Pro string tensions are going even LOWER

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[@Julian0K]

I think that there is also a very important distinction to be made between ATP pros and club level players with regards to tensions. Pros only hit with freshly strung racquets in matches. Club players tend to string a little higher to account for tension drops after a few hits, and we also keep string in much longer.

[@Tennisnerd]

Good point

[@KiboTennis]

Very true.

[@slowbot68]

yep. a rec player should add 20% just to account for tension drop over multiple weeks.

[@KiboTennis]

@@slowbot68 I hate my strings after 6 hours.

[@andreiivashkevich1847]

I restring after about 8-10h (2-3 weeks of play)

[@tenniseuphoria5012]

Great analysis, a trend for sure. Used to put it down to broad poly uptake and advancement, but agree with you about balls. Modern technique and that ongoing development I think also enables more benefit for players at lower tension. Noticing the lower tension trend filtering through to advanced club and development squad level in the UK too

[@VishnuRajam4x4]

Thank you so much for this insider info! I find 48 lbs ideal for me with solinco confidential but after 2 weeks the tension drops too low for me to play with, so I string mine at 52 now to get more longevity out of my strings

[@tamagonbagel6569]

The low Pure Drive tensions with gut are really something.

[@perrygoldman612]

It makes sense because PD is stiff as hell with a RA of 73. Soft string provides better control

[@mustafa_sakalli]

ATP should decide the balls like Pirelli - F1 relationship. Each brand should offer a deal to ATP for certain years and 1 type of ball should be played in all tournaments. This uniformity should be made for ATP 250 and upper level tournaments

[@72PMChambers]

No. There a specification range for balls, same as racquets. One ball means grass and clay will be affected because it's likely a hard court ball is selected as it's the most prominent surface. High altitude will struggle with a generic ball One iterm that has no specification requirements is string. Maybe there should be one string, say guy. Pros can only play with gut. That makes far more sense ethan one ball Maybe one surface is a good way to go, then one ball would make sense. We keep this up will get a nice homogenised game. Great!

[@mustafa_sakalli]

@@72PMChambers What you say is make sense. However tournament organisators don't give damn about altitude, humidity, heat etc. They just want to rallies slow and long. ATP can decide which ball will be played based on environmential factors, there can be choices. Players doesn't have to play 5 different ball in 5 weeks, that doesn't mean any sense

[@mattiastennis]

But they dont do this because of corporate interests. They couldnt care less about players health or quality of play. Probably why they have bizarre scheduling and pathetic prizemoney below Slams and ATP Tour. ((tournament directors and board$))...

[@steinanderson9849]

that is a good thing. watching all the surface play nearly the same is boring as F. @@72PMChambers

[@PF9O]

Interesting that all Ezones are strung tight. That's my feeling with the Ezone, it's so power friendly, you need a firm bed for control.

[@returntotennis706]

Can we officially call it the "Mannarino" effect yet? 😅

[@Tennisnerd]

Yes let’s!

[@miguelbarahona6636]

Hewitt strung in the lower 30 lbs, years before.

[@christiannovak-zemplinski9749]

@@miguelbarahona6636 yeah, but if the effect is happening NOW, it's more likely because of Mannarino than a player from 20 years ago...

[@rp7973]

It is not a Mannarino effect.. Some pros have been playing with low tension for years. Just because Mannarino is one of them, it doesn't mean we should call Mannarino effect 😂😂😂. It also depends on the racket, I played a lot of ITFs and Challengers a few years ago, when I played with Yonex Vcore (without lead tape) I used to play with 58 lbs, when I added lead tape, I had to lower the tension to 43 lbs. Then swithched to Babolat aero, at 47 lbs. Another point to take in consideration, to adjust to a different tension takes time, sometimes months, Mannarino effect 😅😂 Please. Just because you just learned that Mannarino puts a very low tension, doesn't mean he created it. He is one of many.

[@christiannovak-zemplinski9749]

@@rp7973 Yeah, but you don't have to create it or be the only one doing it for it to be called "Mannarino effect". If a lot more people and KZbinrs are talking about it in the past year and he's the example always being given then it makes sense to call it that. It's like how tons of teenagers had short bleached hair 25 years ago because of Eminem. There was definitely an "Eminem effect", but obviously he wasn't the first or only one to have short bleached hair...

[@grainsdor]

I used to play with solinco confidential at 52 then I switched to polytour pro at 48 on my ezone (shoulder pain). Although polytour pro is way softer then confidential but even at 48 i still have plenty of control and it’s much easy on my shoulder.

