The string tension

The stringing is the point where Crossminton differs most clearly from badminton — and where the most misunderstandings circulate, because many players come from badminton. Whoever simply carries over their badminton habits gets it wrong here.

Stringing is done with squash or tennis strings, with a gauge of at most about 1.25 millimeters. For comparison: in badminton around 0.65 millimeters is usual. The reason lies in the ball. A Speeder of 8 to 10 grams at speeds up to around 290 kilometers per hour loads the strings far more than a shuttlecock; a thin badminton string wouldn't hold up to that for long. Softer multifilament strings are used, which spare the arm but fade faster, and harder monofilament strings, which last longer and give a more direct feel.

The real adjusting screw is the tension. A harder stringing gives you more control and ball feel and less power from the string; a softer one reverses that. The vivid model for it is the trampoline: a loosely tensioned sheet flings the ball back powerfully, a tautly tensioned one gives way less and can be steered more precisely in return. From this follows a rule of thumb that comes from badminton and carries over well: whoever doesn't yet get enough power from their own technique gains with a softer stringing; whoever has enough power and still loses length gains with a harder one. The simplest self-test: if your balls regularly sail out beyond the court, that speaks for harder; if they fall too short, for softer.

Change the tension carefully and in small steps. A big jump costs you the ball feel, takes away too much power, and loads the hitting arm — that is the point where the wrong equipment harms the body. Better to feel your way slowly toward your value.

A few reference points for orientation, not prescriptions: tournament rackets often carry a recommendation like "16 x 14 kp" — 16 kiloponds lengthwise, 14 crosswise, as the recommended maximum. Aluminum frames tolerate less, usually up to about 12 kiloponds; carbon frames lie above that. As a rough limit, go at most about two kiloponds over the recommendation on the frame — kilopond and kilogram mean the same thing here. And because a stringing loses tension over the weeks even without a break, a snapped string is the latest, not the best, moment to restring.

Look up what your frame lists as the recommended stringing, and whether it's aluminum or carbon — that stakes out the range you can move within. Then watch your balls in your next match: do they fall too short or sail too long? If you want to change something as a result, change it in one small step and feel it out before you go further.