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 petroleum based product. It has successfully confused tennis players for decades. 

A brief history lesson: natural gut was first put into a tennis racquet in 1875. Nylon was invented in 1935. Nylon strings weren’t put into a tennis racquet until the 1950s. Nylon allowed tennis to be much for affordable for the general public. Which meant that you would eventually see professional players using nylon strings. 

Correct me if I’m wrong but professional players who exclusively used nylon strings when competing didn’t start emerging until the late 1980s. There were some hall of fame players who used Gosen strings back in the day: Jim Courier, Gabriela Sabatini and famously, Anna Kournikova. Gosen still sells her strings under the moniker, “AK”. 

Ok back to the string… a perfect mix of crispness and power, nylon strings are a really good foundation to build your tennis strokes on. They have a linear response which means faster swing=faster ball. And conversely, slower swing=slower ball. So there was once upon a time in tennis where if you swung too faster, your ball would ALWAYS go out. But then polyester strings were introduced in 1997 and it has successfully confused recreational tennis players for decades.

I stock this string in 15L, 16, 17 and 18 gauges. But only in white as I’ve found whatever dyes they put into it makes the string perform much better with my hybrids.