[@PrecisionPointTennis]

This video is extremely helpful. Tak tak

[@doremi9]

I like a softish poly like Kirschbaum max power rough 18 g in the low 50s in the mains and a softer multifilament like Isospeed classic control in the crosses about 58 lbs in my old Prince O3 white rackets with a bit of extra weight added to about 11.8 oz and about 6 pts HL.

[@lyndseyandandrew5771]

This was super interesting, thanks for sharing! Makes me feel better as a rec player about bringing my tensions down too over time.

[@Kureransu]

when i went from the VCore 98 to the percept 97H, i went from 52lbs to 45lbs after a couple weeks to give the strings more movement on the ball since the strings are a bit tighter with the smaller head size. It has completely change my game for the better. thinking of using my 3rd racquet to 42 to see if its too much lol.

[@raphaelkarpeles7447]

I am still experimenting but so far I enjoy my Pro Kennex Black Ace Pro (soft and low powered) with Grapplesnake Alpha 1,25 mm (slightly softer poly with 5 edges) at 24/23 kg.

[@TheBronzika]

Started with 27/25.5kg gut Luxilon Fluoro and now I'm at 23.5/22. It feels good.

[@TheBlessedLion]

Soft frame with flex - higher tension… Hard frame less flex - lower tension… You have to try it. After 46 years playing tennis from wood, wood/graphite, graphite/kevlar, graphite mixes I can recommend, go 2-3 kg lower in strings. The ball is „longer“ in contact so you get more feel what happens. Take always a LONGER look a the point of contact and stay there when you hit through. It’s not an easy adjustment but when you train it, you can play with every lower tension. And don’t forget to play some tennis.❤

[@luckyintheorder]

Love it. I went through the same technology progression and had forgotten how important feel was to so many shots when I was younger. Dropping tension 4-7 lbs was a blessing to my shot making and consistency. All about the dwell time which sounds funny when it's measured in 10ths of a second.

[@CJZM7777]

In Wilson PS 97 V13 weighted up to 325 swing weight, I am using Tecnifibre Multifeel 16G or Tecnifibre NRG2 16G in the mains at 48 lbs and Kirsbaum Max Power 17G (125mm) in the crosses at 44 lbs. I was at 52/48 lbs but went down to 50/46 and then to 48/44 about 6 weeks ago. I like the 48/44 the best because it has more comfort, more spin and more power. I haven't notice a lack of control either.

[@leftyspinn]

How long does the nrg2 last? How many hours

[@CJZM7777]

for me, 15 to 20 hours. The first 10 hours are the best as the poly cross loses tension too. The NRG2 usually is badly frayed or snaps 15 to 20 hours. this may vary a lot depending on how hard you hit and how much spin you hit. I am 4.0 moderate power and moderate spin all court player.@@leftyspinn

[@leftyspinn]

@@CJZM7777 i might try this combination myself. I recently broke wilson gut mains with rpm power after 8.5 hours of singles. Gut being too expensive at full retail and i like kirschbaum max power I think the nrg2 hybrid will be good. Im a 4.5 with average spin. I like the lower launch of the gut to get more penetration through the baseline

[@CJZM7777]

I haven't used gut mains in a few years but try a smooth poly. Kirschbaum Max Power is stiff but it holds tension. String the poly about 4 lbs below the gut mains. I have used gut with Max Power years ago and loved it but gut is just too expensive for me.@@leftyspinn

[@jean-pierreuys1554]

Crazy and interesting. I went up on tension from 49 - 56lbs and keeping balls in more. But I have to swing more. I use grapplesnake (theirs strings so arm friendly) so I dont have any more discomfort. Will try again at 49 at some point. Also shortened my swing so that could have to do with keeping ball in play more. Dont know

[@pkonyoutube]

Hi there, new to your channel. What do you/would you expect to see from doubles players? That is all I play in rec. thanks!

[@manro8]

Razor soft is a really good string, switched from tour bite, my arm is thanking me 😅 the tension is interesting I’ve never gone lower than 52. Makes sense though rec players have to account for tension drop as I certainly don’t string my racket every week

[@tylerrauch4655]

im trying to get more dwell time on the strings... i have an old dunlop aero 200, running Babalot Gut and Alu rough hybrid 52/57

[@garyhilson7220]

Poly is a stiff plastic line anyway. You can get the control at lower tension anyway. 35-40 pounds will equal 50-60 with string tensions years ago. Using either a multi or gut to pump up the power and get some feel and feedback. Put Poly in the mains to take advantage of a textured spin and either multi or gut in the crosses to get control, power and feel. Gut or Multi in the mains for power and feel. Poly in the crosses for control. Just my opinion.

