Handling Broken Strings – Quick and Easy Replacement for Badminton Rackets
Breaking badminton racket strings may halt your play, but they don’t have to spell disaster for recreational players. Restringing can be done safely and inexpensively as an inexpensive repair option.
Explore various string tensions to see how they alter the way your racket feels and plays; higher tension strings may enable more powerful strokes.
1. Remove the Strings
Step one of restringing your badminton racket should always involve an evaluation process to ascertain whether replacing one broken string is sufficient, or whether an entirely new restring is required. Once this decision has been made, then remove and install your new strings accordingly.
Beginners and casual players should generally change their strings when they break, to reduce any risks caused by degraded string material or changing string tension. Intermediate players should only restring their racket when string tension drops below their threshold of playability to avoid spending money maintaining an unused racket!
However, for more advanced players it might be worthwhile to think twice before restringing your racket. Control/technical players may wish to consider restringing if the current strings no longer provide adequate grip for their game – this especially holds true if strings break often as this diminishes performance of your racket!
Professional/advanced players should consider changing their string when their tension decreases significantly due to string creep. String creep is the natural loss of tension after stringing a badminton string and should not be ignored when selecting strings for play. This initial drop can be more noticeable within 24 hours after stringing, but will gradually decrease over time with regular usage of your racket. Over time this could result in significant loss of repulsion power. Restringing rackets with stronger strings is one way to combat this decline and maintain their current level of play, enabling them to continue improving and playing at a high level for longer. Re-stringing also means reduced string breaks.
2. Pull the Strings Through the Grommets
Badminton racket grommets are small cylindrical tubes attached to the frame of a badminton racket that act as safety nets for strings, protecting them from pressing against and potentially breaking against it. Regular checks should be performed on grommets to detect broken or damaged ones so as to extend their useful lifespan, prolonging both their own existence as well as that of their strings and frame of the racket.
As soon as they hear a string snapping, players usually assume their racket has been irreparably damaged. But by quickly and correctly extracting it, many rackets can still be saved; often their string has simply stretched and tightened so much it no longer supports by its remaining grommets.
Pressure on a string can result from either excessive play or stringing a very tight string with too little restringing time, but can also be caused by its own natural behavior – the first 48 hours post stringing, badminton strings will shrink slightly and lose tension at different rates – this phenomenon is known as string creep and could eventually lead to early breakage.
Stringers must always allow enough time for restringing before games or practices begin, to allow the string time to stretch and become less susceptible to stress from frequent use or sudden impacts. A good way to tell whether your string is ready is listening for its signature bell or whistle sound as an indication.
Professional stringers should inspect a racket before beginning stringing. They should check for cracks or collapsed areas that could be compromised during stringing process, and inspect its grommets and replace any damaged or cracked ones as part of this inspection process.
If a grommet has broken, replacing it is simple: insert one end of a new string through its hole below it, pull through, and secure with knots to make sure that once in place it doesn’t become detached from existing strings.
3. Secure the Strings
Badminton players must quickly evaluate any string damage and decide if replacing just the broken section or restringing all their racket is required. When restringing a racket, players should carefully consider both quality and tension that suits their skill level and consider this when selecting their new strings.
No matter the type of string chosen, all will eventually break without proper care and maintenance. This includes avoiding extreme temperature changes, storing the racket in an area with adequate air circulation and not using it excessively – factors which have an enormous effect on how long badminton racket strings last.
Extreme heat can cause strings to loose their tension, creating an inferior playing experience. To prevent this from occurring, make sure your rackets are stored somewhere where they won’t be exposed to direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. Cold weather also has the power to decrease string elasticity.
Badminton players should always make sure the strings on their racket are securely seated in their grommets, which are small black cylinders affixed to the racket frame and serve to cushion any potential string contact with its frame. A broken grommet could leave direct string contact with its frame and lead to its eventual breakage – this may damage both string and frame and be costly to repair.
Once the string has been secured in its grommets, it’s essential that there be sufficient slack left over in both ends of it to tie a knot at either end and ensure there won’t be too much force pulled on it by too tightly threading it through each grommet, as this could damage it and shorten its lifespan considerably. Stretched tightly too can lead to string breakage reducing its lifespan considerably and may damage other components within your racket as a whole.
Selecting the correct string for your badminton racket can greatly enhance your game and performance, but when one breaks, players must act swiftly to manage this situation swiftly and efficiently or risk forfeiting significant time on court.
4. Cut the Strings
Badminton strings are an integral component of their racket, and essential tools used by players to strike the shuttlecock and exploit its unique qualities. Finding the ideal strings requires consideration of cost, control, durability and feel properties as well as your playing style and intensity of games. Replacement of badminton string must occur periodically depending on its durability or your play style intensity level.
As soon as a string begins to slip out of its socket, it should be cut immediately to reduce stress on other strings and stop it from becoming worse. By doing this, a broken string won’t worsen and help relieve strain from other strings in your instrument.
However, if the break happens during a game or practice session, it may be prudent to wait until reaching your nearest racket store and purchasing new strings from there.
Once a string is broken, its tension will drop rapidly and pull on other strings, potentially causing irreparable damage to the racket frame. For maximum effectiveness in cutting strings correctly without uneven pull on your frame it is advised that an UP, RIGHT, DOWN and LEFT cutting sequence be utilized.
Maintain an even distribution of strings around the frame to reduce risk and preserve racket integrity. Also note that using colored string makes breakages easily visible if they occur.
As a rule of thumb, professional/advanced badminton players should restring their rackets approximately every week in which they play in any given period. While this recommendation doesn’t take into account intensity, frequency or duration of badminton sessions, it provides a good general guideline. For intermediate players we advise changing string when it breaks naturally or tension drops below an acceptable level – this recommendation especially applies to power/attacking players due to their aggressive play style which often causes strings to break more frequently than other types of players.
