Tennis String Thickness
The ideal thickness of the string
The thicker the string, the longer the lifespan, but with less comfort and power. A thinner tennis string provides you with more feeling and control. Thinner variants also give more spin potential by allowing the fibres to become more embeded and cut into the ball. Most of the strings have a diameter between 1.20 and 1.40 mm.
The thinner a tennis string, the more power, feeling, comfort and control, but the lower the lifespan.
A thicker tennis string has lower power, feeling, comfort and control, but it offers a longer lifespan.
The relation between tennis string width and power, control, lifespan and comfort is described in the table on the right:
Determining the 'gauge'
The diameter of tennis cordage is often described in the old measurement 'gauge'. The lower the gauge, the thicker the tennis string and vice versa. A "L" (which means 'Light') is used to describe half gauges. A string with gauge 15L means it is between 15 and 16 gauge. In the table on the left you can see the corresponding length in millimetres.
