Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How often should I restring my racquet if the strings have not broken?

A: There are some generally accepted rules of thumb with regards to this question. One of the most basic ones is to restring as many times per year as number of times you play per week. Example, if you play twice a week, you should restring twice a year.

However, this is a very general rule of thumb and doesn't take into account an individual's style of play, type of racquet, and very importantly, type of strings and tension they are strung at.

Another factor that is not considered in this rule of thumb is what sort of playing experience you as a player would like to have from your equipment.

For instance, many types of polyester strings go "dead" after just 10-12 hours of moderate to hard play, and some brands and models will go "dead" even sooner. If you play twice a week for 2 hours each time, you can easily rack up 10 hours of play in mere weeks but if you only restring twice a year you will be playing with relatively poorly performing strings most of the time.

Conversely, natural gut, although more "fragile" than most other types of string, plays almost as good as new up until they break (so long as you don't get them wet or leave your racquets in your car's trunk on a hot day, etc). If you are not a frequent string breaker, it is perfectly conceivable that you can enjoy a full set of natural gut for a whole year without the need to restring.

Confused? Call me if you would like to discuss this further and I can give you an honest assessment whether you really do need to restring your racquet or not.

Q: I am starting to break strings quite often. What can I do?

A: Firstly, you have to realize that breaking strings is part and parcel of high level competitive tennis, particularly in today's modern heavy topspin, baseline power game. Therefore, if your style of play is similar to what I just described, be prepared that you will break strings more often than the recreational player or younger juniors that still lack the strength to hit the ball as hard.

That said, there are a number of common approaches that you can take to try to make your strings last longer before breaking:

• Use a thicker gauge of the same string, if that's available. For instance, go from a 17 gauge (thinner) to a 16 gauge (thicker), or from a 16 to a 15L.
• Use a different, more durable type of string. For instance, switch to a polyester string or a hybrid with polyester in the mains and a softer string in the crosses.
• Change to a different brand of string, as some brands are known to make certain models of string that are more durable for the same type of string as other brands.
• Reduce the tension that you string at.

Bear in mind that these are just general approaches that you can take. To provide more specific advice would require a personal analysis of your playing style and habits, taking into account what type of racquet you currently use and the condition the racquet is in (e.g. you might have grommet damage that is causing premature string breakage), what strings you use and the tension, and even where you are curently get your racquets strung (perhaps your stringer is not using optimum methods during stringing and causing unnecessary early wear and tear on the strings).

I'd be happy to discuss the above with you and provide you with a no obligation analysis and recommendation if you are facing the problem of frequent string breaking and feel that you would like to get more life out of each string job. Just give me a call to discuss your options.

Q: Does the type of stringing machine used to string a racquet play any part in the quality of the string job?

A: The short answer is, absolutely yes it does! Generally speaking, a higher quality stringing machine will help lead to a higher quality string job produced. The top-of-the-line stringing machines today are those that use electronic computer controlled constant pull tensioning systems, such as the Babolat Star 5 and Sensor series, Technifibre TF7000 and the Silent Partner Opus, which is my machine of choice for all the stringing jobs I do.

That said, notice that I said "generally speaking" a higher quality machine will result in a higher quality string job. This is because while the machine is important, it is only one part of the equation, the other important part being the stringer performing the job, since stringing machines do not and cannot completely automate the stringing of a tennis racquet. The quality of the machine can help greatly by performing several critical functions well, such as providing a secure and safe mounting system for the racquet to reduce the stress placed on the racquet during stringing to the minimum possible, and providing accurate and consistent tensioning of each string to produce a uniform feeling string bed.

However, the stringer must use the equipment correctly and perform the stringing using best practice techniques and the correct stringing pattern for each make and model of racquet. The stringer should also prevent or at least minimise unnecessasry premature damage to the string during the stringing as this can lead to early string breakage during play.

So the longer answer is that while the equipment is important, the experience and skill of the stringer is equally important, if not more so. If you are going to pay someone to string your racquet, all other things being equal, I would suggest you find a stringer with the best equipment possible assuming that you are still paying a fair market price for the string job, and one that has a high level of experience and skill.