How Often Or When To Restring A Tennis Racquet?

| by Michael Flanigan

Stringing is the most important maintenance carried out on a tennis racket.

For the pros, a fresh restring can be the difference in thousands in ranking points and tens of thousands in prize money, and for the rest of us, it’s the difference that can make an enjoyable, injury-free tennis experience.

First and foremost, if a string breaks, it’s time to restring. It may seem obvious, but it is worth noting the effect a broken string can have on the racket frame. Not only is there an instant and massive loss of tension in the racket, the break also presents the issue of an uneven distribution of tension within the racket – something that can cause long term damage to the frame itself. It’s for this reason it’s usually best to cut broken strings out of the frame, or at least avoid leaving the broken strings in it for an extended period of time.

But aside from this simple case, it’s also important to book a racket in for stringing on a regular basis, even if the strings aren’t broken.

Most players will know that the stringbed loses tension over time, due to the strings constantly being “pulled apart” whilst under tension in the racket, which leads to a loss of control from the racket setup. However, in addition to this, crucially these strings also lose their elasticity.

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Elasticity is the ability of a material to stretch and return to its original shape, and in rackets, this is felt as that “easy power” you feel from fresh strings. Once strings begin to lose their elasticity, the stringbed starts to work against you, resulting in less spin and power on groundstrokes and putting unneeded strain on the user – something that can result in physical pain.

So, how often should a racket be restrung? Well, professional tennis players are all too aware of the reduced performance from old strings, so these high-level players will have a multitude of rackets restrung for every match, training, and practice session.

This level of maintenance is perhaps a bit excessive for us mere mortals. But thankfully, racket stringing associations have come up with a neat compromise:

“The number of times you play in a week, should reflect the number of times you restring in a year.”

That is to say, if you were to play three times a week, you should consider restringing your racket at least three times a year.

In addition to this rule of thumb, players who use a full bed of polyester tennis strings, should restring more frequently, as the polyester string material loses elasticity much faster than gut or multifilament strings.

For competitive players, it is also recommended to book a racket in for restringing ahead of a tournament, to ensure the equipment is at optimal performance for competition. Tennis is a game of small margins, and fresh strings can help massively.

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