String Guidance

We consult free of charge by phone on your string suitability and reference our guidance below before or after we receive your racquet.

After discussing your game and needs, our consultation will recommend suitable string sets, gauge, tension, profile and configuration.

After reading my guidance below, if you would still like to understand more about string terminology or selection, please feel free get in touch with me by text to arrange a call.

Mark Everett
07717162581
TOPstring.co.uk

Racquet strings are available in variety of brands, endorsements, profiles, constructions and materials to help deliver and support a style of play for the beginner to professional.

The internet will also host hundreds of accessible blogs to help you do a deep dive into the details, so I will keep this information high level to help clarify the complex topic of string technology.

Common terms in the stringing world you will hear are co-poly, synthetic gut, monofilaments, multifilaments, single wraps, rough, octagonal, natural gut, bite and repulsion etc .

To simplify, most terminology falls under six top level categories that conflate to help allow each string product to support its marketability for the player.

These categories include material, construction, profile, gauge, coatings and contact. 

Material: 

Synthetic materials are man made strings and mass produced in a variety of formats labelled on the back of the string packet.

Synthetics materials can include Polyolefin, Polyester, Co-Poly, Nylon, Polyetheretherketone, Composites along with proprietary products such as Zyex, Kevlar and Vectran.

Natural gut strings are not part of the synthetic category. 

Construction:

Constructions are the methods on how the materials are compiled to provide feel, durability and performance. Common constructions are monofilaments, multifilaments, single wraps, hybrid constructions plus others.  

Profile:

Profiles will determine or refer to how the string shape is designed or shaped to assist with special requirements.

Designs may accommodate extra spin or extra control to help players with these extra needs.

You may hear a string referred to as “product” rough or spin in tennis as an example.

With a rough or spin profile, the string may have a coating or an angled design to help enable more to spin and bite.

Gauge:  

Gauges will refer to the string diameter. The thinner the string, the less durability offered and the thicker the diameter, the more durability. 

Coatings:

Coatings are very common in most strings to aid with extra durability and feel.

For Badminton, Yonex has exemplified this with BG65 with another variant of the original called BG65TI which is a titanium coated version to add more durability.

Another example is Yonex BG80 and it’s power version where different feels are available to accommodate a broader spectrum of player.

Coating allows good marketing and a product to scope its offering to a variety of needs for the player.

Contact:

String contact is commonly termed as “bite” for tennis and squash and repulsion for badminton.

The more bite the string offers, the better the performance. Better bite is normally delivered with thinner gauges enabling strings to embed themselves into the balls more deeply.  

Slightly more control can come from thinner strings all though it is argued that string tension, technique and plough through will be the main driver of control.

Repulsion will be used to articulate contact for badminton and commonly referenced with thinner strings. Good repulsion will support good shuttle connectivity and slight increases in spring and power. 

Below is guidance to help tennis players when thinking of stringing.

Experienced players seeking durability, power and spin with no elbow injuries will benefit from polymers as their profiles and constructions will normally tick the right boxes.

If elbow injuries are managed, a hybrid of polymer and syn gut with lowered tensions is an option to consider.

Hybrid polymer materials plus smart strings are other material options depending on the players on court standard and budget.  

Beginners seeking playability and learning technique will benefit from a string with a good level of feel strung at the right tension depending on the hoop size.

Synthetic gut or even a very soft polymer for added durability would be an option to consider.  

Players with managed elbow or arm injuries might want to consider multifilament constructions. These strings will be much softer and offer power and good feel, but with less durability. 

Natural gut is the next step up and the ultimate in comfort but comes at a price with less durability.

Hybrids are very popular as well for players with elbow injuries strung at the right tensions based on the hoop size. 

Below is some guidance to help Badminton players when thinking of stringing.

Badminton strings are slightly easier to boil down in terms of construction and will normally be produced as multifilaments to enable good levels of power and feel.

Materials can include vectran fibres that are used to reinforce many commercial products such as ropes. Other materials may include Zymax Filaments that offer good durability and feel. 

Strings can be textured or coated in various gauges to assist different playing styles scoping from more power required or assistance with slice shots for both singles and doubles play.

Strings may also be designed to provide different sounds when making contact with the shuttle depending on coatings.

For all round play we can recommend strings with thicker gauges for durability depending on the player style and budget.

For higher performance requirements, thinner strings will tend offer higher repulsion, marginal power increase and better control levels. For more durability, thicker strings will offer more durability.

Below is some guidance to help Squash players when thinking of stringing.

Squash strings are commonly sold in the form of multifilament constructions and single wraps.

Soft synthetic materials that are coated to add extra durability are very popular as the game requires power and feel for the responsive player. 

Multifilament constructions with thinner gauges are very popular in the game among advanced  players to assist with more bite and power.

Multifilament strings will also offer good power bite over syn gut, but reduced durability.

For players who want more durability and less feel, monofilaments can be purchased for more power and durability but slightly less feel.

Thinner gauges will offer more bite but less durability. Thicker gauges will offer more durability and reduced bite.