Your Guide
Gavin Davison
Spin and control are two features that really do complement each other, as it’s tough to have one without the other.
The one and only exception would be if you love to hit flat from all areas of the court, although I haven’t seen many players that play this way without a boatload of unforced errors.
MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE TENNIS STRING FOR TOP SPIN AND CONTROL:
When it comes to selecting a string that helps you to hit with control as well as spin, I like to source strings that have an edged shape as well as those that aren’t OVER LIVELY.
By this, I mean that you don’t want a string that makes the ball absolutely zip off the spring bed, not if control is your goal anyway.
What to Look For
Just for a little added clarification, it is possible to control the ball without hitting topspin.
However, this is reserved for lower intermediates, as well as those advanced players who hit the ball completely flat.
Once your game reaches a certain level, topspin really is your friend, and it is this spin that allows you to control the ball.
Therefore it goes without saying that finding a string that blends these features together can be highly advantageous.
By hitting heavy spin on the ball you can make the ball dip down at the last second, which enables you to hit acute angles as well as maintain good depth when trading from baseline to baseline.
It is this reality that leads me onto the next focus: what the specifications should be.
I believe that the string needs to follow an irregular shape to get this topspin on the ball and that the stringbed needs to be quite firm to avoid too much flex, therefore avoiding any UNWANTED POWER ON THE BALL.
For me, I’ve found that this can usually be seen with co-polyester strings or even multifilament strings.
To suit players of all levels, I would go with a multifilament string as it is softer as well as cheaper.
This makes it much more friendly on your bank balance, and it gives you that added feeling on contact with the ball.
Recommendation for you- Wilson NXT
Wilson is no doubt my second favorite tennis brand after Babolat, and the strings that they produce year after year really are top-drawer.
NXT is a multifilament string that scores highly in many key areas for me, and specifically for this category, the string is perfect for those in search of extra spin and control.
I like that it is tougher than synthetic gut but much more forgiving than a polyester, therefore providing the IDEAL BLEND for these two features.
You can even string your whole racket with this without losing too much power, although if you do decide to do this.
Just be warned that the strings may move around a bit more than usual.
When I’ve used this string in the past, I’ve also enjoyed putting it in the crosses and following up with a full polyester in the mains.
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