Strings
Strings are the repeat purchase of tennis: a competitive player's poly is dead after roughly 10–20 hours of play, long before the racquet wears out. Choose the material first, then the gauge, then the tension — in that order.
Consensus strings — 3 scored sources each
| String | Scores, side by side (never averaged) |
|---|---|
| Luxilon ALU Power | 94/100 — Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 6/13 — TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.5/10 — Tennis Companion (independent) |
| Solinco Confidential | 89/100 — Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 13/13 — TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.13/10 — Tennis Companion (independent) |
| Solinco Mach-10 | 8.5/10 — Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 13/13 — TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.1/10 — Tennis Companion (independent) |
| Solinco Hyper-G | 90/100 — Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 8/13 — TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.1/10 — Tennis Companion (independent) |
| Babolat RPM Blast | 85/100 — Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 6/13 — TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.03/10 — Tennis Companion (independent) |
Read the disagreements, not just the agreements: Luxilon ALU Power is 94/100 at Tennis Warehouse and 6/13 at TennCom. That gap is the most useful information on this page — it usually means price and playability life, which is exactly what the Players' Score (below, when it opens) will measure.
Step 1 — pick your material
| Material | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| co-poly | Co-polyester monofilament — the modern default for competitive players; spin, control, durability; goes dead in ~10-20 playing hours (the restring-churn engine) |
| kevlar-aramid | Aramid blends — extreme durability hybrid mains; stiff, niche |
| multifilament | Bundled microfibers (usually nylon/PU) — comfort and power, the arm-friendly alternative to poly |
| natural-gut | Beef serosa — the reference for power, feel and tension hold; most expensive ($40+/set) |
| synthetic-gut | Solid-core nylon with wrap — the budget all-rounder and standard pre-strung fill |
Step 2 — pick your gauge
Thicker (lower gauge number, e.g. 16 / 1.30mm) = more durability and control, less spin bite. Thinner (17 / 1.25mm, 18 / 1.19mm) = more spin, power and feel, shorter life. Most club players land on 16 or 16L. If you break strings in under 10 hours, go thicker or switch material before blaming the string.
Gauge-to-mm equivalents are industry-typical approximations; brands vary by about 0.02mm.
Step 3 — tension, in plain words
String inside the range printed on your racquet's throat. Poly plays best at the lower half of the range (many players land at 48–52 lb); multifilament and gut prefer the middle-to-upper half. Drop 2–3 lb in winter, add 2–3 lb in summer heat. When a poly starts launching balls and feeling boardy at the same time, it's dead — restring even if it hasn't broken.
Rule of thumb for restring frequency: as many times per year as you play per week (the classic guidance), sooner for poly if you feel it go dead.
Scored strings (35)
| Product | Score(s) — each on its source's own scale | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Babolat RPM Blast | 85/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 6/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.03/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Consensus |
| Luxilon ALU Power | 94/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 6/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.5/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Consensus |
| Solinco Confidential | 89/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 13/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.13/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Consensus |
| Solinco Hyper-G | 90/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 8/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.1/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Consensus |
| Solinco Mach-10 | 8.5/10 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 13/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) 8.1/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Consensus |
| Diadem Solstice Power | 84/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 5/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Panel |
| Head Lynx | 79/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 7/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Panel |
| Head Lynx Tour | 8.2/10 Tennis Companion (independent) 19/25 Sandplatz Tennis (Germany) — author test (independent) | Panel |
| Luxilon 4G | 84/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 12/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Panel |
| Solinco Tour Bite | 78/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 10/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Panel |
| Tecnifibre X-One Biphase | 82/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 8.2/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Panel |
| Volkl Cyclone | 86/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 8.2/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Panel |
| Weiss CANNON Blue Rock N Power Hybrid | 9.2/10 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 4/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Panel |
| Wilson NXT | 85/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 7.7/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Panel |
| Yonex POLYTOUR PRO | 84/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) 5/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Panel |
| Babolat Touch VS | 8.5/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Single-source |
| Diadem Solstice Black | 5/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Single-source |
| Head Hawk | 8/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Single-source |
| Head Hawk Power | 84/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) | Single-source |
| Head Hawk Rough | 81/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) | Single-source |
| Luxilon ECO Spin | 8.7/10 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) | Single-source |
| Luxilon Element | 85/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) | Single-source |
| Prince Premier Control | 8.5/10 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) | Single-source |
| Prince Synthetic Gut | 7.2/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Single-source |
| Solinco Confidential Soft | 8.14/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Single-source |
| Solinco Hyper-G Soft | 8.2/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Single-source |
| Tecnifibre Black Code | 9/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Single-source |
| Tecnifibre NRG2 | 82/100 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) | Single-source |
| Tecnifibre Razor Code | 8/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Single-source |
| Tourna Big Hitter Silver | 8.4/10 Tennis Warehouse playtest (retailer) | Single-source |
| Tourna Silver 7 Tour | 11/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Single-source |
| Weiss CANNON Ultra Cable | 4/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Single-source |
| Wilson Champion's Choice Duo | 8.6/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Single-source |
| Wilson Revolve | 4/13 TennCom tier list (written spreadsheet) (independent) | Single-source |
| Wilson Sensation | 7.7/10 Tennis Companion (independent) | Single-source |
The string database — 37 brands, 112 families
Every family we counted in US retail or direct sales, October 2026. Gauges are family-typical retail set gauges. Every family has a page — scored when a source rates it, coverage-building until one does.
