A string can make or break a racket.

I can’t count the number of times I was testing a frame that I didn’t like, threw in a new string, and it played one hundred times better. It’s certainly not a perfect science, and of course, not everything here will work for everyone, but having tested so many different combinations over the years, I’ve come to learn a thing or two about what makes a frame and string go well together.

It comes down to a simple question: do I want my string to complement my frame’s strengths or mitigate its weaknesses? In a way, it’s similar to matching a racket with a player — if you struggle generating spin, would you prefer a racket that helps you add more or one that will enhance your naturally flat game? There is no correct answer; it’s a matter of preference, but perhaps my experience can help you along your journey.

 

 

Well-rounded rackets take well to most strings!

It’s also important to note that not all frames are very string-sensitive. The Head Speed MP is a great example: it’s extremely well-rounded, so a playability-specific string will make it elite in that one area. String it with a softer polyester at a low tension if you want more power. To make it more spin-friendly, you can use something sharp or very slick at a slightly higher tension. Personally, I like a very spin-friendly string like RPM Blast in the Speed because that makes it an elite spin racket with a very competitive direction control profile, which is hard to find.

 

The Percept 97 is another example of a racket that takes well to most strings. It’s not as well-rounded as the Speed, but because it’s a traditional control racket, it has minimal tech, so it can act as a blank slate for any setup. Control and comfort will always be high, so you can easily play around with combinations that add spin and power. I’ve settled on Head Lynx Tour at 52 pounds, which has great feel and also adds some spin with its shape.

Head Radical MP with Toroline Caviar

I made a small mistake in the Comfort Rackets Tier List video on our YouTube channel a few weeks ago. I placed the Radical in the A-Tier for comfort, but it should have gone into the B or C tiers. It’s not an inherently comfortable racket, but I placed it high because it was strung with Toroline Caviar.

 

 

Like most Toroline strings, it’s pretty flexible for a polyester, so it does a great job of softening up the Radical’s firmer flex to make the whole frame more forgiving. I first tested Caviar in a Radical MP by comparing it to my favourite string, Head Lynx Tour, and the difference was stark. Lynx Tour isn’t uncomfortable, but it has a sharper, stiffer feel (more like a traditional polyester), while Caviar is more powerful and plush on contact.

The beauty of Caviar is that, unlike a lot of softer polyesters, it’s still extremely spin-friendly. This combination of shape, comfort, and high spin has put the company on the map, and Caviar accomplishes it very well. The only slight issue with Caviar is that it is a little bit muted so this won’t be the best “feeling” combination of all time, but that’s not why you’re getting a Radical in the first place. This is a well-rounded racket, and by stringing it with Caviar, you’re going to mitigate its slightly less comfortable feel.

For this one, go for a tension between 47 and 52 pounds; lower if you want more power and spin, and higher if you want more control.

 

Head Gravity Pro and Head Lynx Tour

My favourite racket and my favourite string, who would have ever thought they would make it on this list?

This is one of those combos that is very complementary. Both have great control and excellent feel, but it's Lynx Tour’s shape that makes it perfect for the Gravity Pro. Shaped strings work well in 18x20s because they increase their launch angles, which adds spin potential because of the extra purchase you get over the ball.

Of course, with something like the Gravity Pro, you don’t want spin to overpower its control, but adding some is never a bad thing, and Lynx Tour is certainly not an aggressively spin-friendly string. It has a milder shape than something like Solinco Hyper G, so it allows the Gravity’s classic characteristics to shine while adding a slight “modern” element to its playability.

I used the Gravity Pro as an example, but this setup does well in most control rackets (like the Percept I mentioned above). In terms of tension, you generally want to go a little lower with 18x20s to help expand the sweet spot; I landed on 49 pounds.

Babolat Pure Strike 98 18x20 with Toroline Wasabi

Speaking of lowering your tension in an 18x20, I recently tried the Babolat Pure Strike 98 18x20 with Toroline Wasabi at 45 Pounds, and it was an excellent setup. This low tension isn’t something I usually like, but to better explain why it worked so well, I'll first discuss the string's and the racket’s pros and cons.

As an 18x20, the Strike has excellent control, but it’s also quite powerful for this style of racket. That power comes from its undulating beam, higher stiffness, and higher swinging weight, but those also mean that it’s not the most comfortable racket. Also, as an 18x20, it doesn’t have the easiest access to spin.

Wasabi is a Toroline string, so as I explained earlier, it’s very comfortable and spin-friendly (although not quite as spin-friendly as Caviar), and it also doesn’t have the best feel and has less control than stiffer polys.

When you combine them, Wasabi makes the Strike significantly more comfortable. The 18x20 string pattern is still plenty controlled despite Wasabi’s launch, and spin and power are top-notch, especially at that lower tension. 45 pounds gives the string bed a ton of trampoline effect and snapback.

I had a lot of fun with this combo and think more people should try slick, spinny polys in 18x20s because the combination makes for such a great blend of most playability characteristics, and it’s something I’ll be experimenting more with in the future.

   

Babolat Pure Aero 98 with Babolat RPM Rough

This is the ultimate setup when talking about string and frame complementarity, and my journey to understanding how good of a combination this is came by first play testing the Aero 98 with RPM Blast.

RPM Blast is undoubtedly spin-friendly, but with RPM Rough, the spin potential is on another level. Spin rackets like the Aero 98 and the Aero 100 are designed to amplify string snapback. A string like RPM Blast snaps back a lot, but adding a rough surface makes it even easier to move on itself, so when you mix rough strings and frame snapback technology, you get a ridiculous amount of string movement.

Of course, RPM Blast is still great in this racket, but it’s not as effective at complementing the Aero 98’s main strength: its spin. Optimizing that is a large part of why you would go for this setup, but it’s not the only reason.

RPM Rough also has a really nice feel for such a stiff string, so control is great, and the same can be said about the Aero 98, which, for a spin racket, has a small and precise sweet spot. I also love that RPM Rough is round because there are some very spin-friendly shaped strings, but those sharp edges make them less consistent, negatively affecting their control.

The only issue here is that it’s quite a stiff setup up, and I wouldn’t recommend stringing too low because you want that great control, so for those of you with arm sensitivity, it’s probably best to avoid this, but otherwise, string it around 53 pounds, and you’re on to a winner!

 

Wilson Blade 98 with Solinco Hyper G or Luxilon ALU Power

We end with a setup I’ve recently been defaulting to in my all-time favorite racket line, the Wilson Blade 98. One of the issues I’ve had with the past several Blades is that their feel isn’t quite as pure and connected to the ball as it used to be. It has improved with the v9, but it’s still not that raw, classic feel that was common on Blades before the v6.

Optimizing feel is how you can get the most out of the Blade, so I string them with what I consider to be the best “feeling” strings. Of course, natural gut is an option, but it's a bit of a waste because the technology inside the Blade overpowers its pure feel. Hyper G and ALU Power are the best-feeling polyester strings I’ve used — I go for ALU in the 16x19 and Hyper G in the 18x20 for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

These strings have a unique “poppy” sensation, which adds a lot of feel to an otherwise slightly mushy frame, and there aren’t many other strings that have this. The Blade is also so comfortable that it doesn’t need a forgiving string. Crisp is the name of the game here, and that’s what Hyper G and ALU do so well.

In terms of tension, I always go for that 52 or 53-pound mark, but these are not very tension-sensitive, so feel free to experiment with whatever you like.

     

That’s it for my favourite string and racket combinations, hopefully this can help some of you optimize your setups, and of course there are plenty of other great combos out there. Please don’t hesitate to ask us for stringing or racket advice in-store, and you can check out any of these products online.