How Often Should You Restring Your Tennis Racket?

Most tennis players wait until a string breaks before they restring. By that point, they have been playing on dead strings for weeks — and their game has been suffering for it.

Here is the honest answer: you should restring as many times per year as you play per week. Play three times a week? Restring three times a year. Play five times a week? Restring five times a year. It is a simple rule that most players ignore.

Why String Tension Matters More Than You Think

When strings are freshly strung, they snap back to position quickly after contact. That snap is what gives you control and feel. As strings age, they lose elasticity. The bed becomes sluggish. You compensate without realizing it — swinging harder, changing your grip, adjusting your stance — and none of it fixes the real problem.

Dead strings do not just affect feel. They change the way power transfers through the frame. You lose the crisp feedback that tells you whether you hit the sweet spot. Shots that should land in start sailing long. Serves that used to kick start floating.

Signs Your Strings Are Dead

You do not have to wait for a break. Watch for these:

Loss of pop. If your groundstrokes feel flat and you are working harder than usual to generate pace, the strings are likely past their prime.

Strings moving and not snapping back. Fresh strings shift slightly on contact and return to position. When they stay shifted after every shot, the tension is gone.

Notching. Look at where the mains and crosses intersect. Deep grooves in the string mean the fibers are breaking down. A break is coming soon.

It has been more than six months. Even if you play infrequently, strings lose tension just sitting in the bag. Heat, humidity, and time all degrade the material.

Polyester vs. Multifilament: Different Timelines

String type affects how fast tension drops.

Polyester strings (the stiff, co-poly strings most competitive players use) go dead faster than you expect. They lose significant tension within the first few hours of play. After 15–20 hours on court, they are essentially dead — even if they have not broken. Playing on dead poly is one of the most common causes of arm soreness in recreational players.

Multifilament and natural gut strings hold tension longer and stay playable further into their lifespan. They are more forgiving when they age. But they still have a ceiling.

Synthetic gut falls in between. It is the most common string for recreational players and holds up reasonably well, but it still needs to be replaced on a regular schedule.

What Tension Should You Use?

This is a question worth asking your stringer, because the answer depends on your racket, your swing, and what you are trying to accomplish.

As a general starting point: lower tension gives more power, higher tension gives more control. Most recreational players benefit from the middle of their racket's recommended range. If you are generating your own pace and want precision, go toward the higher end. If you need help with power, go lower.

At Devil Dog Tennis, we talk through tension with every customer before we string. It is a five-minute conversation that makes a real difference in how the racket plays.

The Cost of Waiting

Here is the math most players do not run: if you play twice a week and restring twice a year, you are playing on dead strings for roughly half the year. Every practice, every match, every drill during that stretch is happening with equipment that is working against you.

Restringing is not an expense — it is maintenance. The same way you would not run a car on worn tires, you should not play competitive tennis on dead strings.

Get Restrung in Indianapolis

Devil Dog Tennis offers same-day stringing in Indianapolis. Drop off your racket and pick it up ready to play. We offer standard stringing starting at $20 (plus string cost), and our Devil Dog Premium package at $50 includes a deep clean, grommet check, and rush service at no extra fee.

Veterans receive a 10% discount — no questions asked.

If you are not sure what string or tension is right for you, bring the racket in. We will take a look and give you a straight answer.