Whether you’re a novice or professional tennis athlete, investing in a high-quality racquet will boost your game. Unfortunately, even the best racquets start to wear out eventually, particularly if you play seriously on a regular basis. Instead of forking out on a brand-new racquet, you can give your current one a new lease of life by restringing it.
As you play, tennis racquet strings stretch and lose their tension. Eventually, they’ll need replacing to continue getting the most out of your racquet. For best results, try to restring your racquet regularly. If you wait until the strings have become loose enough to break, it’s too late. Your game will start to suffer from the worn-out strings, or worse, one will break during a tournament.
Some players pay a professional to restring their racquet. However, this can quickly become expensive, particularly if you play tennis regularly enough to restring every month or so. To avoid this, invest in a tennis stringing machine.
By restringing your own tennis racquet, you can save enough to cover the cost of the machine after just a few months. Better still, you can help out your team or playing partners by restringing their racquets, too.
In this article, we explore the best tennis stringing machines on the market. We cover a variety of feature sets and price points, giving players of all sorts the chance to find a suitable machine. We also cover how the machines work to help you choose one that meets your needs.
Klippermate Tennis Racquet Stringing Machine
If you’re looking for an affordable tennis stringing machine, look no further than the Klippermate. Better still, the machine is super easy to use and is the best budget pick on the list.
Of course, the cheap price comes with fewer features, so don’t expect to restring a large number of racquets in a short time frame with this one. If you only need to string your racquet occasionally, though, the Klippermate Tennis Racquet Stringing Machine will do the job.
The Klippermate stringing machine offers a tabletop design, allowing you to use it on any flat surface. Its compact size makes it portable and easy to move to a new location. Like most cheaper models, it only has two points of contact for mounting. Occasionally, this can cause the frame to twist during the stringing process.
This stringing machine has a drop weight style. This doesn’t set the tension as precisely as an electronic machine, but it requires less physical effort than a manual unit. Depending on your preference, you can set the string tension between 20 and 90 pounds.
This versatile stringing machine can string tennis, squash, and racquetball racquets. For an extra cost, you can also add the ability to string badminton racquets.
The Klippermate website is easy to use and answers a variety of tennis stringing questions. The machine also comes with a detailed set of instructions, simplifying the process for newbies.
Gamma Progression ST II Stringing Machine
The Gamma Progression ST II Stringing Machine is another strong choice. While it’s more expensive than other Gamma models, the advanced features make the investment worthwhile.
The stringing machine has a manual tension setting design, meaning that you’ll adjust the tension manually using a hand crank. Depending on your preference, you can set the string tension between 10 and 90 pounds. This advanced model provides six points of contact on the racquet frame, helping the racquet to maintain its shape during the process and avoid twisting.
The Gamma Progression ST II stringing machine is a tabletop model and isn’t as heavy as you might think. This makes the machine a great option for transporting to a client or tournament. The base comes with two drawers for storing your stringing tools, many of which come with the machine. Gamma includes a variety of tools with this model, including a hex wrench set, awls, and two pliers.
Gamma X-ELS Stringing Machine
If you can afford the Gamma X-ELS Stringing Machine, you won’t regret the investment. The machine is easy to use and boasts a convenient tabletop design. This makes it easy to transport the unit to and from your tennis club.
The Gamma X-ELS stringing machine benefits from an electronic tension system. While this increases the price of the unit, it makes the stringing process easier than ever. If you don’t want to use a hand crank to string your racquet, an electronic model is a great option. As well as measuring the tension, it applies it to the racquet automatically.
To use the X-ELS, simply enter your desired tension on the keypad and let the machine take care of the rest. Depending on your preference, choose a string tension of between 11 and 90 pounds.
Like the Gamma Progression ST, the X-ELS stringing machine benefits from six points of contact on the frame. This helps you to maintain the shape of your racquet during the stringing process.