Why do D1 players like Hyper-G?

[LOBALOT]

Thanks! My other unsubstantiated theory: the hyper-g "style" of play is perfect for college: high spin to create aggressive consistency, say. Watching college tennis it certainly feels to me like there are fewer players hitting through the court. At the pro levels, outside of doubles, pace becomes more important (consistency is tables stakes), eg hitting big flat serves.

Actually they are ripping the cover off the ball and flattening a ball out and smacking it into the open court for a winner is taught early on.

It depends a lot on teaching but many pros are moving away from full western to a shorter swing/semi western so that players have that put away shot at the ready. In addition, a full western when pressured can elicit a short sitter which decent players eat for lunch.

 

[socallefty]

Looks like asking a bunch of non-D1 posters on why D1 players like HyperG is not yielding good results.

Only some parents of good juniors seem to have attended college tennis matches or have had exposure to college tennis players. I’m guessing that most rec players have never seen D1 college tennis in person.

 

[thenewbig3]

Watching college tennis, it seems like Hyper-G is widely used. However, as a much lower level player (4.0-4.5) it seems like one of the main attributes is extra pocketing/power/spin vs more control-oriented strings. So my question is: for players who are UTR 10+, wouldn't they generally want even more control-oriented strings? Also: I suspect at much higher swing speeds, the attributes of the string change - curious on any experts' thoughts on that (i.e at a higher swing speed, the pocketing helps more?). Thought of this because Ive come to the conclusion for myself that I prefer crisper and more control oriented strings, at lower tensions (eg Tour Bite @ 45). And it seemed weird that HG felt too muted feedback/powerful response to me but not to much better players.

Its a great great string + Solinco has a great college program. Remember better player creates their own feel - they need control and consistency along with usable span, a quick/no break-in would be awesome as well - they want to win and will play with what gets them that. Do you ever remember thinking "this string is too muted" in the middle of a match - even at your rec level? I am like you - I cant tolerate Hyper-G myself even for casual hitting and prefer Tour Bite by a large margin. Weaker rec players like us needs "more feel" to develop confidence, to play well and we reinforce that loop and any small detail can mess with our minds - we also want this feeling to last a few sessions. The college players are probably using up strings way faster.

 

[LOBALOT]

Looks like asking a bunch of non-D1 posters on why D1 players like HyperG is not yielding good results.

Only some parents of good juniors seem to have attended college tennis matches or have had exposure to college tennis players. I’m guessing that most rec players have never seen D1 college tennis in person.

Hey, I am a former D27 player!

 

[JK208]

Hey, I am a former D27 player!

Really? I competed in D34 but I chose to play at a lower ranked school on a better team in the 4 spot over a small scholarship and the 6 spot on a bad D29 team.

 

[adchris2]

But damn, the green blades (especially the current one) look pretty sick with bright green string

100%

 

[denoted]

I watch a D1 team play all the time, national ranking in 40s or 50s or so. I see a variety of strings, though hyper-g is common. I've seen a lot of variety, period, in the college game, including one player with two forehands and who served righty to deuce court and lefty to ad.

 

[Injured Again]

After my most recent racquet switch a few years ago, I settled on Confidential 1.20 after trying more than a dozen poly strings. Every time I get near the end of a reel, I’ll try some strings just to make sure my game or my athleticism hasn’t changed enough that another string would work better.

I was part of the Hyper-G Soft test some years ago and thought it was a good string but not the best fit for me at the time. However, I’ve just tested it again and I’m going to switch to HGS 1.20 from Confidential.

I’ll echo other posts that say that HGS is a bit more unpredictable than Confidential in the range of soft to hard shots. It seems that Confidential’s launch angle is higher when hitting more softly, but lower when hitting hard and with spin. Since my knee replacement 11 months ago, I’m now hitting the ball harder than since my racquet switch and HGS gives me a little extra spin and pop, and I’m more often hitting hard enough where the launch angle is consistently high. I can adjust to that, and the extra bit of ball speed and spin adds to the best aspects of my game without loss of control or me making more errors.

