A question I receive often as a coach is "what tension should I have my racket strung at?" The easy answer is "it depends." But the short answer is usually going to be a lower tension than you think. Here's why...
Tennis racket companies will often put a suggested range on their rackets. Typically that range is about 50-60 lbs (23-27 kg). So what do most players or parents do? They have it strung right in the middle of that recommended range, maybe dropping the tension 5-10% if stringing it with full-poly. While this could be a good starting point for some, it can also leave many benefits of the string behind because the tension is actually too high.
For certain strings, the 50-60 lbs range is fine. Natural gut, synthetic gut, or multifilament strings will perform at their best in this range. I would also argue that when strung at this tension, synthetic gut and multifilament do not provide significant benefits to the players. These strings are relatively soft and flexible, meaning they are thought of as easier on the arm. But they also don't transfer energy back into the ball as well as some other options out there. You can tell this by how the strings move in the racket and how often the strings need adjusting to get back to straight. Natural gut has a slick outer coating so it glides against the strings at contact and then snaps back to the middle, which absorbs shock from the ball and sends it back after contact.
Poly often acts similarly to natural gut in the sense that it moves at contact and snaps back into place. The overall feel of poly will be significantly stiffer than gut, so it can be less arm-friendly.
Now, with all that background information in place, we are back to the tension topic. Putting it simply, for natural gut, the 50-60 range is perfect. I wouldn't recommend going above 60 lbs with natural gut or any softer artificial string (syn gut or multifilament). Synthetic gut and multifilament strings will also be okay in this range, but the strings themselves do not provide much benefit for intermediate to advanced players. Poly should be strung well below the "recommended range." There have been studies that show the benefits of poly significantly decrease when strung above 52 lbs. With poly being a stiffer string that's designed to move and snap back quickly, the most benefits come when the string can move more, as the snap back will be more significant. When stringing players' rackets with full poly for the first time, I usually recommend 47-49 lbs as a starting point, based on how tight they typically prefer their string bed and what types of swings they have. Personally, I am usually in the 42-45 lbs range when stringing my rackets, and I enjoy the consistent feel of a full-poly string bed, while also enjoying nice ball pocketing and comfort from the lower tension.
At the end of the day, your string tension should depend on many factors such as the type of strings you're using, your swing speed, the density of the string pattern, you're elevation and court surface, and many more. But the only way to determine what will be best for you is to test it out!
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