Have you ever been frustrated in a tennis game when your racquet was not delivering the kind of shots you wanted? You might have one of the best brands of racquet frame but your shots seem not to profile in the way it’s supposed to be. You may have all the drills and the agility but when this one component – tennis string is in bad shape, you’ll underperform.
In this article, I will assist you with the best brand of tennis strings available for your selection if you ever want to change your tennis string. The options are numerous that make it hectic sometimes when choosing. Some people choose low cost at the expense of quality, others make the wrong choice because they get their hands on the wrong information before making a purchase.
So, if you’re reading this, just hang in there as I take you through the pool of options at your disposal but ultimately guide you through the best string brands available for your consideration. I believe that at this point you know the various brands of tennis racquet? If not, then you might want to check this out.
Most of the companies that manufacture tennis racquet also produce these strings. You don’t have to worry yourself about all the brands. There are brands that are most popular in the market and are of good quality. That’s what I shall be helping you with.
Most Popular Tennis String Brands, The Best on the Market
Among the several, the most popular brands consistent in quality in the line of tennis string production are:
- Babolat
- Luxilon
- Wilson
- Prince
- Tecnifibre
- Solinco
These brands are of good quality materials. They are endorsed by most professional players of ATP and WTP. However, they come in families of several versions just like the tennis racquet. Do not be disturbed by that. You will easily make out your choice by the time you’re done riding with me through this post.
Other Brands of The String – It’s Good To Know
Not to bore you with information overload, I think it’s necessary to know the two sides of the coin. Just a quick list of them and I will zoom in to the best 6 brands. Here are they:
Alien Alpha Ashaway Boris Becker
Diadem Double AR Dunlop Forten
Gamma Gosen Head Iso-Speed
Kirschbaum Klip L-Tec Laserfibre
MSV Pacific Polyfibre RS Robin Sӧderling
Signum Pro Toalson Topspin TOURNA
Volkl Weiss CANNON Yonex Ytex
It’s a lot, right? Anyway, let see what the popular brands can offer.
Babolat Tennis String
This brand has contributed immensely to the evolution of tennis racquet strings in the history of tennis. Back in 1875, it created the world’s first revolutionary set of tennis strings and continues to provide more advanced ones with its experience.
It has 3 major families which can be divided into several categories based on design purpose. They are:
Babolat RPM string
It’s for big hitters who want to add more power to their strokes. Players who seek this string usually have an aggressive play style. It’s manufactured from a polymeric material.
Versions found in this family are: RPM Blast Rough 1.35/15L String, RPM Blast Rough 1.30/16 String, RPM Blast Rough 1.25/17 String, RPM Blast 15L String, RPM Blast 16 String, RPM Blast 17 String, RPM Blast 18 String, RPM Team 16 String and RPM Team 17 String.
Babolat Xcel String
This family is generally the softest with a friendly feel. It’s very comfortable to use but has the downside of generating less spin. As compared with those made with polyester materials, it’s less durable. It doesn’t help much with more power generation and players who long for more spin would have to put in much effort to get that.
The available versions for one to choose from are: Xcel 16, 17 String Blue, Xcel 17 String Natural, Xcel French Open Black 16 & 17 String.
Babolat Hurricane String
The features of this family go with its name “Hurricane”. It’s mostly produced from polyester which can be attributed to its firm and durable nature. It’s also good for big hitters. Players who love more power and control in their game usually go for this type.
You will find the following versions under this family for your selection: Pro Hurricane 16, 17 & 18 Strings, Pro Hurricane Tour 16 & 17 Strings.
In addition to these families are specially designed natural gut set of strings, engineered with Thermogut technology to provide an exceptional combination of feel, comfort and power. It’s highly recommended to players with arm problems and also provides outstanding playability. They are Babolat VS Touch, VS Team and Tonic Plus – all are natural gut strings that are made from cow’s intestines.
Luxilon Tennis String
It’s also one of the popular brand used by the ATP players. It’s generally known for its durability, feel, control and great spin. It has about 5 categories of family namely ALU Power, ALU Power Soft, 4G, 4G Soft and Element.
Luxilon ALU Power
It’s one of the iconic families of this brand and has earned a reputation through its consistent improvement. It’s durable and provides good feel when using. It’s not recommended for beginners because it’s potential is above their exploitation.
