Why are pros using poly more than gut?

[Holdfast44ID]

Since money is no option, I personally don't know why tour pros are not using full natural gut string jobs and are using poly or blends. I've used poly for a few years and it made shoulder problems worse. I'd stay away from it for that reason alone. I am going to gut because it offers great power and control (is supposed to maintan tension well too). Gut feel/control is so much better than poly to me. I get so much power, bite, & accuracy with less effort while placing less stress on my arm. I don't see poly having benefits over gut, period, when it comes to playability. For the rec player, cost could be a factor. However, cost doesn't matter to the pros.

 

[Lloyd Barcenilla]

Since money is no option, I personally don't know why tour pros are not using full natural gut string jobs and are using poly or blends. I've used poly for a few years and it made shoulder problems worse. I'd stay away from it for that reason alone. I am going to gut because it offers great power and control (is supposed to maintan tension well too). Gut feel/control is so much better than poly to me. I get so much power, bite, & accuracy with less effort while placing less stress on my arm. I don't see poly having benefits over gut, period, when it comes to playability. For the rec player, cost could be a factor. However, cost doesn't matter to the pros.

i think the pros use poly's because it allows them to hit the ball much harder without fear of the ball going out.

 

[kreative]

Co-Polys has the benefit of control, allowing the player to swing out, yet balls still land in the court. Full gut is too powerful, and some use in hybrids for a combination of the characteristics.

 

[smO]

Polys offer control and spin.

 

[Loco4Tennis]

im thinking because of the higher swing speeds of todays racquets, which without help would make the balls fly out all the time, poly allows you to hit away and yet the ball magically drops in the court

 

[[K]Topspin]

Poly gives control, spin, and durability. BUt the pros wouldn't have to worry about their strings breaking since they switch all the time anyways.

 

[Holdfast44ID]

Power & control...

im thinking because of the higher swing speeds of todays racquets, which without help would make the balls fly out all the time, poly allows you to hit away and yet the ball magically drops in the court

From what I've experienced, I can hit out with gut and have much greater spin and control potential than poly. IE: I can hit out with gut and, and due to the bite on the ball, can keep my shots in the court more often and accurately than with poly. I use an nCode Tour 90 and will string between 55-60 lbs. How many of you can personally compare gut to poly? Curious on your personal experience...

 

[chrisplchs]

It is more because of the durability factor. It used to be pros would string gut at 60+ at least to keep shots in and on clay, where 20 stroke+ rallies were common, breaking a string in the middle of a huge point isn't going to be fun. Poly brings some piece of mind in terms of durability

 

[Fedace]

they use Poly now that these powerful graphite composite rackets have so much power. Only way to control this power is with Poly that provides Crazy topspin and good control. and pros can afford to just cut out the poly when goes dead after 4-6 hours of play, if they even keep it that long. so they always have Fresh Poly in the racket, they are swinging with.

 

[stormholloway]

Well I've debated this myself: is poly worth it? I find I'm almost neurotic about when my poly will go dead. With gut, you can see when it's going to break, and it seems to last a while for me. I seem to get better spin from gut as the coating rubs off and there's some fraying.

But it's nice being able to string very low with poly and have a nice deep pocket without the ball flying away on you.

 

[el sergento]

Well I've debated this myself: is poly worth it? I find I'm almost neurotic about when my poly will go dead. With gut, you can see when it's going to break, and it seems to last a while for me. I seem to get better spin from gut as the coating rubs off and there's some fraying.

But it's nice being able to string very low with poly and have a nice deep pocket without the ball flying away on you.

This is precisely why I'm thinking of dropping Poly. It's just one more thing to worry about or to blame. If my game is off I'll start thinking the poly is dead, there's just no real way of knowing, at least for me. I'm pretty sure I'm going back to my full NXT once I deplete my stock of PHT. NXT actually plays better just before it breaks because if frays. With a hybrid I never know exactly when the poly is dead so I alway need a fresh stick around to compare.

 

[stormholloway]

I'm going to give my hybrid another try and just see how long it stays playable. You should be able to tell when the poly goes dead, otherwise does it really matter?

There is a sort of brief transition period where it's slightly dead. That can affect your game a good bit. I think it depends greatly on how many frames you have. If you have 3 or more, you can string poly and not worry. I only have two K90s at the moment.

