Thicker strings may provide greater control or power; their shorter “dwell time” at lower tensions allows more of their energy to transfer directly to the ball and produce greater force.
Squash rackets vary in their stiffness, and players should experiment until they find one that works for them.
String Tension
When selecting the ideal squash racket frame for you, the string tension that best matches your style of play should be taken into account. Different string gauges or thicknesses and materials may affect how a racket feels and plays while impacting durability, power and control – many players like to experiment with various stringing patterns and tensions to find what best works for them.
Thicker strings tend to produce more power, although this isn’t always true. Much of this difference stems from the “trampoline effect”, when the string bounces back after contact with the ball; thinner ones have greater resilience, so they can rebound further and produce greater power.
Stiffness can have a considerable impact on racket performance. A stiffer racket may feel sturdier and deform less during play, yet may be uncomfortable for certain players. On the other hand, flexible frames tend to feel softer and bend more during play but may provide greater maneuverability.
Racket stiffness can be measured using frequency analysis, which measures how much vibration the racket produces when making contact with the ball. Unfortunately, this method only gives an indication of stiffness; it doesn’t take into account differences in weight between rackets that have identical frequency measurements but differing weights; so two rackets with identical frequencies but differing weights will produce different results.
Factors can influence a racket’s stringing tension in several ways; finding the optimal tension often requires trial and error. Professional players typically keep their preferred stringing setup secret to ensure maximum use out of each frame, however you can get an idea of what works by reading reviews of other frames as well as looking at stringing patterns used on specific frames.
General stringing principles dictate that larger head sizes require tighter string tension to achieve comparable levels of performance, typically 25lbs for most players should provide the perfect balance of power and control. Furthermore, it would be wise to keep a record of your racket’s string tension so as to detect any changes over time in terms of performance.
