Today in the spotlight: Robin Söderling 's RS New York multifilament string and the Babolat VS Touch , the reference in natural gut. Both strings were tested in a hybrid setup, with the length strung with the RS New York and the Babolat VS Touch respectively, combined with Luxilon Alu Power 1.25 in the width. The Prince Textreme Warrior 107 was the test frame, with a stringing of 24/23 kg for both setups.

Test setup

• Racket history and stringing : Two identical rackets were used, the RS New York and Babolat VS Touch strung with 10% pre-stretch. The Alu Power cross string was strung without pre-stretch.
• RS New York : 1.24 mm
• Babolat VS Touch : 1.30 mm

RS New York Review:

Durability: 7

Voltage retention: 7

Spin: 7.5

Ball control: 8

Power: 8.5

Control: 7.5

Comfort: 8.5

Babolat VS Touch Review:

Durability: 7.5

Voltage retention: 9

Spin: 7.5

Ball feel: 9.5

Power: 9

Control: 8.5

Comfort: 9.5

Test:

Not so long ago I played Natural Gut before because of my shoulder problems. Then with a Luxilon Alu Power 1.25 and also Yonex Poly Tour Pro 1.25 combined in width. I was already familiar with this combination. Now the comparison with the 'premium multifilament' the RS New York. With the first balls with the RS New York/Alu Power combination the different sound and feeling was immediately noticeable. The string does not have the same dampened playing feel and touch as Natural Gut. Nevertheless, it comes quite close, but in my eyes no more than for example a Babolat Xcel 16 or Tecnifibre X-One Biphase multifilament string. The RS New York is quite lively. There was easy to put length and power in my strokes, but the strings did slide quite quickly compared to the VS Touch. Now nothing comes close to the tension retention of Natural Gut of course, but the difference was still considerable. However, the RS New York is also very user-friendly and offers great comfort. Only gut has a much more predictable and consistent playing feel and also more touch. The comfort and power are supposedly perfectly fine with the RS New York. In terms of control, the string lagged behind a bit. Natural Gut really gives more feeling and plays more consistently.

Overall:

Overall, the RS New York is a great multifilament string with good comfort and power. I personally expected a bit more from the promised 'Natural Gut feel'. Still, the RS New York is a good and affordable alternative to natural gut if you are prepared to make concessions in terms of ball feel, tension retention and consistency.