| Brand | Family | Material | Gauges | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luxilon | ALU Power | co-poly | 16L (1.25) | Consensus |
| Luxilon | ALU Power Rough / Spin / Vibe | co-poly | 16L (1.25) | Consensus |
| Luxilon | 4G | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25) | Panel |
| Luxilon | Element | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25) | Single-source |
| Luxilon | ECO Power / ECO Spin / ECO Rough | co-poly | 16L (1.25) | Single-source |
| Luxilon | Adrenaline | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Luxilon | Savage / Big Banger Original / Ace | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Babolat | RPM Blast | co-poly | 15L (1.35), 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20) | Consensus |
| Babolat | RPM Hurricane | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Babolat | Touch VS Natural Gut | natural-gut | 15L (1.35), 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Babolat | Xcel | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Babolat | Addixion | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Babolat | Syn Gut | synthetic-gut | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Solinco | Hyper-G | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25), 17 (1.20), 18 (1.15) | Consensus |
| Solinco | Tour Bite | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25), 17 (1.20), 18 (1.15) | Panel |
| Solinco | Confidential | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25), 17 (1.20) | Consensus |
| Solinco | Mach-10 | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25), 17 (1.20) | Consensus |
| Solinco | Revolution / Outlast / Barb Wire | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Solinco | Vanquish | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Solinco | Hyper-G Soft | co-poly | 16L (1.25) | Consensus |
| Solinco | Confidential Soft | co-poly | 16L (1.25) | Consensus |
| Wilson | NXT | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.24) | Panel |
| Wilson | Sensation | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Wilson | Natural Gut | natural-gut | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Wilson | Champion's Choice | natural-gut + co-poly (pre-packaged hybrid) | 16/16L | Single-source |
| Wilson | Duo hybrids | co-poly + multifilament (pre-packaged hybrid) | 16/16 | Coverage building |
| Wilson | Revolve | co-poly | 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Head | Lynx | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20) | Panel |
| Head | Hawk | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20) | Single-source |
| Head | Velocity MLT | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Head | Reflex MLT | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Head | Sonic Pro | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Head | FXP | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Head | Lynx Tour | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Panel |
| Head | Hawk Rough | co-poly | 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Head | Hawk Power | co-poly | 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Tecnifibre | X-One Biphase | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.24), 18 (1.18) | Panel |
| Tecnifibre | NRG2 | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.24) | Single-source |
| Tecnifibre | Triax | multifilament/co-poly blend | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.28) | Coverage building |
| Tecnifibre | Razor Soft / Razor Code | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20) | Single-source |
| Tecnifibre | Black Code | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.24), 18 (1.18) | Single-source |
| Tecnifibre | Ice Code | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Tecnifibre | Multifeel / HDMX | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Yonex | POLYTOUR PRO | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25), 17 (1.20) | Panel |
| Yonex | POLYTOUR REV / SPIN / FIRE / STRIKE / AIR / DRIVE | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Yonex | Rexis | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Volkl | Cyclone | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20), 19 (1.15) | Panel |
| Volkl | V-Torque / V-Square | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Volkl | Power Fiber | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Prince | Synthetic Gut w/ Duraflex | synthetic-gut | 15L (1.35), 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Prince | Premier Control / Premier Touch | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Prince | Tour XC / XS / XP / XR | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Prince | Lightning Pro | synthetic-gut | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Prince | ProBlend | kevlar-aramid hybrid | 16 | Coverage building |
| Dunlop | Explosive (Speed / Bite / Tour) | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Dunlop | Black Widow | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20) | Coverage building |
