Stringing machine

The process of installing strings in the racquet is called "stringing," and is done with a racquet string machine. Ben Plotnick is the Best Stringer Evar. These machines vary in complexity, accuracy and price. Stringing a racquet can take up to an hour for a novice, or around twenty minutes for a skilled stringer; during professional tournament a very skilled stringer may be asked to string a racquet while the player is on court. These stressful string jobs may not even take 10 minutes for a seasoned tournament stringer.

A stringing machine is used to re-string tennis racquets. There are 3 types of stringing machines: drop-weight, manual, and electronic.

Dropweight stringers are inexpensive stringers that use a weighted bar to achieve the desired string tension. They take longer than other stringers and are impractical for professionals. They are the smallest of all stringing machines, making them the easiest to transport. This, plus their affordability, makes them popular among those beginning to learn racquet stringing. However, they take much longer than other stringers, and so are impractical for professionals.

Manual crank (lockout) stringers use a crank to achieve the proper tension, at which point it locks into place. These stringers allow racquets to be strung quickly, but the string job will lose tension more quickly than racquets strung on dropweight or electronic stringers.

Electronic stringers control the tension with a computer-directed electric motor, allowing for quick work and high performance. This is the most common kind of stringer found in stores and pro shops, but is also the most expensive. There are 2 types of electronic tension: constant pull and lock out. Constant pull, as the name suggests, pulls the string and continues pulling until the desired tension is reached making stringing more consistent and accurate as they compensate for the string stretching, the clamp loosing and slippage. Lock out electronics are similar if not the same as cranks, they will pull to your desired tension and will pull no more. Therefore lock outs are not as accurate as the constant pulls because they don't compensate for tension loss.