Why I Don't Like Poly...

If you have been reading this blog, you would have noticed the few number of poly stringjobs. 

No matter what I tried, I just could not find favour with any. Yes, there were outstanding ones with impressive spin. Some with great comfort. Others had good tension stability and durability. But I could not find one with ALL the advantages together.

Also, I have yet to hear of any poly that either serves or volleys well! They are just too stiff and dead to offer any good sense of touch.

I came across a post on Talk Tennis forum, which I thought was very well written and expressed my sentiments on poly exactly. 

With permission from the original writer, Toby, I have copied the post below for ease of reading. 

(The original post can be found here)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm one to not advocate polys until you get to the upper 4.0 levels. My reasons are below.

1) Arm Health
Less experienced players have a harder time determining when to cut out the poly after it has lost it's ability to rebound in a timely matter in relationship to the ball leaving the racquet face. Even old heavily notched polys will rebound to a point, but if they do not rebound in the time that the ball is on the racquet face then you might as well wrap some Tourna around a 27 inch scrap 2X4 and go at it (I prefer pine as it is flexier). Seriously, the poly needs to be restrung fairly regulary in order to take advantage of it's properties.

2) Good Timing
You need to make contact out 'in front' on every ground stroke. This allows your entire body force to withstand the force of the on coming ball. If you make late contact on occasion, the jarring of polyester is going to have an effect on your wrist, elbow or shoulder eventually.

3) You are hurting your game
When you switch to a poly, you are taking power away from the most important stroke in the game, the serve. You have to swing harder with poly to generate the same amount of power with a synthetic, much less a natural gut string. This can lead to bad form and injury.

4) Ball speed at lower level
Contrary to popular belief, the highest speed of a 5.0 ground stroke isn't that different than the highest speed of a 3.5 ground stroke. The deal is that the AVERAGE speed of a 5.0 ground stroke is much higher than the AVERAGE speed of a 3.5 ground stroke. When you are not returning heavy ground strokes consistently, it makes it harder on the poly to do it's job as intended. On a softer shot, the ball just doesn't move the strings on the racquet face like a harder shot will. I will say that stringing poly at lower tension can offset this point as well as the new SPIN, ESP type of frames as it allows the strings to move more. Modern technology works in this case!!!

5) Cost of strings
While polys appear cheap in comparison to multis and natural gut, the required replacement every few weeks quickly makes up for the price. If you are going to use poly all the time, you better have access to a stringer or a nice friend that has one.

6) Bad technique
With all the talk about the added benefit of poly, I have seen a disturbing trend with the students and players around the courts. These are the types of players that live and die for tennis, but try to emulate the pros by swinging straight up on the ball. I see a ton of players trying to be the next Nadal or Sharapova with their own version of the Buggy Whip forehand. In order to be a good solid tennis player you need to hit through the ball. Even Nadal and Sharapova hit through the ball far more often than they do the Buggy Whip. When these lower level players attempt to do these Buggy Whips it causes arm and shoulder injuries. The real benefit of the Buggy Whip is when you are on the run and can't meet the ball out front. It allows for later contact.


I'm sure I could come up with more, but I'm tired of typing and must get some work done. I will say that if you HAVE to use poly at the lower levels please string them lower (30 to 40 lbs range) to protect your joints and give your body a fighting chance.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ironically, the group advantages (spin, comfort, power, durability, control) that I could not obtain from poly, could ALL be found in synthetic gut, together, simultaneously.