Tennis strings: how can you spot a counterfeit?

Tennis originated in France in the 12th century, and was previously known as jeu de paume. Players used their hands to hit the ball. One thing led to another, and the sport was democratised to become the sport we know today. The stringing of a tennis racket is one of the crucial elements for any tennis player, as it affects the racket's performance. Unfortunately, the tennis string market is overrun by counterfeit products that may look identical to the genuine article, but are in fact of much lower quality. That's why, in this article, we give you our tips for spotting and avoiding counterfeit tennis strings.

Packaging:

First of all, please pay particular attention to the packaging of your tennis string. Real tennis strings are always delivered in packaging bearing the brand name.

Leading tennis string brands such as Luxilon take extreme care with their brand image and reputation, so they place great importance on the quality of their packaging.

If the packaging of the tennis string looks cheap or if the brand name is not clearly marked, this is the first sign that you should be wary of its authenticity. Also check the writing on the packaging. Counterfeiters are notorious for making a lot of spelling mistakes. If you find any on your string packaging, you're probably dealing with a counterfeit.

The price :

Also analyse the price of tennis strings. Be aware that sometimes when an offer seems too good to be true, it really is.

If the price of the branded string you want to buy from an off-the-shelf or second-hand shop is significantly higher than the price of the string sold by the off-the-shelf shop, you should be wary of the authenticity of the product.

The colour :

Let's move on to checking the colour of your tennis string. It also tells us a lot about the string's authenticity.

Genuine tennis strings often have a uniform, even colour, while counterfeit strings have variations in colour or shade. Tennis strings are coloured using dyes, which can be very expensive.

To make a profit, crooks use inexpensive, low-quality dyes that give the rope unnatural colour variations or shades.

Branding :

The marking on a tennis string is also one of the most important things to check when buying a tennis string. Authentic tennis string markings often carry clear and precise information about the product, such as the brand name, model, gauge, length, colour and specific characteristics.

The quality of printing on counterfeit markings is totally inferior. In fact, we can find blurred, badly printed or missing markings on them. Also check that the information written on the string correlates with that provided by the seller. If they are not similar, you are most likely dealing with a tennis string from a replica factory.

Curious to find out more about counterfeit products? Read our articles on counterfeit cosmetics and counterfeit musical instruments.

Secure your second-hand tennis strings with Obvy :

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In the event of a counterfeiting scam, you can quickly and easily return the product to the seller and get your money back. What's more, you'll have all the information you need about the seller in the event of legal action.