Most club players restring when a string snaps. That's like changing your car tyres when one bursts — by the time it goes, it's been past its best for a long while.
Strings lose tension from the day they're strung. Not dramatically, not all at once — just a steady drift. The ball starts sitting on the strings a fraction longer, launching a fraction higher, landing a fraction deeper. You compensate without noticing. Then one day you play with a freshly strung racket and remember what the thing is supposed to feel like.
Two rules of thumb
The pro rule: restring as many times per year as you play per week. Play twice a week? Two restrings a year, minimum. Play four times? Four. It's a floor, not a ceiling.
The break rule: if you got there because a string snapped, you were late. Breakage is the end of a long decline, not the start of a problem.
What fresh strings actually change
- Depth control. Dead strings launch the ball. If your rally ball has started sailing long for no reason, it's probably not your swing.
- Spin. Strings that have lost their snap-back stop gripping the ball. Fresh strings bite again.
- Comfort. Old poly in particular goes boardy — stiff, dead, and hard on the elbow. If your arm's been grumbling, this is the cheapest fix available.
Signs you're overdue
Strings moving around and staying out of line. Fraying or notching where the mains cross. A dull, flat sound off the middle. Balls flying long that used to drop in. Any of those, and a restring will do more for your game than any new bit of kit.
Getting it done
Our stringing service runs from Eaton Park in Norwich and Stratford Park in London — pick your string, pick your tension, and we'll have it back to you in a few days. Not sure what to go for? The string guide covers the choices, or just ask us — we string for a living.