How to String a Tennis Racket

Taking this course will save you money and time. You will also be able to improve your tennis game as you can now test out different tennis string setups more easily.  After a certain number of stringing jobs, the cost of the machine will pay for itself. 

All you need for this course is a stringing machine, the tools that accompany it, a tennis racket and tennis string. In the video, I discuss what simple tools we need.  Most new stringing machines come with these small tools, but if the machine you have did not, you will need to make sure you have them before starting to string your first racket.

An overview of tennis strings.  We discuss the different sizes and materials of tennis strings on the market. It is important to know the different string options we have before stringing our racket.

We discuss the three main types of stringing machines on the market.  You will be able to know what machine suits your needs best. For beginner stringers, an inexpensive drop weight may be best. For professional stringers, a quality electronic stringer is often preferred.

3 questions on tennis strings and stringing machines

Before stringing a racket, we need to inspect the frame to ensure there are no cracks and it is in good condition.  Tensioning a racket puts a lot of stress on the frame and we must ensure the frame's composition has not been damaged.

We need to inspect the grommets and bumperguard to ensure they are in good condition before stringing the racket.  It is ok for the grommets to show some wear and tear from use but we need those grommets to be in good enough condition to protect the string from rubbing against the graphite frame. 

Cutting out the old strings is a simple process but it needs to be done correctly.  Learn how to cut out the old strings correctly by keeping the tension on the racket consistent. Start in the center of the stringbed and cut out the string in a circular motion.  This keeps the tension on the frame even.

The United States Racquet Stringers Association's (USRSA) Stringers Digest is a great resource for professional stringers.  We can simply look up a racket model to find all of the stringing information we need.  You can obtain a Digest by becoming a member of the USRSA. 

However helpful it is, much of the information can be found online and it is not necessary for all stringers.

We can string most rackets with either one or two pieces of string. Although some rackets require a certain method, we can usually decide which method to use based upon our own preference. 

For 2 piece stringing, we need to cut out 2 different pieces of string.  Although not universally true, cutting a string of 21 ft and another string of 19 ft will often be a simple way to have the right amount of string for the job.

If you are stringing for the 1 piece stringing method, rather than cut the string, we need to mark the string to use for stringing.  As a general rule, if we mark the string at 11 ft, we can use that short side for one side of the mains and the rest of the string for the other side of the mains and crosses.

3 questions on preparing the racket and strings before stringing

We discuss how to mount the racket on a 6 point stringing machine. We want the racket comfortably tightened to it does not shift during tensioning. 

We discuss how to mount the racket on a 2 point stringing machine.  The 2 point mount will be less stable but we need to tighten the 2 mounts so the racket is secured in place.  It is very important no metal is touching the racket frame. 

We discuss string tension and how it affects our tennis game. As a general rule, lower tension means more power and less control.  Higher tension means more control and less power.  A standard tension would be 55 lbs of tension.

We learn how to wrap the string around the clutch of our tennis stringing machine.

We learn in this video which direction to start the mains.  You will learn which direction to feed the main strings when you first start stringing the racket. Most rackets will have either 6 or 8 grommets in the throat of the racket.  6 grommets means we feed from the throat towards the head of the racket.  8 grommets means we start the mains at the head and feed to the throat. 

You will learn how to start tensioning the main strings for 2 piece stringing. You will see how we pull tension and clamp each string.  This is a very important video that shows how I start and string the mains.  String 2 or 3 strings on one side and then switch sides.  We do not want to keep uneven tension on the racket.

We discuss how to find the main grommets that will be skipped to allow for cross strings.  Most rackets require you to skip certain main grommets and we learn how to identify which main grommets to skip.

Learn where to tie off the main strings after each string has been tensioned.  We discuss the tie-off knots in more detail in the next video.  There should be a grommet nearby that is wider that we can use to tie off the main strings.

Two tie off knots that we learn how to tie include  the Double Half Hitch knot and the Parnell knot. These are simple knots that we can tie to keep the tension in place.  We show in this video how to tie these knots.

We learn how to clip the string after we have tied off our final main string on each side.  Give yourself a few millimeters of breathing room when cutting the tial of the knot.  We do not want the tail to be too long or too short.  Make sure to not scratch the frame with your clippers.

Test your knowledge for stringing main strings on the racket

We learn how to start the cross strings. After this video, you will learn how to start feeding the crosses when stringing your own racket. With 2 piece stringing, we will start the cross strings at the head of the racket and work our way towards the throat.  Weave over and under each main string.

We will learn how to tie a starting knot that will be used to start the cross strings. This is a knot that can hold tension as we pull the string.

We discuss how to properly weave the cross strings when stringing the racket. There are several methods to weave the crosses. The most important part is to go over and under each main string and to ensure it is weaved oppositely of the cross string above it.  We always want to push or pull the strings down the main strings to ensure there is no string burn.

Learn where to tie off the cross string in this video. We can simply use the double half hitch or Parnell knot that we discussed earlier.  Just like the mains, we will use a grommet near the end of the cross strings that we can use to tie off the crosses.  We can then release tension and the racket is ready to use.

Blocked grommets will inevitably be a part of stringing tennis rackets.  By cutting the string at an angle and using our small pliers, we can push the string through the blocked grommet.  Blocked grommets are inevitable but we can take certain steps to help feed it through the grommet.

2 Question Quiz on stringing the cross strings.

Learn how to do the standard one piece stringing method. One piece stringing is just like two piece, but we mark the 11 ft point of the 40 ft string rather than cut the string.  We then string the racket like normal making sure we use that mark at 11 ft as the center point of our racket stringing. When we finish the main strings, we can then tie off the short string and use the longer part of the string to string the crosses.

The Around the World Stringing method is a simple way to string a tennis racket with one piece and still be able to string from the head to the throat of a racket.  Remember that it is not always true, but stringing from the head to the throat is preferred for most rackets. You should get in the habit of stringing from the head to the throat unless you are certain the racket model can be strung from the throat to the head.

Here are some frequently asked questions I receive as a professional racket stringer. I hope these help you learn from some of the mistakes I made when I first started stringing.

Thank you for taking this course.  Please ask any stringing questions in the Q and A section and I would be glad to help.

We learn how to check the tension on our tennis string after we have strung the racket. I use a Tourna Stringmeter but there are other tension testers on the market.

We learn how to replace the grommets and bumperguard on our racket.  If the grommets can no longer protect the strings from the graphite frame, we need to replace the old grommets and bumperguard.  Using hot air from a blow dryer can help with the replacement of the grommets.

Sometimes it is necessary for us to pre-stretch the racket before stringing.  Although not always needed, we learn an easy way to pre-stretch the tennis string before stringing.