My tennis string review database

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

String Kong Orango Raw 1.28 (24kg) x Wilson Trinity and Diadem All Court (Extra Duty)

Pentagonal-profiled string. Soft and Spin-friendly.

Baseline: for the first 6+ hours the Orango Raw came with a slick, buttery-soft feel and was loud upon impact. Generous sweet-spot.

Forehands: embracing more and more the Elevate's open 16*20 pattern, this combo worked nice for me. Even when I didn't have the right timing or hit a bit lazy, the ball would still god eep and drop safely in bounds. Beyond decent blend of spin (1st) and power (2nd) on the forehand side. Great at hitting cross-court on the run lower than weist-high, dealing with high balls with no suprises, predictable in groundstroke exchanges from the center of the baseline. Always better to hit with some top-spin than flat.

Backhands: my 1hbh felt much better than my new-2hbh with this one. That could be because my new-2hbh is relatively flat and not quite fluid yet.

Netplay: mostly hit some half-volleys approaching the net after a shot towards the corners. I found it very easy to redirect short incoming balls on the bounce.

Conclusions: taking into consideration the price tag of less than 10€, I was very satisfied with the performance of the Orango Raw 1.28. Being this soft, it can be strung 1.5kg higher than your normal tension with no fear of any discomfort. I'm sure it would be a good option for a 100 sq inch racket, for someone who wants to try something else than round-profiled strings, for easier access to spin, higher net clearence and medium-to-low stiffness. The Orange colour looked great on the Elevate and will also fit blackedout rackets. I prefer orange to green. Somehow on the forehand it helps me keep my head pointing on the stringbed and keep my eyes on target, whereas I can't really stand green-coloured strings! After the 7-8th hour mark, I noticed some significant loss in playability, in terms that the stringbed got and sound more jarring.

Comfort: 5
Stiffness: 3
Power: 4
Ball pocketing: 5
Spin: 5
Feel: 5

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Solinco Confidential 3.0 1.30 (24kg) x Diadem All Court (Extra Duty)

Unreleased soft and round-profiled string.

Baseline: first half an hour hitting, I didn't get much feedback out of it. It needed more than half an hour to break-in. After that and throughout this playtest, sticking behind the baseline and exchaning groundstrokes with a rather flat trajectory made me feel more comfortable. Power delivery came with clean, fast and big swings. Stiffness was a bit higher than I expected (could be the racket?). Top-Spin assistance was above moderate and I could find short angles especially while being inside the mid-court area or on the run to my right to give arc on the ball.

Forehands: Against advanced hitting partner I felt safer hitting super loose and flat. The sweet-spot was relatively small. Slight misshits towards the sides were not forgiving as were not lazy or late forehands.

Backhands: on the backhand side both 1hbh and 2hbh felt absolutely great! Couldn't hit long and got some winners! Better sidespin than underspin. Had some difficulties producing underspin that would keep the ball low and long with the Boom Pro, still getting used to it.

Netplay: this was its weakest part. The relatively small sweetspot didn't allow me to have good directional control repeatidely, so I prefered hit a half-volley after a cross court forehand or backhand.

Conclusions: if released, I'd recommend it being strung at 1.5-2kg lower tension than I did for larger sweetspot and better comfort levels. Other than the mediocre underspin, I was able to keep balls in play against advanced hitting partner and play very good level of tennis. It played its best on the backhand side, I actually couldn't hit long and was able to attack. Lower tension and maybe 100 sq inch racket would be a good combo for this string. Insane snapback! Super stable performance!

Comfort: 4
Stiffness: 3
Power: 4
Ball pocketing: 4
Spin: 4
Feel: 5

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Isospeed Second Service 1.25 (23kg) x Diadem All Court (Extra Duty)

First string from 100% recycled PET bottles!

Baseline: very comfortable stringbed that felt like something between a thick multifilament and a soft and round co-poly. At this tension, stiffness was moderate at most. Large but distinctive sweet-spot.

