Racket Sales Stringing and Maintenance
A professional stringer with the UKRSA, I can provide a high quality/competitive restringing and gripping service to tennis rackets of all makes.
I provide a collection and delivery service in the Altrincham and Sale area; . Click here for details of the service and prices.
Gift vouchers for a racket restring or a full revamp (restring and regrip) are available to buy your friends or family.
Comprehensive guidance and advice is available on string tension and types that best suit your game; as well as guidance on how to minimise the risk of tennis elbow injuries that can drastically affect a player's season.
Please email any questions to stevetenniscoach@hotmail.com or call 07951441812.
Common Questions about Racket maintenance
When should I restring my racket?
As a good rule of thumb, you should re-string your racket as many times in a year as you play in a week.
My strings aren't broken - surely, I dont need to restring until they break?
Some players hardly ever break strings; however, the strings will lose their flexibility over months and will reduce the level of control. Additionally, less of the impact is absorbed by the strings as they age, which risks tennis elbow injuries occuring.
Try pulling the strings of your racket over one another. If you find them resistant to moving and hear a creaking sound, that indicates they have lost their flexibility and effectiveness. It is time to change them.
What tension should I use?
This varies on many factors and is a personal decision. But ultimately there is a simple relationship between tension, power and control.
More tension decreases contact time of the ball with the strings, leading to more accurate shot making and more spin imparted on the ball. Less tension increases power, but can make your shots less accurate.
Choosing tension is a personal decision, but most players opt for between 50-55 lbs.
What string types should I use? The range is so confusing
Again, this is a personal decision. Different strings will not make you a better player; but it is important to choose strings that suit your game.
For beginners, a simple synthetic gut string will suffice. More experienced players often prefer hybrid strings (nylon mains and multifilament crosses, for example) to give them a little more feel and response.
More advanced players find natural gut strings the most effective, but often mix these with nylon strings to enhance the life of the string.
How do I know if I have the correct grip size? Can I change it, without buying new racket?
Hold your racket with your dominant hand. There should be gap between the end of your ring finger and the fleshy part of your thumb. The index finger of your non dominant hand should fit in this gap comfortably.
If the gap is too small, or absent, then your grip size is too small. If the gap is too large, your grip size is too big.
It's important to get the right size as variation either way can cause tennis elbow problems and reduce the effectiveness of your game.
It is not normally possible to reduce your grip size, but you can increase it by using overgrips and heat shrink covers that increase the grip size while maintaining the shape of your racket handle.