Tennis Strings

In tennis, the type of string, the tension, and the stiffness of the string all play an important role in how you hit the ball. I use two different types of synthetic gut strings, which are a harder type of string than regular gut so that the string lasts longer. I was experimenting with hitting with a softer string but with a higher tension because I wanted to hit the ball harder and still keep it in the court, however, my strings were breaking too quickly. I figured out that a softer string breaks fast because its weaker and having a higher tension also makes it break faster because the string is more stretched, so it breaks faster. I also saw that with the softer string, you could see the string fraying more before it actually broke. This is due to its weak physical qualities, and that’s why it also breaks faster than stiffer strings. I then experimented with my coach’s racket, which has really stiff strings, but my elbow started hurting. I found that really stiff strings don’t absorb vibration very well, so it affects your arm more and can cause more injuries. My coach told me that I shouldn’t use too soft or too stiff strings because I would either break them too quickly or injure myself, so I went back to a string in between the two. I never realized all the physics involved in stringing a racket. The tension, stiffness, and type of string are all important qualities in the strings of your racket.