I'm playing in a tournament this weekend, and I've just gotten an opportunity to try Babolat shuttles - which I suspect they'll use. And it's come to my attention that they're really quite slow... A 78 feels like a relatively slow 77. The likelihood is it'll be Babolat, Yonex Speed 3, or Yehlex - which means it could range anything from being very slow to quite fast (which I've found higher grade Yehlex shuttles to be). We've also had a bit of a cold snap in the UK, so I'm not optimistic anything will be fast enough for the hall - we could probably do with 79s at this point. My usual set up is my N90 with Li Ning No.1 with 30lbs, and this won't be a problem on the Yehlex shuttles. But it will be a problem on Speed 3 Yonex or 78 Babolat. I have a second N90 that I recently strung with NS95 at 26lbs, but it's still not really forgiving enough. I have a few options: BG Aersonic - I'd rather not resort to this because my net game will go out the window NS70 Li Ning No.1 Could anyone recommend tensions on the above strings? I thought changing to a thicker gauge (NS95) would've helped along the way, but it hasn't really. I don't really have time to go and buy new strings either.
If it's a BadmintonEngland sanctioned event then it will definitely be the Babolat shuttles. At the tournament, if you feel that the shuttles are too slow, you should test it. Organizers tend to have a different speed on site. If they don't have another speed, you're allowed to tip them (with the agreement of your opponent of course) to get to the right speed. String wise, you're probably best staying on whatever setup you trained on/feel most comfortable with. Good luck
I didn't think you were allowed to tip in official tournaments? Either way I'm betting they won't have 79s, only 78s and 77s.
Tipping is possible on official tournaments. If referee decides that the shuttles in hand are all slow, he can allow tipping by the service judge (if there is one) or players if there is no service judge. If you absolutely want to be sure you are comfortable if shuttles slow but opponent do not agree, you can go down a pound using your favourite string.
Sounds like it's gonna be a case of tipping. Either way I have one N90 with NS95 @ 26, one N90 with No.1 at 30, and an 50-III with No.1 at 27. I should be able to cover all ground.
