1 Natural gut $55–65 / set
Comfort
10
Power
10
Control
7
Durability
4
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 10+ yrs
Best for
Best arm-friendly tennis strings
Top 12 of 29 matching strings in our database. #1 is Babolat VS Touch Natural Gut.
Young arms are still growing, and a stiff string strung tight sends more shock into the wrist, elbow and shoulder. If your player has any arm pain, or is moving up to a full-size racquet, start here.
Every string on this list scores 4 or 5 out of 5 on our arm-friendliness scale. Most are multifilaments or natural gut. A few soft polyesters also score 4, but they rank below these on comfort.
The list
2 Multifilament $12–16 / set
Comfort
10
Power
7
Control
7
Durability
5
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
3 Multifilament $18–22 / set
Tecnifibre
X-One Biphase
High Heat Capacity (H2C) fibers with Biphasic trimerization process and polyurethane immersion
Comfort
10
Power
9
Control
6
Durability
5
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
4 Natural gut $38–45 / set
Comfort
10
Power
10
Control
7
Durability
5
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 10+ yrs
5 Multifilament $18–20 / set
Comfort
10
Power
9
Control
5
Durability
4
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
6 Multifilament $18–22 / set
Yonex
Rexis Comfort
Multifilament with FORTIMO (highly elastic polyurethane by Mitsui Chemicals) plasma-bonded to nylon filaments
Comfort
10
Power
8
Control
6
Durability
4
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
7 Multifilament $18–21 / set
Comfort
9
Power
7
Control
7
Durability
6
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
8 Multifilament $15–18 / set
Comfort
9
Power
8
Control
6
Durability
5
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
9 Multifilament $14–18 / set
Comfort
9
Power
9
Control
5
Durability
5
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
10 Multifilament $18–20 / set
Comfort
9
Power
8
Control
6
Durability
5
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
11 Multifilament $8–9 / set
Comfort
8
Power
7
Control
7
Durability
6
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 8+ yrs
12 Multifilament $13–15 / set
Volkl
Power Fiber Pro
Multilayer polyamide multifilament: thin-fiber core, polymer layer, two layers of thicker fibers and a polymer jacket; firmer polymer than Power Fiber II
Comfort
8
Power
7
Control
7
Durability
5
Arm friendliness 5 of 5 Arm 10+ yrs
Ranking table
| # | String | Type | Power | Spin | Control | Comfort | Durability | Arm | Set price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Babolat VS Touch Natural Gut | Natural gut | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 5/5 | $55–65 |
| 2 | Tecnifibre TGV | Multifilament | 7 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 5/5 | $12–16 |
| 3 | Tecnifibre X-One Biphase | Multifilament | 9 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 5/5 | $18–22 |
| 4 | Wilson Natural Gut | Natural gut | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 5/5 | $38–45 |
| 5 | Wilson NXT Power | Multifilament | 9 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 5/5 | $18–20 |
| 6 | Yonex Rexis Comfort | Multifilament | 8 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 5/5 | $18–22 |
| 7 | Babolat Xcel | Multifilament | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 5/5 | $18–21 |
| 8 | Gamma Live Wire XP | Multifilament | 8 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 5/5 | $15–18 |
| 9 | Tecnifibre NRG2 | Multifilament | 9 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 5/5 | $14–18 |
| 10 | Wilson NXT | Multifilament | 8 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 5/5 | $18–20 |
| 11 | Prince Premier Control | Multifilament | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5/5 | $8–9 |
| 12 | Volkl Power Fiber Pro | Multifilament | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5/5 | $13–15 |
How we ranked
We kept strings with an arm-friendliness score of 4 or 5, then ranked them by that score and broke ties with the comfort rating (1–10).
Ratings come from our string database, built from manufacturer specs, lab tests and published reviews. Each string page lists its sources. 17 more strings passed the filter but did not make the top 12.
Questions parents ask
What makes a tennis string arm-friendly?
Low stiffness. Softer strings stretch more at impact, so less shock reaches the arm. Multifilament and natural gut are the softest types; polyester is the stiffest. Lower tension also helps.
Can my junior use polyester if they have arm pain?
We would not start there. If your player wants polyester for spin, try one of the softer polys that score 4 for arm friendliness (see the gentlest picks on our polyester page) at a lower tension, or a hybrid with a soft string in the crosses, and stop if the pain comes back.
How often should arm-friendly strings be replaced?
Soft strings lose tension and fray sooner than polyester. Check each string page for its replacement window, and log the job in the string log to get a reminder.