As I mentioned in my intro post, I used to string rackets in a sports store, which gave me the opportunity to try and compare many different strings over the years. However, for a long time I didn't really think of experimenting with different tension (plus I always ended up with the same string anyways, but more of that at a later time :).
Most people, played their rackets around 26 kg / 57 lbs, which was believed to strike a good balance between power and control. The same goes for the most of pros on tour. But there is a pretty significant range of preferences...
While there has been a lot of buzz about strings recently - especially Luxilons - tension is often overlooked. Tension also has a major impact on how comfortable you feel with a racket (and on court in general).
Before I share my own thoughts on strings and tensions, I wanted to give you an idea of the ranges, and how different the preferences can be. Jeff Davies from Luxilon posted a great analysis of Wilson's stringing jobs during the 2007 US Open. Here are some highlights:
· The highest tension used by a woman was 73 lbs mains (Luxilon Alu Power) and 71 lbs crosses (Prince)
· The lowest tension used was 22 lbs mains and crosses using Luxilon Original – by a 6'+ man..!
· 5 players strung their racquets higher than 70 lbs
· 10 players strung their racquets lower than 40 lbs
I highly recommend checking out his page for more info. If you'd like to translate lbs into kg, you can simply ask Google.