Have you ever noticed the pro’s who use polyester strings in the mains and natural gut strings in the crosses? Andy Murray, Alexander Zverev, Tommy Paul use this hybrid. Why do they do this? I personally think it’s to save their arms. They keep the performance and feel from their favorite poly in the mains...

Kevlar is the brand name but the material is called Aramid. They are fibers that have more tensile strength than steel. Meaning they don’t break when they are stretched. It’s the same stuff they put into bulletproof vests.

Considered by many to be the crem da la crem of polyesters. I believe it was introduced in the early 2000s but it is still used by so many professionals to this day. I would consider ALU Power THE standard of top tier polyester tennis strings. So many people consider this to have the perfect...

Considered by many to be the crem da la crem of polyesters. Used by so many professionals, it is THE standard of top tier polyester tennis strings. So many people consider this to have the perfect amount of stiffness, power and spin. It also loses playability THE FASTEST. Average playability is around 1-4 hours (depending...

Some companies have released a “soft” variant of their most popular polyester strings because they are realizing that originals were way too stiff and were destroying arms. But most “soft” polyesters versions aren’t very soft, in my opinion (it’s all relative, right?). They’re mostly still stiffer than a nylon and sometimes worse (I’m looking at...

Solinco is an American company that is making waves in NCAA collegiate and also professional tennis. The Solinco strings I’ve chosen are pretty darn amazing for spin, tension maintenance and longevity. Yes, it lasts just a little longer than earlier generation polyesters (10-20 hours vs 1-4 hours) which, I think, makes it pretty special. Plus...

Polyester strings are infamous for 2 things: extreme stiffness losing tension Then came along Isospeed Cream! The industry also stopped calling polyester, “polyester” and gave it a new name: “co-poly”. That’s because they claimed they added other ingredients that they couldn’t simply call it polyester. Also, 1st generation polyester strings were insanely stiff and unforgiving....

Luxilon blah blah blah, RPM Blast blah blah blah. I hear those strings all the time but here’s a string you rarely hear anything about. I stumbled across this polyester that’s been under my radar for a long time: Head Sonic Pro 16g. The data on Head Sonic Pro 16g shows this string has the...

This early generation polyester is a hidden gem for competitive players who’s arms can handle a firm string. I know a lot of millenials who grew up with racquets strung with polyester in the mains and “cough” nylon in the crosses.  However unlike most of the 1st gen polyesters which were insanely stiff and lost...

Tried and true since the 80s and 90s, Gosen continues to produce some of the best “synthetic gut” strings. But I simply call them NYLON because it’s the exact material they are made. Manufacturers branded them as “synthetic gut” because it sounded more sexy. There is ZERO natural fiber in it. It is 100% a...

Can you really improve on the OG of tennis string? Yes, you DEFINITELY can and it’s some amazing stuff. So just think of all the amazing properties of natural gut (soft, powerful, comfortable and playable until it breaks) without ANY of the problems (swells and breaks with moisture, frays quickly). Yes, my head is dunked...

This black PEEK monofilament is the newer version of the PEEK family. Since it is a monofilament, it is smooth and slick and is amazing for spin. This color behaves slightly more like polyester than the natural colored PEEK. Meaning it plays slightly firmer and is a little more dynamic so I think it imparts...

This is the string that started my whole journey. I was in the middle of multiple arm injuries and I needed to find a string setup that didn’t cause more injuries. During my quest I discovered chatter about a string that is as soft as natural gut but as slick as polyester. I had to...

A single extruded monofilament, Fluorocarbon is more abrasion resistant than standard nylon monofilament of the same diameter. It is almost as soft as natural gut and has just as much power. Plus, while the sun’s harsh ultraviolet rays weaken nylon over time, fluorocarbon shrugs off UV with no ill-effects. It is also known by the...

I think when they started manufacturing multifilaments to immitate natural gut, there were probably some other chemists and structural engineers who were like, let’s go in the OPPOSITE direction. Why? Why not! In these modern tennis times of spin/polyester/RPMS I think it finally makes sense. Racquets are so powerful now to compensate for the low...

If you can manufacture ANY property into a string, why not infuse such popular poly properties into a multifilament? So this company put poly fibers into their multifilament to create a really interesting string. It’s soft like a multifilament but has similar stretch and low power properties of a poly. I personally think it’s brilliant.

Not soft and mushy like some multifilaments. This one is crisp and powerful. Like how some of us wish natural gut was. This multifilament is actually a little stiff by comparison but that also makes it an easier transition if you’re coming from the world of polys. String manufacturers have been trying to imitate the...

I might be the only stringer who still believes there is a place for polyolefin strings. What is it? Well technically it’s still a plastic just like nylon and polyester, however Polyolefin is almost as soft as natural gut but has limited stretch like polyester.  Do you ever see someone’s strings that are completely frayed?...