Forehands: everything hit from weist-height and above with a rather flat trajectory had much better results than low balls hit with top-spin (low maneuverability of the Nova). The large majority of my forehand shots landed near my partner's baseline. Very few shorter than that. Had some difficulties finding the same depth, when I played intensively with an advanced hitting partner. The moderate access to spin and low maneuverability of the Nova didn't help me find short angles. I felt more confident sticking a couple of feet behind the baseline and driving all shots with flat hitting with low-to-medium net clearence.

Backhands: driving 2hbh and 1hbh were much better than those hit with top spin. Made me feel very safe playing defense and return from the backhand side, as my balls would make it over the net easily and never landed short without enabling my partner to step inside the court.

Netplay: very comfortable response blocking shots. Moderate under-spin assistance, but good overall .

Conclusions: this Nova x Second Service combo offered me a very good time every first hour getting into the court, warming up and then picking up the pace gradually. Comfort level was very high, feel was similar to a 1.30 gauge mutlifilament I played with about a month ago, but this one had better control from the baseline. What pleasanlty surprised me and that is the highlight for the Second Service is that even after 10 days unplayed due to rainy weather, the overall feedback from the stringbed was almost as good as new. Much better tension maintenence than 2 other strings I was playtesting parallel to this. Liquid wax used makes the sting feel slick and of premium quality when stringing and touching it. All 3 Isospeed strings so far are highly suggested! This one suited me better when I played at a medium level of intensity.

Comfort: 5
Stiffness: 3
Power: 5
Ball pocketing: 4
Spin: 3
Feel: 4

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

L-Tec Premium Meteor 1.30 (24kg) x Diadem Premier All Court/Extra Duty balls

New release from L-Tec Premium. Shaped. Very little stretch while stringing.

Baseline: short dwelling time, very responsive stringbed. The ball would leave the stringbed with much power and plenty of rpms even when hitting relatively flat. Sweet-spot was very informative. Stiffness remained above moderate-high. The very open string pattern allowed me to play defensively against advanced hitting partner, most of the time leading to a fault on his behalf, rather than hitting winners with driving shots. Most of the time I hit with top-spin and trying to move my partner around.

Forehands: always felt more confident hitting with some top-spin to move my partner around the baseline, not allowing him to get into the court and leading to faults or me hitting targets towards the sidelines. Very good response on the very low balls.

Backhands: I could hit both 1hbh and 2hbh better with top-spin, rather than flat. Slicing from the baseline and approaching were assisted by its shape and grab on the ball.

Netplay: I stuck most of the time behind the baseline, I just hit some forehand driving volleys. Very open string pattern led a few go long. A couple that I hit from high-to-low with underspin felt much better.

Conclusions: This was a combo that would work great on clay! Compared to the other 2 L-Tec strings, Celeste and 7S, this one I enjoyed better when playing intensively with an advanced hitting partner, not that much when playing at a medium pace with a beginner-intermediate partner. It rewards fast-pace groundstrokes. Ideal for a defensive baseliner that will hit most winners from the mid-court aiming to the sides, rather than hitting flat from the baseline. Only drawback was that depth on flat shots was not its forte with this racket. With a tighter string pattern, I bet control on flat hitting would be even better.

Comfort: 4
Stiffness: 4
Power: 5
Ball pocketing: 5
Spin: 5
Feel: 5

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Luxilon 4G 1.25 (24kg) x Diadem Premier All Court/Extra Duty balls

Impressive looks. This playtest was the most demanding experience I've had so far and made me decide to part ways with this racket, as it is very demanding for my level and didn't fully enjoy hitting with it.

Baseline: for the total of (just) 6 hours of playing it, it remained quite stiff. I should have gone 1.5kg lower to have better comfort and easier depth. My biggest issue was dealing with low balls on the forehand side. My timing was most of the time off and the racket's low maneuverability didn't help keep the ball in-play. Got tired every time after 30-45 minutes.

