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Moving strings

Q: On the 18th, I strung a customer’s racquet using a new (for him) string. He returned it on the 21st, complaining that the strings were moving and showing wear in one spot. I strung the racquet as specified in the Digest, my machine is calibrated, and I used the highest recommended tension. This particular racquet has really long mains, which might account for some of the movement, but other customers who use the same racquet say they get some movement and just deal with it. This customer used to play racquetball, so his strokes are hard and fairly flat, with little spin. I string about 200 racquets a year and I’ve never run into this problem before. Is there a string that moves less, or do I recommend string savers?

A: String savers might work, but not everyone likes them. Different strings react differently in different situations. You should be able to find him a string that doesn’t move — or at least, not as much — but unfortunately we can’t yet measure the “moveability” rating for strings. However, you might check the results of our playtest reports. Our playtesters rate how much each test string moves. You might be able to find something there to guide you in the right direction. If you haven’t saved your back issues, our playtest reports can be found in full on the web.

See all articles by Greg Raven

From the May 2007 issue
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