Hey Steve want to ask you. I do have sensible tennis elbow for the past 8 years. And I just have freak accident in a match doing a running squash shot and hurted big time. I being out already 2 weeks. No excuse to my racket which is soft and flexy (Dunlop 4d aerogel 200), but decide to buy 2 Prince Tour 100, similar to your exo3.
If you looked at his post, that comment was made over 2&1/2 years ago!
Since you asked.
I have my Prince 93P strung at 48/45lbs with VS Touch, seems okay, just the occasional ball is a bit long and I wondered if there was a spin variance between guts I could take advantage of.
Yeah, I did consider going a bit higher, but I was cognizant of how low powered the 93P would be so thought I’d try to get a bit more out of the string bed. It’s quite manageable for the most part, I suspect the little bit of free help I’m looking from the string set up isn’t that simple but I’ll string incrementally higher till I get the right tension.
(50-60 recommended, I string at 65)I string my ProStaff at 5 lbs over its recommended tension
I'm not sure that the size of the sweet spot correlates with string tension with full gut? Doesn't feel like it to me, anyway.
PS85 - Sampras used way higher tension than 65# in his PS85
Plus, the larger the head (my PS is 97"), the higher the tension needed compared to a smaller frame, for the same amount of control.
So I would need like 80-90# to be comparable to Sampras' reported high tensions in his PS85
Ah, you use the RF97? I got it in my head that you used the old 85 for some reason. Yeah, with a 97 you'd probably have to go much higher. I don't think that frame was made with full gut in mind, as opposed to the old 85 that was introduced in 1984. My comment on the walnut sized sweet spot refered to the 85.
Sampras was Sampras... I wouldn't recommend using such a high tension in the 85 for anyone but him
And he had about 3 kilos of lead stuck to his racquets.
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Full bed of natural gut is definitely best for elbow.Good point. My frame has a 63 RA. A soft multi or - better? - a full natural bed should be a nice setup right?
A question though: I've always felt much more vibrations when using a natural gut than playing with a multi - on the same racket.
Not that I dislike vibrations - I don't like muted feels. BUT could those vibrations be an elbow killer in the end? Aren't natural guts supposed to be the most arm-friendly strings ever made?
Just wondering ...
I think the vibrations agitate the elbow when it's already injured, but agree it doesn't cause the injury. If you you think about the links in the kinetic chain that absorb the incoming energy, once the ball has deformed, the strings stretched and the racquet flexed, the rest of it is all taken on by your arm until you start exerting force the other way. So assuming you are able to continue to straighten your arm or maintain a straight arm, then the only things left are your muscles and tendons. Given your muscles are contracted or contracting then your tendons will bear the brunt of any remaining force; this is why technique and timing matter so much. A stiff racquet and stiff strings will absorb less force and transfer more to your arm, which will ultimately be your tendons. Its also a good reason not to play in wet conditions when the ball is wet, it's heavier and brings a lot more force even at lower speeds; that's how I got TE the first time and I've been stuck with it since...
