One Way to Make Racquetball Strings Last Longer

For those that play a lot of racquetball, string breakage is a fact of life. Often, it is just lots of use or hitting the ball hard that causes strings to break. But there is one cause that can be largely prevented.
Anyone who has played for any amount of time knows that your racket will eventually make contact with the wall. Over time, this wears on the frame. As you can see in the below pictures, with enough wear, the bumper guard will wear down. This will cause more potential damage to the actual frame, eventually leading to a crack or breakage. But it also harms the string.

String exposed by excessive bumper guard wear.

A new bumper guard protecting the strings from

damage from the wall or other rackets.

The bumper guard's other job is to protect the string. The strings should sit below the edge of the guard so that when the racket scrapes the wall, the guard takes the punishment, not the string. Once the bumper wears down to a certain point, the string is exposed to their surroundings. The same scrape to the wall will now damage the strings. Eventually, the strings will look as if sandpaper had been rubbed on it, and they will break sooner than they should.
There are two ways to stop this kind of string wear, and no, not hitting the wall isn't one of them.
First is to use head protection tape on your racket. When the racket scrapes the wall, the tape takes the punishment. When the tape starts to show excessive wear, pull it off and replace it with a new strip. This will also increase the life of the frame itself.
The other way, assuming that they are available, is to replace the bumper guard. Newer rackets are usually easy to find replacement bumper guards for. The guards can be replaced while being restrung and are the best way to reduce damage to the strings and frame. For an older racket, you'll have to go the head tape route to protect the strings and frame.
If you have any questions on rackets, bumper guards or strings, stop in and we'll help you find the right ones for your game.