Are reString Tennis Strings Stiff?
Juan
reString tennis strings are in a normal stiffness range for polyester strings and are comparable to strings from other brands like Luxilon, Babolat, Solinco, and Toroline.
Within the reString lineup, reString Sync is the softest of the four strings, reString Vivo the firmest, and reString Slap and reString Zero in between.
As a general note, this article covers polyester-to-polyester comparisons, and does not cover the large difference in stiffness between string materials.
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reString Strings Compared to Other Polyesters
Against other polyesters, the stiffness of reString strings sits in a normal range.
Our strings often land close to a string you’ve already played with.
Players switching from Solinco Hyper-G to reString Zero describe the two as feeling much the same, with reString Zero feeling a little crisper but not harsh.
In our guide to reString Zero and Toroline O-Toro, we put reString Zero on the slightly firmer side of O-Toro. However, both will feel relatively similar in terms of stiffness.
When comparing reString Sync and Luxilon ALU Power, MPTennis described Sync as playing a lot like ALU Power, which has been the reference control polyester for years.
Tennisnerd compared reString Sync with Toroline A5 and found A5 the softer of the two, with reString Sync slightly more controlled.
reString Slap and Babolat RPM Blast land in the same territory on shape, power, and ball action, while reString Slap delivers a slightly softer feel at contact.
The main takeaway is that reString sits on either side of the strings you already use rather than outside them, which is what a normal stiffness range looks like.
reString Strings Compared to Each Other
reString Sync is the softest and plushest of the four. It gets close to the point where a polyester starts being called soft without arriving there.
reString Slap sits in the middle of the category. It is neither a firm string nor a soft one.
reString Zero is moderate, a touch firmer than Slap. A player already on a mainstream polyester should find its firmness familiar.
reString Vivo is the firmest. It is not extreme by polyester standards, though it does reach the territory players associate with firmer polys.
The Playability Graph above puts the four in that same order. Read its firm-to-soft axis as relative to the reString range rather than to the polyester market.
One thing to note is that as of today, reString does not make a dedicated soft polyester. reString Sync is the softer option inside this range, but not a specialist soft string.
Why Can Strings Feel Stiffer as They Age?
As polyester strings wear, they can start to feel stiffer and less comfortable.
Players often describe this as the strings “going dead”.
It does not mean that the string material has actually become stiffer. It happens because the strings stop sliding freely against each other over time.
Helping strings avoid this is why we developed Signature Snapback.
reString Zero, reString Slap, and reString Sync all feature this technology.
Signature Snapback helps the strings slide and return to position after each shot, keeping their fresh feel as you continue playing with them.
You will need to restring eventually, but keeping the strings moving freely for longer helps them not develop that stiff feeling as they age.
