Wilson Hammer 5.8 + Poly/Syn Gut @ 32/30 lbs (16x17)

Combined, both my playing partner and myself hit with the ELT full poly for less than 15min. It felt too harsh to continue. Or, it could just be that we loved our arms too much...

After some thought, I decided to convert this job to a ELT hybrid and see how different it would play.

Online, there's plenty of debate on re-using strings or converting strung rackets. Most issues revolve around how unpredictable the strings would play. Some fear racket damage. Perhaps I have been lucky so far?

After mounting the racket, I cut the crosses. If you observe the gap between the cut strings, it's clear how little snap there is when cut. Poly is a very stiff string.

Removing the cut crosses.

After inspecting the mains for any damage, it's back to regular stringing.

Somehow, the top and bottom cross seemed a little too near the frame to me. My previous rackets all played very well with both crosses skipped, so I skipped them this time too!

Playtest:
- I only hit with it for about 5 min, then passed it to M, who snapped the cross string with a backhand topspin!
- For that few shots, spin was better than with full poly. It was quite comfortable too.
- In fact, I could not tell any difference between this ELT stringjob and another done in the 40-50s. It played exactly the same to me!
- Spin clearly loses out to full syn gut at ELT
- Control is the only thing better than ELT syn gut

Strings:

Pro Supex Big Ace Revo 1.25mm mains @ 32 lbs

Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Titan 1.25mm cross @ 30 lbs