Forehands: every shot hit completely flat at chest high had insane control levels! The sweet-spot was a bit small and the stringbed was not forgiving when hitting slightly outside. Very few top-spin shots hit, so I just can say that the net clearence was very low, but at the same time, I did hit some successful top-spin forehands from the mid-court towards the sides, so I can't be sure about the spin potential.

Backhands: both 1hbh and 2hbh were where I did really enjoyed it! Playing them for defense or hitting hard to drive the ball gave maybe the best results I've felt so far with any other setup! The tight string pattern, made it great to hit with underspin.

Netplay: small sweet-spot made volleys tough to block without discomfort. Driving volleys were difficult because of the racket, but the stringbed response was direct.

Conclusions: When hitting super clean with a quite a tight grip, the results: depth consistency, control and overall feel from the baseline were top-notch. On the other hand, finesse shots were hard to execute, because of the racket. I'd recommend having it strung 1.5kg lower than your normal tension and that's what I'm gonna do next time in a 16*19 pattern. The Luxilon 4G felt excellent in all backhand shots and had great tension maintenence even when playing after several days in-between. I have to play it with 16*19 to be more conclusive about Spin and Feel, but I feel that I got a quite accurate feedback for a 18*20.

Comfort: 3
Stiffness: 5
Power: 4
Ball pocketing: 3
Spin: 3
Feel: 5

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Dyreex Super Tour Soft 1.25 (24kg) x Head Boom Pro x Diadem Premier All Court/Extra Duty balls / Acryilc court x Y hitting partner's balls (will ask exactly the model) balls / carpet

Soft, round and quite slick.

Baseline: the most comfortable of the 3 strings I've played with this racket. Bass sound from the stringbed on flat hitting and moderate
stiffness. Never had any soreness after hitting with it. On both fast-acrylic and slow-"carpet" surface, depth was easily found and I could return
fast balls very predictably by hitting the ball flat most of the time.

Forehands: this is where I've had some insconsistency in depth on flat hitting groundstrokes. That has been the experience with other Boom Pro reviewers.
On 3 out of 10 times, the ball would land longer than I was aimed for. When hit with more top-spin - which was above moderate, but nothing too aggresive - results were better in terms of
control with a slight sucrifice in penetration and ability to hit winners. Winners were better gained by hitting a flat forehand, after building the point with top-spin shots. I couldn't
keep exchanging flat on flat shots for too much.

Backhands: this was this combo's strongest attribute. Both 1hbh and 2hbh were executed great, especally when hit flat. Backhand slices are not as easily
done with this frame as with other rackets, but those that I managed to hit properly, I had the the ball low, fast and long.

Netplay: very few volleys hit, so this time I can't be conclusive about it

Conclusions: noticable inconsistency in forehand flat hitting in terms of depth found. None of them would land short, but quite a few would
land farther than what I was aiming for. On the backhand side is where this combo shined! No issues there at all and nothing negative to share.
Personally, I would prefer putting the Super Tour Soft on a more stable racket to get even better feedback on the forehand side, like was the case on the backhand side, which
means that the "Feel" is there, but it's up to the racket to unlease it. The Boom Pro did it great on the backhand side.

* This string is quite slick and could be used in hybrids also.

Comfort: 5
Stiffness: 3
Power: 5
Ball pocketing: 4
Spin: 4
Feel: 4

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Kirschbaum Xplosive Speed 1.23 (23kg) x Tecnifibre TF40 315 16*19

5-sided, Comfortable. Will deliver what you put into it.

Baseline: needed slightly less than half an hour of groundstrokes to break-in. After that and throughout this playtest the stringbed felt comfortable and soft-ish, not too harsh for the
arm, but not very soft either. Power came supplementary to my loose n' fast motion. Great access to top-spin and underspin, made it easy to find targets towards the sidelines.
Hitting flat gave predictable depth. Could use a bit more power on flat serves, but slice serves (8 to 2) were excellent.

