My thoughts on tennis string types

# My Thoughts On Tennis Strings

## Caveat Feel free to skip pas this about me stuff to the heart of the matter below. I haven't really been playing tennis all that long. I started about 5 years ago as something fun that would burn some calories during the pandemic. My partner and I had some cheap racquets and were fortunate enough to have courts right in our community. After a few times smacking balls around badly, we ran into a coach teaching a neighbor, and I took his info. Well that was it, first lesson - hooked. Down the rabbit hole of youtube videos, solo practicing, shadow swinging, and of course...

## UPGRADES

Coach recommended my first stick - a Wilson Blade 98. In hindsight, this was probably a terrible rec, but I think he saw some potential in me and that I could grow into it. It also meant my first time hitting with a racquet that had real strings in it. I couldn't tell you what they were at the time. All I know is that they were polyester. My box store Prince racquet probably had some ancient nylon weedwacker line in it, so this was quite a change. So, being a turbonerd, I really started diving into the deep end of strings, string tech, materials, etc. I mean, look where we are. I built a stringing app. Anyway... All of that to say is I'm not a long term veteran full of ancient wisdom, I just know what I know.

## First hot take

You're probably playing with the wrong kind of string. It seems the market and marketing has pushed rec players to play with the newest co-poly (same as poly btw) string out there, like Mach 10 or Confidential. Great 'access to spin', 'tension maintenance', 'control', 'feel', blah blah blah. I've seen a lot of rec players play at this point. If you aren't a higher level 3.5 (UTR ~5), you may not be seeing any benefit and in fact, it might be detrimental. Most poly strings are STIFF. Us stringers can tell this when we string them. They're like guitar strings. They're tough on the elbow and arm, and worse, they generally lose tension quickly and 'die' cause the player to compensate by trying to hit harder or at least differently to achieve the same results. Not to mention they lack power potential by design. If you struggle to hit with depth, poly is not your string. Also, it can be EXPENSIVE. Luxilon ALU Power is over $20 a set! And given you should be restringing poly often if you want to get the most out of it and avoid injury, that adds up very fast.

I really think the right string for most rec players that don't truly hit with much spin is a decent synthetic gut. There I said it. Synthetic Guts on the market today are super easy on the arm, and very easy on the wallet. Some of them even do offer pretty good spin characteristics and they're better for tension maintenance than poly by a long shot. You can just play with them until they break. I really like [Gosen OG Sheep Micro](https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Gosen_OG_Sheep_Micro_17_122_String_Reel_-_660/descpageACGOSEN-GSR17.html) for example. We're talking about an entire reel for around $50. Compare that to the ALU power mentioned above. 16 or 17 restringings for the price of about 2. Even the highest rated synthetic out there [Prince Synthetic Gut](https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Prince_Synthetic_Gut_17_125_Duraflex_String/descpageACTWABG-S17.html) is a steal.

## But I really want to play with poly for reasons!!!

Ok, I get it. It comes in cool colors and names and there are a bunch of YouTubers saying awesome things about them and stuff. Well, maybe consider offering your players a hybrid setup, or trying it yourself. A good poly in the mains with synthetic gut in the crosses can make a great setup for a lot of players. I think beginners and intermediates shy away from this because it seems like it is too complicated or 'advanced', but it should be encouraged. I often recommend a super inexpensive hybrid setup of [Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution](https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Kirschbaum_Pro_Line_Evolution_16_130_String_Reel-660/descpageACKIRSCH-PLE2130BLUR.html) and one of the SGs above. Evolution is a great underrated string and mixing it with SG lowers the power a bit for the bigger swingers where SG offers a little too much pop. It's also got great tension maintenance to keep up with the SG and most importantly, it is round, so it won't notch easily. I encourage you to try a combo like this.

## What about multifilament?

I gotta be honest. I like the way multis feel, but I'm not sure I like them as much as they cost. If you're a finesse player, and you need your strings to give you power, multis are probably where it's at. I personally hit pretty hard and I've tried a few multis including the highly touted [Tecnifibre NRG2](https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpage-NRG16.html), but they give me too much pop and I break them pretty fast. I also hate the way they fray. This doesn't really affect performance, but when the strings look ratty after a couple of hours, I get in my head that they could snap at any second. That said, they are fantastic on the arm, and reputedly play the closest to natural gut of any other type of string. If cost is no issue, there's some great multis out there. They also work well in a hybrid setup (with poly), but you need to be even more cautious with the poly you choose to cross it with as they will fail prematurely. There are some slicker coated polys that will do well.

## So what does this all come down to?

I think until one moves up to the 3.5 ish level, players should be leaning towards using synthetic gut. Perhaps experimenting here and there with a hybrid setup to see if they can notice much of a difference. They should be encouraged to restring more often, and the lower material cost can help. If they improve their technique or fundamentally change how they play tennis, meaning they're hitting the ball with more spin, want more touch and feel on volleys, then perhaps they can try out a polyester string. I've personally been using [YTEX Quadrotwist](https://www.ytexstrings.com/products/quadro-twist-black?variant=12743120584781) recently, as it is pretty soft as far as poly strings go, priced well, and gives me the performance I want.

In my bag, I've got two racquets that I game with the same setup (YTEX Quadrotwist as above currently), and my other racquets are either the 'experiments' where I'm trying different strings or combos, but one of them is almost always a simple SG. I use it when I'm feeling a bit tired, or I've got some shoulder or elbow pain and I want an easy, plush hit