competitive junior stringing

[rinopai]

hi, new to stringing, but trying to work out a good string for my 11yr old boys babolat aero drive junior . He is a junior national tournament player on hardcourts :) with heavy power topspin of both sides. We are not so bothered with durability , more just a really good string. Racket recommends babolat conquest. Tension? are stringing 2 piece currently. cheers from n.z.

[Gaines Hillix]

Bab Conquest is a basic synthetic gut string. It's a good value if he likes the way it plays. It is a medium powered string. If he needs more spin it is also available in a 17g. I recommend starting at the middle of the tension range marked on the frame as a baseline and then adjusting up or down from there. The rule of thumb is tigher for control, looser for power.

[rinopai]

thanks, its a delicate balance , i guess between power and control as ever.
Am going to try a thicker main 1.29 with a thin 1.18 cross to see how that plays. I strung the last one with crosses stringing from bottom to top so crosses were tighter in top of racket, but seemed a little hard sounding when hitting. \thanks again

[Hawkeye2]

Hi rinopai,

usually it's not recommended to string the crosses from the bottom to the top.

This puts a lot of stress on the top of the racket where it already has its weakest spot.

Bye

[Tim Strawn]

rinopai

Were the crosses at the top ACTUALLY tighter? (just curious) Hawkeye2's point is well taken if the racquet is symetrical in shape, which, if I'm not mistaken, the Babolat you mention is. However, if the racquet's head design is such that the more narrow part of the hoop is in the lower section (like some of the older Wilson Hammers -- Sledge Hammer etc), bottom up stringing of the crosses is not as dangerous.

Most manufacturers will have a different view on this. Wilson openly states that their racquets are designed in such a way that they will stand bottom-up or top-down installation of the crosses. Prince, however, is not that way. If their racquet calls for two-piece stringing the indication is that you install the crosses top down.