Most of us have the luxury of experimenting with the full gamut of racquets and strings, ranging from extra-long wide bodies strung with gut at the low end of the recommended tension range for more power to standard-length sticks with narrow beams and polyester strings weaved tightly for more control.
But if you’re recovering from a hitting-arm injury (as many of you apparently are, based on the feedback we’re getting), comfort is the all-encompassing concern. As TENNIS.com racquet advisor Bruce Levine puts it: “If you’ve got arm issues and you’re not playing with gear that softens the blow when the racquet collides with the ball, you won’t be playing for long.”
Maria Sharapova knows that – she’s recovering from rotator cuff surgery. So does Katy Koch, a 4.5 recreational player in rural Ontario – she’s getting over a bout with tennis elbow.
They may be worlds apart in ability, but neither wants a return engagement of their respective hitting-arm-invading injuries.
“After Maria’s injury, we took at look at everything – her technique, her racquet and especially her strings,” says Michael Joyce, Sharapova’s coach. The three-time major champion worked with Joyce on technique modifications, most noticeably her new and celebrated “abbreviated” serve.
But she also tried various racquet and string combinations in conjunction with Joyce, personal stringer Roman Prokes and the technical folks at her racquet sponsor, Prince. She ultimately switched to a different racquet within the Prince 03 Speedport family, exchanging the “White” model she’d been using for a slightly more flexible and forgiving version of the “Black” Speedport that also has Prince’s new string-hole grommet inserts for added cushioning. Sharapova’s new racquet is also a half-inch shorter than the 27½-inch-long Speedport White, which lightens the swingweight load and should help her prevent late hits that cause additional stress on the shoulder and arm. The stationary weight is also about 2/5 of an ounce lower.
Sharapova also softened her main strings a little as a concession to her shoulder without compromising or throwing off her highly fine-tuned game. She went from Babolat Hurricane, a harsh polyester, to Luxilon M2, a slightly softer co-polyester blend in the main strings, while maintaining easiest-on-the-arm natural gut in the cross strings.
The majority of tour pros opt for polyester or co-polyester string either as a full set or mixed with gut because polyester has a dead-like-a-board feel that lets them swing their hardest and impart incredible spins and still keep ball in the court. They also generally string their racquets tight at the very top of the recommended range, which usually runs from the mid 50s to the mid 60s (in pounds) for optimum control. Sharapova strings hers at 63 pounds.
Recreational players recovering from arm injuries can take a racquet cue from Sharapova by considering a more flexible racquet. Katy Koch, for example, currently uses a 27½-inch long and head-heavy Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3, named by TENNIS as the playtesters’ choice for power when it was introduced in 1999. Koch also uses a nylon monofilament string at the top of the tension range.
Katy wants to remain within the Wilson family, so Levine suggests she playtest the brands’ K Factor K Surge and K Factor K Pro Team. Both have narrower and more flexible beams along with the creature-comfort qualities of lower swingweights, a result of their head-light balances and shorter (27-inch) lengths.
But Levine points out that she needs to have her racquet strung at the lower part of the tension range and switch to a natural gut (best) or at least a multifilament nylon synthetic that create more stringbed deflection and a softer landing area. (The new string combination will also increase the power, but the more flexible, head-light frame should largely offset it.)
Gut offers the best protection for the arm, but it’s expensive and breaks easily. Multifilament synthetics (such as Babolat XL Premium, Wilson NXT, Prince Premier, Head FXP and Gamma Livewire) are more cost effective and generally last longer. Gauge thicknesses range from a scale of 15 to 18; the higher the gauge number, the thinner, more comfortable (and more breakable) the string.
And unless recreational players have the almost impeccable stroke mechanics of a Maria Sharapova, they should run – not walk – from polyester, especially if they’re recovering from a hitting-arm injury.
