Home » RSI magazine » Ask the Experts » Hybrid theory

Hybrid theory

Q: Do you think it would improve playability of a hybrid-strung racquet if the mains and crosses were strung in such a way that the dynamic stiffness was more equal? For example, if you have Luxilon Alu Power in the mains, the dynamic stiffness is 242 with a tension loss of 17.13. On a Head Prestige Mid, the longest mains are 12.375 inches long, and the longest cross is 9.125 inches long, a ratio of roughly .73.

It seems to me that if the crosses were strung at the same tension as the mains with (in this case) Prince Synthetic Gut 17, which has a dynamic stiffness of 178 (242 times .73 equals about 177) and a tension loss of 16.88, you might get the best of both worlds without having to tinker with the tension.

This seems as though it might be a better approach than tinkering with the tension because making tension adjustments to compensate for differences in dynamic stiffness is kind of like cutting off your legs to fit your pants … it doesn’t really accomplish everything you’re trying to do.

A: This approach would make it much easier to market hybrid string jobs, because when you explain your approach to your customers, it would sound impressive. There are two drawbacks, though. First, it’s going to be a lot of work finding pairs of strings with characteristics in the ratio you seek. Second, the bottom line is the final stiffness of the stringbed, no matter how you achieve it. That is, if you can achieve a certain stiffness using either one-piece stringing or two-piece stringing, the response of the ball off the strings should be the same.

The joker in the deck is that some strings do not have a linear response on impact relative to the speed of the ball (everything else being equal). The best way to get the mains and crosses to have the same impact “signature” is to use the same string for both the mains and crosses. Given the number of players using hybrid string sets that are not matched as you propose, and given that some players will prefer a hybrid set with the stiffer string in the mains and others use that same set with the stiffer string in the crosses, the most reasonable conclusion is that it comes down to personal preference, rather than calculations.

See all articles by Greg Raven

From the April 2008 issue
Permalink