[@mihu86]

The problem with poly mains and multi crosses is that the mains lock up pretty quickly - especially with a shaped poly. The other way around is pretty damn good if you're not a notorious string breaker.

[@stevesteve6365]

Is that a representative split of racquet makes these days? I tried low tensions for a while a few years ago but could never get enough control. I obviously didn't adapt or didn't want to stop giving it a good smack.....

[@bgchans]

I play with 24/23 kg, Pure drive with rpm blast I am considering trying 25/24. Can you advise if this will have any effect with such small difference.

[@stilllifeproductions5017]

Thanks for this TN! Stiff rackets, stiff strings, and less rebound rubber in the balls are a problem for health & longevity. Can someone investigate if there is actually less rubber (perhaps more plastic) being used in modern tennis balls? Anybody remember the Australian Dunlops from back in the early 70s?

[@Simon-Simon-Simon]

DEPENDS also on headsize PRO PLAYERS are on smaller surface area so 55 on a 95inch head size is like 60 on a 100inch

[@jerome_morrow]

Has this been measured quantitatively by stringbed stiffness?

[@neertw]

Head Sonic Pro Edge or Blackout mains/Syngut crosses, both at 46 lbs in a Speed MP 2022.

[@KeyofDavid5778]

If you go 2 to 3 lb looser on the crosses you'll get more snap back on those strings and more power and the ball will rock it off the bed😊

[@glademaster]

Has anyone noticed whether the ATP technique has generally changed for lower tensions?

[@gab_ale]

I can never deal with the low tension feeling. I feel like I don't have control over the ball.

[@tfdave1]

Taro Daniel uses Pure Drive 98. Not as powerful as PD but still a power frame

[@mattiastennis]

Whoever writes this board needs improvement in detail

[@milllworks]

What’s old is new again. Everyone knows McEnroe only had about 40 lbs tension on his 200G back in the day. I still have one in my bag, strung at 44 lbs, that I drag out every once in a while for that sweet feeling racquet.

[@chung729chung]

52/50lbs Alupower on my PA98. Balls sailing out after 2hrs. Spin drops significantly after 4hrs.🙁 I would stick with RPM blast >54lbs

[@zanido9073]

Would make more sense to test this on serves since there are much fewer variables.

[@TomSmith-il6pz]

Jonas, what’s best string and lead placement for new blade? All seems soft.. 4g?

[@Tennisnerd]

I think the Blade needs some lead at 3 and 9 and 4G is a good choice

[@luckyintheorder]

Dropped my tension from 56 to 51 M 48 C last year and improved spin, didn't have to overhit and it's easier on the arm. 2021 Gravity Pro, full bed Triax 17. Of course, not getting my rackets strung daily. Love this set up and will continue to use lower ranges on future rackets.

[@steinanderson9849]

you should lose spin because of the increased power.....

[@luckyintheorder]

Should I? Is that the only "factor" for spin? Don't want to be argumentative stein but let's not fill people's heads with what is or isn't possible. Feel is a big part of the game and the results don't lie in my case. I never miss one when I'm shadow swinging or watching others play either ;-) @@steinanderson9849

[@devoker666]

Mannarino must decrease the tension more for counterattack!

[@emilellingsen1525]

I tried to order a Head Gravity racket some months ago asking it to be strung with a Babolat gut/alu rough hybrid, but the guy from the online boutique called me up and told me it was a bad idea as the alu rough had a rough texture and would tear down the gut so it would break fast and be very expensive. But in this sheet there's two players using that exact combo (Tommy Paul and another). Any thoughts?

[@dannylaza1326]

The pros use it cuz they cut out strings after 1 match, they dont care if it wears down strings

[@jays9211]

Didn’t Borg sting his racquets at like 80lbs

[@andreaoamaral]

Former player Volandri used low tensions (sometimes lower than Mannarino) as well Mannarino. When you string or strung for Pro´s You observ little players use really low tensions, little players use really high tensions but the majority use average middle tensions as show on the plan, nothing new, nothing old, the same as they use since Luxilon got the boom. That´s it

[@jonasofosu1318]

I use the Wilson Pro staff 97 at 60 lbs

[@HardCandy-fd4vz]

Balls are a big problem that not many people cover thank you for adding that point..

[@tomr6955]

Agreed. Most balls are terrible, as in heavy, rock hard, not round (can see/feel a big seam in the middle). I only like Dunlop or Slazenger.

[@HardCandy-fd4vz]

@@tomr6955 totally agree there needs to be some consistency because rec players won’t tell but at a high level it definitely has a bigger affect than people would think , I wish they would fix this..

