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Strings Of The Past, Getting On With The "Hybrids"

Technology has changed certainly over last three decades. The new rackets and strings are such a huge improvement from the days I played seriously, I feel I am relearning tennis. Without understanding the best ways to use the technology available, it is no longer possible to be effective on court it seems. One of the changes that has caught me by surprise is the much closer link between racket type, composition, weight/balance to strings utilized. The sheer number of different rackets on the market is not possible for me to follow, and equally vast number of type of strings available. So, when you look at the possible permutations, it is mind boggling for me. So, I making it easy on myself: When I first picked my racket (Wilson ProStaff RF97A), I just went with the recommended string imprinted on the racket, Wilson Championship Duo string set with 59 lbs main string tension and 56 on the crosses. Incidentally, I had never before thought of using different tensions between mains and crosses.

Although I did not care much for the feel and sound of those strings, initially the racket and strings felt really good in terms of both power and control. I could consistently hit the ball within 2-3 ft of my intended location, short or long, I could generate really nice spins effortlessly. I could also generate nice slices, but I need to concentrate and relax more than usual in doing so, which is more about lack of technique than equipment for sure.

Last week (after about 22 hrs of total play on the same racket and strings over 3 months), almost suddenly, I lost all of my backend (1HBH) and my FH left a lot to be desired. After trying several things on improving my technique that did not result in anything, I of course blamed the equipment and restrung my racket. This time, I wanted to try my reliable good'ol friend full natural gut at 57 lbs, I chose to use again my favorite strings of past: the VS (now called Babolat VS Team). With this setup from the very first shot my BH and FH were back, and my BH even improved in pace and accuracy. Happy man here :)

However, three problems developed during 4 hrs of play over 2 days: 
  1. The strings, as expected, slide more and don't bounce back to original shape, so I have to manually readjust them between shots. This is of course no biggie, but is also partly the reason why I used to break strings relatively frequently in the past. With the hybrid setup my strings were always back to normal position following any shot, even with heavy top spin. 
  2. I am now having more difficulty generating medium to heavy top spin on my FH, consequently I am less accurate with my FH than before. 
  3. Although I don't have tennis elbow, I now experience ever so slight pain in both my wrist and elbow, which was not the case with the previous string setup.
So, although it feels great to have this thick plock! sound coming off the VS Team strings, I can clearly see and feel how the new string combinations with the incorporation of new nylon string technology has helped with the game.  We used to have serious difficulty generation consistent back-to-back top spin shots, particularly during rallies. This is primarily due to natural gut strings never returned back to their original position to be able to generate same level spin effects, not more of less than just a shot before.  With nylon strings on the crosses, the natural gut strings occupying the mains return back after every shot, so reliability and consistency now comes easier, and not to mention that the life of natural gut strings also increased significantly due to mostly avoiding burning friction between strings.

Of course now that I learned how to recognize that the nylon strings have lost their effectiveness, it will be easier for me to adapt my shots. I ordered my second racket this week, but this time I am sticking with the recommended string combination.

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