When Ayush Shetty was playing at the World Junior Badminton Championships a few years ago, the Indian shuttler had a predetermined tension for his racquet string in his mind. But when he landed at the gut-string counter, Tim Willis, head of stringing at sports equipment manufacturer Yonex, reckoned he might need a little higher tension to produce a more attacking game.
“Stringing is a crucial part of any racquet sport. I think Indians are more calculative about their game and less about these details but it does play a role in the career of any shuttler,” Willis told The Indian Express. “Strings guide the gameplay in badminton. It gives you precision and the ability to control the game,” he added.
Why surface tension matters
Surface tension is the tightness of the string on the racquet. While higher tension makes the string bed firm and offers more control, lower tension makes it softer and gives it more power.
“Knowing tension for strings is like knowing your diet plan. It’s like what your racquet needs,” said Willis. According to him, elite shuttlers are “very particular” about it but “not as fussy as the tennis ones”.
On how crucial tension is, Willis said it depended on the individual. “Some players rely a lot on their racquets to deliver their game, while some are more instinctive and they improvise even without everything being perfect for them.”
According to Willis, there is “no set formulae” of having higher or lower tension for better performance. “For example, Akane Yamaguchi [Japan] is one of the most elite players to have lower tensions. She operates around 24 to 26 lbs (measured in pounds), Carolina [Marin] also used to have lower tension around 28 lbs. While someone like Viktor Axelsen [of Denmark] or Kunlavut Vitidsarn [of Thailand] have around 33 to 35 lbs. Funnily, it’s two Japanese who are on the highest and lowest spectrum, with Yugo Kobayashi having around 37 lbs and Yamaguchi having 26,” he said.
Willis also said that Yamaguchi is an exception given her lower tension, as the elite players usually prefer over 30 and under 35 lbs. “One of the reasons that elite players don’t need lower tension is due to precision. Lower tension gives you a larger sweet spot to connect with the shuttle but given the precision of elite players, they want a tighter sweet spot,” he said. “Someone like Viktor or Satwik (Satwiksairaj Rankireddy) prefers higher tension because of their ability to hit the sweet spot every single time.”
What do Indians prefer?
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Indians mostly prefer above 30 lbs, as per Willis. “(P V) Sindhu is the one who had a bit extra in the start of her career, but as she progressed I think she moved towards 31 or 32 lbs,” said Willis.
Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have different string tensions due to their game play and role in a doubles setup. “Satwik has got 32 lbs tension and he uses the BG80 string while Chirag uses 31 lbs,” he said. “Satwik is one of the hardest smashers in the world. He has got higher tension given his precision to strike that smaller sweet spot. Once it connects, the shuttle just whizzes.”
Both Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty are “a little fussy, but in a good way”, Willis said. “Ayush wants to get his racquet re-strung every game while Lakshya recently got his freshly strung racquets re-done as he felt the strings have become soft.”
According to him, other Indian shuttlers have similar tension (30 or 31 lbs) but they need to know it much better. He suggested younger players must ponder how tension helps their game, saying it would make them more aware and can sometimes result in improved performances.
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One reason behind this lack of knowledge, Willis said, is the scarcity of more qualified stringers in India, pointing to instances of non-elite Indian players with poorly strung racquets.
Evolution of stringing
Like all other techniques in sports, stringing has evolved over the years from manual to usage of machines that can string five to six racquets in an hour. Pointing to how the game had evolved from wooden racquets in the past to carbon fiber now, Willis said: “Similarly in stringing, when I started, it was manual. Now, we have got machines that can really work on five racquets in an hour.”
He added how stringing booths are a popular set-up at tournaments like the Olympics and the World Championships. “It’s a fun place to be at. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, we strung 24 racquets in an hour with four stringers working. Once the competition goes into knockout stages and you have the best players left, it’s the best seat to watch future medallists.”
