Tecnifibre Pro Red Code Wax String Review

Control - Score: 90 / Power - Score: 45

Pro Red Code Wax posted a high stiffness number in our Tennis Warehouse University String Lab, which translated into a high level of control. In other words, it was perfect for Michelle. She explained, "Pro Red Code Wax was definitely firm and control-oriented, which is what I look for in my strings. I had a chance to string Pro Red Code Wax in two racquets, one of which is my racquet of choice, the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph. The other is an old favorite, the Babolat Pure Drive Roddick Plus. With their higher swingweights, both racquets unlock some serious power, which is why I like to pair them with a lower powered poly. Pro Red Code Wax definitely helped me harness the power of these racquets. It provided a solid, consistent feel across the stringbed, and it didn't get mushy or erratic over time. It maintained a nice level of control throughout the playtest."

"Compared to the majority of co-polys I've hit, Pro Red Code Wax is on the lower half of the power spectrum," said Troy, who also gave this string high marks for control. "Although it wasn't as dead or control oriented as Kirschbaum Super Smash or Gosen Polylon, this string's control and predictability were definitely impressive. Unlike many of the poly-based strings I've hit, the control didn't drop noticeably over time. I think this is partly due to how well Pro Red Code Wax holds tension. I never had any major issues with my shots flying on me, and the trajectory of the ball exiting the stringbed was very consistent."

Spin - Score: 83

Although Pro Red Code Wax doesn't have sharp, spin-friendly edges for gripping the ball, according to Troy, its slippery construction helped in the spin department. He described, "I found the spin potential to be impressive considering this string's round profile. The slickness of the surface and the string's great snapback were noticeable throughout this playtest. Typically, over the few weeks that I have a co-poly string in my racquet, the surface starts to become dull, and the main strings start to stick out of alignment. But even after a couple weeks of playtesting this string (about 8 to 12 hours of play), the mains were still snapping right back into place. I was able to try the 17 and 18 gauges, and as expected, the spin potential seemed to increase as the gauge became thinner. I really enjoyed the amount of topspin I could generate with the 18 gauge in my Yonex VCORE 95. I was able to get the ball dipping down into the court just as well as I can with shaped and textured co-polys, especially on cross-court angles."

Michelle was also impressed with the spin potential. She said, "I found plenty of spin with Pro Red Code Wax. One of the first things I noticed about this string was its snapback, which in my head automatically translates to more spin. The wax additive seems to unlock some spin potential and keeps the string snapping into place. I appreciated that this string was a round poly. I enjoy round strings and don't always feel like I need a shaped poly to grip the ball, since I tend to hit flatter and only deploy lots of spin on dippers and the occasional offensive shot."

Comfort - Score: 50

With its firm construction, Pro Red Code Wax is not going to win any awards for comfort. However, like so many of our favorite co-polys, this string never felt unpleasantly stiff. Michelle explained, "It takes a truly stiff string strung tightly to bother my arm, so it's not surprising that I had zero comfort issues here. That said, Pro Red Code Wax was definitely firm, but it never caused any discomfort, even at higher tensions. I also liked how the string stayed firm throughout the playtest. It never got mushy or 'bagged out,' which can lead to control problems."

Perhaps due to the string's low coefficient of friction, Troy got more comfort than expected from the stringbed. He said, "I found the comfort of Pro Red Code Wax to be pretty average compared to other co-poly strings. I think this string's slickness helped keep it from feeling overly stiff, which is also something that I noticed with RPM Blast. This may be more noticeable to players who generate a lot of topspin with their strokes."

Feel - Score: 75

Like the majority of poly-based strings on the market, Pro Red Code Wax features a higher stiffness level to give experienced players enough control to attack the ball with long, fast strokes. The downside is that a stiff string can make for a boardy or dead feel, especially on off-center impacts or slower strokes. According to Michelle, Pro Red Code Wax avoided these pitfalls. She said, "There's no question, this is a stiff, control-oriented string. While it tests as a firm string in the lab, it never felt overly stiff or harsh in play. The string played consistently across the stringbed throughout the playtest. Being able to test it in two different racquets helped me unlock what the string could offer me. I felt connected to the ball with both racquets, and I appreciated the control the string provided for my longer strokes."

The feel of Pro Red Code Wax reminded Troy of an old favorite. He noted, "As I mentioned in the comfort section, I would rate Tecnifibre Pro Red Code Wax as a medium-to-firm co-poly. I found the feel to be slightly more on the crisp side. Overall, Pro Red Code Wax felt very reminiscent of Signum Pro Poly Plasma, which I used for years, even before working at TW."

Playability Duration - Score: 85

In addition to control, the other standout feature of Pro Red Code Wax was playability duration. Put simply, this string stayed fresh and playable longer than the majority of co-polys our team has tested. In other words, Troy was impressed. He commented, "Playability duration was very good with this string. The two things that stood out to me were how well it held tension over time and how well it maintained the snapback effect. I noticed just a small drop in tension after a couple of weeks of play. The strings never felt bagged out or dead during the playtest period. I have recently been hitting with Babolat RPM Blast, which lost noticeable tension and playability after only a week of play. Although Pro Red Code Wax doesn't hold its playability quite as long as Luxilon 4G 16L, it compares favorably to Solinco Hyper-G, a staff favorite."

"The playability duration and durability of this string really stood out to me during this playtest," added Michelle. "Normally, at two weeks in, my strings start to get stuck out of position and lose some control. Needless to say, at that point I'm ready to cut them out and start fresh. But Pro Red Code Wax still looked and played fresh well past the two-week mark. I'm guessing the wax additive helped reduce friction between the mains and crosses, which kept the stringbed more playable over time."

Overall - Score: 82