Cost to Restring a Tennis Racquet — String Prices by Type

A restring is two costs: the string and the stringer's time. The second varies by town; the first we can put real numbers on. Across the 70 strings we hold a price for, the listed pack runs from €4.90 to €75.00.

The components of a restringing bill

A complete restring combines two distinct costs, consisting of the physical string package and the labour required to install it. The string portion provides a transparent cost structure because retail packet prices are fixed and publicly listed across suppliers. Labour charges vary considerably based on the venue, with private club stringers, commercial retail shops, and tournament stringing teams using different pricing structures depending on their local market. In most of Europe, stringer labour generally aligns closely with the price of a mid-range set of polyester. Because service charges reflect regional wages and shop overheads, your local stringer remains the best source for an exact installation quote.

Material construction and price differences

The manufacturing process behind each string material directly dictates its retail price and performance characteristics on court. Polyester strings are produced through a single plastic extrusion process, making them relatively simple to manufacture. This monofilament structure provides high stiffness and durability, yielding a median price near the lower end of the spectrum. Multifilament strings require a complex process where synthetic fibres are twisted together and bonded with resin. This intricate construction cushions ball impact and maintains elasticity longer, raising the median price above simple monofilaments.

Natural gut demands an intensive manufacturing operation using animal tissue, requiring extensive processing, drying, and finishing. That labour-intensive production makes natural gut roughly five times the price of polyester, making material selection the single largest variable in your total bill. On court, natural gut holds tension better than synthetic options and offers unmatched shock absorption for sensitive joints. Choosing between these materials balances upfront replacement expense against playability and arm comfort.

Polyester relies on a stiff monofilament extrusion that provides maximum durability and control at a low production cost.
Multifilament combines synthetic microfibres to absorb shock and hold tension better than plastic monofilaments.
Natural gut uses processed natural fibres to deliver supreme tension stability and comfort at a premium price point.

The mechanics of reels versus single sets

Buying string in bulk changes the financial equation for players who break strings or restring routinely. Single sets contain twelve metres of string, which is the exact length needed to string one standard racquet. A 200 m reel contains enough total material to yield roughly 16 to 18 restrings. Purchasing material in bulk drastically reduces the per-set cost compared to individual single sets. For a player who restrings more than four times a year on the same string, purchasing a reel covers its initial outlay well inside a single season.

Consider a practical example of a player who currently buys single polyester sets at the median price. Purchasing individual packets four times a year means paying the full single-set retail price on four separate occasions. By switching to a 200 m reel, that same player secures 16 to 18 restrings at a significantly reduced average cost per racquet. Over four restrings, the reduced material expense offsets the upfront cost, making bulk purchasing an exact mathematical advantage rather than a matter of taste. The initial purchase price sits higher on day one, but the savings accumulate every time the racquet goes onto the machine.

Restring frequency and string bed decay

A common rule of thumb suggests that players should restring their racquet as many times a year as they play in a week. Under this guideline, someone playing twice a week would schedule a restring twice a year. This traditional advice was created when players predominantly used nylon or natural gut strings, which retain playability until they physically snap. Nylon materials stretch elastically and hold their tension reasonably well over long periods of casual play.

That traditional rule fails completely when applied to modern polyester strings. Polyester loses its structural elasticity rapidly under dynamic impact, meaning the string bed goes dead long before the plastic actually breaks. On court, a dead polyester string bed loses its rebound resiliency and friction snapback, causing shots to land short or fly unpredictably. Players operating on a dead polyester bed often alter their stroke mechanics or swing harder to generate depth, increasing arm fatigue. If you play twice a week with polyester, following the traditional twice a year schedule leaves you playing on a dead string bed that lost its bite months ago.

Strategic spending for better performance

The most widespread mistake among club players is leaving a premium string in a racquet for an entire year simply because it has not broken. Players often assume that an expensive string retains its qualities indefinitely as long as the main strands remain intact. In reality, material fatigue affects every string, and a degraded string bed compromises ball control regardless of the initial packet price. When working within a limited budget, performance is best maximised by choosing fresh material over brand prestige. A cheaper polyester installed at a fresh tension consistently outperforms an expensive polyester left in a frame for a year.

Freshness does far more for how a string bed plays than the name printed on the packet. A fresh string bed offers predictable response, proper ball pocketing, and reliable snapback that a stale string bed cannot match. If your budget restricts how often you pay for stringing, opting for a cheaper set and replacing it frequently delivers far better playability than holding onto a premium string long past its useful life.

However, the strategy of buying bulk reels or changing strings frequently does not apply to every player. If you play occasionally and take a year to break a set, buying a 200 m reel makes little sense because your setup preferences may change before you use 16 to 18 restrings. Similarly, players who suffer from severe elbow discomfort should avoid switching to a cheaper polyester simply to restring more often, as the stiff monofilament construction remains harsh on the joints regardless of freshness.