HGS is also easier on the arm and that’s always welcome as an older guy. I string it one pound tighter in both mains and crosses than I did with Confidential.

 

[movdqa]

I was a college player back in the 1970s but the game back then bears no resemblance to the game today. I switched to Hyper-G about five or six years ago from ALU Power because I have to drive about 30 minutes to my stringer and the drive back and forth was getting annoying. So tons of players here suggested Hyper-G and several other strings and they gave me the reasons to try the other strings. I actually went to test two other strings first but my stringer didn't carry the other two strings. I noticed that he had a lot of Hyper-G on his wall and I got the impression that it was very popular at his club. I did like the string for spin and comfort but it took me a year of experimenting to come up with the ideal setup for me.

So from a 4.0-4.5 player like yourself, the reasons I like Hyper-G are cost - it's ridiculously cheap here compared to ALU Power, tension maintenance - I get about 25 hours of play compared to 8 hours for ALU Power, arm health, color - it shouldn't be a factor but I like the color, spin. The one major downside to Hyper-G compared to ALU Power is feel. I feel a lot more connected to the ball hitting with ALU Power, particularly in terms of spin. When I started with Hyper-G, I couldn't feel the amount of spin I was generating but I could see the effect on the other player. My determination was that Hyper-G advantages far outweighed the disadvantages.

If stringing cost and convenience were not an issue, I'd go with ALU Power.

 

[SF_45er]

After my most recent racquet switch a few years ago, I settled on Confidential 1.20 after trying more than a dozen poly strings. Every time I get near the end of a reel, I’ll try some strings just to make sure my game or my athleticism hasn’t changed enough that another string would work better.

I was part of the Hyper-G Soft test some years ago and thought it was a good string but not the best fit for me at the time. However, I’ve just tested it again and I’m going to switch to HGS 1.20 from Confidential.

I’ll echo other posts that say that HGS is a bit more unpredictable than Confidential in the range of soft to hard shots. It seems that Confidential’s launch angle is higher when hitting more softly, but lower when hitting hard and with spin. Since my knee replacement 11 months ago, I’m now hitting the ball harder than since my racquet switch and HGS gives me a little extra spin and pop, and I’m more often hitting hard enough where the launch angle is consistently high. I can adjust to that, and the extra bit of ball speed and spin adds to the best aspects of my game without loss of control or me making more errors.

HGS is also easier on the arm and that’s always welcome as an older guy. I string it one pound tighter in both mains and crosses than I did with Confidential.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Im using HGS 1.20 right now on an APDO (been my most common string though Ive been trying different rackets). Confidential 1.20 is on my list. Though Im curious if you've also compared to HG 1.20 and Tour Bite 1.20. HGS lacks feedback for me and feels a bit too powerful. I really enjoyed TBS 1.20 (though had issues with tension loss - could have been the string job); and really enjoyed TB 1.20 in a multi hybrid. The feeling/feedback was quite unique. So will try dropping tension but trying a stiffer string.

 

[SF_45er]

When I started with Hyper-G, I couldn't feel the amount of spin I was generating but I could see the effect on the other player

That's really interesting. I had the same experience yesterday with HGS 1.20 and Im actually hoping HG is a bit less so. I could see the ball jumping off the court - but not as much as I hoped. Hard to assess of course but because I didn't feel the grab and the ball felt like it was leaving the stringbed in a hurry, it feels more like power than grabbing/spin generation.

 

[movdqa]

That's really interesting. I had the same experience yesterday with HGS 1.20 and Im actually hoping HG is a bit less so. I could see the ball jumping off the court - but not as much as I hoped. Hard to assess of course but because I didn't feel the grab and the ball felt like it was leaving the stringbed in a hurry, it feels more like power than grabbing/spin generation.

Yes, the feel allows you to adjust your swing if you want more spin because you have an idea what it feels like. It's just a tradeoff and if there were a string that was arm-friendly with good feel and tension maintenance, I'd look at it. But I suspect physics means that you can't have both in the same string.

