String Thing

The nylon strings on your tennis racquet are designed to shift, stretch and spring back as you hit the ball – that’s what gives your shots their power (or sends them arcing into nextdoor’s garden). However, all this flexing and moving eventually leaves your strings misaligned, which can have a drastic effect on your racquet’s performance. For beginners this can take several weeks, but for professional players who regularly use topspin, slice and greater power this can happen two or three times in a single match.

So what’s the solution? Well, you can always reset the strings by hand. But doing that takes ages and you’ll never get them perfectly straight. Or you could use the String Thing. Made from polycarbonate, this virtually indestructible gadget will do the job in just seconds.

Just run the String Thing up and down your strings a couple of times and the Teflon-reinforced nylon cog wheels will force them into perfect alignment. The whole process takes seconds, so you can easily use it between sets, or just before you start a match. Carry it in your tennis bag or pocket and you’ll always be sure you’re getting the best possible performance out of your racquet.