String Savers
We get a lot of questions about string savers. Usually the first one is are they legal? Yes, they are legal and have been used by pros such as Pete Sampras. For those who do not know what they are, string savers are the little bitty plastic pieces that are put on the strings where the main and cross strings meet. This is done generally only around the sweet spot of the tennis racket. String savers are used to prevent the strings from shifting when the ball impacts the strings. Shifting strings usually occurs when hitting the ball with a lot of spin. By preventing the main strings and cross strings from shifting, the strings are said to last longer because the string savers decreases the wear and tear on the strings and prevent friction.
Best Tennis String for Spin
What’s the best tennis string for players who like to hit lots of spin? Well, there are two different routes you can try to get the best spin off your racket. One option is to use textured strings that are specifically made for hitting spin. These strings are engineered with spin in mind. The idea is that the texture will bite the ball or cut into the ball better, giving you the ability to apply lots of spin. Again, it’s a matter of personal preference. Some people love textured string, and others don’t like it.
Racket Stringing – How often?
Racket Stringing is another common topic that comes up. Specifically how often should you restring a tennis racket? Well, the obvious answer is after each time it breaks. But wait, you say your tennis racket strings never break! Guess what? If you have had them in your tennis racket over a year, you definitely are due for a tennis racket restringing! There is also a rule of thumb for racket stringing. Generally, you should get your tennis racket restrung as many times in year as you play with your racket in a week.
Tennis Racquet String Tension
Now that we have this tennis string gauge thing down, let’s go over racquet string tension. This is a concept that is also often misunderstood. I will start off with saying that if you are a beginner tennis player, the tennis string tension is not going to be something that you should worry about right now. Every tennis racket comes with a recommended stringing tension and you should pick either the middle tension level or even 1 or 2 pounds lower. As a beginner, the off center hits will probably be high and you will need that forgiveness that lower racquet string tension offers. The recommended racket string tension is usually listed on the throat of most tennis rackets.
Tennis String Gauge
Let’s talk about tennis string gauge. Many new players get confused by the whole tennis string gauge thing. Gauge refers to the thickness of the string. The most common gauges for tennis string are 15-18. Here is where players often get confused, the thickest string is a 15 gauge string and it gets thinner from there with the 18 gauge tennis string being the thinnest. Each gauge also has a half-size designated by an L (meaning light). So a 16L is thinner than a 16 gauge tennis string but thicker than a 17 gauge tennis string. There are a few 19 gauge tennis strings out there, but I would not start out with those.
