In recent weeks, Frans has tested the Luxilon Element Rough for mijnracket.nl! The string particularly excels in terms of comfort and spin. Read his full test report here.
Luxilon, loved by professionals and the most played string brand on the ATP Tour, will the general public also have to tighten these strings from now on? This is a review of the Luxilon Element Rough! Specifications:
Brand: Luxilon String: Element Rough Gauge: 16 (1.30 mm) Type: Co-poly Similar strings: Diadem Solstice Power, Babolat RPM Blast Rough.
Judgement:
Durability: 8 Tension retention: 6 Spin: 8.5 Ball feel: 8 Power: 8.5 Control: 5 Comfort: 9
Durability/Voltage Maintenance
The voltage maintenance appears to be reasonable in practice. Most polyester strings generally lose a lot of tension quite quickly, and this string seems to do so a little more than an average polyester. In terms of durability, this string seems to perform better. Although it is difficult to fully test this string for this as it has not yet broken. What is striking is that the string remains playable for a long time. Polyester strings often die after a week or two. Then they no longer respond well, the spin disappears a bit and all playing characteristics simply deteriorate considerably. After three weeks of playing, this is much less noticeable with the Element Rough and the string is still perfectly playable!
Spider
There is quite a bit of spin in this string. This is due to two factors. First of all, the strings slide over each other very easily, they have a lot of 'snap-back', even when the string has been in place for a while. Secondly, the ''rough'' surface of the string ensures that the ball gets some extra rotation. So in the spin category, this string certainly performs above average in the realm of polyester strings, although there seems to be a bit more spin in strings like the Solstice Power and Elite XT from Diadem.
Control/Power Ratio
The Element Rough is not a typical polyester when it comes to this aspect. This string is packed with power compared to other polyester strings. This is also at the expense of control. Hard hitters may not like this, but this is ideal for the player who is looking for free power.
Comfort/Ball Feeling
Comfort is one of the strongest points of this string. The string is simply very soft on the arm, especially for a polyester string. This soft feeling on the arm mainly ensures that the ball contact feels nice. This soft response certainly does not mean that there is no longer any feeling of the ball.
Conclusion
Spin, Power and Comfort are the keywords that describe this chord. This string is therefore suitable for a large group of players. Hard hitters might need to tension the string a little more heavily. Bottom line, this seems to be an ideal string for players who like to reap the benefits of polyester but actually want a little more playability from a string. Players who do not put a new string in their racket every two/three weeks could also try this string. All in all, definitely a successful playtest!