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Outlook 2006 — String: All tied up

The stringbed is forever the playground of infinite possibility.

The string market is on an eternal search for perfect combinations of racquet and string. There are so many different possibilities for stringbeds that it defies the imagination. The feel of the racquet can be completely altered by choosing different materials, construction, gauge, and tension. And on top of that, you can put different combinations of all the above separately into the crosses and the mains.

This mix and match mentality has been further fueled by two emergent trends in string today — the increase in hybrid and polyester strings. The polyester craze among pros has got recreational players trying it too. But polys are often too stiff and harsh for the average rec player. So, they are seeking hybrid combinations of poly with another string, often gut, to soften the blow and to still emulate the pros. Polys have become the mix and match champs of the string world. And the demand for polys has manufacturers scrambling to make more and different kinds of polys, primarily trying to make softer renditions with better tension holding capabilities. This has breathed new life into gut, which when used in poly hybrids creates a financial hybrid as well.

Of course, the quest for the perfect stringbed remains forever paradoxical — manufacturers try to make polyester more like nylon, and nylon more like gut. But, according to the pro trend, anyway, gut is “too good” (i.e., too much pop and playability), so it must be made more like nylon (by hybridization). Got it?

Happy matching for 2006!

New String for Spring 2006

From the February 2006 issue
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