The versions under this family are ALU Power 16L (1.25) 20th Anniv. String, ALU Power 16L String, ALU Power Rough 16L String, ALU Power Spin 16 String, ALU Power 15 String, ALU Power Feel 18 (1.20) String and ALU Power Fluoro 17 String.
Luxilon ALU Power Soft
This is similar to the ALU Power except for its power. It’s lower as compared to the ALU Power. Contrary to its name, it’s not that soft and is also a good selection for big hitters.
It has only one version namely ALU Power Soft 16L String.
Luxilon 4G
It’s purposely designed to retain tension and provide better control for players. Like the soft ALU Power, it has less power generation ability and that, it would require extra effort by players to create heavy shots.
Under this family one can find 4G 16 (1.30) String, 4G 16L (1.25) String, 4G S 15g (1.41) String and 4G Rough 16L (1.25) String.
Luxilon 4G Soft
It’s softer than the 4G slightly and offers better control to big hitters. It’s recommended for strong players who want to add more control to their spins.
It has one version which is 4G Soft 16 (1.25) String
Luxilon Element
Like all the Luxilon strings, the only distinctive feature about this family is its flexibility. It’s also too firm and underpowered for beginner’s use.
It comes with the following versions: Element 16L (1.25) String, Element 16 (1.30) String and Element Rough 16 (1.30) String.
Wilson Tennis String
As popularly known because of tennis legend Roger Federer, it provides quality strings ranging from synthetic gut to natural gut. It produces different types of strings for all class of players.
Its design generally adds more feel to the racquet. It has about 5 families, each with distinctive features. They are NXT, NXT DuraMax, NXT Power, Sensation and Revolve.
Wilson NXT
It’s a classic nylon multifilament string that serves well in terms of comfort and feel. It’s less durable as compared to its other family strings but offers outstanding power to big hitters.
This all-around playability string has the following versions: NXT 16 & 17 String Black, NXT 16 & 17 String Natural, NXT Control 16 String, NXT DuraMax 15L String, NXT OS 16L String, Sensation 15, 16 & 17 Strings and Sensation Control 16 String.
Wilson NXT DuraMax
In addition to the features of the NXT model, it’s more durable and offers more control for players who like hitting deep into the court. It also has good shock absorbing ability which makes it more forgiving to the arm.
It has two versions namely NXT DuraMax 15 String and NXT DuraMax 16 String.
Wilson NXT Power
Like the NXT version, it has more power potential and offers better dampening effect due to more shock absorbing fibres. However, it doesn’t generate much spin.
There are 3 versions – NXT Power 16, 17 & 18 Strings.
Wilson Sensation
It’s one of the oldest families of this brand which bears many similarities with the NXT but provides more comfortability. It also helps to reduce vibrations significantly which makes it very friendly to the arm.
Versions: Sensation 15, 16 & 17 Strings and Sensation Control 16 String
Wilson Revolve
It’s an improved co-polyester string. The special additives enhance its tension control ability thereby making it easy to snap back after heavy spin. This also adds to its control ability and feel making it a good option for intermediate and advanced players.
Its versions are Revolve 15, 16 & 17 Strings.
Prince Tennis String
Prince, as special as it sounds, produces strings ranging from monofilament synthetic gut to multifilament types. It also comes in different colours.
Families: Classics (Value), Tour XC, XR & XP (Control/Spin), Premier (Comfort & Power)
Prince Classics
Most of the versions in this family are less durable but offer valuable strings in terms of power and comfort.
The versions are Lightning Pro 16 & 17 Strings, Synthetic Gut 16 & 17 Duraflex String, Original Synthetic Gut 17 String, ProBlend Duraflex 16 String, Topspin 15L String, Lightning XX 16 & 17 Strings.
Prince Tour XC, XR & XP
This family is specially designed for outstanding control and sharper spins. It’s suitable for big hitters who want to add more style to their play.
Versions: Tour XP 15L String, Tour XP 16 & 17 Strings, Tour XC 15 String, Tour XC 15L, 16L & 17L Strings, Tour XR 15L, 16L & 17L Strings.
Prince Premier
It’s more tuned for better dampening of vibrations generated on bigger strokes. This attribute makes it more comfortable to use and one can hit balls with high power. It’s a good choice for players with some level of experience.
Versions: Touch 16 String, Power 16 String, Control 16 & 17 Strings, Control 17 String, Touch 17 Clear 330′ String Reel, Touch 16 Clear 330′ String Reel.
