Tennis String Setup Finder
Answer five questions and get a starting setup to test: a reference tension range inside your racquet's limits, a string construction to try, an estimated restring window and a monthly string cost. It is a starting point, not a prescription, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Find your starting setup
Step 1 of 5
A starting point to test
Use it for your next string job, take a fresh baseline reading, then adjust one variable at a time. Every line says what kind of evidence it rests on.
- Reference tension range
- —Manufacturer range + published guidance
- String construction to try
- —Why: string types · gauge · patternString Tension AI rule of thumb
- Estimated restring window
- —How the restring window worksIllustrative model
- String cost per month
- —Plan a longer budgetArithmetic from your inputs
- Arm sensitivity
- Comfort window usedString tension for arm comfortPublished guidance (comfort window)
Next: string it, then measure a fresh-string baseline and track the change in your stringbed log.
Add a restring reminder
Creates a calendar file with the estimated restring date for a string job done today and a mid-life tension check. It holds dates only, never your answers, and it is a planning estimate rather than a measurement.
Measure the new stringbed on iPhone in about 30 seconds and see how far it moves from your baseline.
Get String Tension AITake this to your stringer
Fill in what you want strung, then print the card or show it on your phone. Nothing you type here is saved, sent, or added to a link.
Reference tensions are the settings you ask the stringer to use. They are not a measurement of the finished stringbed, so measure the racquet fresh after stringing to set your own baseline.
Where each part of the starting setup comes from
The Setup Finder combines three published inputs with your answers, and it labels which is which. None of it is a measurement of your strings.
- Tension range: your frame first. The finder intersects your racquet's manufacturer range with the published window for your string construction and goal, the same logic as the tension calculator. If the two do not overlap, it says so rather than leaving the frame's limits. A range is a reference tension, the setting your stringer uses on the machine, not the tension the installed stringbed will read.
- Construction: a rule of thumb. If you leave the construction open, the finder suggests one from your level, goal and comfort answer: synthetic gut for newer players, multifilament when comfort leads, a hybrid or polyester as swings get faster and control matters more. That is String Tension AI's synthesis, not a published rule, so read how the string types differ before you buy.
- Restring window: an illustrative model. It uses the same simple tension-loss curve as the when-to-restring calculator for a fresh job, capped at six months. Comfort, control, feel, visible wear and breakage still decide.
- Monthly cost: your numbers. Job cost divided by playable hours, times weekly hours, 52 weeks and one twelfth. The cost tracker plans a longer budget.
If you answered yes to arm sensitivity, the range moves to the comfort window and a softer construction is suggested. This is equipment guidance, not medical advice.
Test the starting setup, then change one thing
- Ask for the setting, not a stringbed number. Give your stringer the reference tension and construction; the card on this page prints just that. Our guide on how to talk to your stringer covers what else to ask.
- Record a fresh-string baseline within a day of stringing, with a method you can repeat. The measurement guide compares the options.
- Play a few sessions before judging. If the ball flies long, the next job goes up one small step; if depth is hard to find or the bed feels harsh, it goes down. The control guide explains the trade-off.
- Track the relative change. Save the setup and your readings to your stringbed log and compare each reading with your own baseline.
Setup Finder FAQ
Is the Setup Finder result a recommendation for my racquet?
It is a starting point to test, not a prescription. The tension range is where your frame's manufacturer range overlaps the published guidance for your string construction and goal; the construction suggestion is String Tension AI's rule of thumb. Play a few sessions, take a fresh baseline reading, and change one variable at a time.
What does the arm-sensitivity answer change?
It moves the tension range to the comfort window of the published guidance and, when you let the finder suggest a construction, picks a softer, more elastic one. It never goes outside your frame's range. This is equipment guidance, not medical advice, and no string setup is shown to prevent or relieve arm pain.
How are the restring window and monthly cost estimated?
The restring window uses the same illustrative tension-loss model as the when-to-restring calculator for a fresh string job: the playing hours until the modelled play-driven loss reaches about 9%, or 26 weeks if that comes first. The monthly cost divides your string-job cost by those playable hours and multiplies by your weekly hours, 52 weeks and one twelfth. Both are planning estimates, not measurements.
Does the Setup Finder send my answers anywhere?
No. The result is worked out in your browser. Analytics record only that the finder was used, not your answers. Save to my log stores the setup in this browser's local storage only. If you copy a share link, the values are part of that link's address, and opening it records that address as a page view.
See how your new setup changes
String Tension AI measures your stringbed on iPhone in about 30 seconds and keeps each racquet's history, so you can see when a starting setup has moved. Core measurements are free.
Download String Tension AI Free