Tennis Myth - Poly "Lasts" Longer

The number one reason we hear for why people use poly is that it lasts longer.

This assumption is true, but only up to a point.

A poly string is likely to take a longer amount of time to break, but that is only telling half the story. While a string may not break, all strings suffer from tension loss. Given enough time, all strings lose their ability to perform and return energy to the ball. When the strings don't perform to their potential, neither will you.

So what strings should you use?

For those who are likely to break strings in a short amount of time, poly strings are a good option. Chances are, those players are hitting the ball with a good amount of power and can benefit from the added durability and control poly strings offer.

If you are playing more than once a week, and can not break a poly string in under six months, they are probably not a good option. For those players, when you get to six months, a poly string will have lost a good deal of tension. This will result in loss of power, spin potential, and overall performance. True, while they have not broken, they are not "lasting" as long as other options might.

Multifilament strings and even basic synthetic gut strings will lose less tension over the same period of time and will perform better, longer. For players who don't break strings often, these strings will also add power and have a better feel than the stiffer, poly strings.

A good rule of thumb for restringing is to replace your strings as many times in a year as you play in a week. If you play twice a week, this means every six months. For those who do not tend to break strings, the softer, non-poly strings will maintain more of their performance at the six-month mark. For a non-string breaker, this may actually buy you a little more time before the string performance drops to the point of becoming a hindrance to your game.

Again, for those that break strings often, you will likely break the string before the tension loss becomes an issue. For the rest of us, a multifilament will be a more arm-friendly, better performing and very likely, longer lasting option when you re-string.

Stop in and we'll help you pick a string that best fits your needs and your game.