TOROLINE O-TORO Spin Review

With its softer construction, O-TORO Spin is slightly more elastic and powerful than the stiffer polys of yesteryear. Although O-TORO Spin still has outstanding control, especially compared to multifilament and natural gut strings, Troy had to tinker with the string tension to dial in the response. He explained, "I wouldn't say O-TORO Spin is the most lively or powerful co-poly that I have tested, but it did feel rather elastic and delivered some added energy return. I knew it was a shape variant of regular O-TORO, and the more I hit with it the more I noticed a very similar type of elasticity and energy return. I started out with my typical tension, stringing it up at 48 pounds, and just like I did with O-TORO, I quickly realized that I need to increase the tension to get what I wanted from O-TORO Spin. I re-strung my racquet a couple of times, and I eventually settled on 52 pounds, which gave me the feel and control I was looking for."

Brittany also needed a higher reference tension to get her preferred level of control on this playtest. She said, "Talking to a couple of other playtesters who had tried O-TORO Spin, I opted to increase my tension to 56 pounds (I'm normally around 52 pounds). I did this because the string has a slightly higher launch angle, and it is very easy to get depth on my shots. Adding a couple of pounds allowed me to get a little more control without having to hold back. This worked perfectly, and I was able to swing freely and aggressively. My shots were controlled, but they still landed deep, with a little more pop than the average polyester I use. Now don't get me wrong, O-TORO Spin is still on the control side of the scale, and I could use that control to my advantage for the extra depth. I was able to pick a target and go after it, pushing my opponent off the baseline and taking control of the point."

TOROLINE designed O-TORO Spin with more aggressive edges than the standard O-TORO, giving it a slightly tighter grip on the ball. It also features a low-friction surface, which helps the main strings deflect and snap back more freely through impact. O-TORO Spin may not have been the most spin-friendly string Brittany has tried, but it worked perfectly for her game. She explained, "While O-TORO Spin does everything well, I think spin is a highlight for me. Although there are other strings on the market that produce more spin, O-TORO is better for my game. I play a flatter style of game, but I do utilize spin for certain shots, especially shorter angles and passing shots. This string gives me enough bite on the ball to execute shots efficiently without having to change my stroke. Another shot that benefited from this string was my second serve. I was able to get the ball to kick out of my opponent's strike and get good net clearance. This allowed me to consistently make my second serve. I was able to play my game without consciously thinking about adding spin, and I can't ask for more from a string."

For Troy, O-TORO Spin's formula delivered on its promise. He said, "When it came to spin potential, I found O-TORO to be good, and when I got to hitting with this O-TORO Spin I noticed even more bite and spin access. There is a small difference in the edges between O-TORO and O-TORO Spin, but I did feel like O-TORO Spin gave me just that little extra bite on the felt of the ball. I was able to generate some tight spin and heavy rotation on my cross-court groundstrokes with O-TORO Spin in my Yonex EZONE 98+. I was also picking up on the easy access to spin when it came to generating topspin or kick on my serves. I found plenty of bite, and my serves were jumping high off the court. When it came to slice and cutting under the ball, I felt like the spin was just as easy to generate and just as effective.”

In our Tennis Warehouse University string lab, O-TORO Spin ranks as one of the softest strings in TOROLINE's lineup. Not only did it deliver impressive comfort, but it also did so without muting the connected feel that's crucial to control. The result for Brittany is a tournament-ready string. She said, "O-TORO Spin is easy for me to transition to, and I would have no issues playing a tournament with it in my racquet of choice, the Yonex EZONE 100. I really enjoyed the feel and felt very connected to my shots. I thought the string pocketed the ball well and offered a consistent response off the stringbed. It is also very comfortable for a polyester string, even when strung up at a higher tension than I’m used to."

Although O-TORO Spin was on the softer side of the poly spectrum, it still felt crisp and controlled to Troy, especially when tensioned correctly. He said, "Much like I have noticed with most of the TOROLINE polys that I have tried, O-TORO Spin's comfort was pretty good. Specifically, I would say that TOROLINE’s Wasabi, O-TORO and O-TORO Spin are pretty much on the softer side of the co-poly spectrum. I wouldn't say O-TORO Spin is the softest I've hit; ISOSPEED Cream and Yonex POLYTOUR AIR are some of the softest polys that I have tried. That said, with O-TORO Spin, I found a good balance of comfort and control once I dialed in the tension. I noticed the elasticity at my usual tension of 48 pounds, and I felt like the response was too lively. I found a much more predictable response once I adjusted the tension, and I would say that feel was borderline crisp. I can tell this string is on the softer side for a poly, but it felt like it was almost venturing into the crisper side. Since I tend to gravitate toward firmer, crisper strings, I could appreciate this."

Softer polys tend to get mushy and erratic quicker than their stiffer counterparts, resulting in shortened playability duration. According to our playtesters, O-TORO Spin largely avoids this trade-off. Troy explained, "I found the tension maintenance to be better than I expected throughout the playtest. I’m not saying that O-TORO Spin has a high level of tension maintenance. I would rate Solinco Hyper-G higher for playability duration and Luxilon 4G as the best for tension maintenance (within the polyester-based monofilament category of strings), but Hyper-G is firm and 4G is one of the stiffest polys we have ever tested. O-TORO Spin has a relatively comfortable feel to it, and I thought that the playability was pretty consistent throughout the test. I noticed some drop off in tension when I strung O-TORO Spin at my usual tension, and the stringbed felt too springy, or 'launchy.' I restrung my racquet a couple of times until I felt like it was dialed-in. I settled on a tension of 52 pounds in my Yonex EZONE 98+, and I still noticed the initial drop in tension, but once it settled in it felt more like the original tension I was going for, and then I noticed that this string sort of hit a plateau. That consistent response after the initial tension loss was the saving grace of this string."

"I had O-TORO Spin in my racquet for three-plus weeks during the playtest and hit with it for more than 10 hours," said Brittany. "After getting it strung up in my racquet I let it settle in the stringbed for a couple days before I started using it, and I felt the playability remained pretty consistent from start to finish. I didn't notice a drop in playability at any point, and it is still playable at the end of the playtest."