Luxilon Alu Power Rough String Review

Despite the name, Luxilon ALU Power strings are not the most powerful or forgiving strings money can buy. In fact, they are actually quite stiff and underpowered.

This makes them ideal for players with long, powerful swings that want a low powered string that will help them keep the ball inside the lines. This is the main aim of ALU Power Rough, along with producing as much spin as possible!

Spin and control go hand in hand when it comes to tennis strings. These attributes allow high level players to take massive cuts at the ball, produce a lot of racket head speed but still keep the ball in the confines of the court.

The result is insanely heavy forehands and backhands that kick up at your opponent and push them well back behind the baseline. However, the very nature of these spin friendly, control oriented tennis strings also means they are low powered by default.

Polyester strings are naturally stiff and underpowered thanks to the materials and construction techniques used to produce them.

Whilst Luxilon was not the first brand to offer a ‘rough’ string like ALU Power Rough, they certainly popularised it off the back of their previous success.

This variant is widely used by touring professional tennis players, who love the combination of spin and control it offers. It is not a particularly powerful string, but when you hit as hard as a professional, you don’t need any more power!

From the baseline the sting doesn’t give you much help when you need to ramp up your game. It will however reward your inputs when you inject the pace yourself.

That being said, for a stiff poly it is reasonably lively and definitely compliments a powerful game style, but your shots won’t end up flying long due to the power of this string.

This is ideal for advanced players, however beginners that need a little more help will probably find ALU Power Rough too firm and unforgiving.

Many professionals actually use a hybrid of ALU Power Rough and a softer multifilament or natural gut string, which provides a great combination of power, spin, control and comfort. If you are looking to combine all of these aspects in your game, we suggest you give this a try.

ALU Power strings have always been ideal for offering great control and Luxilon’s Rough variant is no different. It offers a blend of control and spin that will have you ripping the ball with confidence. You can really hit out at your shots and trust that the spin will get the ball dipping back inside the baseline.

As spin friendly strings go, Luxilon ALU Power Rough is right up there. Compared to the original ALU Power you do get a little bit more cushioning and ball pocketing from the Rough variant.

This is quite common across many textured strings as they are made by the manufactures making small incisions into the string to remove some of the existing material. This actually reduces the gauge slightly and makes the string feel a little softer.

This is still a firm string for sure, but when you need to cushion the ball or even ramp up your game and hit with explosive speed, having that extra bit of cushioning here and there improves the overall experience.

The control you get from the string is second to none. Whilst the feel is somewhat muted in most polys, Luxilon has managed to strike the balance between predictability and feedback really nicely with ALU Power Rough.

The string doesn’t feel completely dead but Luxilon has also muted enough of those excess vibrations to make the string consistent in its response. This is perfect for high level players that need a reliable string that feels pretty much the same time after time.

Touch is often associated with more flexible strings like natural gut and multifilaments. This is because they offer a more tactile connection with the ball and you can really feel what is going on in the string bed.

This makes them ideal for playing deft drop volleys, drop shots and precision passing shots, as you can dial in and feel comfortable with the string right off the bat.

Polys on the other hand tend to feel a little more muted, dead or firm thanks to their stiffness. This makes them great for controlling the ball and being predictable, but not so good for actually feeling in your hands precisely where the ball will go.

Luxilon ALU Power Rough actually does a surprisingly good job on the touch front. It is a little more supple than expected and makes for a pretty decent string to play soft volleys at the net.

The combination of spin, control and feel that the string offers is pretty unique. Of course it is not quite as communicative as a Wilson NXT to Babolat VS Touch, but it is still pretty feelsome for this type of spin friendly string.

Spin is the main ingredient of what makes Luxilon ALU Power Rough such a great string. Spin and power have dominated the game of tennis over the last few decades, and ALU Power Rough caters to this entirely. Some of the stiffer spin oriented strings out there can actually feel quite numb.

That extra bit of flex and comfort that Luxilon has dialled into ALU Power Rough does a great job of rounding out the string.

With some of the stiffer strings out there, at times there is actually too much spin and this means you end up floating shots rather than getting penetration through the court.

This is not the case with ALU Power Rough. There is just enough flex in the string combined with that rough surface to give as much spin as you could need, plus plough through. This is quite a tricky thing to get right, but Luxilon has nailed it with ALU Power Rough.

Overall string durability is a trait that tends to score pretty well for polyester strings, as they are built to last. They are more robust than their softer multifilament, synthetic gut or natural gut counterparts, so are ideal for string breakers.

This is definitely still the case with Luxilon ALU Power Rough as the string is firm enough to stand up to even the heaviest ball strikers out there for many hitting sessions on end.

Where poly strings do sometimes fall down is the consistency of their playability. Straight off the stringer these strings tend to feel crisp, responsive and dialled in. However, there is usually a drop off in control and responsiveness after a certain period of time and this leaves polys feeling dead.

Again, due to the Luxilon strings being such high quality, they manage to maintain their performance pretty consistently throughout their lifespan. Therefore you can grip it and rip it with ALU Power Rough for hour after hour!

The comfort of Luxilon ALU Power Rough is actually surprisingly strong for a firm polyester string. Again, due to the way the rough texture of the string is made, it is actually a little more supple than the original version and definitely not the harshest poly out there.

This balances the string out nicely given how much spin and control is on offer.

You get a better sense of connection than some of the more muted polyester strings out there but also still retain that familiar crispness.

It is not the most arm friendly string money can buy, so if you want to benefit from the great levels of spin but need something a bit more forgiving, ALU Power Rough pairs really well with natural gut strings.

That being said, if you are a high level player that is used to using quite stiff strings and this doesn’t cause you any issues, the added flex of ALU Power Rough may come as a welcome relief.

Overall, Luxilon ALU Power Rough is a well rounded string that appeals to high performance players, including many touring professionals.

It is a firm string but not overly harsh in its feel. The spin and control you get from the ball pocketing is a very attractive proposition and it is surprisingly comfortable for a firm poly.

If you are a beginner just starting out or someone returning to the game of tennis and need a forgiving, powerful string, this probably isn’t for you.

However, if you love the spin and control that a traditional polyester string offers but want to take that to the next level, with a hint of comfort and feel, Luxilon ALU Power Rough is well worth a try.