Construction: 100% Polyamide Monofilament and PA + PU Matrix

Color: Natural

Gauge: 16G (1.30mm) or 16L (1.25mm)

Length: 660 feet

Test Racquet / Tension
Tecnifibre TFight 315 LTD 16M @ 55lbs

Intro
Babolat consistently strives to be an industry leader when it comes to product innovation. Whether it is racquets or strings, they are always looking to help players take the next step with their game. For players looking for gut like performance with impressive durability and feel to match, Babolat introduced the new M7 string. This string utilizes 7 polyamide monofilaments for comfort and feel and has a polyurethane outer layer for improved durability. This design blends the best attributes of multifilaments (feel, comfort) with the added durability of monofilament construction. Here’s a look at the on court performance I experienced with Babolat M7 in my frame.

Power/Spin/Control
Coming from typically playing full beds of polyester, I immediately noticed the increase in power with M7. It was very lively and had a healthy dose of power to it. Players with compact strokes will definitely benefit and I enjoyed the easy power once I got myself dialed in with it. It was capable of putting pace on the ball from anywhere and I especially enjoyed the pace I was able to put on my service returns, catching multiple opponents off guard. Spin production was a little bit of a weak point with M7. It doesn’t grip the ball like a poly or even a similar Babolat string, Origin, does. Balls I would expect to go in normally would sail just a bit long. I had enough spin to play with margin over the net but I missed the easy ability to create high bouncing trajectories that could frustrate opponents. I found the control of the string to be on par with most other multifilament strings I’ve tested. While it lacked the free swinging confidence of polyester, I was able to play to the outer thirds of the court easily, allowing me to close off the court and use the excellent response of the string to finish points at the net.

Feel / Comfort
As expected, the feel of M7 was a standout feature. It had a soft feel on impact and the string provided a lot of ball pocketing. I felt well connected to how the ball was coming off the strings and used that to my advantage on volleys and touch shots. The soft feel excelled at allowing me to feather drop shots into the court and kill all the pace off of the ball. Comfort was another highpoint of my time with M7. The soft feel was present across the entire string bed and the string had no added harshness outside the sweet spot. The elastic nature of the string did an excellent job absorbing shock on impact and M7 would be an outstanding choice for anyone with a sensitive arm looking to maximize comfort with their string choice.

Durability
Multifilaments are a category of string that I generally don’t get a lot of life out of but M7 managed to hang on a bit longer than many others I’ve recently tested. I managed to get about 6 hours of court time out of the string before snapping it, which was about 2-3 more hours than I tend to get from other similar strings. The polyurethane outer coating and multiple monofilament design seemed to boost the durability a bit over traditional multifilament construction. Playability did not change much over the course of my time with it. At the end the strings had gotten a little loose and the control had wavered a bit but it was not enough to have had a major impact on play. I was able to play an all court game from start to finish and would be interested to see how M& would perform in a hybrid setup with a smooth polyester.

Overall
Babolat provides comfort minded players with a solid new offering in M7. It provides high doses of power and comfort while maintaining control and feel for all court performance. The added outer coating provides improved durability over many strings in its class and it offers a well balanced response and clean feel on impact. Babolat M7 is a standout option for non string breakers who want gut like power and comfort in a package that is durable and affordable.

About the Reviewer: Matt Locke currently serves as the Junior Programs & Development Coordinator for USTA-Idaho and is an active USTA League and Tournament player.