What am I looking for?

While most of my tennis partners are intrigued by my unusual stringing experiments, some questioned why don't I spend more time practising my game instead?

That's the privilege of owning a stringing machine. I get to try anything that catches my eye. If I can get hold it, I'll string it!

Another more important reason is the huge fitness gap between what I am today and two decades ago. 

Back then, I would play from first light at daybreak till dark, skipping lunch completely, and sometimes even throwing in a swim or a jog in between hits! Now, I cannot even last an hour just rallying in the noon sun.

Just to improve one aspect like serve, footwork, or swing timing, I need to spend several hours training before I start seeing results. And those rigorous drills would exact a huge toll on my wrist, elbow, shoulder and knee joints.

Simply put, I play tennis to keep fit. Not keep fit to play tennis.

So I play with strings instead! And along the way, try to find a better combo that can best match my style of play.

Summarised, the tennis game involves only four aspects:

1. Serve,

2. Return of serve,

3. Net play (eg volleys, overheads), and

4. Groundstrokes.

These are the four areas I always test strings on.

As for the stringbed feel, what I lookout for includes:

1. Comfort,

2. Control,

3. Spin,

4. Power,

5. Durability (tension holding and breakage)

My top priority is always comfort and control. After all, the stringing guru advocates playing with "the loosest string tension you can still control". (link)

Any unorthodox stringings are just for fun.

In fact, I have some wicked ideas already brewing in the cauldron. Just need to find the time to cast the spell...