Best Tennis String In The World: Roger Federer Setup

Today I'm testing out the best string in the world. I'm of course talking about Laxalon and their range of strings. Today we're going to be looking at the Alipower. Next we've got the 4G. Next we've got the Element. The Eco Power String. And lastly we'll even test out their natural gut. So let's get stuck in. Now Laxalon have produced some incredible strings throughout the years and I think it's the best kept secret on the ATP Tour because over 60% of tennis players are using them. Players like Gustave Courten famously won the French Open with them. Of course Roger Federer using them as well. And it's surprising that not as many amateur players are using it. So perhaps after this video there will be two. Testing out the Alipower string really brings me back to my competing days. It's a string that I played with for over 10 years of my career on tour. It's just the right amount of power, control without being too stiff. Now this is a polyester string, a monofilament string so usually those strings are a little bit stiffer whereas this one doesn't really feel like that. It's a bit of a softer string yet it gives you so much power, so much control without that sacrifice on the arm. It feels like it catapults the ball out of your strings. It feels like it grips it. It cups that ball and then sends it out which is a great feeling because you don't feel that vibration through the arm too much but it's also giving you so much power, so much output from your racket. I enjoyed hitting ground strokes from the back but also the volley. It feels really stable at the net and doesn't really give too much vibrations through your arm. On the serve it certainly felt like it gave me a lot more power on that ball. I had to swing freely through contact and I knew exactly what I'm going to get. It's perfect for players who are looking to maybe get a little bit more on their serve, on their ground strokes, players who are looking for that power without sacrificing the control. Now I've tried the rough version of the string which is slightly more lively. It gives a little bit more of that lift, a little bit more topspin, a little bit more grip on that ball. Not too different between the two but I'd say the rough is more for if you're looking for a little bit extra spin. Maybe go for the rough. Now this string of course is famously used by Roger Federer in his setup. I use Guts on the main and I use Alu-Power Rough on the crosses and I string my rackets about at 26 kilos. I started with that string back in 2002 and I just felt it's given me more spin and more control really over the course of my career and that's when all my big results started to happen. I think Luxlon has really left a big impact on the game. I think today the way we play is because of that string. We can hit through the ball much harder and still are able to control it. It really came into the game almost you know sort of 20 years ago and it revolutionized the way we play today. I think we find more angle, more height and topspin on the ball like we've ever seen before. I wouldn't use anything else but Luxlon. Everybody on tour used it including myself. Other players that use this string are Sabalenka, Anissimova, Minsik, Lehecka. So there's a lot of players out there and a lot of them actually using it unofficially as well. So this is actually one of the most popular strings on tour. Next we've got the Luxlon 4G. Now the 4G is your ultimate control and precision string and I can see exactly why. The contact felt repeatable on the ground strokes. Now on the volleys I felt a little bit more vibration through the racket so it felt slightly stiffer maybe than Alupawa but it still felt great. Still felt like I knew exactly where that ball was going to go from the contact. And the good thing is this string is unbelievable at maintaining tension. Now if you leave it in your bag for a few weeks you come back it plays exactly the same. Where I find with many strings especially polyester string they lose their tension a lot quicker than this string. They become a little bit more dead feeling whereas this one maintains its playing properties even after some time which is why I think it's so popular. Now this string would suit a player who's looking to get more control, make less mistakes. Someone maybe who already has the power so they're looking to control it to be a little bit more accurate with their shots. Now on the serve it was all about accuracy and hitting the spots. It had slightly less power than the Alupawa but I think it had a lot more precision. So if you are someone who's looking to dominate with placing the ball in exactly the right spot this is the string for you. And there are already a lot of players using this string like Deminar, Tsitsipas, Kostiuk amongst many others. So it's a very popular string amongst the pros because of that reliability. Now it's a great all-round string so I can see it just growing in popularity. I really liked hitting with this element string and perhaps this is the one I'm going to have to switch to because it felt a lot softer than the other two. It felt really forgiving. Maybe it doesn't give you quite as much power as the Alupawa. It doesn't quite give you as much control maybe as the 4G but it certainly saves the body. It feels like a softer string, a little bit more forgiving on the arm, on the shoulder. I felt less vibration going through my arm and actually I still felt like I could swing through and hit good shots. I know that there's a lot of junior players that are now starting to use this string and the older generation. Perhaps myself I'm going to start using it a little bit more as I'm starting to look after the body. And it's certainly a string that's now starting to be used by pros in a hybrid setup where they go for maybe a more power-oriented or a stiffer string in the mains and then they're using the hybrid, the element string in the crosses to get a little bit more of that soft feel for their game. And lastly we have the Eco Power String. It sits somewhere to me between the 4G and Alupawa. It gives you quite a lot of power. It still has decent control and precision. The only thing I'd say that it's a little bit lower is the durability so it doesn't last quite as long as the other two strings but it's an Eco String so it's environmentally friendly. It's used from recycled materials on both the packaging and the string itself and it also offers a reduced carbon footprint in the production of the string. So it's for that eco-friendly, that eco-minded player out there who's looking for a great string and it comes in an absolutely stunning color as well. So it's a definite consideration for those of you who are looking to switch. Now Luxon have been around for a very long time so let's hear a little bit more about the company from Justin, one of the founding family members. Today I'm joined by Justin Van Mulderen, the global brand manager for Luxilon. Yeah thank you for having me Alex. Luxilon was started in 1959. It's still a family business right now. I'm actually the third generation so it was started by my grandfather. Basically in his garage in Antwerp. So he started with nylon products and quickly realized like I want to create more specialty products. Technical yarns for offshore cables, aerospace, automobile, hard valves, hernia mesh. So all these kinds of medical applications that go inside of the body we do as well. And then specifically the first tennis park that we developed was actually only in the 80s and the first string that they created which gave insane amounts of power and control but it broke fast. So it took actually over a spread of 12 years to get it right until the first string version of our power in 1991 was launched which then indeed gained a lot of traction in the 90s. A Brazilian player where his coach contacted us and so he tested the product. He very much liked it and then he went on to win Roland Garros that year. This player was Gustavo Kuerten in 1997. What happened is actually he won the tournament and he started telling people like I won because of the tennis string. So he attributed his win to the string. Which you know what for me like if the string feels good, if your racket feels good, if you've got full confidence in your racket you start getting full confidence in your game. So those of you who are out there you know picking strings this is definitely something you can look into to make those little adjustments little improvements to your game. Yeah personally if we develop a product you have to look at what is the game doing how are the players and how is the material evolving but for me sustainability and just respect to the planet is also super important and make a sustainable product there and make it in a sustainable way. It's even better and I feel more comfortable working for the company and selling the products to the customer. Now there was another player that's a pretty big player that was using the Luxilon range which is Roger Federer. Roger really testing our string and seeing what fits best in his game style and eventually he ended up using quite a unique structure or setup. Now for those of you who are interested in what Roger's setup was he used the Alipower string in the crosses and the natural gut in the main strings here and this is to give him the most comfort the most control from those mains while maintaining that power aspect something that will give him a little bit more a little bit more pop on the ball from those crosses. I can see why Roger uses this hybrid setup he gets so much power and control with it. The softness of the gut adds comfort while the Luxilon gives that effortless power adding real weight to my shots. Now word of warning this is not a cheap option natural gut can be expensive and not very long lasting so having it in the mains be prepared to restring your rackets more often but boy is it worth it. So let me know what you think of the video what string you currently use and whether you might be switching to one of these in the future and of course make sure you subscribe to the channel press the notification bell and I'll see you on our future lessons.