 

[JK208]

It's just a tradeoff and if there were a string that was arm-friendly with good feel and tension maintenance, I'd look at it. But I suspect physics means that you can't have both in the same string.

Grapplesnake Tour M8 comes pretty close IMO.

 

[movdqa]

Grapplesnake Tour M8 comes pretty close IMO.

I'll have to look it up. I'm not really crazy about looking at strings, and then, if I like it, going through the process of finding the right tension, but I'll take a look.

 

[JK208]

I'll have to look it up. I'm not really crazy about looking at strings, and then, if I like it, going through the process of finding the right tension, but I'll take a look.

I'm trying it in an Ezone in a few weeks- Currently have liked it in TFight 305. My recommendation is to string low (42-48lbs) in low powered rackets, and 51 in more powerful rackets. Honestly, I've heard of it being good in the 40s in the Ezone, but 48-51 is a solid tension for everything. I think it's a little better than Hyper G at high swing speeds, and way better at low swing speeds and flat strokes.

 

[movdqa]

I'm trying it in an Ezone in a few weeks- Currently have liked it in TFight 305. My recommendation is to string low (42-48lbs) in low powered rackets, and 51 in more powerful rackets. Honestly, I've heard of it being good in the 40s in the Ezone, but 48-51 is a solid tension for everything. I think it's a little better than Hyper G at high swing speeds, and way better at low swing speeds and flat strokes.

I string Hyper-G at 55. I tried it from 46 to 55 and the thing that made it so confusing is that it loses a lot of tension after two hours of hitting. My ALU Power tension was 51 so I tried that and it felt fine for two hours. So it plays like a board for two hours and then settles into around 51 after four hours and then it holds that tension for a really long time. I've heard many others say the same thing. String it 2-4 pounds above what your target is and then wait for it to settle down.

One other thing I like about Hyper-G is that I don't have to order it myself as my stringer always has it in stock. I used to bring my own reels of ALU Power to the stringer and it was just one more thing to potentially forget to do. I had a look at the TennisNerd review and I suspect that this string is just slightly stiffer than Hyper-G.

 

[JK208]

I string Hyper-G at 55. I tried it from 46 to 55 and the thing that made it so confusing is that it loses a lot of tension after two hours of hitting. My ALU Power tension was 51 so I tried that and it felt fine for two hours. So it plays like a board for two hours and then settles into around 51 after four hours and then it holds that tension for a really long time. I've heard many others say the same thing. String it 2-4 pounds above what your target is and then wait for it to settle down.

One other thing I like about Hyper-G is that I don't have to order it myself as my stringer always has it in stock. I used to bring my own reels of ALU Power to the stringer and it was just one more thing to potentially forget to do. I had a look at the TennisNerd review and I suspect that this string is just slightly stiffer than Hyper-G.

The 1.25 version is a lot softer.

 

[Injured Again]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Im using HGS 1.20 right now on an APDO (been my most common string though Ive been trying different rackets). Confidential 1.20 is on my list. Though Im curious if you've also compared to HG 1.20 and Tour Bite 1.20. HGS lacks feedback for me and feels a bit too powerful. I really enjoyed TBS 1.20 (though had issues with tension loss - could have been the string job); and really enjoyed TB 1.20 in a multi hybrid. The feeling/feedback was quite unique. So will try dropping tension but trying a stiffer string.

I tried Tour Bite years ago, around the time I was still using or about to switch from Silver 7 Tour to another string. I remember not finding a lot of difference between S7T and TB. They both provide a crisp response but I think that S7T might have had just a little bit more power.

Both of those strings will provide a lot more impact feedback than Confidential, and more shock when you mis-hit, though I think Tour Bite will be a little more arm friendly than S7T. Both will also be a hit more powerful than Confidential.

If I had to order them in power, HGS ~ S7T > TB > Confidential.

In tension loss, S7T ~ Confidential < TB < HGS.

In spin capability, HGS ~ S7T > TB ~ Confidential.