless they are your ‘evil twin.’

 

[ThisHockeyTalk]

I did this experiment, and NO - I could not perceive any difference in sweetspot size. The mains were Mayami Tour Hex 1.23. Crosses were numerous — from 1.10 to 1.40.

I’m so interested in this. Can you elaborate on any other main differences when you played these wide ranges of cross thicknesses. Did the 1.10 play less controlled? Did the 1.40 feel odd?

 

[Tennisist]

1.40 — a ribbon string, laying on its side — made it all feel boardy, and the setup lost quite a bit of spin.
GhostWire 1.10 felt good in 98” 18x20. No loss of control here, for sure. But this dense setup did not allow for the spin that Tour Hex is capable of.
Tour Hex with Head Sonic Pro 1.20 in a sparse 16x19 was best (power, spin and feel-wise).
Tour Hex crossed with itself was also decent, good spin, but firmer than other setups, and not as enjoyable. It also became dead much faster.
Everything else fell in-between.
[ Note: I am not a flat hitter and do not rely on string stiffness to control my shots. ]

 

[Tennisist]

One thing that influences the size of sweetspot is the method of stringing.
String center mains and center crosses looser -> you will have bigger sweetspot.
There was a thread on this recently.