Natural Gut strings can be the answer for many needs, but is not for everyone.
To start with, natural gut is, as its name implies, natural. Where other strings are synthetic, they make natural gut strings from cow intestines. Being a natural product means it is susceptible to things like heat and moisture, both of which can reduce the life of the strings.
On the plus side, if you need a string that will not lose tension and be very comfortable on your arm, natural gut is a winner. We’ve seen many players with arm issues switch to gut and find less shock and vibration, which helped them to play with less arm pain. Natural gut is not a cure to arm issues, but can help.
Another thing unique to natural gut is that it will play better the more you use it. It doesn’t lose tension like other strings, so you will not have to cut out unbroken strings. It is often said that gut strings will play their best right before they finally break.
There are some negatives to natural gut. First is the price. It is more expensive than synthetic strings. If you are a big hitter who hits with lots of spin, you may find they wear through too fast.
The other thing with gut is that you can’t just toss your racket in the garage or your car trunk in hot, humid Florida. Heat and moisture will, over time, cause the string to break down, leading to premature breakage. We have heard many stories of hearing a POP from their tennis bag, only to find out their strings had broken. You should keep rackets with gut strings inside in an air-conditioned area when not being used.
To sum up, if you need comfort and less stress on your arm, natural gut could be the right string for you. Stop by the store and we cans help you pick the best string for your game.
