Re: Tight strings vs loose


"jingus" <jingus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:T7KdndN0Ooi5MKLVnZ2dnUVZ_t3inZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
RuPEDski wrote:

It's not nearly so simple as tight=control (or as was thought in the
past, the reverse). Basically, tight seems to mean, a little less dwell
time on the string bed and a lower trajectory off the racquet. Giving the
racquet a more boardy feel. It feels very predictable in that sense. With
looser strings, the ball is on the strings a bit longer and tends to be
projected at a slightly higher trajectory off the racquet thus giving the
impression of a lot more power even though the velocity off the strings
might be the same.


when the string tension is lower the reason why the ball stays on the
strings longer is because the strings experience more displacement as
a result of the force of the ball hitting the strings. the strings
want to return to their rest position, so you get a "trampolining"
effect, in which as the strings return to their rest position, they
help accelerate the ball. the reason why this is any matter at all is
because the "spring back" time for the strings is short compared to
the length of time that it takes for a person to complete their shot
motion. when the racquet tension is higher, the string displacement is
less, therefore, the amount of "spring back" is less, resulting in less
acceleration of the ball as a result. consequently, you have to provide
more acceleration of the ball through racquet head speed.

Again, the difference in actual ball velocity is so small (perhaps a couple
of miles per hour maximum in most cases) that it is not really worth
considering. The feel is far more important.


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