Buying guide
Best tennis strings for beginners in 2026
The string in your racket has more influence on how the frame plays than the frame does. It is also the cheapest thing in the sport to get right.
By Janet H.Updated
The short answer
Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex is the right first string for most players: Tennis Warehouse award it their all-around value pick and list it at $4.76 a set. If comfort matters more than cost, Wilson NXT is their comfort winner — a multifilament built from over a thousand bonded fibers.
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Our picks
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Prince Synthetic Gut DuraflexTop pick | A first restring | 8.44 criteria | |
| 2 | Wilson NXTMost comfortable | Comfort from the start | 8.64 criteria | |
| 3 | Tecnifibre X-One BiphaseMost powerful multifilament | Comfort plus power | 8.34 criteria | |
| 4 | Solinco Hyper-GMost durable | Beginners who break strings | 7.44 criteria |
The picks in detail
01Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex
Top pickBest for: A first restring
Tennis Warehouse give this their all-around value award and list it at $4.76 a set, describing it as combining an easy learning curve with a price that is too good to refuse. For a first restring that is the whole brief.
Synthetic gut is a solid nylon core with wrap fibers. It is neutral: not especially powerful, not especially controlled, not harsh and not mushy. That neutrality is genuinely useful when you do not yet know what you want, because it gives you a baseline to judge everything else against.
It loses tension faster than a premium multifilament and it is not as comfortable. At this price you can restring three times for the cost of one set of natural gut, which is arguably the better education.
Our score
- Performance
- 7.5
- Comfort
- 7.5
- Durability
- 8.0
- Value
- 10.0
- Overall
- 8.4
Verified specs
- Type
- Synthetic gut
- Gauges
- 16, 17
- TW award
- All-Around Value
- Listed price
- $4.76 per set
Specs as published by Tennis Warehouse, checked September 2026.
Buy if
- This is your first restring
- You want to try several setups cheaply
- You do not yet know what you want
Pass if
- You have any arm sensitivity
- You want maximum comfort or power
- You break strings frequently
02Wilson NXT
Most comfortableBest for: Comfort from the start
Tennis Warehouse name NXT their comfort winner, describing it as over a thousand ultra-flexible fibers bonded with stretchy polyurethane, listed at $23.95 a set.
That construction is what a multifilament is: a bundle of fine filaments rather than a solid core, so it stretches further and returns the ball more softly. For a player whose technique is still developing — which means a lot of off-center contact — that softness is doing real protective work.
It costs five times what the Prince does and it frays rather than snapping cleanly, so it will show wear before it breaks. If you play weekly, that is a restring every few months.
Our score
- Performance
- 8.5
- Comfort
- 10.0
- Durability
- 7.0
- Value
- 7.0
- Overall
- 8.6
Verified specs
- Type
- Multifilament
- Gauges
- 16, 17
- TW award
- Comfort
- Construction
- 1,000+ fibers bonded with polyurethane
- Listed price
- $23.95 per set
Specs as published by Tennis Warehouse, checked September 2026.
Buy if
- Arm comfort is a priority
- You mishit often and it stings
- You want more power from the string bed
Pass if
- You are on the tightest budget
- You break strings in under a month
- You want maximum control
03Tecnifibre X-One Biphase
Most powerful multifilamentBest for: Comfort plus power
Tennis Warehouse award X-One Biphase their power category and describe it as built with ultra-flexible fibers for spring-loaded performance, listed between $22.95 and $23.95 depending on gauge.
A powerful multifilament is a useful thing for a beginner with a short swing. If your shots land short and your technique is not yet producing pace, the string bed can supply some of it without you changing anything.
It is the softest and least durable option here. If you are playing a frame with an open 16x19 pattern, expect it to fray relatively quickly — that is the cost of the performance.
Our score
- Performance
- 9.0
- Comfort
- 9.0
- Durability
- 6.5
- Value
- 6.5
- Overall
- 8.3
Verified specs
- Type
- Multifilament
- Gauges
- 15L, 16, 17, 18
- TW award
- Power
- Listed price
- $22.95-$23.95 per set
Specs as published by Tennis Warehouse, checked September 2026.
