Stringing your own tennis racket: is it worth it, is it hard?

In short: stringing your own racket only pays off if you, or the people around you, restring a lot. An entry-level machine is listed at €439 at Larde Sports (€559 at the usual price), while labour alone costs €5 to €12 at the Belgian shops we checked: count on 37 to 88 restrings to pay it off, depending on the labour rate. For a player who restrings two to four times a year, the maths doesn't favour the machine. What remains is independence and the satisfaction of doing it yourself, provided you accept the learning curve: a novice can take up to an hour per racket.

What you need to string your own racket

Three things: a machine, a string and time to learn. Machine sellers such as Extreme Tennis stress the advantages (independence, savings, being able to test several strings), but also remind you it isn't an investment to take lightly. Keep in mind that these guides come from machine retailers, who have an interest in selling them.

To put those prices in context, Wikipedia's page on stringing machines says “affordable” electronic machines (under £500) already offer many features, but that the outlay and upkeep are harder to justify when starting out, and that reliable electronic constant pull machines usually cost $3,000 and more. Check the delivery terms to Belgium before buying, as the shop quotes delivery times for France.

Is it worth it? The maths

The calculation is simple: divide the price of the machine by what you save at each restring, that is the price of labour, since you'd buy the string either way. At a Belgian shop, labour costs €12 (Sportline, or Decathlon for under 6 days) or €5 (Decathlon, for over 6 days). Extreme Tennis mentions an average price of €10 per restring.

These figures are an illustration calculated from the listed prices: they don't include possible accessories, your time or string wasted by a mistake. With labour at €5, it takes more than twice as long. For a single player, the machine almost never pays for itself; for a family, a group of friends or a club, it can.

For labour prices and ways to save (reel, loyalty card, longer turnaround), see restringing cost and turnaround.

Is it hard?

• Time : according to Wikipedia, a restring can take up to an hour for a novice, against about twenty minutes for a skilled stringer.
• Stringing mistakes : the IART explains that nicking the string or pulling the crosses too fast can burn the mains and shorten the string's life: a beginner's mistake can therefore cause premature breaks.
• Tension accuracy : it depends on the machine. Extreme Tennis notes that on a manual machine, the exact tension is only reached when the resting weight is horizontal; according to Wikipedia, crank machines allow more tension loss than drop weight or constant pull machines.
• Checking : RacquetTECH recommends that a stringer check their machine's accuracy every 25 to 30 string jobs, at least: that applies to your own machine too.
• Learning : sellers offer videos, phone support and training, but you have to follow them and practise.

To understand the types of machine: how to choose a tennis stringer. For breaks linked to a poor stringing job: why do your tennis strings keep breaking.

When it's worth it, and when a stringer is better

• It's worth it : if you, your family or your club restring very often, if you break strings frequently and want independence the day before a match, or if you like experimenting with several strings and tensions.
• A stringer is better : if you restring rarely, if you want personal advice on the string and tension, or if you don't want to invest or learn.
• A middle path : buying a reel that your shop stores in your name and paying only the labour: Sportline offers this.

For the tension to ask for, whether you string yourself or not: what tension should you choose for your tennis racket. To know when to restring: when should you restring your tennis racket.

If you'd rather hand your racket to a professional

Stringing your own racket takes time, equipment and rigour. Many players will prefer to hand their racket to a stringer, as long as they can easily find the right one, know their prices and turnarounds and find what was fitted last time.

That's exactly what Tension wants to simplify: find an available stringer near you, compare their prices and turnarounds, book, then keep the history of your restrings. Tension is coming to Belgium in late 2026, and you can already get notified at launch.

Are you a stringer or a shop? Tension Pro is designed to manage your orders, customers and stringing jobs, while letting new players find and book you. For the big picture, see our tennis stringing guide.