Consumer Advice: Budget-Friendly Alternatives for Popular Tennis Strings

$21 Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power & ALU Power Rough —> $8 Tourna Big Hitter Silver & $13 Solinco Tour Bite

Luxilon’s flagship string does so many things well but is often criticized for poor tension maintenance. Even if there’s something magical about a fresh set of Luxilon, there’s nothing magical about spending $21 plus the $30 your stringer’s likely to charge for labor. Instead, try Tourna Big Hitter Silver - a barely veiled knock off of ALU Power with slightly better tension maintenance and a significantly lower price tag. Or if you want the kind of spin ALU Rough offers, try Solinco Tour Bite.

$20 Babolat RPM Blast/ RPM Blast Rough —> $9 Volkl Cyclone

Babolat RPM Blast is a popular polyester used by Rafa Nada, Carlos Alcaraz, and many other Babolat endorsed players. The rough edition, though less popular on tour, is one of the most spin friendly strings period. The standard RPM offers outstanding control and spin without feeling as harsh as the rough. If you’re looking for something between these strings, Volkl Cyclone – another barely veiled imitation – costs half as much and actually offers more spin potential RPM but less than the rough.  

$20 Yonex Polytour Pro —> $9 Iso-speed Cream

Yonex Polytour Pro is the most popular string among Yonex users on the pro tour. It is delightfully soft but still delivers on the control and spin you’d expect from a poly. Like Luxilon, Yonex is probably overcharging for this string based on the demand that comes with so many top players using the string. For the budget-conscious player, Iso-speed Cream is a similarly soft poly and possibly superior to Polytour Pro in most categories. A must-try string.

$21 Luxilon 4G —> $10 Kirschbaum Max Power

Luxilon’s 4G string was an instant hit on the pro tour but is less popular for recreational players due to its extreme stiffness. Still, this string is awesome and holds its tension better than almost every other poly (if you can handle the pain to your elbow and shoulder). For half the cost, Kirschbaum Max Power is the closest thing you can get to 4G.

$20 Wilson NXT & Tecnifibre NRG2 —> $11 Head Velocity MLT

Wilson NXT and Tecnifibre NRG2 have enjoyed high praise from recreational players for years. Head’s Velocity MLT is an outstanding multifilament that offers better spin and similar softness for a lot less money.

$20 Tecnifibre Razor Code 17 —> $9 Signum Pro Poly Plasma Pure

Used by Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek, Tecnifibre Razor Code has quickly become a favorite string among tour players. It’s a round poly with similar qualities to Babolat RPM Blast but plays a little livelier. For half the cost, Signum Pro Poly Plasma Pure offers a very similar look and feel.

$20 Yonex Polytour Rev —> $13 Head Lynx Tour & Solinco Hyper G

Yonex Polytour Rev came out a few years ago to very good reviews. Although only a handful of players use this string on the pro tour, this string remains popular among recreational players that want excellent spin without sacrificing on feel. For $7 less, Head Lynx Tour is almost indistinguishable while Solinco Hyper G will offer similar performance with a slightly different feel and launch angle.

$21 Tecnifibre X-One Biphase —> $10 Iso-Speed Control

Tecnifibre X-One Biphase, marketed as the closest thing to natural gut that isn’t natural gut, is expensive. In terms of power and comfort, this string does rival natural gut, however natural gut is not as “sticky” and maintains tension a lot better. For a similar experience to X-One, try Iso-Speed Control for half the price.

$51 Babolat VS Gut & Wilson Natural Gut —> $10 Iso-Speed Professional Classic

There’s nothing quite like natural gut – no matter what. However, there are reasons besides cost why someone that favors natural gut might look to a synthetic imitation. Playing on damp clay or in a humid environment will ruin gut, or perhaps you don’t trust the novice stringer working at your local pro shop. In any case, consider Iso-Speed Professional Classic. No, it’s not natural gut of course, but it is softer than almost any multifilament and maintains tension well too. In fact, this may be the absolute best multifilament available.