Strings (tennis)
They vary in terms of elasticity, durability, rebound efficiency, tension holding capability, and manufacturing cost, among other considerations.
Its principal drawbacks are much higher cost to manufacture and purchase than other materials, weakness to shear stresses from off-center hits (typical of beginning players), variable quality control depending upon the brand, batch, age, storage conditions, and grade, difficulty of stringing due to its delicacy, and poor durability when wetted with water.
Natural gut is very sensitive to different types of weather and those players who use it normally carry several different racquets with different tensions to compensate for this.
Natural gut is usually offered in coated form, to reduce its tendency to unravel, particularly when humid or wet.
[7] Even though handles were used after gloves in “Jeu de Paume,” the first prototype of the modern racket used today was created in Italy in 1583.
Modern "synthetic gut" is actually a multi-filament string that holds its tension extremely well and which has a dynamic stiffness profile that is closest to natural gut, although the industry continues to apply the term to mono-filament nylon strings.
It took time for this string material to become popular, primarily due to its poor tension holding capability.
However, players feel they are able to apply more topspin to balls while maintaining control with polyester strings.
Polyester revolutionized professional tennis when a then little known Belgian string maker Luxilon supplied Gustavo Kuerten in 1997, who went on to win that year's French Open.
[12] Since then, polyester's support for heavy topspin in particular has made it the most popular string material in the professional tennis tour.
The increased topspin due to polyester strings has been verified with controlled experiments today.
[13] The exact cause for the increased spin is not known but there is strong evidence that the low friction between strings is a factor.
Another strategy to increase comfort and improve rebound efficiency is to string Kevlar at a low tension.
Yonex, for instance, offers two badminton strings, made primarily from nylon, which have Vectran strands.
Polyolefin is one of the softest synthetic string materials, rivaling some Zyex and most nylon multi-filaments.
Traditionally, a double half hitch has been used to tie off tennis string, along with a starting knot.
[23] Along with the use of a starting clamp, this can make all the knots identical, and improve the aesthetics of a string job.
A loosely strung racquet will usually have a larger sweet spot and will hit farther but, when swung hard enough, it will shoot balls unpredictably; a tighter string job will help make delicate shots with more finesse and control.
[25] However, if a player often hits powerful shots, a tightly strung racquet may quickly tire the arm, possibly resulting in tennis elbow.
[26] Many professional stringers advise players to string racquets with the lowest tension possible while still being able to maintain control of the ball.
Dead strings may also hamper a tennis player's ability to generate power and pace, and may even make their arm sore.
