Babolat are renowned worldwide for their tennis string. Having been established since 1875, they started off by just making tennis strings by making the world’s first natural gut string. The Babolat VS Natural Gut is known for being the very best natural gut string on the market still to this day! They have developed over the years to create a wide variety of strings to cater for all the different types/styles/ages of players.
The strings of a racket are vital to the performance of the frame, accounting for 50% of the performance. Babolat break their strings down into 3 main ranges:
In this range there are many different strings, they are made from a co polyester material, with a monofilament structure, this allows the string to grip onto the ball and then snaps back into place, this gives the ultimate spin on the tennis ball. Rafa Nadal uses this type of string, the Babolat RPM Blast, which as you know, gives him enormous spin to his shots. This particular model is also octagonal in shape, which adds even more bite on the ball to increase the spin further. Some other models in this range are the RPM Rough which has a rough texture to the string to give even more grip on the ball. The RPM Power is another popular string in this range, giving more pop to your shots but without sacrificing the control. Finally a new string to this range is the RPM Soft, this is a combination of a multifilament and a monofilament string, to try to give a great combination of comfort, power, durability and spin. The RPM range is not for everyone though due to the stiffer string type making it less comfortable than other strings. Therefore if you have suffered with any tennis elbow or shoulder and wrist injuries we would advise staying away from this type of string and look at one of the other ranges. If in any doubt, give us a call or drop us a message and speak to one of our Master Professional Stringers to get the best advice.
Within this range of strings is one of our best selling strings here at MDG Sports. The Babolat Xcel string. This category of strings is a multifilament string, made up of lots of different strands/fibres of string, meaning it is much more elastic than other string, resulting in the best comfort on the arm and more power to your shots. Perfect string for players suffering from tennis elbow! It is the closest you could get to a natural gut string, but at a lower price point. A new string just launched in 2023 in this range is the Babolat Xalt (watch the video at the bottom of the page), this is designed to be similar to the Xcel string but it gives a little more control and is a more durable option. It is a special polyamide filaments combined with glass beads to help make a fantastic performing string.
The Crème de la crème of tennis string is this natural gut, the Babolat Touch VS is without a doubt the best in the industry. It is 100% natural gut, one of the most widely used natural gut on the pro tour. It gives the unbelievable combination of power and feel while being the very best on the market for comfort on the arm thanks to the great elasticity in the string. The tension maintenance of this string is also like no other, holding tension much better than other types of string, allowing you to play for longer while still giving the higher performance.
The Babolat string range comes in different thicknesses/gauges. They vary from 1.20mm, 1.25mm, 1.30mm and 1.35mm. These differences may not sound much however it can have a big impact on playability. Choose a thinner string if you would like to get a better feel, more power and more comfort as a thinner string is more elastic. As well as this, you can generate more spin with a thinner gauge string as it can grip onto the ball more, however, the downside to a thinner string is they do not last as long before breaking and they lose tension quicker. A thicker string would be more durable and hold tension for longer, however, less power, less spin and stiffer resulting in less comfort.
We have a huge range of strings here at MDG Sports and are always more than happy to discuss your needs. We can ask you a few questions about your racket, style of play, what you want out of the string and we can help put the best string/tension in for your needs. Sometimes this could be a combination of strings, called a hybrid. One of our most popular setups is Babolat RPM Blast on the main string (verticals) and Babolat Xcel on the cross strings. This gives a great combination of control, spin, power and comfort.
