The King of Natural Gut - Wilson or Babolat?

The King of Natural Gut (Wilson or Babolat?)

Wilson Natural Gut - 17g (Roger Federer strings)

Isn't Natural Gut expensive? YES! But, if you want need the most comfort for your arm and the best quality string on the market - it is the #1 string. Just try it once, and you may never go back*

On the other hand, if your strings are breaking too frequently - consider trying a polyester string or at least use a thicker gauge tennis string.

Now to compare the King of Gut Brands:
The two most popular brands of tennis natural gut are Wilson and Babolat. This used to be a fairly equal comparison about 5 years ago...but now things have changed*

2012 Winners of Tennis-Bargains "Top Tennis Awards"!

Tennis-Bargains 2012 Award Categories

#1 DC Pro Shop of the Year: 

Tennis Topia (Rockville, MD)

Great selection, expert advice from pro staff led by Terrell with our Tennis Bargains endorsed specials almost every week with their email newsletter. 

Our favorite Tennis Bargain on-going deal is their weekday $25 off $50 Groupon special.

Owned and run by Darrell Haines (DC's Tennis Drilling and Golf) - they have been a staple of Washington Tennis for well over 20 years.

#1 DC Academy or Club of the Year

Four Seasons Tennis Club (Merrifield, VA)

Great junior program, lots of lessons, USTA leagues and programs for adults at great rates for winter indoor courts. Good quality court surfaces which are relatively new and not too fast. Outdoor facilities includes har tru and hard courts outdoors. Central location off I-495 with very senior staff run by Bob Pass.

• Honorable Mentions:
• Rock Creek Park Tennis Center (Rock Creek, DC) - Great public outdoor hard courts created for DC's ATP 500 Citi Open is held here annually, with brand new practice courts this year; The tennis complex also has bubble for 4 indoor courts in the winter
• TCCP (College Park, MD) | TennisPlex (Germantown, MD) - *brand new facilities*

#1 Tennis Racket Stringer in Washington DC Area

Scott Nilsen from Tennis Topia (Rockville, MD)

We've tried many different stringers from clubs/shops all across in MD/DC/VA. This place is without a doubt the most consistent and dependable quality string jobs in the DC Metro area with an excellent turn around time (same day). They were also our official stringers for all the 2013 Tennis Racket Play-Testing

DC's Tennis Coach and Trainer of the Year

Yann Auzoux and Dan Riser - FifthSet.com

• Washington Post's Coach of the Year (2008, 2010)
• Excellent YouTube videos - footwork technique
• Entire Tennis Library of Online Courses available
• Dan Riser (US Men's Fitness) "Prepping Like a Pro" - training course provides expert professional advice for keeping tennis athletes strong, fit and ready for competition

2012 Tennis Racket of the Year

Head Speed (18x20)

World #1: Novak Djokovic's racket

Excellent all-around racket at 100 sq. inches and for players looking for a 11oz+ racket that is still manuverable and allows the player to hit from many different positions and even when late (as you see Djokvic do from all sorts of contorted stances).

Honorable Mention for most innovative 2013 racket:

Wilson's Steam 99S

2012 Tennis String of the Year

Natural Gut Category: Wilson Natural Gut 17g

Narrowly beats out Babolat Tonic+ Gut - the new BT7 coating adds some durability to Natural Gut, but we felt it did not seem to keep the elastic qualities of fresh gut strings as long as Wilson.

However, Babolat VS Gut was a bit more durable before fraying. For those who want the best, Wilson Gut is simply unbeatable when it comes to playability and spin when you add it to the Main strings. That way you can get two uses out of a single bag (~$42)

Poly/Co-Poly: Luxilon 4G

Great all around string, softer poly and solid durability for string breakers; recommended string of choice for the 2013 Wilson's Steam 99S.

Affordable prices from the top polyester string brand in the ATP/WTA tour.

We would also recommend you try Luxilon Ace 18 and ALU Power 16 to get a good comparison with spin and power potential, respectively.

Award Criteria and Selection Process

Winners and Honorable Mentions were be selected based on:

1. Our fan reviews and feedback
2. Tennis industry expert opinions
3. Our own "mystery shopper" report cards

Congrats to all of this year's winners! We also want to say Thanks to all our fans, students and friends online for providing your valuable input to us.

How to save money on Tennis Strings

Tips for Tennis Strings

1. If your shots seem to be spraying everywhere, it may be time to re-string your racket*
2. If you find yourself breaking strings too often, then buy a thicker gauge string such as 15g or 16g. The lower the number, the thicker the string and less likely it will snap.
3. Or try using polyester strings, if you do not have any arm problems.
4. Keep your rackets cool in an insulated bag, and never store them in a hot car overnight!
5. Putting them in the trunk will almost guarantee tension loss (and ruining your string job)
6. Get 10% OFF these longer-lasting polyester strings, which also have extra spin and hold tension for longer. See our reviews of the brands TopSpin and Genesis
7. Buy tennis strings online in bulk size (called reels) to save on shipping and they are cheaper per set.

Learn to string your own tennis rackets - it's easy!

Klippermate Tennis Stringer: Rated #1

Buy the $159 Klippermate Tennis Stringer and learn to string at home with some free YouTube videos.

Stringing Machine for Beginners
Super easy to use, even for first-timers. The Klippermate paid for itself in just a matter of months (~10 uses) and you can even charge a little to string for your friends.

Made in the USA with an unlimited, Life-Time Guaranteed. See reviews on Amazon with over 50 positive reviews from stringforum.net as the site's most popular tennis stringing machine

This is the stringing machine that we trust and recommend for its ease of use to beginners. We actually still own and operate one at Tennis-Bargains!

Perhaps most important of all - you can have a freshly strung racket ready in less than an hour.

Topspin Cyber Blue String Review + YouTube Review

Tennis String Review: Topspin Cyber Blue

Ratings for the Topspin Cyber Blue 1.25 gauge (17g) string

Topspin Cyber Blue 1.25 ratings (out of 78 reviews) from Stringforum.net

Topspin Cyber Blue 1.25 17 - Tennis String on Sale

*Tennis-Bargains.com Award*
Cyber Blue offers great control and feel as a durable cross string.

*Update*: David strung his racket at a high tension when he did this demo; David had much better results after lowering his racket tension from 63 lbs to 57 lbs. When you look at the 96% of players reviewers who recommended the string - the tension usually was between 51 lbs and 55 lbs.

Tennis-Bargains Tip:
Also try the spin friendly Cyber Flash string with the thinner 17g (1.25 string) over the 16g for a bit more comfort. Also to avoid a stiff feel with poly strings, it is recommended that you typically string all poly's 10% lower in tension.

Play Testing Cyberblue Strings

David Emery was formerly the WTA hitting partner for Liezel Huber (former #3 in WTA Doubles). She recently won the 2010 US Open Mixed Doubles with Bob Bryan. Congrats Dave on his promotion! View some other free Tennis Videos and Tips.