Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour String Review

Control - Score: 83 / Power - Score: 45

With its firm and low-powered construction, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour is a control string designed to give experienced players the confidence to swing big without fear of overhitting. According to Chris, the design definitely works. He explained, "I enjoyed the control-oriented response of Silver 7 Tour. I was able to drop the tension down 4 pounds in my racquet to get some more power without sacrificing the control. I liked the way Silver 7 Tour encouraged me to take full cuts at the ball, and I could trust that my shots wouldn't fly on me. I found the power level to be somewhat low for the duration of the test and was impressed that the control-oriented nature didn't falter even after about nine hours of hitting."

For Troy, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour provided outstanding control, and it never felt dead, which is a common downside of control strings. He said, "This string is definitely on the control side of the spectrum, especially compared to some of the softer co-polys I've recently playtested, like Kirschbaum Xplosive Speed, Genesis Black Magic and Prince Vortex. I loved the fact that it allowed me to take big swings with full confidence in my depth control. That said, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour isn't dead or lifeless. I noticed a decent amount of pop as the ball exited the stringbed. I found it similar to stiff strings like Solinco Tour Bite and Luxilon 4G, whose primary characteristic is control, but there is also a little zap of energy given to the ball when taking a big rip from the baseline."

Spin - Score: 90

With its grippy edges and predictable response on upward cuts, Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour was clearly built for spin. Needless to say, Troy was impressed. He described, "Spin was right up there with the best of them. The seven sharp edges helped grab the ball on my topspin shots. While installing this string I could feel the ridges on my fingertips. The edges are not as painfully sharp as Weiss CANNON Ultra Cable or Volkl V-Square, but there was still plenty of ball bite (or string-to-ball friction as tennis nerds would say). The spin potential was right up there with two of my favorites, Volkl Cyclone and Solinco Hyper-G. The combination of high control and high friction allowed me to execute sharp cross-court angles. When I took full swings from the baseline I was able to generate heavy topspin with easy net clearance (high launch angle), and the ball was dipping down in the court reliably. At the beginning of the playtest this string was sticking out of place just slightly. It was not as much as I experienced with Luxilon Smart, but a bit more than Solinco Hyper-G. After a few sessions the string settled in, and it seemed to snap back into place very well. I had a similar experience with Solinco Tour Bite."

When it came to spin, there was little Chris couldn't do with this string. He noted, "I hit Silver 7 Tour in two very different racquets and found it to be spin friendly in both. The low-powered nature of the string allowed me to swing fast, and I was able to turn that racquet head speed into spin. I could feel the amount of spin I was getting on my slice backhand, which helped me judge depth and placement very well. Likewise, I felt connected to my topspin groundstrokes, lobs and angles. I was able to get ample spin on the ball to get it to dip inside the lines, hop up or skid low, depending on what I was looking to do."

Comfort - Score: 59 / Feel - Score: 84

The biggest downside of stiff control strings is that they can feel uncomfortable and dead, especially on slower strokes and off-center hits. Armed with the right tension strategy, Chris avoided these problems while still getting that "connected" feel that is so crucial for control. He said, "Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour offered me a firm, crisp feel. I felt very connected to my shots and could judge pace, depth, spin and direction the instant the ball left the strings. Even at 44 pounds, the string felt decently crisp, but I got great pocketing and enjoyed the feel even more. Although the string felt firm, I didn't have any comfort issues while hitting Silver 7 Tour over a three-week period."

As a longtime user of polyester strings, Troy loved the crisp response of Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour. He commented, "The higher stiffness of Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour fell right into my wheelhouse. If anyone has ever wondered what we mean by 'crisp,' they should try this string. Right off the string machine, it was evident that Silver 7 Tour was on the stiffer side of the spectrum. It wasn't as stiff as Luxilon 4G, but pretty similar to Solinco Tour Bite. I kept the tension fairly low, around 45 pounds, which added some comfort and seemed to enhance the ball pocketing. With that being said, I recommend going down a couple of pounds, especially if you typically play with a soft co-poly. I never felt like this string was jarring on my arms, but it does have a stiff feel to it. If a player were looking for a more comfortable co-poly, I would steer them in the direction of Tourna Big Hitter Black 7."

Playability Duration - Score: 83

There is no denying it — all tennis strings lose tension and playability over time, especially co-polys. The good news for Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour is that it received an outstanding score for tension maintenance in our TWU string lab. Needless to say, Troy was impressed. He said, "Tension maintenance was great for a co-poly monofilament. Compared to Solinco Hyper-G and Luxilon 4G, which are some of the best co-polys for tension maintenance, this Tourna Big Hitter Silver 7 Tour was not far off. I found a slight drop in tension after about three hours of playtesting, but after this initial settling phase this string seemed to hold a consistent tension and response for the rest of the playtest. After the first couple of sessions I noticed that these strings were moving out of place a bit more than usual, specifically with the 17 gauge. This is something that I also noticed when playtesting thinner gauges of Tour Bite. It wasn't long before Silver 7 Tour started to settle in, and I didn't have any issues with string movement going forward."

"Silver 7 Tour lasted very well for me," added Chris. “It remained very controlled even as it aged and lost some tension, and I was still able to find solid levels of spin. I liked how the string never became brassy as it aged. Predictably, the snap back diminished as the string's surface wore and notched toward the end of the test, but I was impressed with how it held up over the first two weeks. Silver 7 Tour is definitely one of the longer-lasting co-polys in terms of holding its playability."

Overall - Score: 84