People often come to our shop and ask “what’s the best string to use?” That’s a good question but it really depends on many factors. When I came across this article from Babolat’s website I thought I’d share it here. What surprised me in the article is of the best players in the world, 70% of the top 10 ATP and 80% of the top 10 WTA play with hybrid strings. Click on Babolat’s article to read more about the advantages of stringing with a Hybrid option.
A Hybrid basically means using different combinations of strings in the mains and crosses of one racket to come up with the combination of power, durability, resilience, comfort and spin that suits your game. There are a lot of ways to achieve this, but to start the conversation I’ve included the article link above and another explaining spin as described by Babolat in the process of developing and refining the Babolat Pure Aero racquet. In this second article Babolat explains how the strings interact with the frame and ball to produce spin. To essentialize this part of the Pure Aero story, they “dissected player strokes and movements needed for optimal topspin, identifying two key moments: preparation and ball impact.” Step 1: Preparation – Speed of the Racket
The faster the racket moves through the air, the more topspin a player can generate.
Step 2: Ball Impact – Movement of Strings
Mains on the string pattern give movement to the ball. The more they are able to move, the more topspin a player can generate on the ball. Check out these stories and more at Babolat Insider. Stop by RSW if you’d like to find out more!