Hi folks, first of all my apology in opening a thread as soon as I register. I'm a casual beginner player whom been playing on and off fr the past 10-15 years. I've been playing again for the last 2 months or so after like 3 years hiatus. After reading this forum I decided to change my string tension from 28 to 22 today since I'm a beginner. Today when I played with new tension, I experience quite a pain on my elbow joint. Previously when I use 28lbs I did not experience this, everything is fine. And my play after adjusting the tension to 22lbs did not improve too. What is wrong with this ? Is it the beginner string tension not suitable for my style of play ? I usually play double and most of the time as front man as I need to get back my footwork rhythm back to be able to play from baseline. My rackets are VT60, Nanoray 20, Arcsaber 02T. I only change the tension of the first 2 rackets. String previously was BG66 and changed to BG66 Ultimax with 22lbs. Any advise would be much appreciated. Thanks
Ok, further research in here and internet shows that this might be a symptom of tennis elbow? Is it possible to get a tennis elbow from incorrect tension ?
How about your racket's weight? I once had the tennis elbow, using VT80 at 26lbs, 4ug4. I went back to the shop to ask them about the problem, they mentioned that it might be racket stiffness, string tension and GRIP SIZE too! I guess regarding how you get tennis elbow from racket stiffness and string tension, the racket is too stiff for you to wield, mostly because of lack of strength. As for grip size, I only knew about it when they told me that if the grip is too thin, and you use too much strength to grip it when you swing it (smash, clear), it might cause the problem too. I got my tennis elbow because of this... It has something to do with the racket feedback too, well that's what they told me hehe... I think lowering the tension won't really cause or make your problem worse. As for racket stiffness, the rackets you mentioned mostly are mid flex, so should not be the cause of this. Maybe try changing your grip size? make it thicker? Hope this helps.
Thanks for the reply. thing is i use 28 for almost 2 months and nothing happened. Only that particular day when i change the tension, this injury occurred. I'm pretty sure that the change of tension caused this. Because that's the only variable that changed. Racket is the same. I should rephrase my question above a bit to: how can change of tension to a loosen tension caused tennis elbow. today the elbow is getting better. Next week I will change the tension back to 28 on the VT and play with it. Will report back on the outcome
Maybe wrong swinging techniques, trying to swing too hard to compensate for loosened tension. Did u loosen yr tension at the same stringer/shop? In Indo most of the regular badminton shops' m/c are not calibrated regularly. My stringer's shop 25/26 is even harder than other stores' 28/29 lbs. My stringer will usually not string above 27lbs even for Yonex made in Japan rackets. Except the owners are willing to accept the risk that even Yonex ORI can crack at those tensions.
Yes, the VT is done at shop A, then the Nano is at shop B and both are loosened at shop C. I read from the forum that looser tension should translate to a farther drive but less fast smash ? I drive more than smash so it should be fine ? Or maybe I'm wrong?
A further drive = a faster smash, but looser tension means more time the cock will "stay" on the stringbed. Thus making it feels like a "slower" smash. What is important is your swinging techniques/speed and your gameplay. Different people at different level skills have different "OPTIMAL" string tensions with different rackets n different strings. Also to confuse matters even further, different string diameters of the same type/brand of strings have different optimal tensions. See so many "DIFFERENT" word in my sentences? So, my advice is try to minimize it by: a) Use the same stringer whom u trust to be reasonable n experienced, preferably even same stringing machine. Note that same shop can have many stringers. b) Understand the type of strings u like on your favorite rackets. Soft (BG65, Gosen Bio Roots), Medium (BG66) or Hard feel (BG80). I am using Yonex as example because it is very popular n easy to get, I myself avoid Yonex because they are overpriced n overhyped. I prefer cheaper strings but restring more frequently, whenever I feel that it does not "bounce" as well anymore I cut my strings. c) Find your optimal string tensions by experimenting. In Indo 22lbs is kind of low even in Yonex digital machines. Unless you have joint problems or using very small strings (0.62mm) on an old oval racket (Yonex Carbonex). Start with 24lbs (using digital machine or accurate manual ones) with 0.66mm medium feel strings and work your way from there. Choose your tension by FEELING of the impact of the shuttlecock on your stringbed at the sweetspot, not by the impact sound. Most importantly, ENJOY the game and socialize as well. Have fun
Thanks fr the reply. I'm going to restring again tomorrow. I usually restring around Pasar Pagi area in Jakarta. That's where I bought my rackets too from various shops. From my observation in the area, only Samudra Sport uses Yonex digital stringer machine. Maybe will go there and restring again. This time I'm going to settle at 25-26lbs and see the effect.
I have my rackets restring with NN98 and 99 today but didnt have time to pick it up. Went straight to play with the Arcsabre 02 T on bg66. No elbow pain. I concluded that probably my swing is wrong and on looser tension because its more repulsive so I tend to stretch my arm to gain a further drive. This cause my elbow to stretch further thus the pain. Thanks for the contribution and help