My fall back will be straight Babolat gut, either Tonic or VS. It's very sweet.

 

[pow]

Poly is great if you don't have arm problems. Fresh poly has amazing control and spin. It has a nice pop sound but that goes away when the poly goes dead. When dead, it loses its crispness and resilience along with most of its feel but its capability for spin is still unmatched.

 

[Tarboro]

Since money is no option, I personally don't know why tour pros are not using full natural gut string jobs and are using poly or blends. I've used poly for a few years and it made shoulder problems worse. I'd stay away from it for that reason alone. I am going to gut because it offers great power and control (is supposed to maintan tension well too). Gut feel/control is so much better than poly to me. I get so much power, bite, & accuracy with less effort while placing less stress on my arm. I don't see poly having benefits over gut, period, when it comes to playability. For the rec player, cost could be a factor. However, cost doesn't matter to the pros.

Two Thoughts:

1. As others have said, poly allows for a big cut with huge spin

2. For all but the top-level pros cost is definitely an object. For somebody ranked outside the top 100 or so who may be winning lower-tier events, restringing gut:

3x-5x for a weeklong tournament using 6-8 racquets, paying the on-site stringer $15 labor per frame + $15/set for gut (unsponsored) = $30/frame

That means the stringing cost for that tournament may be as high as $1,200 - not chump change to a pro trying to scrape by.

That said, I think the first factor is the most important and the reason why even top pros who could get natural gut for free still string with poly or hybrids. Today's game puts a premium on controlling power on the serve and from the baseline. Many professional players generate more racquet head speed than gut will allow them to control. Polys and copolys are the natural evolution of technology to go along with the changes in the game.

 

[Rafanatic]

Good control

 

[roddick89]

Polys have good control and provide more spin which is needed for the vast majority of baseline players.

 

[Loco4Tennis]

From what I've experienced, I can hit out with gut and have much greater spin and control potential than poly. IE: I can hit out with gut and, and due to the bite on the ball, can keep my shots in the court more often and accurately than with poly. I use an nCode Tour 90 and will string between 55-60 lbs. How many of you can personally compare gut to poly? Curious on your personal experience...

i am a recent convert to poly from synthetic-gut, but i have played arround a bit with multi filament which is suppose to be closer to gut,
out of the 2, poly is still the one string that will put the brakes on your full stroke, all things being the same: hit a shot with gut and one with poly, the general consessus says that poly will make your shot fall much shorter than the gut

 

[rapidfire77]

Today's game has less touch involved and is much more power oriented. Poly serves that purpose better than gut. While both offer plenty of power, the control of poly serves the higher velocity swings of today's pros. Gut would offer better feel, most players however are comfortable taking a crack at the ball offensively or defensively instead of shopping for the fine control gut may offer.

 

[cpmoran]

were can I get gut for $15 as set? Mine cost more than twice that.

 

[Eastern Technifibre]

poly has more power

 

[coloskier]

were can I get gut for $15 as set? Mine cost more than twice that.

No such thing, unless you are tearing the gut out of your cat's innards for free. Gut costs more, but if you are worried about cutting out a poly string job every 5 days, which you will probably have to do because it goes dead in that short a time, gut will last much longer.

 

[2ndserve642]

poly has more power

no its more dead thats y pros like it they can swing out more without it flying out

 

[stormholloway]

Two Thoughts:

1. As others have said, poly allows for a big cut with huge spin

2. For all but the top-level pros cost is definitely an object. For somebody ranked outside the top 100 or so who may be winning lower-tier events, restringing gut:

3x-5x for a weeklong tournament using 6-8 racquets, paying the on-site stringer $15 labor per frame + $15/set for gut (unsponsored) = $30/frame

That means the stringing cost for that tournament may be as high as $1,200 - not chump change to a pro trying to scrape by.

That said, I think the first factor is the most important and the reason why even top pros who could get natural gut for free still string with poly or hybrids. Today's game puts a premium on controlling power on the serve and from the baseline. Many professional players generate more racquet head speed than gut will allow them to control. Polys and copolys are the natural evolution of technology to go along with the changes in the game.

For me, poly goes dead 2x quicker than gut breaks. This works out as gut being more cost effective. With string savers and a thicker gauge gut, you can extend the life even further.

I'm going to keep giving poly an honest shot, because a good hybrid feels so good, and the added control is noticeable.