Forehands: excellent response from the stringbed after the break-in period. Short but noticable dwelling time. Very predictable results on the forehand side either from the baseline or the mid-court. I could hit flat driving shots with the same ease I could hit topspin shots from the midcourt aiming towards the sidelines. No weakness found regardless of the height of my hitting zone, so nothing negative to say here.

Backhands: at this stage, this racket plays feels slightly better on the 1hbh than the 2hbhb, but it's still early. Anyway, hitting the backhand slice was super easy, especially the low ones. Very rarely did I notice a higher launch angle than I wanted. Driving the ball flat felt even better.

Netplay: hit some excellent half volleys just inside the service line. Closer to the net, I managed to guide almost every incoming ball with confidence wherever I aimed for. Slight instability and inconsistency blocking, could be the slightly underspeced racket.

Conclusions: This combo worked great from both behind the baseline and from the mid-court. This Kirschbaum string puts Comfort first, then Control which comes with what you put into it. I wouldn't string this one any lower than 23-24kg for my style of play. Rapid snapback till the end. Slick surface.

Comfort: 4
Stiffness: 3
Power: 4
Ball pocketing: 5
Spin: 5
Feel: 5

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Dyreex Hexablast 1.25 (22kg) x Angell V3 TC95 16*19, 340 grams total, RA 63, Balance 315, 12 points HL

Predictable blend of Control and Power. Durable.

Baseline: it needed some good 15 minutes to break-in (also me getting used to this racket). Most of the time I would hit flat on both sides. The ball stayed shortly in the stringbed and I could hit flat with power without overshooting. Somehow, even when hitting flat from a lower hitting zone, the ball would always drop inside my parter's baseline. The launch angle was quite low and this racket x string combo was the most effecient to keep my partner's back, than the other way around (parallel playing with other 5 rackets x strings).

Forehands: the sweet-spot was bigger than expected. The racket felt a 98 rather than an unforgiving 95 sq inch for my level. Low-to-medium net clearence, most of my flat forehands dipped near the baseline and very few if any near the service line. Great feel from the baseline and could get very predictable results when hitting with both a beginner partner at low intensity and with advanced partners, meaning than it gave me great control over both slower/bouncy and flat/fast incoming balls.

Backhands: all 2-handed backhands either low or weist-high zone, would push my partner a couple feet behind his baseline, not allowing him to get inside and hit a winner. The backhands were mostly "Drives", not shielding/defending. Slices were also very penetrating and low.

Netplay: The stringbed was comfortable and about 20 consecutive volleys I hit on the same day as a practice were hit better than any time before. Very predictable results either blocking or driving them (* the racket itself is very stable at the net because of its weight class).

Conclusions: can't really find any drawback with the Hexablast. For my level, this string would last for many hitting sessions and offer excellent playability with rackets that allow me to hit flat without fear of overshooting. I felt confident hitting the flat shots and defend/return the low balls. Almost none of my shots found the net and very few went long.

* This playtest that lasted longer than usual because of bad weather conditions, the string remained unplayed several days in-between each hit.
** Can't be very conclusive about its spin potential, as I was hitting flat most of the time with this racket.

Comfort: 4
Stiffness: 4
Power: 5
Ball pocketing: 4
Spin: 4
Feel: 5

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Solinco Hyper G round and soft 1.30 (23kg) (unreleased) x Diadem Nova FS100

Soft. Comfortable. Mute.

Baseline: from start to finish this string offered me a blend of high comfort and good control through spin experience. It was one of the least lively strings, so I guess that means it should be characterized as "mute". I've never experienced any discomfort after hitting with it. Playing with beginner hitting partners, it was a very pleasant experience to exchange groundstrokes with them with me always aiming close to them to keep the ball in-play with ease and hit some winners now and then. Against advanced hitters playing at a much higher and intense pace, the moderate-to-low power delivery allowed me to hit fast with top-spin keeping the ball always in-bounds, able to hit targets towards the sidelines, rather than hitting flat drive winners.

