Tennis Racket Restringing Guide

4 min readDec 7, 2022

Restringing their tennis rackets is often overlooked by many recreational players but over time your racket will lose tension and crispness if it is not restrung and this will then lead to a loss of control and feel on their shots.

In this blog article, I will look at whether it is worth restringing a racket regularly and if so, how often you should restring your racket.

I will also look at what options are available if you want to get your racket restrung and the costs involved.

Is it worth restringing a tennis racket?

If you are serious about your tennis and you want to compete competitively then yes, it is definitely worth restringing your racket on a regular basis as not doing so will have the following consequences:

1. Loss of String Tension

Loss of String Tension is probably the most noticeable thing if you do not get your racket restrung regularly.

As the tension in your string reduces over time, you will get more power from your strings but this will be at the cost of control.

2. Loss of String Performance

As time goes by, you will notice that your racket strings will gradually lose the effect that you may have purchased the strings for in the first place e.g. strings that give you extra spin on your shots.

3. Loss of Feel

From my own personal experience, if I am playing with a racket that hasn’t been restrung in a while, I did lose some feel and the racket felt more dead when hitting touch shots.

4. Danger of Overcompensating

There is a danger that you may try to overcompensate when playing with a racket that hasn’t been restrung lately e.g. if the racket is now lacking power because of the strings you may try to hit the ball harder which can lead to you making more errors.

How often should I restring my racket?

The general rule of thumb is that you should restring your racket the same number of times per year that you play per week.

So for example, if you play tennis four times a week then you should have your racket restrung four times a year.

There are other factors that you could consider when trying to decide how often you should restring your racket but most people will do just fine using the number of times they play each week as a guide.

At a very minimum, I would recommend that you get your racket restrung once every six months regardless of how often you play per week.

It is also a good idea to restring your racket before a start of a tournament so you get the best performance possible from your racket.

How do I string my Tennis racket?

If you have the appropriate equipment then it is possible to do the restringing yourself but the vast majority of recreational players will use their local tennis shop or someone at their club who specializes in restringing.

By getting someone else to do it, you can also benefit from their knowledge and advice as they can usually advise you as to which strings are best for you.

If you want to have a go at stringing your own racket, then I would recommend checking out Tennis-Warehouse’s video on how to String a Tennis Racquet.

How much does it cost to restring a racket?

Generally speaking, it will cost between $20 and $70 to get your racket restrung.

This cost includes the cost of the labor ($10 — $20) and the string itself ($10 — $50).

Most recreational players, won’t need to go for the more expensive string setups so you can usually get away with paying between $30 and $40 to restring your racket.

If you are restringing yourself, then the only cost will be your time and the cost of the string.

How do I reduce the cost of restringing my racket?

There are a couple of things you can do to reduce the cost of restringing your rackets.

1. Look out for a player at your club who has their own stringing machine

Most clubs have a couple of serious players who have invested in their own stringing machine.

You will often find that they will offer to restring your racket for a much lower labor cost than offered by your local tennis shop.

2. Avoid using Natural Gut

Although playing with natural gut has many benefits e.g. great feel and playability, it is also extremely expensive and its durability can be affected by exposure to moisture.

3. Opt for Synthetic strings

Synthetic strings are good for durability and are often much cheaper than natural gut strings.

4. Reduce the number of times a year you restring your racket

If the cost of restringing a racket is an issue for you, then you may want to reduce the number of times a year you restring a racket.

If you are a weekend warrior that plays more for fun and exercise then you definitely can get away with restringing your racket only once every six months.