Hello everyone. I am just a beginner in this sport. I'm still trying to learn more about the equipment. Maybe you guys could help me with my dumb question. I would like to know what the benefits are for the different stringing tensions. The stronger the tension the more powerful the smash? or the greater the control. Thanks you.
High tension can speed up the time of replusion, however , it needs more "wrist power", if you do not, it may damage you hand. If you mainly use arm for power, it may be difficult to use such high tension. If you have comments, please feel free to correct.
I'm far from an expert. However, I believe that a lower string tension will give you more apparent power as long as you are contacting the bird in the sweet spot of the racquet. The string will stretch more on contact and then will spring back like an elastic band. This will increase the speed of the bird coming off the racquet head. The down side is that the bird is in contact with the racquet longer. This means that, as the racquet is moving it's harder to control the exact direction the bird comes off the racquet. Also, the characteristics of slacker string will vary more as you get away from the sweet spot. Thus, if you are not consistently contacting the bird in the sweet spot, you will get less consistency with your shots. Higher tension offers more consistency and control in that sense, but then more of the power of the shot will have to come from you (your strength and technique). A beginner might find that they have no "power" with high tension, since the elasticity of the string isn't adding much to the speed the bird comes off the string. If your technique isn't good you might hurt your arm trying to make up for this by swinging harder to get more power. For a real beginner it's probably best to start with a cheaper racquet with factory string and work on your technique before you start worrying about the subtle differences in string tension. Once you develop a "style" of play (i.e. attacking-power game vs. defensive-control game) then the best string tension (and racquet type) for you will be more obvious. A question: Can you clear from one baseline to the other?
