Babolat M7 String Review

Tennis string manufacturers are always looking for new innovations to improve performance. This is always the case with new materials, but it is also seen with how strings are constructed.

M7 is a revolutionary Babolat string comprising seven fibres that offer a comfortable feel alongside a crisp response.

These fibres are made from polyamide, a polymer material that is designed to be more durable than regular multifilament strings.

This is something that is generally a pretty stark trade-off when it comes to tennis strings. Softer, more comfortable strings will offer power and forgiveness but tend to break quite quickly. However, whilst harder strings are more durable, and offer more spin and control, they are also harsher on the arm.

Therefore, the idea of Babolat making a multifilament string much more durable is an attractive one.

From a power perspective, Babolat M7 performs well. It is not quite as powerful as its natural gut counterparts like Babolat VS Team for example, but it definitely packs a punch.

Compared to alternative multifilaments such as Tecnifibre X-One Biphase it is a little less powerful, but it still offers plenty of accessible pop especially out of the sweet spot.

Babolat M7 is a great option for a player with a slower and more compact swing that wants to benefit from the power and playability of a traditional multifilament but also desires more crispness and control.

Control is an area that softer multifilament strings can actually struggle with. Whilst there is plenty of comfort, touch and feel on offer with these strings, the power and liveliness of them doesn’t tend to help them with controlling the ball.

Of course tension choices and racket setups play a major role, but in general, a softer, more powerful string like Babolat M7 should struggle a bit in the control department.

With a multifilament string, the ball bounces off the string bed with quite a lot of force due to the string’s elasticity. Whereas, a firmer polyester string has a tendency to be more ‘dead’ feeling due to its lack of pop.

In the case of Babolat M7, it ranks pretty highly in the control department as multifilament strings go. The tension maintenance of this string is pretty impressive. It does not go springy or dead very easily and this is great for its control credentials.

If you are looking to get more control from a multifilament string, of course the natural thing to do is use a higher tension. This ensures the string is less elastic and allows you to place the ball with a greater level of precision.

The way the string has been constructed really helps deaden it out and give it a more uniform response.

This is a trait that is not particularly common with multifilament strings, as they tend to be more lively and unpredictable.

The coating of Babolat M7 provides a level of crispness that is not always present with many other multifilament strings. The ball can be placed with ease and the string strikes a nice balance between comfort, power, control and feel.

Babolat M7 offers plenty of feel and touch but it by no means mushy. Again, this is a strength of many multifilament strings as they offer a greater sense of connection to the ball than polyester strings due to their construction.

The fact that the M7 has a slightly crisper response actually helps in the touch department. Sometimes, more powerful multifilaments or natural gut strings can actually be a little difficult to handle.

They can be a little difficult to control and because they are so powerful, it can actually be quite a challenge to judge how much input is needed on each shot. This is especially true if you are more used to a polyester string that will generally offer a more uniform response.

As far as Babolat M7 goes, it again strikes a nice balance between touch, control and power.

You get a pretty pure connection with the ball and the string is very communicative without delivering too much feedback through the arm.

This is particularly useful on drop shots, volleys and passing shots where placement trumps power. There is just enough vibration to give you a great sense of where the ball is going, which really helps when you need to dial in your game and pull off an unexpected drop shot or stop the ball dead on a stop volley.

Spin is not an area particularly associated with multifilament strings. Their soft nature makes them not great at gripping and ripping the ball, unlike their textured polyester counterparts.

The good thing about Babolat M7 is that it is comfortable and powerful enough to be strung up at higher tensions and still offer a great deal of playability. This increase in tension will of course offer more spin and control, but it will not make it the next Babolat RPM Blast Rough!

The tension maintenance of Babolat M7 was pretty impressive. It won’t have a big drop off in performance as soon as you start hitting with it, which prolongs its playability.

The string itself lasts for a pretty long time considering it is a softer multifilament, backing up Babolat’s claims that their M7 construction technique enhances the life of the string.

The slippery coating of Babolat M7 does help it move around the string bed a bit, which in turn does increase its spin potential somewhat. However, something to bear in mind is that Babolat M7, like many other multifilament strings, is prone to notching over time.

This is not a huge problem in general, but it does mean the string can catch on itself and effectively become stuck in the string bed. This reduces its ability to slide and reduces snapback and spin as the string starts to wear.

Whilst, this tends to give the string a plusher feel but is also something that players that are not used to multifilament strings may find concerning.

The comfort of Babolat M7 is what really sets it apart from the competition. The softness of the string is great for players that may have suffered from elbow or wrist issues in the past and are in need of a string that will soothe their joints.

There is a lot of shock absorption with Babolat M7 and this adds to its credentials of being a very accessible and plush string to hit with.

It resembles the likes of Wilson NXT in terms of comfort levels and that is one of the best on the market at the moment. There is an uncanny blend of comfort, crispness and power with Babolat M7 which is something quite unique in the multifilament string segment.

Most of M7’s competitors excel in the power, comfort and feel department but actually struggle for that snappy response. This string managed to offer the best of both worlds, which is exactly what it set out to do.

Babolat M7 is a high quality multifilament string that offers a nice blend of comfort, power, control and feel. Whilst it is not the most spinny string in the world, it delivers a very crisp response for this type of string.

It would be well suited to a player with compact swings that wants a string that is easy on the arm, but is also communicative.

There are enough vibrations to enhance the feel and responsiveness, but M7 is a very comfortable string nonetheless.