Junior Rackets and Accessories

Adult Rackets and Accessories

Junior Rackets

Adult Rackets and Accessories

GLTC Professional Racket Stringing Service

Please drop your racket into reception.

There are many misconceptions out there about stringing and the greatest myth of all relates to the tension (or tightness) of the strings. You will often hear people complaining that their strings have gone soft, and they are losing power. FALSE!

Strings have an in-built elasticity which wears out over time and a fresh re-string will give a much livelier response with the result that you will have much better feel. Depending on the tension of the restring, you may also have more power – but this will be down to the fact that the new strings are more elastic and therefore you are getting much more rebound off the racket face. Comparing like with like, higher tensions give a more consistent bounce off the racket-face and therefore, more accuracy. However, the sweet spot in the racket will get smaller, you will get less power overall – and it makes it harder to get spin on the ball. Conversely, lower tensions will give you more power as you get more of a trampoline effect – but with that also comes less accuracy and the tendency to ‘spray’ the ball more.

The longer you leave it between restrings, the bigger the difference in feel will be – and for some people this can lead to more problems adjusting to the new strings. As a general guide, if you are playing twice a week you should probably be getting your racket re-strung twice a year – 3 times a week, then 3 restrings a year. There are literally thousands of different strings out there to choose from but they can be broken down into a few main categories as follow.

Basic General rule: tighter for more control, looser more power!

Nice to play with. Good balance of playability and durability. This is normally our standard/default restring option. Prince & Head string available.

Multifilament strings were developed as the closest alternative to natural gut in terms of playability/feel – but without the drawback of being vulnerable to wet conditions. They are the most elastic of all the non-natural string types resulting in the largest sweet spot with the most power and should be the string of choice for anyone with tennis elbow problems. Wilson Sensation string available.

Polyester is the hardest wearing string, monofilament, and is the least elastic of all the string types. Originally, they were developed as an extruded single strand (hence the term Monofilament) – although there are now many variations on the composition with hybrid variations comprised of polyester and other materials. As a general rule, restrings with polyester should be looser than with synthetic gut or multifilament. Full polyester restrings are really for the heaviest hitters who break strings very frequently. Although polyester will stand up to wear and tear in the middle of the racket better than the other options, they are probably more prone to breakage from mis-hits near the edge of the frame – especially when freshly done. Head Sonic Pro, Solinco Outlast & Solinco Hyper-G string available.

This is a generic term for a combination of 2 different strings in the racket – a polyester and synthetic or multifilament. Usually, the polyester is used for the mains (up/down strings) – which take the brunt of the wear when hitting with topspin. The mix of two string types is intended to give most of the durability of a full polyester restring, while being easier on the arm and having a more forgiving feel.

Both are braided/rough strings, which gives more grip on the ball. Powernick is a thinner gauge than Supernick for a nicer feel.

Softer string than Supernick/Powernick, giving more power.  Multinick is a Tecnifibre string made by Ashaway.

Available in white or orange, ZyMax 64 TX is a little more durable than the 62 Fire – 62 still durable but with a little more feel

Yonex Exbolt .65mm: Forged Fibre: Enhanced Flexibility: White

Yonex Exbolt .63mm: Thinner string: High Velocity: Yellow

Yonex Nanogy 98 .66mm: Multifilament: Medium Feel: Gold

Yonex BG 80 .68mm: Multifilament: Thin Gauge/Powerful: White/Orange