I’ve been playing with my new SpeedPort Black Team racquets for a few weeks now, still enjoying the light, maneuverable frame. Still deciding on the strings. My ‘base’ racquet is strung with NXT Tour 17 @54lb. which has a nice, soft feel. I decided a couple weeks ago to experiment with the Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour 17 in the other racquet.
It was strung at 53lb and I immediately noticed the increased power on the very first hit. I also noticed some low-frequency vibration in the frame when playing dink-ems (hitting just inside the service court) or just bouncing the ball up and down. As swing speed increases, the vibration dissipates, but the combination of tension, string response, and this particular frame produces unwanted vibration at lower swing speeds; something I don’t care for in touch volleys or any touch shot for that matter.
I was about to have the strings cut out, then decided to try a Gamma shockbuster. I don’t normally play with any vibration dampener, but placing the shockbuster just above the lowest cross worked wonders. No more low-frequency vibration and the response from full shots feels great. I absolutely love the results.
The racquet still produces good power, and the hype about more spin is not just hype. It did take a couple hours of practice to really get used to. At first, it seemed like I was not getting a crisp response on volleys, but once I really felt comfortable with the strings, I have good confidence in volleys (even light touch-volleys). Serves and overheads seem to launch themselves off the racquet.
The other really great feature is that at the lower tension, I get very little string movement; something that kind of irks me about the NXT strings, even at comparable tension.
The string seems to share some qualities with Big Banger. There is a definite trampoline effect, even if I don’t swing much at all. I can half-volley and deflect hard shots from out of position and the ball launches itself well into the backcourt with little effort on my part. I can hammer the ball deep with spin on offense or play defensive shots with lots of confidence.
I’m not there, but this sting sometimes makes me thing of the Bruce Lee quote; “When my opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And, when there’s an opportunity, I don’t hit. It hits all by itself.”
I would really like to try the string without the shockbuster on a heavier racquet; perhaps a regular Speedport Black. If I ever do so, I’ll post again.
The Algorithmist 
Hi, nice review. I have just purchased a reel of the same Babolat Hurricane 17 (1.25mm). I will be testing it out tomorrow evening and am looking forward to it. My previous strings were toalson’s top string combination (can’t remember the name) as used by Gaudio – they were very nice at high tensions, but this meant that they broke too quickly for what I can realistically afford.
I will post back about my results with the Babolat’s. I use Wilson K Tour rackets and have strung them at 59lbs…maybe I should have strung them slightly looser?
James – I have mine strung at 53. Seems to be holding tension well. I still want to try the strings in a slightly heavier frame – perhaps a SpeedPort Black. Let me know what you think and good luck!
– jim armstrong