What String Tension should my racquet be strung at?

Perhaps contrary to expectation, the lower the tension of the strings the greater the power, but that comes at the cost of less control.  The higher the string tension, the greater the control, but there’s then loss of power.

Thus to get the right balance between these extremes, a good starting point is the midway of your racquet’s recommended range.  If you keep a record of the Lbs, we can then adjust up or down at the next stringing if necessary: I have been surprised at the difference in feel just one pound either way can make.

In a hybrid set-up, the two types of strings will often be at different tensions, such as the Poly will be less, because of its greater stiffness, than the Synthetic gut.

If you have, or have had injuries or strains such as ‘tennis elbow’, a lower string tension is generally recommended to increase shock absorbency, and so reduce strain on your body.

If your last restring was done with a manual weight based stringing machine, you may want to ask me to string your racquet at 2-3 Lbs less, as digital stringing machines tend to string at a tighter string tension at the same numerical figure.  As string tension loss should be less due my use of the pre-stretch setting, it would take longer to reduce excessive string tension by hard hitting.

Is Stencilling worthwhile?

In my opinion, for most players, stencilling is a waste of money and effort as it soon wears off – sometimes even within the first serious session esp. for those consistently spinning the ball as is the modern style.

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