It sucks, but it’s true. Strings are strings. They are not steel beams. They are not indestructible. Strings are made of string and strings break.
The other unfortunate truth about string is that when it breaks customers usually want to blame somebody. If a string breaks the first time they use it, most will blame the stringer.
It doesn’t matter that the string was installed correctly. It doesn’t matter that the stringer was not even present when the string broke, many customers will assume that the stringer must have done something wrong.
As stringers, we can tell you that this is enormously frustrating for everyone involved.
There are many reasons that string will break. Very few of these reasons have anything to do with the guy (or gal) who strings your racquet.
Nicks Caused by Smashes
With badminton string, one of the leading culprits of breakage comes from nicks caused by hitting the skirt of the shuttle on smashes. It only takes one smash to put a near fatal nick in your string. A few shots later, the nick becomes a break. As a result, the string will appear to break on a clear, a lift or even a drop shot, when in fact most of the damage was done on an earlier smash.
Nicks During Storage
Another common cause of string damage occurs when players store their racquets in their racquet bags. While players should keep their racquets separate from everything else in their bags, some players have bags that are too small. So their racquet strings end up being accidentally damaged by keys, phones, shoes and other items crammed into in their racquet bags.
Choosing the Wrong String
Another culprit often responsible for early string breakage has to do with poor consumer choices. Contrary to popular belief, not all strings are designed to work with nylon shuttles. In fact, most high end strings are too thin to use with nylon shuttles. They are designed for use with feather shuttles and customers who choose to use them with nylon shuttles do so at their own risk.
Power vs. Durability
Far and away the biggest cause of early badminton string breakage, however, is greed. Some players can never have enough power. They might be six feet tall and have incredibly powerful smashes, but they still want more. So while they should be choosing strings that are thick and durable enough to withstand their power, they instead opt for thinner strings that offer even more power. The result, not surprisingly, is broken string and disappointed customers.
Stinger Errors
Before you blame the stringer and question his/her professionalism, please consider everything we have said above. Stringers can and do make mistakes. Equipment sometimes fails. However, a well-trained stringer knows what to watch for and rarely does anything that will decrease string life. Indeed, our policy when these uncommon mistakes are made is to stop, cut the strings out and start again. We would rather do a racquet twice than risk being blamed for causing early breakage.
TEST PREPARATION
The following questions may appear on tests related to this article. Use them to test your reading comprehension and prepare for the CERTIFIED EXPERTS TEST – RACQUET SERVICE.