Tecnifibre Tennis String
This brand produces string ranging from mono to multifilament polyester with additives and are available for all class of players. Its design is mostly centred on control, spin and durability.
There are 5 families namely X-One Biphase, NRG2, Black Code, Pro Red Code and Razor Code
Tecnifibre X-One Biphase
It’s a multifilament family manufactured through extreme variations in temperature to give an exceptional power and feel of racquets. Players who want comfort without offering up power are good to go in for them.
Versions: X-One Biphase 16, 17 & 18 Strings, X-One Biphase 16, 17 & 18 String Red.
Tecnifibre NRG2
It’s also a multifilament synthetic string whose playability in terms of comfort, power and feel is comparable to the natural gut. It’s averagely durable.
Versions: NRG2 16, 17 & 18 Strings, NRG2 16 & 17 String Black.
Tecnifibre Black Code
It’s a soft co-polyester string whose feel feature is engineered from heating and cooling phases in its manufacturing process. It’s a good choice for players at intermediate and advanced levels whose keen interest is attacking the ball at powerful strokes.
Versions: Black Code 16 & 17 String Lime, Black Code 16 & 17 String Fire, Black Code 15L String, Black Code 16, 17 & 18 Strings, Black Code 4S 16, 17 & 18 Strings.
Tecnifibre Pro Red Code
It’s a durable string made from co-polyester monofilament which offers very good spins. It’s a good choice to enhance the play style of aggressive players.
Versions: Pro Red Code Wax 16, 17 & 18 Strings, Pro Red Code 16, 17 & 18 Strings.
Tecnifibre Razor Code
It’s also manufactured from co-polyester monofilament with special additives to improve on both comfortability and power. It’s a good choice for strong intermediate and advanced players who want more responsive control string.
Versions: ATP Razor Code 16, 17 & 18 String Blue, ATP Razor Code 16, 17 & 18 String Carbon.
Solinco Tennis String
It’s a polyester string with varieties in the number of filaments. It’s categorized into Tour Bite, Tour Bite Soft, Revolution, Outlast and Hyper-G.
Solinco Tour Bite
It’s a monofilament polyester string optimized to give an excellent control and remarkable spin properties.
Versions: Tour Bite 16 (1.30) String, Tour Bite 16L (1.25) String, Tour Bite 17 (1.20) String, Tour Bite 18 (1.15) String, Tour Bite 19 (1.10) String, Tour Bite 20 (1.05) String, Tour Bite Diamond Rough 16 (1.30) String, Tour Bite Diamond Rough 17 (1.20) String.
Solinco Tour Bite Soft
It’s a co-polyester monofilament string which works perfectly for advanced players as well as big swing intermediate players. It’s a softer version of the Tour Bite.
Versions: Tour Bite Soft 16 (1.30) String, Tour Bite Soft 16L (1.25) String, Tour Bite Soft 17 (1.20) String and Tour Bite Soft 18 (1.15) String
Solinco Revolution
A co-polyester string of hexagonal shape with a good blend of spin and control. It’s too firm for players at the beginner’s level.
Versions: Revolution 16 (1.30) String, Revolution 16L (1.25) String, Revolution 17 (1.20) String, Revolution 18 (1.15) String
Solinco Outlast
It provides a good feel of the racquet but lacks in power. It’s for players seeking more control over their games.
Versions: Outlast 16 (1.30) String, Outlast 16L (1.25) String, Outlast 17 (1.20) String and Outlast 18 (1.15) String
Hyper-G
It’s a bright green, square-shaped co-polyester string. With its good tension maintenance to control, spin and incredible feel, it’s too firm for beginner players.
Versions: Hyper-G 16, 17 & 18 Strings, Hyper-G 16L String, Hyper-G 19 & 20 Strings.
Have You Found Your Brand?
You have done a great job keeping up with me to this point. It’s quite a long way but a worthy course to get this information to you. Having known the best brands of tennis strings out of the pool of options available out there, it should be easier now to make a good choice without any doubts.
However, if you’re still undecided about the right one to grab then trying out this will be more helpful. It’s a detailed information about the best-selling strings on the market. Get your hands on any one of them and rock.
I will be glad to address your questions if any and do well to drop a comment if this article was helpful. If you still want to read more on what goes into choosing a string, then follow this link: the strategy in choosing a string that fit your play style.