Tennis

Softer Tennis Strings for Hard Hitters

Close-up of a tennis racket stringbed on a metal bench

Hyper-G Soft, Razor Soft and 4G Soft have different measured stiffness and tension loss. Compare the exact 1.25 mm versions before your next restring.

Hard Hitting and Frequent Breakage Are Different Needs

For frequent breakage, keep a record of playing hours between restrings. When choosing a less stiff string, compare stiffness values at the same diameter and test setting.

Compare 1.25 mm strings under the same test conditions

Test conditions: 1.25 mm diameter, 51 lb reference tension, Fast setting. The table shows stiffness in lb/in and tension loss as a percentage.

String (1.25 mm)Stiffness (lb/in)Tension loss (%)
Solinco Hyper-G Soft 16L172.028.7
Solinco Hyper-G 16L218.324.7
Tecnifibre Razor Soft 17212.033.3
Luxilon 4G Soft217.225.4
Luxilon Alu Power Soft197.736.6

Hyper-G Soft Versus Hyper-G

Hyper-G Soft has lower stiffness and higher tension loss than Hyper-G in this test.

RPM Soft and Razor Soft Use Different Materials

Hyper-G Soft is a co-polyester monofilament. Razor Soft combines co-polyester with polyurethane additives and is marketed for frequent string breakers. RPM Soft is polyamide and is aimed at players moving to monofilament who do not yet break strings frequently.

Keep string stiffness separate from your racket’s setup

For the Hyper-G comparison, use the same racket and 1.25 mm diameter. Record stringing tension, installation date and playing hours; for hybrids, record mains and crosses separately. Choose tension within your frame’s recommended range with your stringer.