Forehands: very predictable results in terms of trajectory and depth in top-spin shots. Some inconsistency in depth was noticed in flat hitting, several shots would drop shorter than expected, almost none farther than the baseline.

Backhands: here too, top-spin 1-handed backhands were more comfortable to hit than my flatter 2-handed-backhands. Underspin in slices was just moderate and no extra assistance was found there.

Netplay: very comfortable blocking shots and pretty decent hitting some drive volleys. Half-volleys were a bit all over the place because the connection with the stringbed was not high in finesse shots overall.

Conclusions: this variant of the Hyper G would for sure work great for beginner and intermediate level players who just want to be assured that the stringbed will offer them moderate to low power, good ball pocketing and access to top-spin and that hit with some top-spin rather than flat. I noticed some lack of connection with the stringbed especially on finesse shots, half-volleys, flat forehands and on-the-run low forehands. Control came better through spin.

Comfort: 6
Stiffness: 2
Power: 3
Ball pocketing: 5
Spin: 4
Feel: 4

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Dyreex Cube Flash 1.20 (23kg) x Pro Kennex Ki5 295 (dense 16*20 string pattern)

Power n' Spin blend. Minimal notching. Very good snapback and durability for my level.

Baseline: played it both with beginner and advanced hitting partners. At low intensity hitting, it didn't make a huge impression to me coming back form several days off court because of bad weather conditions trying to find my form again. It played the complete opposite with advanced partners at faster pace.

Forehands: Clean and fast hitting with a somewhat of a vertical swingpath led to production heavy balls (powerful topspin shots). Even though this racket has a very dense string pattern, I played much more confident when I started hitting with spin and remained doing so till the end of this playtest. The stringbed got very comfortable (racket's orientation, also), offered distintive ball pocketing and bite. I can see it being used on stiffer rackets with no issues for the joints as it felt elastic/"poppy".

Backhands: 2-handed-backhands felt best when I held my racket super loose and accelerated fast to get topspin. Better results than hitting flat. Slices and drop shots were hit even better, so the stringbed offered me confidence to execute this kind of finesse shots.

Netplay: *** Will hit more and come back for this ***. Didn't like it very much on half-volleys, because even though I hit several like I mostly do, with this one they dropped farther from me (closer to my partner) than I wanted (racket?).

Conclusions: this is the Dyreex string I've enjoyed playing the most, mainly because it got me back into hitting with more topspin, I could lift the low balls and got them to land safely in-bounds. Chest-high forehands were also hit much more confidently when hitting with topspin and got me hitting with my elbow farther away from my body with a more extended arm. The stringbed was lively but not unpredictable when hitting with some spin.

On more open string patterns, I would go 1kg higher to reduce some of the power in order to be able to hit the flatter backhands more safely when defending.

Comfort: 5
Stiffness: 3
Power: 5
Ball pocketing: 5
Spin: 5
Feel: 5

Compared to the Cube Max, this one was more powerful, felt slicker and more predictable when hitting the flat forehand.

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Luxilon Element 1.25 (23kg) x Tecnifibre TF-X1 300 (open 16*19, fairly stiff, powerful and spin-friendly frame.)

(Just 4- hours hitting. I will play it again with another racket.)

High-tone n' "metallic" sound. Spin friendly. Powerful on beginner and moderate level of hitting. Great touch. Shorter dwell-time and less comfortable than expected.

Baseline: First time hitting with a beginner hitting partner the stringbed kept producing a high-tone "metallic" sound. Dwell-time was short, the stringbed was more responsive and less comfortable than I expected by this comfort-labelled string. Then I put about 3- hours with more advanced hitting partners at higher intensity. Stiffness became more bareable, but was still above average.

Forehands: I hit the flat forehands with more access to power than I wanted. Most of my shots would bounce very near to my partner's baseline, several longer, very few short and close to the service line. By applying more topspin, ball trajectories became much more predictable and I can say I was pleasantly surprised about the spin potential I got from it. Very good directional control, when I decided to hit towards the sidelines or cross court, regardless of the height of the hitting zone (good racket maneuverability).

