When to Restring Your Tennis Racquet: A Guide for Serious Players

If you're playing with a performance racquet—the kind designed for competitive play rather than casual weekend rallies—your strings matter more than you might think. Fresh strings can be the difference between a shot that lands exactly where you want it and one that sails long or dumps into the net.

But how do you know when it's time to restring? Here's a straightforward rule of thumb that's served players well for decades.

The Classic Formula

Restring your racquet as many times per year as you play per week.

Play three times a week? Restring three times a year. Play five times a week? Five restrings annually. It's simple, easy to remember, and gives you a solid baseline.

Of course, this is a starting point, not gospel. String tension loss, playing style, and the type of strings you use all affect how quickly your setup degrades.

Why Performance Racquets Need More Attention

This guidance applies specifically to performance racquets—frames with smaller head sizes (typically 98-100 square inches), tighter string patterns, and designs that reward good technique with precision and control.

Recreational racquets with larger heads and more forgiving designs are a different story. They're built for occasional play, and the players using them typically aren't as sensitive to subtle changes in string response. If you're hitting once a month at a family reunion, you don't need to worry much about string tension.

But if you've invested in a quality frame because you care about your game, letting your strings go dead undermines everything that racquet was designed to do.

Signs Your Strings Need Replacing

Beyond the weekly-play formula, watch for these indicators:

Loss of tension feel. Strings lose tension from the moment they're installed. When your shots start feeling mushy or you're having to swing harder for the same depth, your strings have likely lost too much tension.

Reduced spin. As strings wear, they develop flat spots and notches where they cross. This friction prevents the strings from snapping back, which kills your spin potential.

Fraying or notching. Visible wear at the string intersections means your strings are on borrowed time. You can keep playing, but breakage is coming—usually at the worst possible moment.

Inconsistent response. If your racquet feels different from shot to shot, or you're suddenly spraying balls you normally control, tired strings are often the culprit.

A Note on String Type

Polyester strings, which most competitive players use for their spin and control benefits, tend to lose tension faster than synthetic gut or natural gut. If you're playing with poly, you might want to restring more frequently than the basic formula suggests—especially if you're particular about how your racquet feels.

Some players restring every few weeks. Others push their strings until they break. The right answer depends on your sensitivity to string feel and your budget. But if you've never thought about it before, following the plays-per-week rule is a great place to start.

At Belle's Performance Tennis, we string racquets using professional-grade equipment and quality strings from suppliers like Solinco. If you're in the Kansas City Northland area and your racquet is due for fresh strings, we'd be happy to help.