Buy if
- Your shots land short
- You want comfort and power together
- You have a compact swing
Pass if
- You already hit the ball long
- You break strings quickly
- Value is your priority
04Solinco Hyper-G
Most durableBest for: Beginners who break strings
We are including a polyester deliberately, because there is one beginner case where it is the right answer: a player who breaks a synthetic gut bed in two or three sessions. Tennis Warehouse award Hyper-G their control category and list it at $13.99 with the widest gauge range in their set.
If that describes you, you are producing enough racket-head speed that the softer strings are simply not surviving, and restringing every fortnight is worse for your wallet and your arm than a firmer string at a lower tension.
For everyone else, skip it. Polyester is stiff, loses tension quickly and is the string type most associated with arm discomfort. It rewards a fast, long swing and punishes the arm of a player who does not have one.
Our score
- Performance
- 8.5
- Comfort
- 5.0
- Durability
- 9.0
- Value
- 8.0
- Overall
- 7.4
Verified specs
- Type
- Polyester
- Gauges
- 15L to 20
- TW award
- Control
- Listed price
- $13.99 per set
Specs as published by Tennis Warehouse, checked September 2026.
Buy if
- You break strings in under three sessions
- You already swing fast and long
- You want spin and control
Pass if
- You have any arm sensitivity
- Your strings last a month or more
- You are early in your first year
Four string families, and what each one is for
| Type | Construction | Feel | Buy it for | Avoid if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synthetic gut | Solid nylon core with wraps | Neutral, springy | Value, a first restring | You need comfort above all |
| Multifilament | Thousands of bonded fibers | Soft, powerful | Comfort, arm health | You break strings fast |
| Polyester | Solid monofilament | Firm, low-powered | Durability, spin, control | Your arm is sensitive |
| Natural gut | Processed cow intestine | Best of everything | Feel, at a price | You are on a budget |
For a first year, the honest ranking is: multifilament if comfort matters, synthetic gut if cost matters, polyester only if you are destroying everything else. Natural gut is a real product and it is not a beginner purchase.
The polyester warning, in detail
Polyester dominates professional tennis and it is the string type most likely to hurt a club player. Both facts are true for the same reason: it is stiff and low-powered, so it requires a fast, long swing to work, and it transmits more shock when it does not get one.
It also loses tension unusually fast. A polyester bed can drop several pounds within the first few hours of play and continue falling, which means the string that felt right at the start of the month feels dead by the end of it — long before it breaks.
Tension: start in the middle
Every frame has a recommended tension range printed on the inside of the hoop — the Wilson Clash 100 v3's is 47 to 57 lb, for example. Start in the middle of yours and adjust in 2 lb steps.
- Lower tension gives more power, more comfort and a higher launch angle. Balls travel further.
- Higher tension gives more control and a lower launch angle. Balls travel shorter and the string bed feels firmer.
If you are using a soft multifilament and finding it too powerful, add tension before you change string. String tension explained has the full detail.
How often to restring
The rule of thumb is as many times a year as you play in a week: twice a week, twice a year. It is crude but directionally right, and it captures the important point — strings die of tension loss, not only of breakage.
A bed that has lost 8 lb of tension plays like a different racket: more power, less control, and a duller feel. Most club players are playing on dead strings and blaming their technique.
Common questions
What string should a beginner use?
A synthetic gut or a soft multifilament. Tennis Warehouse's value pick, Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex, is $4.76 a set; their comfort winner, Wilson NXT, is $23.95. Either is a better choice than polyester for a developing swing.
Should beginners use polyester string?
Only if you are breaking softer strings in two or three sessions. Polyester is stiff, loses tension fast, and is the string type most associated with arm discomfort. It rewards a fast swing that most beginners have not built.
How much does restringing cost?
The string itself runs from about $5 for a synthetic gut set to $24 for a premium multifilament, plus labor. That total is roughly a tenth of a new racket and changes how the frame plays more.
What tension should I string at?
Start in the middle of the range printed inside your frame's hoop, then move in 2 lb steps. Lower for more power and comfort, higher for more control.
Does string really make that much difference?
Yes. The frame sets the mass and stability; the string sets the power, comfort and spin response. Changing from a firm polyester to a soft multifilament in the same racket produces a bigger change in how it plays than changing frames does.
Read next
Sources
Every source above was retrieved while writing this page. Specifications are quoted from the listing or manufacturer page cited, not from memory.