Andy Murray Racket and String

Murray’s Racket

Andy Murray endorses the Head Radical, but actually plays with the same racket that he has owned since he was a kid with the Radical’s paintjob!

It is customized to the following specifications below.

Racket: Head Pro Tour 630

Head Size: 98 sq. inch

Strung Weight: 353g

Strung Balance: 33.2 cm

String Pattern: 16×19

Grip Type: Karakal PU Supergrip + Tourna Overgrip

Lead Tape and Silicone: Both

Andy’s String

Andy uses Luxilon Alu Power in his main strings at 62 pounds tension and Babolat VS Touch Natural Gut in the cross strings at 62 pounds.

This gives him a fantastic blend of control, from the harder polyester string in the mains and also good touch from the contrasting natural gut in the crosses.

When two differing strings are used in combination in a string bed, the properties of each will have an effect on the overall playability of the racket but it is the choice of strings in the mains that will have the biggest effect on the overall playability of the racket and consequently, it’s performance.

In the past, Andy has actually strung the natural gut string in the mains, as opposed to the cross strings, but changed to the polyester (Luxilon Alu Power) in the mains fairly early on in his profession career.

As he’s grown older, he’s enjoyed the more controlled orientated response that this hybrid stringing combination has given. His results speak for themselves!

Why Are These Combinations Great Choices For Andy?

The heavier than average, control focused Head racket, coupled with a hybrid stringing setup with co-polyester in the mains lend themselves to consistent, predicable ball response from the string bed.

To put this in a less technical way, Andy likes to feel exactly where the ball is going from his racket and is prepared to sacrifice some bonus power from his equipment in order to feel that pinpoint precision.

As a player with plenty of his own, natural power that comes from good strength and technical ability, he doesn’t require any extra power boost from his setup.

Additionally, he isn’t one of the big hitters on tour anyway.

Andy’s game is focused much more around consistent play and navigating his way through matches with superior movement, tactical play and feel.

He’s an all-round player.

He can grind from the back of the court like Nadal, serve and volley and execute delicate drop shots with delightful feel.

The polyester string and natural gut combination help him to deliver all of this with expert levels of precision.

The other thing to consider is Murray’s strength of return of serve.

This is one of the most potent weapons on tour and his customized, weighty Head Radical helps him to win the collision with the ball and plow through his opponent.

Thinking About Your Game

We often come across players trying to replicate, exactly, some of the pro level specs.

However, this is not smart thinking for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, even amongst professional players, Andy’s setup is on the heavier side of average. If many of the professional players (including Big John Isner) do not play with this kind of racket weight, ask yourself if you need to be…

Additionally, it requires superior technique and strength in order to swing such a racket effectively.

Without these physical aspects, it would be dangerous of us to suggest that you should try such a setup as it would most likely result in injury and time spent on the sideline, away from the game.

With our own Custom Fitting Packages, we’re able to provide expert advice on selecting the ideal racket and string combination for your game.

However, if you’re looking to somewhat emulate the equipment choice of the great man then we’d advise customizing your Head Radical to 305-315g to start with and see how it feels.

Conclusion

Andy’s high tension, high swingweight setup isn’t for the faint hearted but it is very effective for his particular game and level of ability.

Although his racket specs will be a little weighty for amateur players, we’d advise giving his string setup a try at a lower tension.

Finally, if you’d like any help at all getting your equipment set up just right, we are here for you!