Not a real AMA, but I string tennis racquets for a living, ask me any questions you got

[u/[deleted]]

[u/xector]

Gotta ask, it's okay if you don't want to answer but, how much money do you make and do you work normal 8h?

[u/cchsbball23 → u/xector]

Not OP, but I make anywhere between $30-40/hr. I string at the tennis club I manage and also for a D1 and my own D2 collegiate teams. A stringer can look to make at least $10-15 per racquet most anywhere you go, so with 15-20 minute turn around time, its pretty damn good money....but you have to be good and can NOT sacrifice quality

[u/trebro]

Hey man, cheers for answering questions. I used to always get my racquets restrung by my now ex-coach and he always knew what tension and type of string I should get. Recently I broke the strings in both my racquets and I'm at a loss. I'm a tall, big hitter, who serves and volleys quite a lot. I hit with a lot of spin but I can be quite inconsistent. What strings and tension do you recommend for me?

[u/Hazelrat10 → u/trebro]

The only way to really tell would be to watch you play... even then, you may be use to a different tension than what others would recommend. The best thing to do is email your coach and ask.

[u/akakenny]

What string tension would you recommend for slightly more power? I've ordered the Head Youtek Graphene Instinct MP and I am getting ALU power for main and natural gut for cross for this racket.

[u/titos334 → u/akakenny]

More power/spin would be generated from a lower string tension. I think that racquet has a recommended tension between 53-63lbs or something similar. Luxilon also suggests stringing at 10% lower than normal. I don't know what you have tensioned at before but I would go towards the lower end of what the racquet is meant for to gain the power you desire from both the string and racquet so low 50s. If you want more spin in addition to power check out Luxilons Alu power rough.

Natural gut is always a solid choice . Hopefully the stringer knows to pre-stretch the natural gut before stringing, otherwise you won't benefit from it's phenomenal ability to retain tension. For the crosses I would go middle of the line or slightly higher. So in the high 50lbs.

Knowing what the player has tensioned in the past and with what strings helps a lot in determining exactly what tension would be suit them, in addition to what they are looking for out of the strings(which you provided).

[u/tokeacola]

I've been stringing for 3 years at my part-time job and can do a racket in ~25 minutes. Got a couple questions.

What is stringing for a living like? Is the job market super competitive? Do you string for professional players, a private tennis club, or a tennis company? Obviously I'm not fast enough to string for a living, but I do sometimes think it would be a nice "fallback" career, if I don't get out of college.

[u/Tyrus84]

Why does it always seem like I have to force the tie off cross string on a babolat aero? going top to bottom.

Are they some odd grommets or am I doing it wrong?

[u/titos334 → u/Tyrus84]

Are you doing a 2 piece or 1 piece? Sometimes it can be difficult to tie off because the grommet is partially covered, that's just part of the stringing pattern, the tie off grommets are enlarged so it's usually not an issue. It helps to cut the end of the string diagonally and help it through using a flat nosed plier. I find Aeros to be one of the easiest racquets to work with and love when people bring them in.

[u/canucklehead13]

Which string is better in your opinion, ALU power spin or ALU power rough? I've only ever tried the ALU power spin and I love it, but I've always wondered if it's worth switching to another of the luxilons. Also, I string it at 50lbs on a dunlop 300g, is that a good tension for getting optimum benefit from it? And what's the benefit of putting a natural gut in the crosses instead of doing a synthetic for the entire racquet bed? (which is what I'm doing right now)