When deciding what tension to restring your tennis racket at there are a few things to consider. As a rule of thumb, a looser tension will generate greater power, whereas a tighter tension will generate more control on your shots. Typically, tennis rackets are strung between 50lbs and 60lbs of tension, or between 22.5kgs and 27kgs if using a metric scale. There are many other factors which may influence your tennis racket string tension choice, such as the tennis court surface, the weather, your playing style and the type of tennis string which you are using.

There is no set answer for how often a tennis racket should be restrung, with the exception of breaking a tennis string, if this happens then your tennis racket needs restringing. Your string tension will loosen over time naturally, meaning that you will begin to lose control on your shots if you are not restringing your racket when needed. Other considerations include the weakening of the string which will result in more vibrations travelling up your arm which can commonly cause tennis elbow. It's also worth noting that some tougher polyester strings will be very hard to break, meaning that the player will have to decide when to restring their racket.

Like most things, the cost of restringing a tennis racket primarily revolves around the quality of the string. Cheaper synthetic gut tennis strings will start at around £20, whereas more expensive multifilament and polyester strings will start at around £22, increasing to up to £30 depending on the brand. The most expensive tennis string is natural gut (for obvious reasons) and will cost in excess of £30 to string your entire racket with this. A great option would be to opt for a hybrid string set up, using durable polyester strings on the mains, paired with multifilament or synthetic gut on the crosses. More durable strings may also be slightly more expensive but they will also break less often, so this is also worth noting.

In short this is all down to personal preference, depending on your playing style. Synthetic gut tennis strings are good all round strings, offering a balance of durability and playability. Polyester strings are the most durable string type, but this often leads to a compromise in terms of playability. Multifilament strings are much softer than polyester meaning that the tennis player will benefit from great feel, but these can often break rather frequently. A wise choice and one which is often adopted by tennis players on the pro tour is to opt for a hybrid string set up, with polyester strings on the mains and multifilament or synthetic gut strings on the crosses. This will provide a decent amount of playability and durability, which now appears to be a winning combination for a lot of tennis players.

The time it takes to string a tennis racket can vary depending on the type of racket, as well as the string type. A tennis racket will typically take between 30 and 45 minutes to be restrung. Professional racket stringers on the ATP or WTA tour will be able to string a tennis racket in under 20 minutes which is astounding speed.

All tennis rackets are restrung using the state of the art Wilson Baiardo stringing machine. This is a professional stringing machine which is currently used at the Austrlian Open, French Open and US Open Grand Slam tennis tournaments. This really is the best machine available, renowned for its ergonomic design and supreme tension accuracy.

With the traditional high street sports shops few and far between, tennis racket restringing services have fallen into the hands of small independent specialists. Essex Racket Stringing offer a fast and reliable tennis racket restringing service. Your tennis racket can be restrung on the same day or next day, with the added benefit of a collection and returns service.

Badminton rackets are typically strung between 20lbs and 30lbs of tension, or between 9kgs and 13kgs if working in metrics. A lower tension will generate more power on your shots, whereas a higher tension will display greater control. If you are unsure on what tension to restring your badminton racket we would always recommend first stringing in the middle tension of what the manufacturer suggests, which would usually be around 26lbs. Other factors will also influence your badminton racket string tension such as your playing style, the air temperature, shuttlecock type and the type of badminton string which you are using.

It's really down to personal preference when deciding how often to restring your badminton racket, with the exception of breaking a string which requires the racket being restrung. If you play badminton once a week, we would recommend restringing your racket once a year. If you play two or three times a year, we would suggest restringing your racket two or three times each year. The biggest risk in not restringing your badminton racket frequently enough is the loss of tension which can impact your game and cause additional vibrations in your arm, which may result in tennis elbow and other types of arm injuries.

The cost of restringing a badminton racket in the UK is typically between £20 and £30, depending on the string which is used. More expensive strings will typically be more durable, meaning that you will not need to restring your racket as frequently, compared to cheaper string which will break much more easily. Popular and reliable brands such as Yonex are a good starting point when looking into having your badminton racket restrung.

When discussing badminton string gauge, we are referring to the thickness of the string, which is measured in millimetres. Badminton string gauges start at around 0.60mm and go up to around 0.75mm, with the average gauge being between 0.65mm and 0.69mm which most players opt for. A thicker gauge will benefit from extended durability, whereas a thinner gauge will give the badminton player more feel and control on their shots.

The time it takes to string a badminton racket is usually between 30 minutes and 45 minutes depending on the racket. A professional badminton racket stringer may be able to string a racket in 20 minutes or less which is quite unbelievable. Badminton rackets are usually pretty consistent with a 22 x 21 string pattern meaning that stringing times are also quite consistent.

All badminton rackets are restrung using the state of the art Wilson Baiardo stringing machine. This is a professional stringing machine which is currently used at the Austrlian Open, French Open and US Open Grand Slam tennis tournaments. This really is the best machine available, renowned for its ergonomic design and supreme tension accuracy.

Traditionally, badminton racket restringing services would have been available on a conventional high street but in recent times such services are rarely available. It is now up to smaller independent racket stringig services such as Essex Racket Stringing to provide a fast and reliable service for all badminton racket restringing needs.