The number of tennis strings on the market is staggering. With new strings popping up every year, the consumer is left to choose between a dizzying array of materials, features, gauges and technologies.

The good news is that if you are searching for a string in 2024 you don’t have to sweat the small stuff. We’ve got you covered. Here are the strings you should be looking at in every important category.

Best string by material

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Best string by playing feature (benefit)

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Best strings by material

The majority of strings fit into four types: natural gut, multifilament, polyester and synthetic gut. Each type has a unique set of benefits that enables you to calibrate the performance of your racquet to your needs. Here is our pick for the best string from the four primary groups.

Best synthetic gut: Prince Synthetic Gut w/Duraflex

As one of the most enduring best sellers of all time, this iconic starter string combines an easy learning curve with a price that is too good to refuse. Although Prince Synthetic Gut with Duraflex doesn’t pack the magical feel of natural gut or the otherworldly spin of a stiff polyester, it delivers a seductive level of all-around performance, making it as good for the seasoned value hunter as it is for the beginner who wants to learn the game. The fact that it comes with more color options than virtually any other string is a nice bonus.

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Best multifilament: Tecnifibre NRG2

Although it is impossible to replicate the sublime feel and awesome power of natural gut, Tecnifibre NRG2 is an affordable alternative for a great many players. Built from an army of ultra pliable filaments and bathed in stretchy polyurethane, NRG2 not only adds instant power and buttery feel to any racquet, it also sidesteps the No. 1 problem of multifilament strings: getting stuck out of position. The fact that it stays playable longer than most of its peers means you get more bang for your buck.

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Best natural gut: Babolat Touch VS

It's hard to exaggerate the impact Babolat Touch VS has had on the game of tennis. It was launched in 1925, and if you consider the list of iconic tennis players who have used it or the number of historic matches it has graced, Babolat Touch VS is literally the stuff of legend. Made from the fibrous and stretchy serous membrane of cow intestines, the magic of VS Gut lies in its elasticity, which delivers a feel at impact that is without equal. It also remains peerless in the areas of comfort, arm-protection and power.

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LEARN MORE: THE HISTORY OF NATURAL GUT

Best polyester: Luxilon ALU Power

When Gustavo Kuerten won the 1997 French Open with this newfangled purple string from Luxilon, few could have guessed that it would transform the game with spin-drenched angles and shot trajectories that appeared to violate the laws of physics. Although polyester monofilaments had been around since the 1970s, the iconic company from Antwerp, Belgium, perfected the breed with ALU Power, making it a staple on the pro tour where this string’s surgical control unlocked the explosive mechanics of the modern game.

Insider tip: Polyester (poly) strings are called co-polyesters (co-polys) to denote the use of chemical additives, typically to increase comfort and power.

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Best hybrid: Wilson Champion’s Choice

Used by Roger Federer, Wilson’s Champion's Choice stands in a class by itself. By combining the surgical and spin-friendly precision of Luxilon ALU Power Rough with the amazing comfort and power of Wilson Natural Gut, this hybrid delivers nearly every benefit a player could want, including seductive levels of control, power, spin and comfort. What makes this hybrid so special is not simply its rare blend of features, but also its versatility. Unlike a single set of string, Champion’s Choice gives the player the ability to fine-tune the performance depending on which string is selected for the mains and crosses. If you want a string with fewer trade-offs, start here.

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Best strings by playing feature (benefit)

Every tennis string comes with specific benefits that help optimize the performance of your racquet. Here is our list of the most important benefits that strings can offer along with our top pick for every category.

LEARN MORE: GET COMFORT, POWER OR SPIN FROM STRINGS

Best power string: Tecnifibre X-One Biphase

Although Babolat Touch VS has more raw power than any string in this guide, Tecnifibre X-One Biphase definitely tops the power list for a great many players. Made with ultra flexible fibers and bathed in a stretchy polyurethane resin, X-One Biphase feels spring loaded on groundstrokes and volleys, making it easier for you to hit with depth or finish points with a bang. This popular multifilament has undergone almost no updates in its long history, but that’s because there is nothing to improve.

LEARN MORE: THE SCIENCE OF POWER

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Best control string: Solinco Tour Bite

Launched in 2011, Solinco Tour Bite became an overnight sensation at the D1 collegiate level. With its high stiffness level, beginners will have to sit this one out. However, if you are a big hitter who wants the freedom to go nuclear from the baseline, Tour Bite will give you the confidence to impose your will. This string also comes with a low-friction surface and reinforced construction, giving it both the ability to snap back at impact (think big spin) along with the needed durability to withstand the violent sliding action levied by aggressive mechanics. If that isn’t enough to tip your scales, consider this string’s four grippy edges, which deliver the kind of spin-friendly precision that brings the ball down on a dime.

Beginner tip: If you’re hitting too many balls long and you’re not ready for a stiff polyester control string, you can get extra control through higher string tensions and thicker gauges.

LEARN MORE: WHICH STRING TENSION SHOULD I USE?

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Best spin string: Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable

Although virtually every polyester string on the market is great for generating spin, Ultra Cable by Weiss Cannon is the pick of the litter. Nearly everything about this string, from its ultra grippy edges and powerful snapback to its surgical control on upward cuts, belongs in the dictionary under spin. In addition to being a spin machine, Ultra Cable packs a surprisingly friendly stiffness rating, making it one of the most accessible and user-friendly polys in its class. Not surprisingly, this string holds the top spot for spin in our Tennis Warehouse University String Lab.

Beginner tip: If you’re looking to add the benefits of spin to your game and you don’t want to switch to a stiff polyester monofilament, you can get extra spin through higher string tensions and thinner gauges.

LEARN MORE: THE SCIENCE OF SPIN

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Best comfort string: Wilson NXT

One of the most popular strings of all time, Wilson NXT has a well-deserved reputation as the king of comfort. Built with more than 1,000 ultra flexible fibers that are bonded with stretchy polyurethane, NXT has been meticulously engineered to dampen the brutal force of ball impact. What separates it from many of its softer competitors is that it takes much longer to become mushy and lose its magic feel. The fact that it will also supercharge your shots with power is a nice bonus. Granted, it doesn’t have the absolute comfort of the top natural guts, but it comes pretty close for half the price.

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Best durability string: Luxilon Big Banger Original

Although the majority of polyester strings have excellent durability, Luxilon Big Banger Original is arguably the game’s most storied and time-tested durability string. Having earned its stripes on the professional tour, this monofilament has withstood the world’s most punishing mechanics for the better half of 20 years. In addition to its heavy-duty construction and high tensile strength, Luxilon Big Banger Original deploys a slippery surface to avoid frictional wear, e.g., sawing and notching. Long the refuge of control seekers and chronic string breakers, this iconic monofilament can handle whatever you throw at it.





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