Article in WSJ re String Tension

[GeoffWilliams]

Myself, I'm becoming a fan of lower tensions with poly.

I string my Pure Drive Roddick GT with Solinco BarbWire at 52/50# down from 66# in the middle of last year. The ball does seem to fly off a little more, however, I seem to be able to generate more spin. There seems to be more of a snap back effect from the strings on the ball. I would assume it's from not over stretching the poly strings so much. I'm going to experiment with dropping into the 40 pound range.

-Shaun

ytex quadro twist/bhb7
Try stringing it with ytex quadro twist/bhb7 at 50/52.





ytex vs team

[GeoffWilliams]

Fed uses a 16 x 19 90 sq/ in. frame at 48.5/46.2/ vs team/alu rough (only comes in 1.25mm, while the vs team will vary from 1.29-1.33mm) The key statement was: "Fed is the only one in the top ten to use lower tensions.", and for his small stick, that's not that low a tension, yet, he does not have the control he had when he was at 54/52lbs in the same size frame, and has only won one slam since switching to the lower tensions. Hmmmm. Getting a little older there Fed, so you thought you needed more pop, and less control? How's that working out for you so far? Djokovic is at 60/58. Delpo is at 61. Murray is at 61-63lbs. Tsonga at 61lbs. Etc. Nadal is low at 55/53 in a 100 sq. in frame, but his mass is low at 341g, so the trampoline depth is not as exaggerated as D. mass at 359g, Fed at 365g, Delpo at 361g. Berdych at 361g, etc. Higher mass demands higher tensions, as Fed is slowly finding out, as he makes so many ues off fh in crucial matches.

Hey there is a reason that they are mostly at 360g/60lbs.! It works for returning reaction, and for serve mass. No one comes in anymore, but the top volleyers of past used frames at 400g: Becker, Sampras, Edberg, Mac, and even Borg won 5 wimbys coming more than Sampras did, at 410g! Didn't hurt their reactions at net too much, pre poly era of course, as gut had a lower trajectory, and was not as good at dipping the ball with top spin, as all of them can do now with more ultra spin technique.

It's not just poly that killed the volley. It's dipping shots. It's blazing shots off shoe tips. It's deadly returning. As the return ante goes up, the volley goes down. 3 out of 4 top players are guess what? 3 out of 4 top returners, running 1-2-4, and Fed wins by holding, as he is 16th-20th in winning return pts/breaking serve. What does that tell you? Returns are more important than serving tactically, and groundies more important than volleys.

[sfrazeur]

Myself, I'm becoming a fan of lower tensions with poly.

I string my Pure Drive Roddick GT with Solinco BarbWire at 52/50# down from 66# in the middle of last year. The ball does seem to fly off a little more, however, I seem to be able to generate more spin. There seems to be more of a snap back effect from the strings on the ball. I would assume it's from not over stretching the poly strings so much. I'm going to experiment with dropping into the 40 pound range.

-Shaun

[EdWeiss]

Here is a link to an article from the Wall Street Journal website regarding string tension. Geoff, go to town!

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/...sj_share_email