Backhands: 2-handed backhands hit quite flat were quite powerful, more penetrating than other string x racket combos when defending and returning a fast ball on the run. Several slices I hit stayed very low and very long and offered me more time to re-establish than usual. Approach slices were great and so was the "touch" on finesse shots.

Netplay: short dwell-time. very responsive and direct feedback. stiff combo when blocking a few shots at the net.

Conclusions: I will play this string with another less stiff racket and come back with another review. The Luxilon Element 1.25 x TF-X1 300 was not a comfortable combination. If strung lower, the power delivery would be too overwhelming and would get out of hand for me. I also noticed that the strings moved very little and after 4 hours when moving them with my fingers there were some "grooves". During the last hour of playing, the stringbed started getting slightly more comfortable. I keep the great feel on slices and finesse shots, the very good access to spin for a round-profiled string and I will try it again on another racket that I've been playing for much longer to re-evaluate it.

Comfort: 4
Stiffness: 4
Power: 5
Ball bite: 4
Spin: 4
Feel: 4

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

RS Tennis London 1.25 (22-kg) x Diadem V2 Elevate FS98 (very open 16*20)

Premium feel. Control through Spin. Low powered.

Baseline: like the Lyon and Paris strings, the London felt of premium quality too, especially during the first 2 days. Stringbed felt very informative and when hitting the sweet-spot cleanly, it gave a buttery smooth feel. Very comfortable on this already comfortable racket with serious ball pocketing. Right away, I felt that I couldn't penetrate the court with powerful and flat hitting. Power levels were pretty moderate.

Forehands: Getting back into tennis after several days off, several flat hits sailed long. Getting back into decent level, the very open string pattern and square-shaped string combo meant that Control would come much easier through Spin. From behind the baseline I felt the ball wasn't very penetrative and I couldn't really push my partners back. It played its best from inside the baseline and the mid-court enabling me to find short angles much easier than other racket x string combos. Aiming towards the sidelines and changing direction gave better results.

Backhands: the serious ball pocketing and easy access to spin, helped a lot on defensive situations against advanced hitting partners, kept me in play. Underspin was excellent as the bite on the ball was very satisfying.

Netplay: Again, serious ball pocketing and bite on the ball made volleys very comfortable and they would drop short near the service line, either with blocking or with underspin.

Conclusions: My only 2 "knocks" on the London would be the low power delivery and the flat forehands at this not so high tension. This was more obvious on my forehands and 1st serve. On my 2-handed-backhand Power was not an issue. Top-spin forehands offered great feel of being in Control and short or longer targets could be found with serious arc on my balls. Slicing the 2nd serve with this combo felt like second nature.

I wouldn't string the London higher than 22-23kg, because I liked the ball pocketing/bite on the ball, so someone more advanced with me, with faster topspin shots would get even better results using the same tension (heavier ball I guess).

Comfort: 5
Stiffness: 3
Power: 3
Ball bite: 6
Spin: 6
Feel: 5

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

L-Tec Premium Celeste 1.25 (23kg) x Tecnifibre TF40 315 16*19

Premium feel. Longevity. Awesome flat hitting!

Baseline: this string played amazingly from the baseline! Stiff feel overall with this not-comfort-oriented frame. Very close to being uncomfortable after hitting 1 hour straight from the baseline. I can see myself using this again 1-1.5kg lower tension or the 1.20 gauge at the same tension for more easy "pop".

Forehands: the Celeste offered premium connection with the ball, which helped me transform my forehand. Hitting flatter than ever before with this racket, finishing with my wrist behind my left ear like Daniil. Easier access to underspin than topspin, especially on the backhand slice. This combo should work great for attacking flat hitters.