[@leftyspinn]

More pros will start using gut hybrids in the coming years. The benefits outweighs the loss if spin from a full poly setup. More power, touch and save your arm. Gut main will stil snap back fairly good and provide spin with a slick poly

[@72PMChambers]

I think the opposite, gut hybrid was the Pro staple 2000 onwards and lately pros seem to be moving away. They happy going lower tension to get spin and power benefits of poly on poly. Maybe it'll swing back but the current trend is away from the gut hybrid.

[@leftyspinn]

@@72PMChambers with all the arm injuries these days you will see more switch to gut. Guys cant go a full career playing modern tennis ripping 10 shots per point all the time. In this list its not just top 10 guys using gut and a lot of them are younger guys who turned pro when the wave of poly really took off and they were too young and not enough money to use gut. They need more pop on their shots because everyone moves so well and the courts and balls are slow. Even de minaur switched to gut last year to help his counter punching style.

[@HF-ek4ig]

Thanks for this interesting Video

[@Tennisnerd]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@EdmonBegoli]

@Tennisnerd (Jonas) - are you using ezone 98 or 100? I remember you saying you like them both.

[@Tennisnerd]

Currently 100 customized, but flirting with Dunlop CX 400 Tour

[@EdmonBegoli]

@@Tennisnerd I am loving EZONE 100. I find it a fantastic stick for competing. Very controllable, great for serving, great, easy depth and easy spin. What's not to like :-) Interestingly, TWU racquet performance analysis shows CX400 Tour and Yonex EZONE 100 as having almost the identical performance on most of the factors they track.

[@user-xe5vr5ir9o]

​@@Tennisnerdand which string/tension?

[@shejustcant]

thoughts on light racquets when low tension

[@Tennisnerd]

Might make a video about that soon

[@friarcisco8717]

Great vid

[@insania147]

What are your top 3 strings?

[@ericdesmarais589]

Using grapplesnake tour m8 at 52lbs… but if was always playing fresh stings like a pro can then I would drop that to 48lbs

[@Phoniq]

I’m a bit perplexed lately re: string tension. If you string a racquet at say 50 is it 50 once of the machine? Are all the strings 50lbs? I’m aware the crosses are 5-7lbs lower.

[@rbarreira2]

You can use lower tension in the crosses but you don't have to. Every string is pulled one at a time.

[@albertozabeo77]

Crosses are in the end lower even of you put same tension on the machine.

[@michaelosullivan4503]

Are any of the pros using multi strings? I am using head rip control and the polys we’re giving me a bit of arm issues. Started dropping tension from 56 now at 53. Should I try go to 50/51 with the multi ?

[@rbarreira2]

Usually multi is strung a bit higher than poly and it's still more comfortable. If I were you I'd start between 53 and 56 with multi, since that's already a pretty high tension for poly anyway.

[@movdqa]

I'm using Hyper-G 54-55 pounds and it's boardy for 2 hours and then drops to where I like it and lasts for 20 hours. So my target tension is probably 51 but the strings are usable for quite some time after the initial sharp tension loss. What I've found is that stringing it lower results in less play time because it gets too loose.

[@hybrid11theory75]

20 hours, that's crazy. Polys loose their playability within a few hours. I've found them completely dead after 8-10 hours max....

[@movdqa]

@@hybrid11theory75 That's my experience with ALU Power which I used from about 2006-2022. But I had a long discussion on Tennis Warehouse in the string section and I found others that used it for 15, 20, even 30 hours. I have a sensitive elbow which is why I've stuck with ALU Power and frequent restringing. Of course I've tried multis and syn gut and just missed the spin If the poly is dead, my arm complains. It's a 40 minute round-trip to and back from my stringer and need 2 trips so doubling string life means fewer trips to the stringer and fewer stringing costs. My stringer charges much less for Hyper-G too.

[@jacksonfraser5676]

Same with hyper g soft

[@movdqa]

@@jacksonfraser5676 Glad to hear it.

[@KeyofDavid5778]

​@movdqa The newer pollys don't lose their tension as much say within the last few years ! I've been going 53 Mains 51 crosses for the last 4 years and then I find it loosens up to 49/46 if I play for it too long but I agree with what you're saying

[@RevLev06]

Dunlop iconic touch at 50 pounds in a Dunlop CX 400 tour.

[@mattiastennis]

How can they mistype Alex surname. Its Michelsen not a o.

