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'Tour' stringing

Q: I am trying to understand how to string a racquet according to what, in my mind, has been known as a “tour” type of a string job, such that the strings carry a uniform tightness from side to side and top to bottom. When stringing for myself and others, I was taught to tie mains off at the sides but this loses tension after tying the knot and releasing the clamp. I have played with racquets strung “tour” style and have found them noticeably different on court. Is there a written guide for this way of stringing?

A: Probably the most important aspect of tour stringers is their consistency: Two string jobs that are supposed to be the same, are the same. This is especially critical when a player is experimenting to see what tension is right for him or her. If the first racquet was supposed to be at 60 pounds, but came out closer to 62 pounds, and the next day the player asks for 62 pounds but the racquet is delivered at 58 pounds, chances are the player is not going to be able to zero in on his “perfect” tension for that tournament. Likewise, if on Monday the player requests and receives a racquet strung at 60 pounds, but on Tuesday requests 60 pounds and receives 57 pounds, he may be on the plane home from the tournament before he realizes what’s happening.

Beyond that, tournament stringers often increase the tension on the last string before tying off, to compensate for the small tension lost when tying off. (Here again, consistency comes into play in the way tour stringers tie off.) As you can see in the Stringer’s Digest, the USRSA recognizes this practice, but it usually is not necessary.

Tournament stringers also tend to string the crosses from the top down to the throat, on racquets where the crosses would normally be installed from the throat up. The Stringer’s Digest shows one way of accomplishing this with an “around-the-world” (ATW) technique, but typically tournament stringers use more exotic “box” techniques to enable them to string the crosses from top to bottom. “Box” stringing is more complex than the ATW technique, and there is no consensus on some of the fine points of various “box” patterns (which differ for every racquet configuration). Some tour stringers also strive to reduce the amount of string on the outside of the frame as part of the “box” technique, which some feel improves the playability of the racquet, along with the appearance. As we’ve mentioned before elsewhere, stringing an ATW or “box” pattern on some racquets will void the warranty, but players on the tour are generally more concerned with racquet playability than with frame longevity.

From the July 2005 issue
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