Backhands: excellent flat 1hbh and 2hbh. Underspin was good, but not its highlight with the TF40 315 16*19 because in order to get good depth I had to incorporate much of my body weight.

Netplay: great directional control. Nothing unpredictable.

Conclusions: this TF40 315 x Celeste 1.25 combo fits best an attacking flat hitting style from both sides. Defending with the backhand slice was pretty decent, not great because I found that I had to use my body weight more than with other combos to get the same depth. Launch angle was as low as I'd wanted. Net clearence was medium. Snapback was just good. The strings would not stay out of place, but using my fingers to check the snapback, I noticed it was slow. Almost 1 month with several days unplayed in-between, the longevity and feel of being in total control from the baseline with flat strokes are its two highlights.

Comfort: 4
Stiffness: 5
Power: 4
Ball pocketing: 4
Spin: 4
Feel: 5

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Mayami Magic Twist 1.25 (22kg) x Diadem Nova FS 100

Topspin > flat hitting. Slice, easy peasy!

Baseline: "Plasticky" and mute feel for the first hour or so. Almost impossible to overshoot! Flat shots were a bit inconsistent.

Forehands: After the first hour getting used to this "mute" sensation, I found out that consistency in my shots was much better achieved through topspin than flat hitting. The string is not agressively twisted, so it is not a spin-monster (that's good for slicing). The net clearence was medium-to-high. The more I played it the easier the Power delivery came. At no point did it feel stiff or uncomfortable.

Backhands: got to hit super easy backhand slices, with small need to input a forwards bodyweight transfer. Actually, slicing was so easy, that I rarerly used driving backhands! I could not only defend, but also attack with the Slice!

Netplay: comfortable hitting, but not its highlight in terms of Feel. Moderate connection with the stringbed here.

Conclusions: The Mayami Magic Twist 1.25 is blend of the Solinco Hyper G, Yonex Poly Tour Pro and Stringkong Banana Bite. At first, it felt "plasticky" and mute. From the 2nd hour on, it got more "poppy" and top-spin friendly. It was very hard to overshoot. Consistency on the forehand was found through topspin with moderate swing speed. Its highlight for me was the backhand slices! 2 "knocks" are the net play and the flat forehand hitting. I would pick it anyday for practices of medium instensity, playing with beginners and working on technique and new stuff.


Comfort: 5
Stiffness: 3
Power: 4
Ball pocketing: 5
Spin: 5
Feel: 4

[konstantinos kalfountzos]

Mayami Hit Pro 1.25 (22kg) x Angell TC95 V3 16*19

Easy power. Great access to spin for a round string. Top-notch feel from the baseline and at the net.

Baseline: getting back into hitting with the Angell after weeks, had to get used to the high launch angle from its open 16*19. First day and after the warm-up, my first flat forehands from the baseline would launch quite high. I had to hit with more top-spin and closer racket face than usual. As stiff as one string has to be to offer a very good connection with the stringbed and not being erratic.

Forehands: with fast swings and big cuts at the ball, the launch angle was still high, but the spin produced was more than I'd expect from a round string and most of my shots landed inside my partner's baseline with a good kick. From the mid-court it was easy to apply top-spin and aim towards the sides or hit a drop shot or slice. Power came easy and the sweet-spot felt like playing with a 98 sq inch.

Backhands: hit excellent slices with very easy depth. As with all round-shaped strings, the approach slices felt great.

Netplay: top-notch feel at the net with great directional control both when blocking and hitting with underspin.

Conclusions: It was played with advanced hitting partners only, not with beginners, at a medium-to-high pace for my intermediate level, in short, hitting aggressively and not casually. I experienced inconsistency on flat forehands in terms of the launch angle (a 2nd try with a denser string pattern is needed). One of the best strings for finesse shots (drop shots, slices etc). The overall spin assistance was as good as shaped strings. Easily one of the best round-shaped strings on the market.

Comfort: 4
Stiffness: 4
Power: 5
Ball pocketing: 5
Spin: 5
Feel: 5