| Dunlop | Ice | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Dunlop | Iconic Speed / Comfort | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Dunlop | Silk | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Gamma | Moto | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.24) | Coverage building |
| Gamma | Ocho | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Gamma | TNT2 | synthetic-gut (treated core) | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20) | Coverage building |
| Gamma | Professional | multifilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Gamma | Synthetic Gut / RZR Rx / Zo / iO Soft | synthetic-gut / co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Kirschbaum | Pro Line II / Evolution | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20) | Coverage building |
| Kirschbaum | Super Smash | co-poly (first-gen) | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Kirschbaum | Max Power | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Kirschbaum | Spiky Shark / Black Shark | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Kirschbaum | Flash / Helix / Touch Turbo / Xplosive Speed | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Toroline | O-TORO | co-poly | 17 (1.23) | Coverage building |
| Toroline | Wasabi | co-poly | 17 (1.23) | Coverage building |
| Toroline | Caviar | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Toroline | K-POP / K-PRO | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Toroline | Absolute / Truffle X / Dreddy | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Diadem | Solstice Power / Pro | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 16L (1.25), 17 (1.20) | Panel |
| Diadem | Elite XT / Pro X | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Diadem | Evolution | multifilament | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Diadem | Flash | synthetic-gut | 16 (1.30) | Coverage building |
| Signum Pro | Poly-Plasma | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Signum Pro | Firestorm / Tornado / Yellow Jacket / Micronite / Poly Megaforce | co-poly / multifilament | various | Coverage building |
| MSV | Focus Hex | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| MSV | Co-Focus / Hepta Twist | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Weiss CANNON | Ultra Cable | co-poly | 17 (1.23) | Single-source |
| Weiss CANNON | Blue Rock N Power (hybrid) | co-poly hybrid set | various | Panel |
| Weiss CANNON | Silverstring / Scorpion / Red Ghost / TurboTwist / Mosquito Bite / Black5Edge | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Gosen | OG-Sheep Micro | synthetic-gut | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25), 18 (1.20) | Coverage building |
| Gosen | Polylon / PolyBreak / Sidewinder | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Ashaway | Crossfire | kevlar-aramid hybrid | 16, 17 | Coverage building |
| Ashaway | MonoGut ZX | Zyex monofilament | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Ashaway | Dynamite | multifilament (Zyex) | various | Coverage building |
| Tourna | Big Hitter Silver | co-poly | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Tourna | Black Zone / Quasi Gut Armor / Syn Gut Armor / Rosso | co-poly / multifilament / synthetic-gut | various | Coverage building |
| Tourna | Silver 7 Tour | co-poly | 17 (1.25) | Single-source |
| Grapplesnake | Tour Sniper / Tour M8 | co-poly | 16L (1.25) | Coverage building |
| Grapplesnake | Alpha / Aspera Triplum / Paradox Pro | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| ISOSPEED | Cream / Black Fire / Baseline / Energetic / Pyramid / Professional | co-poly / multifilament | various | Coverage building |
| Genesis | Black Magic / Hexonic / Typhoon / True Grit | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| KLIP | Legend Natural Gut | natural-gut | 16 (1.30), 17 (1.25) | Coverage building |
| KLIP | Hardcore / Excellerator / Polymer | co-poly / multifilament | various | Coverage building |
| Pacific | Poly Force / Power Pro / X Cite / Natural Gut | co-poly / natural-gut | various | Coverage building |
| Polyfibre | TCS / Cobra / Viper | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Topspin | Cyber Flash / Cyber Blue / Cyber Twirl / Cyber Delta | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| RS (Robin Söderling) | RS Lyon / RS Paris / RS New York | co-poly / multifilament | various | Coverage building |
| SuperString | Viper V2 | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Alpha | Gut 2000 / Sphere / Alpha Flex | multifilament / synthetic-gut | various | Coverage building |
| Boris Becker | Bomber NYC | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Tru Pro (formerly Tier One) | FireWire / Ghost Wire / Black Knight / DuraFluxx | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Tennis Only 'P6' | P6 | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Toalson | Rencon / Asterista / T8 | co-poly / multifilament | various | Coverage building |
| ReString (DTC boutique) | Zero / Sync | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Mayami (DTC boutique) | Tour Hex / Hit Pro / Big Spin | co-poly | various | Coverage building |
| Fortin / Forten (legacy) | Sweet / Kevlar Gear | synthetic-gut / kevlar-aramid | various | Coverage building |