GLTC Pro Shop

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!