[@glademaster]

So many Yonex Vcore/Percept/Ezone, so few Wilson’s

[@mustafa_sakalli]

Yep, Yonex took over Wilson's marketshare. Wilson have pretty much only Blade right now. Pro staff kinda outdated like Prestige, Ultra is too powerful for pros, shifts are basically gimmick, ultra pros is overshadowed by blades also. Babolat save itself with Pure Aero 98. I think Wilson should create something like Gravity Pro. They are so stucked in 98 inch

[@dustyroot4708]

The Wilsons are in Marseille this week. Dimitrov, Khachanov, Korda, Humbert, Batista-Agut, Lehecka, Van Assche, Gaston, etc.

[@mattiastennis]

Just a few on this one list not in general. Heaps of pros who play with Wilsons still

[@Ji-Ye]

Is there a difference between loose and dead strings?

[@doremi9]

Yes, there is.

[@rbarreira2]

I can't confirm this is true, but what I've heard is that dead strings are strings that lost their elasticity. I guess that means they become stiffer.

[@youcannotbeseriouschannel5541]

36 lbs hyper g soft 1.20 vcore 98

[@macbook1999]

Videos?

[@youcannotbeseriouschannel5541]

@@macbook1999 maybe soon

[@here2inspireU]

It seems the racquet static and swing weights are significantly less than players of 10-20 years ago, when standard was heavy rackets with high tensions. I've experimented quite a bit and lower tensions kill my arm. My fav is 66 lb hyper g mains and 4G crosses.

[@evylsalamie]

2023 Vcore95, 330 SW, 346g Yonex Polytour Pro 120 50/48 Although I am thinking about dropping a few more pounds since I'm more of a control all-court player rather than a power player

[@gtrguyinaz]

Lower strings tension requires better strokes… as a retired pro… I play with HYBRED set up and 34 main and 31 cross… I am a senior national champion….

[@docstranger9520]

Sinner plays 60lbs I believe. (edit: just heard you mention this in the vid! didn't mean to repeat info)

[@trex1448]

Oh no, is this the final death blow for the 3.5 tennis warriors wielding RF97's strung at 55lb???

[@Tennisnerd]

Haha, no that will never happen

[@AA-le9ls]

Var snäll och använd begripliga enheter. "Lbs" och "pounds" säger mig ingenting.

[@luisfer14240]

👍🏻

[@emdr-therapy-]

Murray needs 40 lbs

[@Stu49583]

This comment is getting so tiring. As if lowering tension would be some miracle solution.

[@eadamic17]

Mannarino 9,5 kg lmao

[@72PMChambers]

Higher string tensions make the string bed play more evenly in my experience. Lower tensions end up with hotter centre. Also rec players rearly gerare spin like pros, he hit theough rhe ball more and have much poorer spacing. From observation low tension strings can tesult in guiding and pushing to conttol. Low-Mid 50s for rec seem reasonable to me with poly. You might loseva tiny hitbof spin and some power vut gain consistency. Horse for courses.

[@mattiastennis]

Players are going lower because its more a power game now and higher tension increases risk of wrist and arm injuries especially when you use stiff shit strings like 4G. Go and string your racquets near 27kg and see how your wrist, arm or elbow feels. Not great. Then we get to effect of sub-standard balls and the racquets themselves and its surgeries here we come..

[@bojack3827]

Pros use strings for 1 day. Rec players use strings for a few months. Of course the tensions are going to be different.

[@devoker666]

If a rec player uses poly for a few months, they are doing something very wrong.

[@mattiastennis]

@@devoker666 Yep but when people say 'rec players' they are talking UTR < 5 nobodies or dingers. Anyone who says 'pro' than 'rec' dont usually know much about the various levels of competitive tennis.

[@TheXkofix]

Jonas you are from Europe and we have metric system. Please information in kilos 😊. Lets Americans be Americans with their system measurements.

[@mattiastennis]

Yep. Have not a clue what a pound or a inch or a slug per inch or a yard is nor should have to know an inferior system of 'measurement'. To add also get all American 'food'(pretends to be and kills you) out, sickly 'social'(anti) and 'cultural' influences that have a zombie-control on most out, then US bases, troops and puppet politicians(the eu-$sr) out of Europe. A Europa for and by Europeans ONLY. The rest on a one way trip back to where they belong. Each keeps to their own and everyone lives happily ever after but such independence is not what 'they' desire..

[@jimclawley9117]

I think that Mannarino is top 20 at the age he is, suggest the depth of quality on the tour has dropped significantly

[@danschannel169]

First world problems with sting tensions. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@EdsCollegeLife]

Yeah because average 50lbs-55 lbs is not good in the long run.

[@Silverhands]

I'm sorry the slaves that make the balls have poor quality control.