Virtually every tennis player, whether a weekend warrior or tournament player, will at some point in their careers, need to restring their racquets. For more competitive players, and those recreational players who hit the ball with lots of pace and spin, restringing is an all-too-common and expensive undertaking at the local tennis store. Stringing is important even to players who rarely break strings, as strings left on a racquet for more than six months usually "go dead" and lose their tension and elasticity. Learning to string your own racquet can save a tennis player time and money.
Stringing Your Racquet
Step 1
Regardless of the brand or type of stringing machine, you will need to mount the racquet in the supports. Some stringing machines have only two points of contact with the racquet, others have as many as eight. Ensure that the racquet is placed centrally in the support system. The points at 6 and 12 o'clock should be on the mid-line of the racquet frame. Tighten the support system around the racquet so that the racquet has a little bit of wiggle room. You should be able to wiggle the racquet around slightly in the mounting system, which will allow the racquet to flex during stringing. If the mounting system is tightened too much, it could cause frame warping during stringing.
Step 2
Take your set of string and measure 12 feet from one end. Either bend the string here or mark it with a marker. This will be the middle point of the main strings, the up and down strings. Examine the throat of the racquet. Count the number of holes and divide that number by two. If that number is even, begin from the top of the racquet. If the number is odd, begin at the bottom of the racquet. Thread the string into the middle hole and through its counterpart on the directly opposite side. Pull the string through until the part of the string that you marked reaches the hole. At this point, take the end of the string you have not threaded yet, and string it through the racquet in the adjacent hole.
Step 3
You are now almost ready to begin the process of tensioning the strings. At this point you should have two strings going through the middle of the racquet. Place a clamp on one of the strings as close as you can to the side you first pushed the string through. Some stringers have "floating" clamps that are not attached to the stringer itself. In this case, attach the floating clamp to both strings. Regardless of whether you have floating clamps or not, the clamp needs to be tight enough so that the string will not slip when you tension it. You do not want the clamp too tight, however, as it could score and damage the string.
Step 4
Take the string on the side that is not clamped, and lock it in your tensioning device. Some machines have a crank, others are electric. If your machine is electric, all you have to do is set the tension to the desired value and then press the tension button. The machine will automatically pull the right amount of tension for you. Some older stringers use a drop-weight system. If you have a drop-weight stringer, you will need to manually crank until the drop weight is level to the ground. This signifies you have reached the desired tension. You should now have tension on the string itself. Take your other clamp, and clamp the string you have tension on as near to the side you are pulling tension from as possible. If your clamps are attached to the machine, make sure to lock them in place. Now you can continue to thread, tension, and clamp the rest of the main strings using this same process. Ensure that you are using the clamp closest to where you are pulling tension.
Step 5
By the time you finish the mains, you have probably realized that one side of your string is almost out. You will need to tie off this side in order to preserve tension. Look for a hole near where the last main is that is slightly larger. This will be a shared hole, where you will tie the string off. With the last main string still clamped, take your excess string and feed it through the hole. Tie a knot around the string on the inside of the frame by threading the string over, under, and through. Grab the excess string and tighten the knot with a pair of pliers. Repeat this so you have a double knot. Now you can release the clamp on the last main.
Step 6
It is time to weave and tension the crosses. Take your long end of string, and find the nearest cross hole. Depending on the racquet, this may be at the bottom or at the top of the frame. Put the string through, and weave over and under until you reach the other side. Then tension and clamp the string. On the next cross string, ensure that the string goes over the main when the previous string went under, and vice verse. Continue weaving the cross strings back and forth and tensioning each string until you reach the last cross. After the last cross, tie off the string in the same way you tied the main strings. Congratulations, you have successfully strung your first racquet!
Things You'll Need
- Racquet
- 1 full set of tennis strings
- Racquet stringing machine
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